Movie Review

The Cool School (2008)

EW's GRADE
A-

Details Limited Release: Mar 28, 2008; Rated: Unrated; Length: 86 Minutes; Genre: Documentary; With: Dennis Hopper

 PACIFIC HEIGHTS Artists from the Ferus Gallery, an influential outpost of L.A. Beat-era activity explored in The Cool School The Cool School
PACIFIC HEIGHTS Artists from the Ferus Gallery, an influential outpost of L.A. Beat-era activity explored in The Cool School

Documentarian Morgan Neville takes an appropriately lively, left-field approach to The Cool School's eye-opening history of the Beat-era Left Coast art scene — a lesser-known chapter in the story of American modern art. Those who lived it tell the story of the influential Ferus Gallery, a Los Angeles outpost of scrappy artists — among them Ed Kienholz and Ed Ruscha — who worked blithely independent of prevailing East Coast trends. The rare footage of '50s and '60s L.A. alone is a treasure; the City of Angels has rarely looked so hip. Bonus: cool music from the likes of Charles Mingus and the Velvet Underground. A-

Originally posted Mar 26, 2008 Published in issue #985 Apr 04, 2008 Order article reprints

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