The Broken Tower

Plot

A biography of American poet Hart Crane who committed suicide at the age of 32 by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba.

Release Year: 2011

Rating: 5.9/10 (303 voted)

Director:
James Franco

Stars: James Franco, Michael Shannon, Stacey Miller

Storyline
A look at the dreams, unapologetic love of men , manic highs and depressive, death-haunted lows of early 20th century rebellious, self-destructive visionary poet Hart Crane from his early years as the son of a wealthy Cleveland businessman through his sojourns in New York, Cuba and Paris.

Writers: James Franco, Paul L. Mariani

Cast:

James Franco
–

Hart Crane

Michael Shannon
–

Emile

Stacey Miller
–

Peggy Cowley

Vince Jolivette
–

Betsy Franco
–

Grace Crane

Dave Franco
–

Young Hart Crane

David Rothstadt
–

Poetry Reading Attendant

David Gerson
–

Drunken cafe attendant

Dylan Goodwin
–

Young Truck Driver

Sean Patrick Murray
–

Movie Theater Attendant

Taglines:
The Truth is Indecent.

Release Date: 3 Jan 2011

Filming Locations: New York, USA

Did You Know?

Trivia:

After the movie was screened at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival, multiple sources reported that it contains a scene in which Hart Crane (played by James Franco) performs oral sex on another man–a scene for which a prosthetic penis was used during filming.

User Review

Brave Choices, Beautiful Film

Rating: 7/10


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