directed by David Cronenberg
Canada 1991

“Exterminate all rational thought.” Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs’ hallucinatory, “unfilmable” novel is finally realized on-screen by director David Cronenberg. Part-time exterminator and full-time drug addict Bill Lee (Peter Weller) plunges into the nightmarish netherworld of the Interzone, pursuing a mysterious project that leads him to confront sinister cabals and giant talking bugs. The fruit of an unholy union between two masters of the hilarious and the macabre, Naked Lunch mingles aspects of Burroughs’ novel with incidents from his own life, resulting in a compendium of paranoid fantasies and a searching investigation into the mysteries of the writing process.

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Theatrical Release: December 27th, 1991 - USA (limited)

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DVD Review: Criterion -  Region 0 - NTSC

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Distribution Criterion Collection Spine # 220  Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime 1:55:24 
Video 1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio  16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 7.56 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
Bitrate:

 
Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) 
Subtitles English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Criterion / Home Vision

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 1.78:1



DVD Release Date: November 11th, 2003
Double Keep Case
Chapters: 23

Edition Details:

  • New high-definition digital transfer, approved by director David Cronenberg and enhanced for widescreen televisions 

  • Audio commentary by Cronenberg and actor Peter Weller 

  • Naked Making Lunch, a London Weekend Television documentary about the making of the film, directed by Chris Rodley 

  • Illustrated essay about the special effects in Naked Lunch by the editor of Cinefex magazine, Jody Duncan, featuring artifacts from Cronenberg's archive 

  • Film stills gallery 

  • A collection of original marketing materials 

  • William S. Burroughs' audio recording of excerpts from Naked Lunch 

  • A collection of archival stills of William S. Burroughs from the Allen Ginsberg Trust 

  • 32-page booklet featuring essays by film critic Janet Maslin, Chris Rodley, Gary Indiana, and a piece by William S. Burroughs 
Comments:

Fans of this film are really in for a treat. This is one of the best transfer I have seen from Criterion. Granted the film is not very old and the elements must have been in very good condition but regardless the image quality is absolute perfection...beautiful film-like contrast, pinpoint sharpness and shadow detail, true colors... and for the true fans - the Extras are extensive (a whole second disc on top of the commentary on the 1st disc) PLUS a 32 page essay booklet in the liner notes. What more could any film/DVD fan want from their purchase? out of         Gary W. Tooze




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