William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and literature. Burroughs wrote eighteen novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays, and five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences; he was initially briefly known by the pen name William Lee. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, made many appearances in films, and created and exhibited thousands of visual artworks, including his celebrated "Shotgun Art".
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| Known For | Writing |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 0.7371 |
| Birthday | 1914-02-05 |
| Place of Birth | St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Also Known As |
1966
Chappaqua
6.3/11
Semi-autobiographical story of Conrad Rooks, who travels to France to undergo a drug-withdrawal cure. Flashbacks to the beginings of psychedelia in Sa...
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Chappaqua
2009
FLicKeR
6.8/4
In 1960, Brion Gysin invented the Dream Machine, a hypnotic light device with the power to induce hallucinations, drugless highs, and revolutionize hu...
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FLicKeR
2010
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
6.5/31
A riveting and emotional journey into the world of writer William S. Burroughs, a man considered as cold as an iceberg on a winter night.
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William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
2018
Take Your Pills
6.532/142
In a hypercompetitive world, drugs like Adderall offer students, athletes, coders and others a way to do more -- faster and better. But at what cost?
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Take Your Pills
1994
Relics: Einstein's Brain
6.722/9
Documentary about Kenji Sugimoto, professor in Math and Science history at Kinki university in Japan. He has spent the last 30 years publishing works...
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Relics: Einstein's Brain
1989
Bloodhounds of Broadway
5.6/24
This musical is based on four short stories by Damon Runyon. In one tale, gambler Feet Samuels sells his body to science just as he realizes that Hort...
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Bloodhounds of Broadway
1991
Wax, or The Discovery of Television Among the Bees
6.5/18
Computer programmer/beekeeper Jacob gets a "television" implanted in his brain by a race of telekinetic bees, which causes him to experience severe ha...
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Wax, or The Discovery of Television Among the Bees
1999
Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles
1/3
One of the most enigmatic artists of the 20th century, writer, composer and wanderer Paul Bowles (1910-1999) is profiled by a filmmaker who has been o...
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Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles
1984
The Final Academy Documents
8/1
Documentation of the showcase titled 'The Final Academy', filmed on October 4, 1982 in The Haçienda, Manchester. Video 1 features the movies "Towers O...
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The Final Academy Documents
1984
Decoder
6.1/41
F.M. discovers that different sonic frequencies induce different patterns of behaviour in listeners, first in his own studio but later in the local "H...
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Decoder
1994
September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill
0/0
Filmmaker Larry Weinstein stages a wide range of performances in tribute to the compositions of Kurt Weill.
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September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill
1989
Twister
5.5/38
An oddball family on a Kansas farm are trapped in their farmhouse by an impending storm. The patriarch of the clan is a retired soda pop tycoon. He is...
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Twister
2008
Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press
4.4/5
A look at the life and work of American publisher Barney Rosset, who struggled to bring controversial works like "Tropic of Cancer" and "Naked Lunch"...
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Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press
1963
William Buys a Parrot
6.1/11
A bizarre silent short film showing author William S. Burroughs negotiating to buy a parrot.
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William Buys a Parrot
1993
The Junky's Christmas
6.7/19
Burroughs takes down a book and reads us the story of Danny the Carwiper, who spends Christmas Day trying to score a fix, but finds the Christmas spir...
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The Junky's Christmas
1986
Ornette: Made in America
6.3/11
Shirley Clarke's frenetic documentary about multi-talented musician Ornette Coleman.
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Ornette: Made in America
1994
Glitterbug
5.9/13
A collage of Derek Jarman's super 8 footage spanning over 20 years.
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Glitterbug
2000
Condo Painting
0/0
John McNaughton's spotlight on George Condo and his art. The film, which follows the progress of Condo's large-scale oil painting Big Red over the cou...
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Condo Painting
1972
Bill and Tony
5.9/6
Experimental film by William S. Burroughs and Antony Balch
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Bill and Tony
1963
Towers Open Fire
6.7/11
Antony Balch tackles key themes and ideas from the writing of William S. Burroughs in a unique, cinematic style.
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Towers Open Fire
1966
The Cut-Ups
6.8/11
Essentially a dizzying montage of quirky shots of legendary Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs and noted surrealist artist Brion Gysin, this...
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The Cut-Ups
1982
Ghost at No. 9
8/1
Experimental artistic film which uses the milieu of experimental art with a background of various kinds of sounds and music. (worldcat.org) Posthumous...
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Ghost at No. 9
1986
Home of the Brave: A Film by Laurie Anderson
8.2/10
A concert film directed by and featuring the music of Laurie Anderson, filmed at the Park Theater in Union City, New Jersey, during the summer of 1985...
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Home of the Brave: A Film by Laurie Anderson
1999
The Source
5.2/13
Traces the Beats from Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's meeting in 1944 at Columbia University to the deaths of Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs in 1...
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The Source
1991
William S. Burroughs: Commissioner of Sewers
6.8/5
An hour-long interview with author William S. Burroughs in which he expounds on American culture, art and morals.
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William S. Burroughs: Commissioner of Sewers
1991
Thanksgiving Prayer
6/13
An indictment ballad of all the different political groups in America.
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Thanksgiving Prayer
1998
Destroy All Rational Thought
6.3/3
The great Beat Generation experiments took place in Tangier, the Moroccan city where William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, and the Moroccan painter Hamri ta...
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Destroy All Rational Thought
2013
Coda I
0/0
Peter Gidal’s starting point for his 16mm film was a soundtrack that consists of three lines from a 1,000 word story written by Gidal in 1971, read by...
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Coda I
2013
Coda I + Coda II
0/0
Peter Gidal’s starting point for his 16mm film was a soundtrack that consists of three lines from a 1,000 word story written by Gidal in 1971, read by...
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Coda I + Coda II
1992
Naked Making Lunch
7.1/8
A 1992 documentary about the making of Naked Lunch.
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Naked Making Lunch
1981
Shamans of the Blind Country
7/1
A documentary epic on magical healing in the Himalayas.
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Shamans of the Blind Country
1979
Fried Shoes Cooked Diamonds
6.5/2
After World War II a group of young writers, outsiders and friends who were disillusioned by the pursuit of the American dream met in New York City. A...
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Fried Shoes Cooked Diamonds
2012
For No Good Reason
6.8/25
For No Good Reason a film about Ralph Steadman. Johnny Depp guides the visually stunning journey, smashing narrative conventions, moving seamlessly fr...
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For No Good Reason
2006
Wanderlust
5/5
A look at the mystique of road movies, combining interviews, film clips, music, photography, literature and a narrative storyline featuring Paul Rudd...
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Wanderlust
2011
Fix: The Ministry Movie
7.333/3
Provides an insider's view of the groundbreaking, outrageous, creative juggernaut that was the band Ministry - during their world tour - as front man...
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Fix: The Ministry Movie
1994
Ah Pook Is Here.
5.9/8
A disturbingly organic-looking figure speaks to us of life, politics and death as the symbol of the common man toils away. Written and narrated by Wil...
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Ah Pook Is Here.
2012
The Beat Hotel
4.5/4
The Beat Hotel, a new film by Alan Govenar, goes deep into the legacy of the American Beats in Paris during the heady years between 1957 and 1963, whe...
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The Beat Hotel
2022
Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious
0/0
We look back at more than half a century of mysterious artistic creation while trying to crack a unique artistic code. Why are people moved to tears w...
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Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious
1976
Underground and Emigrants
0/0
In this film, outspokenly homosexual filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim has documented his encounters with friends in the New York "underground" arts moveme...
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Underground and Emigrants
2006
Pantelia
0/0
An abstract exploration of the number 10.
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Pantelia
1984
Burroughs: The Movie
7/26
An exploration of Burroughs’ life story, as told by Burroughs himself along with many of his contemporaries, including Allen Ginsberg, Brion Gysin, Fr...
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Burroughs: The Movie
1981
Chelsea Hotel
8/1
This TV documentary shows some of the colourful residents of and people connected with the New York Chelsea Hotel. Some highlights include Andy Warhol...
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Chelsea Hotel
1983
Pirate Tape
6.9/7
Derek Jarman's film portrait of American writer William S. Burroughs was shot in September 1982 during his first visit to England to attend the legend...
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Pirate Tape
1981
Energy and How to Get It
5.8/5
Filmed in Wendover, Nevada, in early 1981, Energy and How to Get It combines documentary and fictional ideas. What began as a documentary film about R...
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Energy and How to Get It
1976
Une semaine dans la vie de camarades
0/0
A road movie whose journey intersects with and extends the events of the International Counter-Culture Meeting that took place in 1975 in Montreal. Th...
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Une semaine dans la vie de camarades
1968
Witchcraft Through the Ages
7.2/8
A seventy-six-minute version of Häxan, re-edited and re-released in the United States by Metro Pictures Corporation in 1968. It is narrated by author...
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Witchcraft Through the Ages
1989
Drugstore Cowboy
7.081/605
Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, w...
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Drugstore Cowboy
1978
Thot-Fal'N
5.4/5
This film describes a psychological state "kin to moonstruck, its images emblems (not quite symbols) of suspension-of-self within consciousness and th...
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Thot-Fal'N
2007
Words of Advice: William S. Burroughs On the Road
0/0
A portrait of the American Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) based on never-before-seen footage from his visit to Denmark in Oct...
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Words of Advice: William S. Burroughs On the Road
2015
William S. Burroughs: The Possessed
0/0
Thelema Now! host Frater Puck discusses William S. Burroughs, possession, synchronicities and chaos magick
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William S. Burroughs: The Possessed
1969
Cain's Film
0/0
A film about Alexander Trocchi. Scottish born poet, writer, translator and author of "Young Adam" and "Cain's Book". Part of the film was made at the...
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Cain's Film
2009
Nova Express
2/1
An exhaustive examination of cut-ups, the control machine, and the algebra of need figure in this epic found-footage adaptation of Burroughs’s 1964 no...
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Nova Express
2015
Don't Blink - Robert Frank
7/14
The life and work of Robert Frank—as a photographer and a filmmaker—are so intertwined that they're one in the same, and the vast amount of territory...
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Don't Blink - Robert Frank
2003
The Battle for 'I Am Curious-Yellow'
0/0
A documentary about the film, I am Curious-Yellow (1967), and how it made it into the USA and changed film in USA forever by breaking the USA Obscenit...
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The Battle for 'I Am Curious-Yellow'
1982
Poetry in Motion
7/1
More than 20 contemporary North American poets recite, sing, and perform their work. Early in the film, Charles Bukowski talks about the energy of poe...
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Poetry in Motion
1983
This Song for Jack
6/1
In 1982, Robert Frank was on hand at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, to film the Jack Kerouac Conference, a 25th-anniversary commemoration...
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This Song for Jack
1989
Heavy Petting
5.2/9
Celebrities and creatives -- including musician David Byrne, performance artist Spalding Gray, comedian Sandra Bernhard, radical activist Abbie Hoffma...
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Heavy Petting
1967
Poem Posters
0/0
... with real-life portraits of Jayne Mansfield, Frak O'Hara, Ruth Ford, Ned Rorem, Virgil Thomson, Claes Oldenburg, Roy Lichtenstein, William Burroug...
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Poem Posters
1985
It Don't Pay to Be an Honest Citizen
7.5/2
An ironic New York City thriller involving a mafioso and a restless, witty lawyer.
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It Don't Pay to Be an Honest Citizen
1999
The Making of Drugstore Cowboy
0/0
Portland, 1988. Filmmaker Gus Van Sant shoots Drugstore Cowboy, the project that will bring he and his collaborators a formidable burst of mainstream...
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The Making of Drugstore Cowboy
2015
Robert E. Fulton III Edit of Burroughs: The Movie
0/0
After two years of filming, director Howard Brookner brought inventor and photographer Robert E. Fulton III a trunkful of William S. Burroughs footage...
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Robert E. Fulton III Edit of Burroughs: The Movie
1989
Gang of Souls: A Generation of Beat Poets
5/1
Maria Beatty's documentary exploring the insights and influences of the American Beat Poets. The film conveys their consciousness and sensibility thro...
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Gang of Souls: A Generation of Beat Poets
1994
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
4.354/137
A girl born with enormous thumbs in the repressive era of the 1950s learns to turn her quirks into assets.
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Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
2017
Uncle Howard
6.5/11
When Howard Brookner lost his life to AIDS in 1989, the 35-year-old director had completed two feature documentaries and was in post-production on his...
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Uncle Howard
2012
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye
6.8/18
An intimate, affecting portrait of the life and work of ground-breaking performance artist and music pioneer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (Throbbing Grist...
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The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye
1998
The Book of Life
6.3/40
New Year's Eve takes on new meaning when the Devil, Jesus Christ, and Christ's assistant Magdalena discuss and debate the End of the World.
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The Book of Life
1968
Chicago
0/0
UCLA Student Film, Preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. A striking documentary shot cinema verite style of the 1968 Democratic National...
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Chicago
2015
William S. Burroughs in the Dreamachine
0/0
Jon Aes-Nihil's experimental documentary about iconic Beat author William S. Burroughs' experiences using a stroboscopic device, known as the dream ma...
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William S. Burroughs in the Dreamachine
2013
Coda II
0/0
Gidal describes the film’s ‘so-called imagery’ as ‘a complex of barely visible cuts in space and time, the opposite of erasure, but nothing so much as...
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Coda II
2025
Nova '78
0/0
Resurrected through UK-led archival restoration NOVA 78' shows never-before-seen footage of the legendary Nova Convention where William Burroughs, Pat...
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Nova '78
2026
This Is Buzz
0/0
A mind-blowing music documentary about the first immersive TV show on MTV when MTV was cool.
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This Is Buzz
2009
Joy Division
7.627/55
A chronological account of the influential late 1970s English rock band.
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