Burroughs: The Movie

"Burroughs" is a documentary about the man any fan is bound to find fascinating. For starters, he is involved from start to finish, and the movie also features Allen Ginsberg in conversation with the writer. His son, Billy Burroughs, who killed himself during the making of the movie also shows up, as well as Burroughs brother Mortimer.

The movie tells the story of Burroughs' life, but more interesting to me were some of the digressions, for example Burroughs, in the suit and tie he is always wearing, reading his transgressive opus Naked Lunch in a night club in front of a crowd of young people, and most bizarrely, Burroughs showing off his weapon collection: a blow gun, air pistol, combat knife, blackjack... he slashes the knife at the camera, explaining that with this blade you could cut someone's throat before they even knew what hit them.

But he doesn't like violence, he explains.

There is also an explanation of the night when his wife Joan was killed in an accident: Ginsberg believes it was suicidal ideation on Joan's part that made her encourage Burroughs to try to shoot a wineglass off her head. Burroughs, on the other hand, calls it an "ugly spirit" he has always lived with that made him take the shot and miss.

All up, "Burroughs" is a must see for fans of the man, who still remains an enigma to me after having seen it. He resists description just as his work resists categorization.

I love movies about artists, writers, musicians and so on and I really wanted to like this one, especially as most of the footage contains the man himself.

Always interested in the whys and wherefores of creativity, of particular interest was the blurb line: "...charts the development of Burroughs' unique literary style."

However, the movie is mostly about the life of the man, his friends and associates, than the development of his writing style. There are fascinating interviews with Ginsberg and other friends, and a fun cameo from Patti Smith who complains she couldn't get him into bed. Oh chuckle...

I came away not knowing much more about Burroughs than I did before, and certainly not more about his literary style or how it developed. It's tragic that the director, Howard Brookner, died so young. He spent five years putting the movie together.

In spite of the lack of deeper revelations, as there are scant movies about Burroughs, this is still worth watching.

Interesting to see that over 370 people have rated this movie but only one has bothered to review it! Make of that what you will.

My review was written in October 1983 after a screening at the New York Film Festival.

"Burroughs" is a feature-length examination of William S. Burroughs, the influential novelist who is now doubling as an entertaining reader of excerpts of his work at night club gigs for young audiences who weren't around during his trailblazing days in the 1950s and 1960s. Debuting director Howard Brookner, who expanded this work from a short student film begun five years ago, mixes documentary material with exhibitionist footage of Burroughs the myth maker, pruning of some scenes advisable. In its present form, picture deserves non-theatrical, college campus bookings and ultimately public tv usage.

With his verite cameras trailing Burroughs from his current N. Y. "Bunker" flat to his St. Louis, London and Moroccan former stomping grounds, Brookner fleshes out the man's life with recollections by many of his pals and colleagues. Their talking heads' testimony is suspect, however, as when poet Allen Ginsberg turns unconvincing apologist, blaming Burroughs' wife Joan for "egging him on" to a 1951 fatal William Tell-style shooting incident. Burroughs admits to killing his wife and seems honestly remorseful about it.

Interspersed throughout the film are evocative vintage b&w underground scenes of Burroughs, filmed by British helmer Antony Balch (who has the 1973 film "Horror Hospital" to his credit and tried to launch a film version of "Naked Lunch" in 1971). Also highlighting the docu are excerpts from his works such as "Naked Lunch" and "Nova Express", in a droll, highly amusing manner, Misguided efforts include a staged grand guignol performance for the camera of Burroughs, as Dr. Benway, aided by nurse Jackie Curtis in cutting up a patient with gory special effects one associates with recent horror films.

Low point of the picture consists of interviews with Burroughs' self-styled amanuensis James Grauerholz, a pompous young man who admits to having slept with Burroughs and feeling more like a son to the writer than was the late William S. Burroughs Junior. Brookner also includes morbid footage of Junior, called by one interviewee "the last beatnik" and bent on self-destruction through drugs, liquor, etc.

After a funny start, the film becomes rather dull in the second half with too much footage of Burroughs, obviously enjoying the spotlight. At feature length, this picture could more efficiently covered his whole circle, including Jack Kerouac, who is relegated to a couple of still photos and allusions. Brookner even indulges his subject with a lengthy scene showing the iconoclast demonstrating his gallery of weapons (ranging from a blowgun to a vicious-looking knife) ready for use against intruders. This silly scene is almost identical in content to one of Dennis Hopper showing off his guns (and willingness to use them) in a 1971 portrait-docu "The American Dreamer", and in both cases represents straying from the subject into audience-baiting.