Burroughs: The Movie

In 1983, director Howard Brookner presents a deeply personal and meticulously documented portrait of William S. Burroughs, the Beat Generation writer whose life was marked by both literary innovation and personal turmoil. With unparalleled access to Burroughs himself, as well as his contemporaries such as Allen Ginsberg, Brion Gysin, Francis Bacon, Herbert Huncke, Patti Smith, Terry Southern, and William S. Burroughs Jr., Brookner chronicles Burroughs' journey from the American Midwest to North Africa, tracing the development of his unique literary style against a backdrop of personal tragedy and experimentation with drug addiction and junkie culture.