William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

William Burroughs is one of the most controversial artists of the century, his book "Naked Lunch" still disgusts and repulses some readers. Here, Burroughs is examined as a man with little emotion who refused to be loved, but inside the intellect and the anarchy lies a man of much sadness and alienation. The film shows Burroughs and his influence on the counter-culture, revealing his influence on films such as "Blade Runner", bands such as Steely Dan, and the punk movement of the '70s. It also explores his personal life, such as his homosexuality, drug addiction, guns, and his guilt over the accidental shooting of his second wife. Although Burroughs has been examined in documentary features many times, here he is given a more personal look.

William S. Burroughs: featuring never before seen footage as well as exclusive interviews with his closest friends and colleagues...

I was never huge into Burroughs, though my respect for the man was high, and he touched so much -- the beat generation, the hippies, the punks. Countless movies and bands were influenced by him, so we all owe him a debt even if we never heard of him. When I was a teenager, I explored Brion Gysin and Throbbing Gristle and other things and I am impressed to see that everything I thought was cool was all a part of Burroughs' world.

Most interesting of all was Peter Weller, who appears and also narrates. When you think Burroughs, you do not think Weller. I mean, sure, he was in "Naked Lunch", but beyond that? And here we learn about Weller, his drug experiments and more. A guy known mainly for being "RoboCop" has quite an interesting personal life, it seems.

It is hard to find fault with this film portrait of the one and only Burroughs. There are lots of good interviews with the many artists who were inspired and influenced by him, and with those close to him. It could have spent a little more time on his actual writing instead of his notoriety and public profile, but that is merely a quibble.

When I heard about the new documentary about William Burroughs I was pretty excited . Over the years I read many of the popular books including the reader , listened to the spoken word material and watched many of the short films and movies he appeared in . I thought I had a pretty good grasp of his work . However , I didn't know what a treat I was really in for when I walked in the the Denver premier of this very well directed and produced film . I found the insight that many of the friends and colleague opened my thought process on his work opened so much wider and I have a deeper understanding of the man and his work . Showing a time line from childhood to death and his life process was amazing . Seeing so much footage from performance to everyday life was great . He is still a voice and lighthouse in counter culture . I was so grateful for many of the interviews with his friends as they were very insightful and very personal . If you are fan of the man , have just found out about him or just heard that this was a good film you have to see this one . You won't be disappointed , so check it out and pass on the good word.

Leyser is clearly a Burroughs acolyte, and he taps into the man's sensibility: The abstract stop-motion animation by Aimee Goguen and Dillon Markey creates aptly crazy interludes between interviews and archival bits, which include avantgarde movies Burroughs made when was a relative youth (even if he never quite looked like one). There is a wealth of anecdotal material. Like his subject, Leyser strives to disengage from the conventional, while still being lucid. He succeeds admirably.