This 1983 documentary gets Burroughs right between the eyes.
by J.R. Jones
Out of circulation for decades, Howard Brookner's documentary Burroughs (1983) is the most intimate and revealing screen portrait of the legendary experimental writer, which is a real distinction given how often his life has been treated in dramas (Beat, Naked Lunch, On the Road, Kill Your Darlings) and documentaries (William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, The Beat Hotel, and others too numerous to list). Brookner began the project in 1978 as a 20-minute thesis film at New York University (his classmate Jim Jarmusch served as sound man) and later expanded it to feature length, following Burroughs to his native Saint Louis and to London (where he captured him in conversation with painter Francis Bacon).…[ Read more ]