A rarely seen made for French television documentary, part of France 3's acclaimed Un siècle d'écrivains series (1995-2001, 257 episodes on writers) on the life of William S. Burroughs (1914-1997): junkie, outlaw, leading figure of the Beat Generation, author of The Soft Machine and Naked Lunch, shotgun to paint can artist, reading performer, inspiration to and collaborator with rock stars. The usual biographic markers are elevated by an insightful interpretation of his life strategy, but what really distinguishes this doc is the reading of many passages from his experimental novels, set to hallucinatory montage. Directed by Jean-François Vallée.

NR, 49 min., 2000. Closed captions (CC) in English.