Canadian Essential: Chosen by the Amazon.ca editors
as one of the 50
Canadian Essentials in
DVD.
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Special Offers and Product Promotions
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
|
Product Description
Amazon.ca Canadian Essential
David Cronenberg takes on William Burroughs's oeuvre of depravity, hallucinations, and talking insects in a film that should have been a disaster. Naked Lunch is a book that most directors would shun from filming. But if anyone can do it, Cronenberg--with his fascination for the bizarre, grotesque, and shadowy side of human nature and his fondness for special effects--can. Cronenberg extracts an interesting cinematic experience (for those open to it) out of the difficult source material.
Amazon.com Essential Video
You are now entering Interzone, William S. Burroughs's phantasmagorical land of junk, paranoia, and crawly things. Best travel advice: "Exterminate all rational thought." In David Cronenberg's superbly shot, unnerving warp on the Burroughs novel, the novelist himself becomes a main character (played in an implacable monotone by Peter Weller), with elements from Burroughs' life--including the shooting of his wife during a "William Tell" game, and bohemian friends Kerouac and Ginsberg--added to frame the book's wild visions. This is, ironically, a somewhat rational approach to an unfilmable book (and it makes a hair-curling double bill with Barton Fink, another look at writerly madness, with both films sharing Judy Davis). Cronenberg is a natural for oozing mugwumps and typewriters that turn into giant bugs, of course. But in the end, this is really his own vision of the artistic process, rather than Burroughs's hallucinatory descent into hell. --Robert Horton
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
welcome to interzone!,
By Gip (U.S.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Naked Lunch (DVD)
In my opinion, Cronenburgs best film, or at least that i've seen. Amazing movie, Peter Weller (robocop) does an awesome job too. One of those joints you pop in the player and are thinking about it a week after you've viewed it. Runaway to Interzone with talking typewriters, giant sea centipedes, and the innermost sanctum of paranoia, bizarre eroticism, delusion, hallucination, and beautifully depressing schizophrenia. It's something else. Tough movie to describe, definitely required viewing for anyone with oddball tastes like mine and a good respect for a true artists unique vision (in this case two artists, Cronenberg and Burroughs). p.s. (just don't ever try the William Tell party trick)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Out to Lunch,
By
This review is from: Naked Lunch (DVD)
If you're going to watch this film then you pretty much already know what you're in for. Take Cronenberg and Burroughs, mix them together and you've got yourself a pretty weird film. And it is weird, but it's also so much more. It deals with addiction like no other film has. Specifically how addiction effects the creative process. This is far from youre average nice Saturday night film viewing, but it's a real treat nontheless. Criterion has once again done an amazing job. I'd be surprised if there's ever a better release of the film.
5.0 out of 5 stars
David Cronenberg's Very Best,
By
This review is from: Naked Lunch (DVD)
Before you even try to watch this movie, realize that David Cronenberg's films are among the most bizarre and perplexing films you will ever see. If you like your films to stick to traditional narratives and standard plot devices you will probably hate 'Naked Lunch' (and any other David Cronenberg film you chance to come across). If, however, you are extremely open minded (as in, "I'm open to watching a movie where people have sex with typewriters that turn into giant insects") you may find yourself addicted to Cronenberg's surreal style of film making.'Naked Lunch' follows the story of a bug-exterminator-cum-secret-agent who...you know what, forget it...because the plot in 'Naked Lunch' isn't really what this movie is about. I'm not going to say that the movie is plot-less (it's not), but the story (an insane organic blend of sections from Burroughs's novel and episodes from his life) exists mainly as an alibi for Cronenberg's signature style of subconscious imagery; more specifically, for his metaphoric exploration of writing as an erotic addictive binge to "exterminate all rational thought." If that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, don't blame me. The fantastic thing about this movie is that it has a twisted logic that is entirely of its own making, and it sits with you. 'Naked Lunch' is a film that is difficult to deal with. It's a movie that I love, and I don't know if that's going to come across in this review. But, 'Naked Lunch' is nothing if not ambiguous, and that's what makes it great art.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Movies & TV > Art House & International > By Country > British Cinema > Drama
- Movies & TV > Art House & International > By Country > Canada
- Movies & TV > Art House & International > Canadian Cinema
- Movies & TV > Criterion Collection > All
- Movies & TV > Criterion Collection > Art House & International
- Movies & TV > Criterion Collection > Drama
- Movies & TV > Cult Movies > Drama
- Movies & TV > Drama
- Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > Crime
- Movies & TV > Science Fiction & Fantasy
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
