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.

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.

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.

Most insightful look into this multi dimensional brilliant, troubled, and troubling writer, as his friends, artists, fans, ex-lovers, experienced him, took from him, and gave him. His bizarre as well as very humane sides are are depicted in very thoughtful, some moving, interviews by John Waters, Genesis o'porridge, Patti Smith, Peter Weller,Iggi Pop, Laurie Anderson, and many other artists who were fascinated by his original, pattern- breaking style. Some interviews had to do with Burroughs daring, resilient character as he dared to confront the world of the 50's as a queer, who stripped the veil of hypocrisy from society before and during the Vietnam era with a piercing writing style. While observing himself become a hopeless addict, he was able to address his addiction as a metaphor for society's maladies in some transcending way... Killing his wife, Not being able to emotionally connect with his troubled son, fearful of love, he was described by genesis as "a sad man". This is the first Documentary depicting Burroughs as the complex man he was, defying every and any category of affiliation...meticulously done, a master-piece you want to watch more than once...