About:
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within investigates the life of the legendary beat author and American icon. Born the heir of the Burroughs Adding Machine estate, he struggled throughout his life with addiction, control systems, and self. He was forced to deal with the tragedy of killing his wife and the repercussions of neglecting his son. His novel, Naked Lunch, was one of the last books to be banned by the U.S. government. Allen Ginsberg and Norman Mailer testified on behalf of the book. The courts eventually overturned the 1966 decision, ruling that the book had important social value. It remains one of the most recognized literary works of the 20th century.
The film features never-before-seen footage of William S. Burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with his closest friends and colleagues including John Waters, Genesis P-Orridge, Laurie Anderson, Peter Weller, David Cronenberg, Iggy Pop, Gus Van Sant, Sonic Youth, Anne Waldman, Hal Willner, James Grauerholz, Amiri Baraka, Jello Biafra, V. Vale, Wayne Propst, Diane DiPrima, Dean Ripa (the world's largest poisonous snake collector), and many others, with narration by actor Peter Weller, and soundtrack by Sonic Youth.
William Burroughs was one of the first to cross the dangerous boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950s, and write about his experiences. Eventually he was hailed the godfather of the beat generation and influenced artists for generations to come. But his friends were left wondering if he had ever found contentment or happiness. This extremely personal documentary pierces the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time.
"Silence is only frightening to people who are compulsively verbalizing."
4 comments:
I've seen this trailer before, and can't wait to see the movie. Uncle Bill is one of my greatest inspiration. Over the course of my life I've had the chance of meeting and getting in touch with many of my heroes, but unfortunately WSB passed away before I could do that. Oh well, we will all meet in the Western Lands, I guess...
I can't wait to see this either! I can't remember how old I was when I first starting reading Burroughs but what initially caught my attention was his look. Has such a magnificent mug, cadaverous features. He's in the same file as Peter Cushing looks-wise. And what an all-around brilliant curiosity he is. =)
He looked a lot like my grandad, no kidding. Striking resemblance.
That is incredibly neat! =)
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