Published
[Irvington, New York] : The Criterion Collection, [2015].
Edition
Two-DVD special edition.
ISBN
9781681430782, 1681430789
Notes
General Note
Originally produced as a motion picture in 1983.
General Note
1.33:1 aspect ratio.
General Note
Accompanying folded insert comprises an essay by Luc Sante (Burroughs that proud American) and collage artwork by Alison Mosshart.
General Note
Special features: Disc 1: Commentary (new audio commentary by filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, who was a sound recordist on the film); Howard and Uncle Bill (new interview with Brookner's nephew, filmmaker Aaron Brookner, who oversaw the film's restoration (16 min.). Disc 2: Howard Brookner (audio interview with director Howard Brookner (1985) (24 min.), conducted by Burroughs biographer Ted Morgan); Outtakes; New York Film Festival, 2014 (footage from the premiere of the film's restoration, featuring Q&A with Jim Jarmusch, Aaron Brookner, filmmaker Tom DiCillo, and William S. Burrough's friend and fellow writer James Grauerholz (27 min.); Robert E. Fulton III edit (experimental edit of the film by inventor and photographer Robert E. Fulton III (1981) (23 min.). Insert includes an essay by critic Luc Sante and collage artwork by artist Alison Mosshart.
Creation/Production Credits
Film editors, Scott Vickrey, Ben Morris ; camera, Tom DiCillo, Howard Brookner, James Lebovitz, Nicolas A. Struthers, Richard L. Camp, Mike Southon, Cathy Dorsey, Larry Shiu.
Participants/Performers
Featuring: William S. Burroughs, Francis Bacon, Mortimer Burroughs, William S. Burroughs Jr., Lucien Carr, Jackie Curtis, Allen Ginsberg, John Giorno, James Grauerholz, Brion Gysin, Herbert Huncke, Lauren Hutton, Stewart Meyer, Patti Smith, Terry Southern.
Description
Made up of intimate, revelatory footage of the singular author and poet filmed over the course of five years, Howard Brookner's 1983 documentary about William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch) was for decades mainly the stuff of legend; that changed when Aaron Brookner, the late director's nephew, discovered a print of it in 2011 and spearheaded a restoration. Includes on-screen appearances by Allen Ginsberg, Herbert Huncke, Terry Southern, and Lucien Carr.
System Details
DVD, NTSC, region 1, 1.33:1 aspect ratio; monoaural; Dolby Digital.
Language
In English; with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH).