William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010) on Netflix
NR20101h 27mDocumentary
William S. Burroughs, heir to an adding machine fortune, spends his life contending with addiction and with himself. In interviews, friends and colleagues recall the writer of Naked Lunch.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.1/101,303 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes88%
Trailer
Plot summary
Interviews with friends, colleagues and people he inspired, along with archival footage and rare videotapes, form a portrait of William S. Burroughs. Born heir to the Burroughs adding machine fortune, he spends his life contending with addiction, with control systems and with himself. He is also forced to answer for the killing of his wife and for neglecting his son. He is among the first writers of the 1950s to move through queer and drug culture and set down his experiences on the page. His novel Naked Lunch becomes one of the last books the United States government bans, and the case goes to court.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- William S. Burroughs: A Man Within began in Lawrence, Kansas, in 2005, after director Yony Leyser was expelled from CalArts and moved there. He wrote an article mentioning Burroughs, got in touch with people from the estate, and met several of Burroughs's friends.
- The film drew material from James Grauerholz, who was William S. Burroughs's fan, live-in boyfriend, otherwise-romantically-coupled secretary and friend, his tour booker and road manager, and his personal editor.
