Oscilloscope Laboratories have picked up a companion film of sorts to the acquisition they made in April with Howl which is set for a late September release. Yony Leyser’s docu William S. Burroughs: A Man Within will be set for a fall theatrical release and ties in perfectly with the Ginsberg flick – as they were both the founding members of the Beat Generation.
Narrated by Peter Weller, Leyser’s doc looks at the life and career of Beat writer Burroughs (“Naked Lunch”) through archival footage and interviews with John Waters, Gus Van Sant and David Cronenberg, among others. Patti Smith and Sonic Youth provide the soundtrack.
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 their decision in 1966, ruling that the book had important social value. It remains one of the most recognized literary works of the 20th century.
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. However, his friends were left wondering, did William ever find happiness? This extremely personal documentary breaks the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time.
