William S. Burroughs [videorecording] : A man within / Oscilloscope Laboratories ; Yonilizer Productions and Bulletproof Film present ; a film by Yony Leyser ; co-produced by Ilko Davidov and Carmine Cervi ; produced, written, and directed by Yony Leyser.
Format:
[videorecording] :
Publisher:
Yonilizer Productions ;
Copyright Date:
c2011
Description:
1 videodisc (87 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.
Special features: Deleted scenes (6 min.); Home movies [featurette] (17 min); Shotgun art (3 min.); Sonic Youth visit (3 min.); "Naked Lunch" 50th anniversary [featurette] (20 min.); "Rub Out the Word" [music video] (3 min.); "Psalm 23 Revisited" (1 min.); Q & A with director Yony Leyser at BFI Film Festival 2010 [featurette] (12 min.); Oscilloscope releases [previews] (5 min.) Narrated by Peter Weller; commentators, John Waters, Peter Weller, James Grauerholz, Amiri Baraka, V. Vale, Dennis M. Dailey, Ira Silverberg, Laurie Anderson, Victor Bockris, Patti Smith, Marcus Ewert, Gus Van Sant, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Barry Miles, Regina Weinreich, Diane DiPrima, Iggy Pop, Tom Peschio, Wayne Propst, Robert McColl, Fred Aldrich, Patricia Elliot Marvin, Dean Ripa, Anne Waldman, John Giorno, Steve Silberman, David Cronenberg, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Jello Biafra, Hal Willner, Grant Hart; archive footage, Allen Ginsberg, Andy Warhol. Originally produced as an American documentary in 2010.
Contents:
Introduction -- Beat generation -- Pioneer -- Andy and the boys -- Love -- Hustlers -- Cut-up method -- "Walking pharmacologist" -- Rid of junk -- Guns, knives, snakes -- William Tell routine -- "Naked Lunch" -- Punk rock -- Collaborations -- Shotgun art -- Father and son -- Lawrence, Kansas -- End credits.
Summary:
William Burroughs: the Beats eĢminence grise, "literary outlaw," culture hero to generations of poets, musicians, artists, and filmmakers who had their minds blown by his 1959 classic, banned-in-America "Naked Lunch." This film covers his life in a straightforward manner, but the portrait drawn is at odds with the character who wrote in outlandish graphic detail about then-forbidden sexuality in the 1950s and '60s. Heir to a family that lost its money, Harvard-educated and conservative in his attire, Burroughs--despite fame and acclaim--was troubled, reserved, and battled with addiction his entire life. Despite the openness of his prose, this film reveals Burroughs in the contradictions he embodied--a man generously affectionate with friends and acolytes, whose avuncular veneer covered up a haunting, enduring loneliness.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.