Burroughs companion and estate executor james grauerhaolz. And as the movie shows us, his influences ranged from beatniks to punks, from rockers. A man within is a probing look at the man whose works at once. Burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950s. A tender, vibrant portrait of a beat generation icon, william s burroughs. A man within sheds a lot of lightsometimes fractured lighton the life of the influential yet enigmatic beat poet william.
However, his friends were left wondering, did william ever find happiness. The legend is that he went to london and kicked it. Burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries. Born the heir of the burroughs adding machine estate, he struggled throughout his life.
Nov 17, 2010 a man within is a kind of genealogy of hip that connects burroughs, who was born in st. A man within is an intimate documentary that breaks the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time. Born the heir of the burroughs adding machine estate, he struggled throughout his life with addiction, control systems, and self. Featuring neverbeforeseen archival footage of burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and confidants including john waters, patti smith, ig. To burroughs, grauerholz had been his fan, his livein boyfriend, his otherwise. Feb 04, 2011 the man within confronts the romanticization of william s. Narrated by peter weller and featuring neverbeforeseen.
This compilation of interviews, candid video and news footage proves only the futility in any attempt to penetrate the armour of a man who spent his entire life under the scrutinising eye of the art world. With fred aldrich, laurie anderson, amiri baraka, jello biafra. Burroughs, one of the three seminal writers of the beat generation the other two being. But as this fine documentary shows, he was much more complicated than that with diverse interests, proving him to be a true individual, full of. And director yony leyser has come up with an ending that will take your breath away. Burroughs even as it romanticizes him, admittedly hard not to do given the authors status as a cbgbera rock stargenius. A man within docu does real justice to the beat writer, gun nut and literary icon. Burroughs is a documentary about the man any fan is bound to find fascinating. A man within 2010 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. A riveting and emotional journey into the world of writer william s. This extremely personal documentary breaks the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time. A man within explores the brilliant and troubled world of one of our greatest authors.
Burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries of 20th century literature. Narrated by peter weller, who played a burroughslike character in david cronenbergs movie naked lunch, a man within is embellished. The movie is the first and only documentary to be made about and with the full participation of writer william s. Addressing queer and drug culture in the 1950s, his novel naked lunch became one of the most recognised and respected of contemporary literary works, and has influenced generations of artists. A man within offers a concise summary of burroughs life and works. A man within by 25yearold director yony leyser continues this excavation and examination of william s burroughs behindthemask humanity in spectacular educational and inspirational form.
Beat generation documentary the source 1999 part 17. Jan 28, 2016 now viewers can enjoy the invigorating candidness of burroughs. Narrated by peter weller and featuring neverbeforeseen archival footage of burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and confidants including john waters, patti smith, iggy pop, gus van sant, sonic youth and david cronenberg, yony leysers william s. Offizieller deutscher kinotrailer zu dem film william s. Burroughs is a documentary portrait of a man who was willing to try everything, and who has so far survived everything. A man within is a breezily stylized, very enjoyable trot through the writers. Director yony leyser interviewed on this disc as one of the many extras explains how his fascination with burroughs and his work led to his pursuit of telling the. He was forced to deal with the tragedy of killing his wife and the repercussions of neglecting his son.
The movie, a oneofakind nonfiction portrait that was brought to life with the help of a remarkable crew of friends, including jim. Burroughs was a primary figure of the beat generation and a major postmodernist author whose influence is considered to have affected. Nethyltriptamine, alarming disagreeable symptoms, the use of opium andor derivatives. Louis in 1914, the wealthy harvardeducated grandson of the founder of the burroughs adding machine. A man within proves that peter weller has starred in other movies except for robocop, namely naked lunch which is based on the works and life of william. It is well made film on an often lurid and strange individual. His thoughts were clouded yet always concise and his work as a writer, traveler and consumer of controlled substances revealed profound ideas on human sexuality, humanity, u.
The outstanding new documentary william s burroughs. The one thing you miss in the film is the sound of laughter. Nov 16, 2010 yony leysers documentary william burroughs. A man within yony leyser, 2010 addeddate 20121217 04. Burroughs, opening today at facets, is a documentary of the writers recent years. A man within touches only briefly on naked lunch and its impact, and most of his 17 other novels arent even mentioned in the film. A man within is a 2010 english film stars peter weller, yony leyser, yony leyser, william s. The expectation of fullboat tickets to film festivals like the one recently in. Its ok to admit you really didnt care for early cronenberg, or crash or existence. In a collaboration between burroughs and director howard brookner the film explores burroughs life story along with many of his contemporaries including allen ginsberg, brion gysin, francis bacon, herbert huncke, patti smith, terry southern, and.
A man within knows when and how to use its subjects distinctive voice. The man within confronts the romanticization of william s. A man within, which features some pretty cool people, like peter weller, john waters, and david cronenberg also note. The intimate documentary breaks the surface of the troubled and. Memento is the movie of the attention economy billy hallal. A man within expressed some powerful ideas about his life and work. Jun 14, 2010 however, his friends were left wondering, did william ever find happiness. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing william s.
A man within is a kind of genealogy of hip that connects burroughs, who was born in st. Were sorry but jwapp doesnt work properly without javascript enabled. A man within investigates the life of the legendary beat author and american icon. William seward burroughs ii was an american writer and artist.
Though some of the films most striking moments come from readings in which burroughs recites his own work in his dry, craggy monotone, leyser has placed his focus on the man behind the work. Burroughs, yony leyser manages only to find his shell. Burroughs quoted in ed koziarskis justposted story. For starters, he is involved from start to finish, and the movie also features allen ginsberg in. I had to share my interview time with a journalist from the independent, and it would have been great to chat with leyser more in depth about burroughs and his movie. A man within makes for some compelling viewing, it is a probing, yet loving look at the man whose works at once savaged conservative ideals, spawned countercultural movements, and reconfigured 20th century culture, burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries of. A tender, vibrant portrait of the life and work of a beat generation icon, william s. Burroughs wrote with the conviction of someone who understood the secret shapers of the universe, or someone who had lost his mind. Enter city, state or zip code go fandango fanalert. Born the heir of the burroughs adding machine estate, he struggled. Burroughs, john waters, iggy pop, jello biafra, patti smith, laurie anderson, david cronenberg, gus van sant, andy warhol, carmine cervi, scott crary, ilko davidov, yony leyser, john bellow, devin mcnulty, thurston moore, lee.
Its a very recommendable movie, making good use of historic audio and video material, joins it with a biographical narration and shows how influental burroughs works have been especially during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Watch the clip titled the rebel for the film william s. Its a very recommendable movie, making good use of historic audio and video material, joins it with a biographical narration and shows how influental burroughs works have been especially during the. There is not a word or image wasted in a documentary you wish ran an extra halfhour. A man within makes for some compelling viewing, it is a probing, yet loving look at the man whose works at once savaged conservative ideals, spawned countercultural movements, and reconfigured 20th century culture, burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950s. Indeed, the films subtitle a man within highlights the drive of the documentary. Nov 17, 2010 a man within wont be the last word on burroughs, who died in 1997, but its a welcome addition to the biographical canon less as cleareyed investigation than for the intimate and moving portrait it paints. A prominent member of the beat generation, william s. A man within won the van gogh award for best biography, amsterdam international film festival, the netherlands, along with the gold kahuna award, honolulu international film festival, hawaii. There is something about chicago that paralyzes the spirit under a dead weight of. A man within sheds a lot of light sometimes fractured lighton the life of the influential yet enigmatic beat poet william. The film was named as one of 2010s top 10 movies by sight and sound magazine. If you ever thought there was no more mileage to be gained from wsb and expository films about him.
A man within sheds a lot of lightsometimes fractured lighton the life of the influential yet enigmatic beat poet william s. Featuring neverbeforeseen archival footage of burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and confidants including john waters, patti smith, iggy pop, gus van sant, genesis breyer. A man within is a probing yet loving portrait of the man. Burroughs, featuring previously unreleased footage and interviews with his friends and colleagues. A vibrant portrait of a beat generation icon, william s burroughs. A man within is a 2010 independent american documentary film directed by yony leyser. A man withinis the first and only posthumous documentary about this legendary figure. Burroughs, a man considered as cold as an iceberg on a winter night. Burroughs didnt feel at home unless he had a loaded gun by his side. Nov 05, 2010 enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing william s.