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The Broken Tower

  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
4.8/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
The Broken Tower (2011)
A biography of American poet Hart Crane who committed suicide at the age of 32 by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba.
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A biography of American poet Hart Crane who committed suicide at the age of 32 by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba.A biography of American poet Hart Crane who committed suicide at the age of 32 by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba.A biography of American poet Hart Crane who committed suicide at the age of 32 by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba.

  • Director
    • James Franco
  • Writers
    • James Franco
    • Paul Mariani
  • Stars
    • James Franco
    • Michael Shannon
    • Stacey Miller
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.8/10
    1.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • James Franco
    • Writers
      • James Franco
      • Paul Mariani
    • Stars
      • James Franco
      • Michael Shannon
      • Stacey Miller
    • 12User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
    • 46Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Teaser
    Trailer 0:30
    Teaser

    Photos12

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    Top cast39

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    James Franco
    James Franco
    • Hart Crane
    Michael Shannon
    Michael Shannon
    • Emile
    Stacey Miller
    Stacey Miller
    • Mrs. Cowley
    Richard Abate
    • Father Crane
    Betsy Franco
    Betsy Franco
    • Mother Crane
    Paul Mariani
    • Alfred Stieglitz
    Shandor Garrison
    • Gorham Munson
    Dylan Goodwin
    Dylan Goodwin
    • Young Truck Driver
    John Morrow
    • Young Sailor
    Ivo Juhani
    • French Man in Library
    Vince Jolivette
    Vince Jolivette
    • American Man in Paris
    Fallon Goodsen
    • American Woman in Paris
    Caroline Aragon
    Caroline Aragon
    • French Cafe Owner
    Sebastian Celis
    • Deckhand
    Will Rawls
    • Factory Worker
    Kazy Tauginas
    Kazy Tauginas
    • Boxer
    Aztec Musicians Grupo de Danza Azteca Chichimeca Ome Acati
    • Musical Group
    Alejandro León
    • Dancer
    • Director
      • James Franco
    • Writers
      • James Franco
      • Paul Mariani
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews12

    4.81.3K
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    Featured reviews

    Gordon-11

    A very artsy film

    This film tells the life of an American homosexual poet named Hart, who died of suicide by jumping off a sailing army ship.

    "The Broken Tower" is shot in black and white. It is a tell tale sign that it is a very artsy movie that has no commercial elements at all. I tried very hard to enjoy it, trying to appreciate the slowness of the pace, and trying to enjoy the beauty of the literature reading. However, there is really very little plot in the film, and the story is told in a very scattered manner. For every 30 seconds of plot, there are five minutes of self indulgent filler scenes. I got quite tired of watching James Franco walking around or sitting around. We also see a lot of Hart's sexual liaisons, ranging from walking up the stairs with another man, to apparently non-simulated oral sex.

    After watching the whole film, I did not gain an insight into Hart's life, but rather it felt more like a project for James Franco to expose the exploration his sexuality.
    10gradyharp

    A Brave Little Film that Finds a New Way of Communicating

    THE BROKEN TOWER will likely never be on the list of best films made, so why award it five stars? Because this very fine art piece is the result of the devotion of James Franco to his craft. He worked directly with Boston College professor Paul Mariani, the author of a half dozen volumes of poetry, as well as several biographies of 20th-century American poets, including William Carlos Williams, John Berryman, and Robert Lowell: Franco based THE BROKEN TOWER on Mariani's similarly titled 2000 biography of Crane.

    The subject of the film is the life and creative genius of Hart Crane, (July 21, 1899 - April 27, 1932) an American poet who found both inspiration and provocation in the poetry of T. S. Eliot, Crane wrote modernist poetry that is difficult, highly stylized, and very ambitious in its scope. In his most ambitious work, The Bridge, Crane sought to write an epic poem in the vein of The Waste Land that expressed something more sincere and optimistic than the ironic despair that Crane found in Eliot's poetry. In the years following his suicide at the age of 32, Crane has come to be seen as one of the most influential poets of his generation.

    James Franco wrote the screenplay based on book by Paul Mariani, directed and edited the film and acted the main role of Hart Crane. Crane was a nearly disconsolate man who refused to follow his wealthy father's business, longing instead to be a poet. Born in Ohio he traveled to New York (the place he always considered home), to Cuba, and to Paris searching for his poetic voice. He was a gay man in an era when his lifestyle was always under threat, he had a lover (Vince Jolivette) early on in an affair that was filled with passion, and in his travels he seemed to find his true love in Emile (Michael Shannon) that endured the manic highs and depressive, death-haunted lows that befell this self -destructive visionary poet. He attempted suicide at least once and finally ended his life in a successful suicide at the young age of 32.

    Franco breathes life into Hart Crane, offering more understanding of this enigmatic genius than we have ever been afforded. In making the film Franco uses his younger brother Dave Franco to depict the young Hart and selects his small cast wisely. The film is completely in black and white and is in the format of 'Voyages' - each voyage takes us through a distinct part of Hart's life: his gay loves, his poetry readings, his forays to Cuba and to Paris and his lonely hours of sitting before an old typewriter where he created the major epics of poetry that remain some of the finest ever written by an American poet.

    The film is choppy, not unlike the manner in which Hart's mind worked in bits and pieces, always immersed in thoughts of the sea, the labor of common man, of the Brooklyn Bridge which would play the major role in his most famous epic poem THE BRIDGE, and of the fellow artists whose work he so admired. There is a strange musical score (the work of Neil Benezra) which is long on choral chanting, and a quality of gritty cinematography achieved by Christiana Vorn. The technique of the making of this film matches the vision of James Franco in continuing to visit the lives of isolated geniuses. The dialogue, what little there is, is Crane's poetry as spoken by Franco.

    For many this film will seem self-indulgent on Franco's part. And perhaps it partially is. But the flavor of this gay American poet of the 1920s and the reflections of America at that time ring true. THE BROKEN TOWER is not a biopic of Hart Crane. It is an elegy.

    Grady Harp
    4justahunch-70549

    A misfire

    I thought this was an interesting topic, so I took a chance on it despite being turned off of Franco's directorial talents (?!) after just recently viewing the positively horrid As I lay Dying. This is a step up from that, but it is still a failure. Franco gives a rather convincing and sincere performance here, and from what I have read a lot of this seems accurate, but his filming technique is ponderous, monotonous and pretentious. I give him credit for trying creative things, but so many of them are misfires. I did like the black & white cinematography as it helped with the feel of the era, particularly the NY scenes. The much talked about explicit oral sex scene is not all that much, though it is daring for a major actor to do. I assume that a certain appendage is fake, but you never know with this guy. He has stated he is gay up to the point of penetration, so this would fit in with that stance. I didn't know the very talented & interesting Michael Shannon was in this. He has little to do other than one very passionate kissing sequence with Franco, but he too is another bold actor that I admire for taking chances. Nevertheless, this really cannot be recommended.
    7WeLikeMondays

    Brave Choices, Beautiful Film

    Just attended the premier of The Broken Tower at the LA Film Festival and, once again, James Franco makes brave choices and produces a beautiful film. The camera work, editing, score, and the actors' performances, sustain a sometimes difficult story with elegance, honesty, and passion.

    Set against the backdrop of 1920's New York, Paris, Cuba, and Mexico, The Broken Tower succeeds in merging two disparate art forms, film and poetry, to propel the narrative. There's also a lot of silence in this film where we are allowed to see Crane's world as through his eyes. Elegaic sequences are punctuated with cuts to black and the spare and subtle soundtrack perfectly matches the storytelling.

    I admit to knowing nothing about Hart Crane before tonight's screening but I left wanting to read his poems and letters myself.

    Thank you, Mr. Franco,

    wlm
    4SnoopyStyle

    Franco student film

    James Franco does an experimental autobiography of American poet Hart Crane. Michael Shannon plays Emile, one of his lovers. It's black and white and supposedly Franco's student film at New York University. It is unwatchable if you're looking for a narrative driven story. I'll be cruel and say it's pretentious. It's an art student film. It is technically competent. The black and white photography looks good. Unlike most amateur films, this one has top level actors. It is simply not good as a film. I'd rather have a short film with only Franco reading poetry. There's no way to maintain enough concentration to follow the entire run.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Shot in three countries and 30 locations in 15 days.
    • Goofs
      The dress, hair, and make-up of the Peggy character are all wrong for 1931.
    • Quotes

      Gorham Munson: Hart, forgive me for saying this. But you want to speak for America.

      Hart Crane: Yeah.

      Gorham Munson: Does it matter that you're queer?

      Hart Crane: [Annoyed, rolls eyes] Whitman was queer. That's why he could love *all* of America. The roustabouts. The slaves. The, the soldiers he nursed in the Civil War.

      Gorham Munson: So you will expose yourself?

      Hart Crane: It's funny, considering my truckdriver left me. No. People can know everything about us when we're dead. But for now, it's better to keep quiet. For father's sake.

      Gorham Munson: [sarcastically] Right. You wouldn't want to lose that tremendous job for the sake of some queer affirmation.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Hart Crane: An Exegesis (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      The Bitter Pill
      Written and Performed by Neil Benezra

      Smoking Pigeons Publishing, ASCAP

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    FAQ15

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 20, 2011 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Разрушенная башня
    • Filming locations
      • Paris, France
    • Production companies
      • Made In Film-Land
      • Pimienta Films
      • Rabbit Bandini Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 39m(99 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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