Naked Lunch (film): Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 1:

{{pp-protect|small=yes}}

{{Short description|1991 science fiction drama film directed by David Cronenberg}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}

{{Infobox film

Line 44 ⟶ 45:

}}

'''''Naked Lunch''''' is a 1991 [[surrealism|surrealist]] [[science fiction]] [[drama]] film written and directed by [[David Cronenberg]] and starring [[Peter Weller]], [[Judy Davis]], [[Ian Holm]], and [[Roy Scheider]]. It is an [[film adaptation|adaptation]] of [[William S. Burroughs]]'s 1959 novel ''[[Naked Lunch|novel of the same name]]'', and an [[international co-production]] of [[Cinema of Canada|Canada]], [[Cinema of the United Kingdom|Britain]], and [[Cinema of Japan|Japan]].

The film was released on 27 December 1991 in the United States by [[20th Century Fox]], and 24 April 1992 in the United Kingdom by [[First Independent Films]]. It received positive reviews from critics, but was a [[box-office bomb|box office flop]], garneringgrossing only $2.6 million out ofagainst a $17–18 million budget due to a limited release. It won numerous honours, including the [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director]] and seven [[13th Genie Awards|Genie Awards]], notably [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Motion Picture|Best Motion Picture]]. ''Naked Lunch'' has since become a [[cult film]], acclaimed for its surrealistic visual and thematic elements.

==Plot==

Line 67 ⟶ 68:

* [[Robert A. Silverman]] as Hans

* Joseph Scorsiani as Kiki

* [[Peter Boretski]] as the Creatures (voice)

* Yuval Daniel as Hafid

* John Friesen as Hauser

Line 77 ⟶ 78:

[[File:Burroughs1983 crop b.jpg|thumb|150px|The film is based on the works of [[William S. Burroughs]] and his biography.]]

Filmmakers, including [[Stanley Kubrick]] and [[Antony Balch]], using a script from [[Brion Gysin]], attempted to adapt [[William S. Burroughs]]'s ''[[Naked Lunch]]'' into a film, but were unsuccessful.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=161}} In 1981, Cronenberg was interviewed by ''[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]'' during the release of ''[[Scanners]]'' in the United States and stated that he was interested in making a film based on Burroughs's novel.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=157}} Producer [[Jeremy Thomas]] met Cronenberg at the 1984 [[Toronto International Film Festival|Toronto Festival of Festivals]] and discussed making a film adaption of the novel. Burroughs, Cronenberg, Thomas, [[James Grauerholz]], and [[Hercules Bellville]] met in Tangiers in 1985.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=159}} Grauerholz showed Cronenberg's films to Burroughs and Cronenberg stated that Burroughs felt he was the only one who could properly make the film.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=161}}

The screenplay for ''Naked Lunch'' is based not only on Burroughs's novel, but also on other fiction by him, and autobiographical accounts of his life.<ref name="Seymour">{{Cite web |url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-01-05/entertainment/-ca-2333_1_naked2333-lunchstory.html |title=MOVIES : Out to Lunch With the Guru of Gross-Out : David Cronenberg says the only way he could be faithful to William S. Burroughs' celebrated 'Naked Lunch' on film was to betray it |last=Seymour |first=Gene |date=5 January 1992 |access-date=9 April 2017 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |archive-date=10 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410051033/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-05/entertainment/ca-2333_1_naked-lunch |url-status=deadlive }}</ref> Cronenberg said it was necessary to "Throw the book away" as a direct adaptation would have been far too expensive and "would be banned in every country in the world."<ref name="Weinreich">{{cite magazine |date=January 17, 1992 |author1=Regina Weinreich |title=''Naked Lunch'': Behind the scenes |url=https://ew.com/article/1992/01/17/naked-lunch-behind-scenes/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |quote=His adaptation came in at about $16 million, under budget and a modest sum for a film with lots of special effects. }}</ref>

Burroughs was uninvolved with the writing of the film's script and granted his blessing to the first draft in December 1989. This version opened the film with a short story from Burroughs's ''[[Exterminator!]]''.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=163}}

The shooting of Joan Lee is based on the 1951 death of [[Joan Vollmer]], Burroughs's common-law wife.<ref name="Seymour"/> Burroughs shot and killed Vollmer in a drunken game of "William Tell" at a party in [[Mexico City]]. He would later flee to the United States. Burroughs was convicted ''[[Trial in absentia|in absentia]]'' of [[homicide]] and sentenced to two years, which were suspended. Burroughs stated in the introduction to his book ''[[Queer (novel)|Queer]]'' that Joan's death was the starting point of his literary career, saying: "I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would have never become a writer but for Joan's death".<ref>{{cite magazine |date=January 26, 2014 |last1=Schjeldahl |first1=Peter |title=The Outlaw: The extraordinary life of William S. Burroughs |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/02/03/the-outlaw-2 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=2 April 2022 }}</ref>

The film was initially backed by Japanese investors, but they withdrew and Thomas replaced them with financing from [[Telefilm Canada]] and the Ontario Film Development Corporation.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=166}}

[[Peter Weller]], who was working on ''[[RoboCop 2]]'', asked [[Mark Irwin]], who worked as the cinematographer on multiple Cronenberg films, what Cronenberg was working on. Irwin told Weller that he was adapting ''Naked Lunch''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Price |first=Michael |date=February 9, 1992 |title=Director once considered the William Burroughs novel unfilmable |page=I5 |work=[[Courier Journal]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal/153996029/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240825224654/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal/153996029/ |archive-date=August 25, 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Weller was a fan of the novel since he first read it at age 18 and had read it ten times before learning of Cronenberg's adaption. He stated that he pursued the lead role like "a [[Pac-Man]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Bob |date=January 18, 1992 |title=Naked Lunch part pursued 'like Pac Man' |page=C5 |work=[[Times Colonist]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-colonist/153995439/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240825223930/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-colonist/153995439/ |archive-date=August 25, 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

===Filming===

Cronenberg intended the film to be shot in Tangiers, but the [[Gulf War]] prevented him from filming in North Africa{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=xxii}} as they could not receive insurance.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=166}} Cronenberg massively rewrote the script a few days before filming due to being unable to shoot in Tangiers.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=168}} Cronenberg worked on the film while also starring in ''[[Nightbreed]]''.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=161}} The film was shot on a budget of around USDUS$17 million and shooting started on 21 January 1991 in Toronto.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=166}}

[[Chris Walas]] was hired to perform the special effects for the film. The film required fifty bug typewriters.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=166}}

Line 97 ⟶ 100:

==Release==

===Box office===

''Naked Lunch'' was released on 27 December 1991 in a [[limited release]] of 5 theaters, grossing $64,491 on its opening weekend. It went on to make $2,641,357 in North America.<ref name= "boxoffice">{{cite news | title = ''Naked Lunch'' | work =[[Box Office Mojo]] | url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=nakedlunch.htm | access-date = 16 July 2009 }}</ref> It was the second-highest grossing film in Canada for 1992, behind ''[[Léolo]]'', having earned $600,000.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Adilman |first=Sid |date=February 20, 1993 |title=Overseas sales boost Canadian films |page=J3 |work=[[Toronto Star]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star/153999537/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240825233946/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star/153999537/ |archive-date=August 25, 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

===Critical reception===

Line 104 ⟶ 107:

[[Roger Ebert]] gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "While I admired it in an abstract way, I felt repelled by the material on a visceral level. There is so much dryness, death and despair here, in a life spinning itself out with no joy".<ref name= "ebert">{{cite news | last = Ebert | first = Roger | title = ''Naked Lunch'' | work =[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | date = 10 January 1992 | url = https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/naked-lunch-1992 | access-date = 1 April 2022 }}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "for the most part this is a coolly riveting film and even a darkly entertaining one, at least for audiences with steel nerves, a predisposition toward Mr. Burroughs and a willingness to meet Mr. Cronenberg halfway", but did praise Weller's performance: "The gaunt, unsmiling Mr. Weller looks exactly right and brings a perfect offhandedness to his disarming dialogue".<ref name= "maslin">{{cite news | last = Maslin | first = Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin | title = Drifting in and Out of a Kafkaesque Reality | work =[[The New York Times]] | date = 27 December 1991 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/27/movies/review-film-drifting-in-and-out-of-a-kafkaesque-reality.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118011226/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/27/movies/review-film-drifting-in-and-out-of-a-kafkaesque-reality.html |archive-date=2010-11-18 | access-date = 1 April 2022 }}</ref> [[Richard Corliss]] of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' gave a mixed review, calling it "way too colorful - cute, in a repulsive way, with its crawly special effects - and tame compared with its source."<ref name="corliss">{{cite magazine | last = Corliss | first = Richard | title = Santa Leaves a Six-Pack | magazine =[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date = 30 December 1991 | url = http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,974559-4,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071122220859/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,974559-4,00.html | url-status = live | archive-date = 22 November 2007 | access-date = 1 April 2022 }}</ref> In his review for the ''[[Washington Post]]'', Desson Howe criticized what he felt to be a "lack of conviction".<ref name= "howe">{{cite news | last = Howe | first = Desson | title = ''Naked Lunch'' | newspaper =[[The Washington Post]]| date = 10 January 1992 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/nakedlunchrhowe_a0ae95.htm | access-date = 16 July 2009 }}</ref>

''[[Newsweek]]''{{'}}s [[David Ansen]] wrote, "Obviously this is not everybody's cup of weird tea: you must have a taste for the esthetics of disgust. For those up to the dare, it's one clammily compelling movie".<ref name= "ansen">{{cite news | last = Ansen | first = David | title = A Man with a Bug Problem | work =[[Newsweek]] | date = 13 January 1992 | url = http://www.newsweek.com/id/116917 | access-date = 16 July 2020 }}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the film a "B+" rating with [[Owen Gleiberman]] praising Weller's performance: "Peter Weller, the poker-faced star of ''[[RoboCop]]'', greets all of the hallucinogenic weirdness with a doleful, matter-of-fact deadpan that grows more likable as the movie goes on. The actor's steely robostare has never been more compelling. By the end, he has turned Burroughs's stone-cold protagonist – a man with no feelings – into a mordantly touching hero".<ref name= "gleiberman">{{cite magazine | last = Gleiberman | first = Owen |author-link=Owen Gleiberman | title = ''Naked Lunch'' | magazine =[[Entertainment Weekly]]| date = 17 January 1992 | url = https://ew.com/article/1992/01/17/naked-lunch-2/ | access-date = 1 April 2022 }}</ref>

In his review for ''[[The Village Voice]]'', [[J. Hoberman]] wrote, "Cronenberg has done a remarkable thing. He hasn't just created a mainstream Burroughs on something approximating Burroughs's terms, he's made a portrait of an American writer".<ref name= "hoberman">{{cite news | last = Hoberman | first = J | title = The ''Naked'' Truth | work =[[The Village Voice]]| date = 4 March 2008 | url = http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-03-04/film/the-naked-truth/ | access-date = 16 July 2009 }}</ref> [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]] in his review for the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'' wrote, "David Cronenberg's highly transgressive and subjective film adaptation of ''Naked Lunch'' ... may well be ''the'' most troubling and ravishing head movie since ''[[Eraserhead]]''. It is also fundamentally a film about writing – even ''the'' film about writing".<ref name= "rosenbaum">{{cite news | last = Rosenbaum | first = Jonathan | title = Sex and Drugs and Death and Writing | work =[[Chicago Reader]] | date = 17 January 1992 | url = http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/?p=7266 | access-date = 25 November 2009 }}</ref>

Burroughs scholar Timothy S. Murphy found the film to be a muddled adaptation that reflects Cronenberg's mind more than the novel: he feels that Burroughs's subversive, allegorically political depiction of drugs and [[homosexuality]] becomes merely aesthetic. Murphy argues that Burroughs's social and politically situated literary techniques become in the film merely the hallucination of a junkie, and that by using the life of Burroughs himself as a [[Frame story|framing narrative]], Cronenberg turns a fragmented, unromantic, bitterly critical and satirical novel into a conventional [[bildungsroman]].<ref name= "murphy">{{cite news | last = Murphy | first = Timothy S | title = Wising Up the Marks | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1997 }}</ref>

The film has been''Naked selectedLunch'' forreceived a [[The Criterion Collection|Criterion Collection]] DVD release, anin organization2003, thatthe releasesfirst highfilm qualityby [[Blu-ray]]s and [[DVD]]s for important classicCronenberg andto contemporarydo filmsso.{{Citation neededsfn|reason=[[WP:V]]Mathijs|date2008|p=April 2022174}}

===Accolades===

Line 182 ⟶ 185:

| ''Naked Lunch''

| {{draw|2nd Place}}

| rowspan="5" | <ref>{{Cite web|url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-01-06/entertainment/-ca-1199_1_honors1199-from-film-criticsstory.html |title='Sweet' Takes Honors From Film Critics |last=Fox |first=David J. |date=6 January 1992 |access-date=9 April 2017 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

|-

| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director|Best Director]]

Line 224 ⟶ 227:

==Works cited==

* {{cite book|last=Mathijs |first=Ernest |author-link=Ernest Mathijs |title=The Cinema of David Cronenberg: From Baron of Blood to Cultural Hero |publisher=[[Columbia University Press|Wallflower Press]] |date=2008 |url=https://archive.org/details/cinemaofdavidcro0000math |isbn=9781905674657}}

* {{cite book|editor-last=Rodley |editor-first=Chris |title=Cronenberg on Cronenberg |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |date=1997 |url=https://archive.org/details/cronenbergoncron0000cron |isbn=0571191371}}

Line 241 ⟶ 245:

[[Category:1991 films]]

[[Category:1990s science fiction drama films]]

[[Category:1991 LGBTLGBTQ-related films]]

[[Category:British avant-garde and experimental films]]

[[Category:British science fiction drama films]]

[[Category:British LGBTLGBTQ-related films]]

[[Category:Canadian avant-garde and experimental films]]

[[Category:Canadian science fiction drama films]]

[[Category:Bisexuality-related films]]

[[Category:Canadian LGBTLGBTQ-related films]]

[[Category:English-language Canadian films]]

[[Category:English-language Japanese films]]

Line 263 ⟶ 267:

[[Category:Films shot in Toronto]]

[[Category:Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners]]

[[Category:LGBTLGBTQ-related science fiction drama films]]

[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]

[[Category:Films scored by Howard Shore]]

Line 269 ⟶ 273:

[[Category:Films based on American novels]]

[[Category:1990s avant-garde and experimental films]]

[[Category:UxoricideFilms inabout fictionuxoricide]]

[[Category:1990s Canadian films]]

[[Category:1990s British films]]

[[Category:1991 science fiction films]]

[[Category:English-language science fiction drama films]]