Naked Lunch (1991)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Burroughs on DVD

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Naked Lunch on DVD.

David Cronenberg adapted the unadaptable novel for his 1991 masterpiece, Naked Lunch (1991), taking elements not only from William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch but also from other Burroughs writings and his life story. Exterminator Bill Lee (a perfectly cast Peter Weller) accepts a mission and travels to Interzone, where he writes his famous novel, though what you actually see onscreen may be interpreted in other ways. Cronenberg moves the film with a deadpan dream logic and avoids the swirly colors and nauseous tilting of other "drug" movies, staying in touch with his slender narrative thread. As such, the film ends up celebrating writing, Burroughs himself and anyone who dares to look beyond the obvious. Judy Davis turns in a delirious supporting performance as both Lee's wife Joan and her Interzone doppelganger. Ian Holm appears as a trippy older writer, Roy Scheider fleshes out Burroughs' infamous Dr. Benway, and Julian Sands represents Interzone's large gay pretty-boy population. I've seen the film several times, and it stands up as a true cult classic, a hilarious comedy and an example of astonishingly beautiful, personal filmmaking all at once. It's certainly one of the greatest films of the 1990s, and a candidate for one of the greatest films ever made.

DVD Details: Once again, Criterion has presented this magnificent film in a package worthy of its greatness. Cronenberg and Weller provide a commentary track on disc one, while disc two contains Chris Rodley's Making Naked Lunch and tons of other stuff. Also available is William S. Burroughs: Commissioner of Sewers (1986, Music Video Distributors). This random collection of clips from Burroughs' interviews, readings and film appearances provides plenty of brilliant moments, but it ultimately comes across as a sampler or a slim greatest hits package. Most frustratingly of all, Gus Van Sant's great short film Thanksgiving Prayer is only partially shown! Still, the cult writer unleashes at least half a dozen moments of unparalleled, twisted genius over the course of the disc's 60 minutes, and it's recommended to fans. And in the would-be cult film Twister (1989, Artisan), Burroughs appears in a cameo, shooting his beloved guns at the broad side of a barn. Harry Dean Stanton, Suzy Amis and Crispin Glover star as demented members of the wealthy and odd Cleveland family, who struggle with a tornado and the mysteries of the opposite sex. Dylan McDermott plays Amis' ex-husband who tries to get back together with her, while the lovely Jenny Wright plays Glover's possible girlfriend, listening intently to his tortured electronic "music." The underrated indie filmmaker Michael Almereyda (Hamlet) directed, from Mary Robinson's novel "Oh." Unfortunately, Artisan presents the film in a very bad full-screen transfer with no extras.

Starring: Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, Roy Scheider
Written by: David Cronenberg, based on Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
Directed by: David Cronenberg
MPAA Rating: R for heavy drug content, bizarre eroticism, and language
Running Time: 115 minutes
Date: January 12, 2004