Burroughs documentary not as dynamic as his words | DVD Extra Burroughs and Patti Smith by Allen Ginsberg, from the documentary "William S. Burroughs: A Man Within." Image courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.
Guest review by Sonya Harvey William S. Burroughs is famous for his written word. Tales of heroin fixes, homosexual overdoses and a pithy Nation seeking the voice of a generation are spilled across pages of countless paperbacks, but the documentary “William S. Burroughs: A Man Within” is not at all about the written word. In fact, there are only a few spliced moments focusing on his tense lyrical verse. This is the story of the man within, told through interviews with famous film freaks, haggard rock stars, local gun dealers and a bevy of ex-boyfriends. Forget counter-culture riots and ectoplasm cum spilled out in every gory detail — you will only be disappointed. Instead, Iggy Pop, Joe Strummer, Patti Smith, Jello Biafra, John Waters, David Cronenberg, Gus Van Sant, Allen Ginsberg and a slew of others wax poetic about the man they called friend. While at times slow, and weaving in and out of clichéd subject matter, they manage to offer almost too promising glimpses of the real Burroughs. Burroughs is described as a lonely man who preferred the company of his cats to the limelight; a man whose drudgery into drugs only added to the emptiness; a man who was cast an iconic outlaw but refused to dress the part. They reminiscence about lost loves, the almost cynical tragedy of his wife’s untimely death, and the anti-authoritative voice that Burroughs ultimately becomes even though he shuns the very thought of it. Director Yony Leyser even manages to reel in actual footage of Burroughs sternly reading aloud from his racial plights of a doomed America and yet somehow, in the world of outlaws and misfits, he’s loved even more for it. The Extras: • Deleted scenes featuring Burroughs’ art • Home movies featuring Patti Smith, Steve Buscemi, Allen Ginsberg, and others • Sonic Youth visits Burroughs in Lawrence, Kansas • Naked Lunch 50th anniversary celebration • Did we mention even more of Burroughs’ shotgun art? • “Rub Out the Word” — a music video featuring Burroughs reading The Last Words of Hassan Sabbah • Patti Smith reading Palm 23 Revisited • Q&A with director Yony Leyser at BFI London Film Festival 2010 • Bonus essays by David Byrne and Richard Hell Bottom Line: If you can bear with the slowness and weird Burroughs-as-wire-art infused intermissions, you will end up with an inside glimpse of one of the most shock-rocking voices to plague the history of American literature, and you might even find yourself feeling sorry for him, in a good way. William S. Burroughs: A Man Within Oscilloscope Laboratories, 88 minutes, not rated, $29.99 -- http://blog.mysanantonio.com/dvd/2011/02/burroughs-documentary-not-as-dynamic-as-his-words/ Via InstaFetch -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
