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| Peter
Weller, Judy Davis, Roy Scheider, Ian Holm, Julian Sands |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Hank (Nicholas Campbell): See, you
can't rewrite, 'cause to rewrite is to deceive and lie, and you
betray
your own
thoughts.
To rethink the flow and the rhythm, the tumbling out of the words,
is a betrayal, and it's a sin, Martin, it's a sin.
A fictionalized adaptation of William
S. Burroughs' life and work.
 Only
very rarely has
the fusion of two distinct creative minds ever been presented
on film as convincingly and as cohesively as that of author William
S. Burroughs and director David Cronenberg in the adaptation of Naked
Lunch. With the controversial, notoriously unfilmable book
itself providing a brilliantly written series of bizarre, grotesque,
comedic and/or semi-pornographic episodes, Cronenberg made the
excellent choice of welding a selection of moments, characters
and stories from the book onto a main narrative based for a large
part on Burroughs' own life story.
A notoriously cerebral director whose work isn't exactly famous
for establishing an emotional connection with the viewer, Naked
Lunch as a film is also beset by this problem of distancing.
Peter Weller plays Burroughs stand-in Bill Lee with admirable skill,
and all the other actors step up to the plate with equal dedication
and conviction. The subject matter and directing style however
conspire to keep viewers at arm's length throughout, in awe perhaps
of the
consummate skill, talent and integrity with which this production
has been accomplished, but hardly involved emotionally, and only
occasionally fully drawn in to the bizarre world presented on-screen. |
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Available as a double-disc set
without region coding from The Criterion Collection.
The anamorphic widescreen
image is framed at an aspect ratio of approx. 1.85:1. The
Criterion Collection continues to uphold the highest standard
of DVD transfers, delivering yet another top-notch visual
experience that ranks among the finest-looking yet released.
The print is in absolutely pristine condition, and the film's
orange-brown color palette is presented in rich, full images
that foreground the detailed, beautifully toned visuals
of the film.
The sound mix is presented in Dolby Surround, but is easily
good enough to fool the casual listener into believing he's
listening to a 5.1 mix. There is a generous amount of bass,
with a wide front soundstage and the rear channel put to
excellent use for ambient sound and occasional effects.
Another richly loaded two-disc
Special Edition from the Criterion Collection, Naked
Lunch boasts a wide, well-produced collection of extras
that deepen one's appreciation for the film and open up new
avenues of exploration for it. The best place to start exploring
is the audio commentary track from director
David Cronenberg and actor Peter Weller. Recorded separately
and then edited together, both speakers are clearly authorities
on Burroughs' work, and delve into the film's backgrounds
with quietly controlled passion and acuity. Cronenberg has
previously demonstrated his ability as a riveting speaker
in commentary tracks, but Weller is just as good, and the
pair make a great mix with their different points of view
and complementary insights.
Moving on to disc two, the 50-minute documentary 'Naked
Making Lunch', originally produced for British TV, dishes
up an authoritative, highly informative inside look at the
production of the film, with input from all the major contributors
including Cronenberg, the film's producers and Burroughs
himself. The other extras are divided into nicely presented
sections that examine specific aspects of the film's production
and marketing. This includes a generous selection of stills divided
into three separate galleries, and a highly worthwhile case
study on the film's unusual marketing by
20th Century Fox. This section includes the awesome theatrical
trailer, a solid promotional featurette,
some insightful B-roll footage and two TV
spots. The film's visual effects are analyzed separately
in an outstanding illustrated essay consisting
of text screens divided up into numerous chapters, illustrated
by a vast number of sketches and designs from the preliminary
artwork down to the final design.
For those unfamiliar with the film's source novel (or fans
wishing to take another dip into Burroughs' inimitable prose),
the disc features an audio recording of the author reading
aloud nine major passages from his book. Fascinating to listen
to, if only for Burroughs' famously hypnotic speaking voice.
Some final intimate historical background is offered by an
extraordinary collection of photographs taken
(and annotated) by poet Allen Ginsberg of Burroughs and himself
in New York and Algiers during the period in which the film
is set. An incredible selection of extras altogether, well
chosen and expertly presented. The
cleverly animated menu screens include well-chosen cockroaches
crawling around, with ambient sound and insect noises playing in
the background.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
January 26, 2004
Click
here for IMDB info on Naked
Lunch.
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