At a dense, tidy ninety minutes, Yony Leyser’s “William S. Burroughs: A Man Within,” narrated by Peter Weller, serves as more than an introduction to the charismatic writer, Beat figure and all-around eccentric who long outlived his peers (he lived to be 83) and served as a sinister grandfather figure to later generations of artists. It’s a compact entertainment as well as a survey of his fascination with guns, mind control and all things pharmaceutical. A wealth of previously unseen archival footage of Burroughs and recordings of his idiosyncratic, unshakable voice bring the man and his sincerity to life. John Waters sees him “as almost a religious figure”; Leyser makes the case as well with “A Man Within.” With Patti Smith, Diane DiPrima, Lee Ranaldo, David Cronenberg, Gus Van Sant, Amiri Baraka, Genesis P-Orridge, Andy Warhol, Iggy Pop, Thurston Moore, Jello Biafra, Laurie Anderson. (The filmmakers are Chicagoans.) 90m. (Ray Pride)
“William S. Burroughs: A Man Within” opens Friday at the Music Box.
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
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