AllMovie

The curious life of controversial avant-garde author and Beat poet William S. Burroughs serves as the subject of this documentary from Chicago-based filmmaker Yony Leyser. A gay drug addict who shot to infamy with his unguarded look at the drug and queer cultures, Burroughs made headlines when he shot his wife in Mexico City, and achieved infamy when his groundbreaking novel Naked Lunch was banned in the U.S. David Cronenberg, John Waters, Genesis P-Orridge, Patty Smith, Gus Van Sant, Laurie Anderson, and other celebrities/artists influenced by Burroughs' surreal body of work weigh in on why his influence today is still as strong as it was when he was in peak form.