Tweet
Released by: Cult Epics
Released on: April 14, 2015
Director: John Aes-Nihil
Cast: David Woodard, John Aes-Nihil, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Leonardo DiCaprio
Year: 1996-2014
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
The dreamachine was the invention of artist Brion Gysin and computer technician Ian Sommerville, its purpose to create a hypnogogic state—the state between waking and sleeping—in those using it. The two men created the machine after reading a book about the brain by neurophysiologist and robotician William Grey Walter. The machine was designed to generate images of light and color—or, as the DVD case says, “hallucinations and induced visionsâ€â€”behind the closed eyelids of the person or persons exposed to it. In other words, by using it a person could enter a hallucinogenic state without the use of illicit or harmful drugs. Unfortunately, in a select few it could also result in epileptic seizures.
Sommerville, the machine's co-creator, was the homosexual lover of Beat author William S. Burroughs, a Harvard graduate who dabbled in various artistic fields but became famous after befriending poet Allen Ginsberg and novelist Jack Kerouac. A drug addict, Burroughs had shot and killed his wife while they were living in Mexico City, after which he turned to writing for catharsis; while his stories were a mix of stream of consciousness, pornographic and pedophilic imagery, and nonsensical narratives often fueled by drug-induced states, they nevertheless proved popular, and many of them remain in print today. His most famous novel, Naked Lunch, was a major influence on filmmaker David Cronenberg, who used it as the springboard for a bizarre melding of original story, thinly disguised incidents in the life of Burroughs, and the literary work after which the film is named.
More than anyone else, Burroughs was the man responsible for introducing the dreamachine to the world at large during the conservative 1980s, when Nancy Reagan's “Just Say No†campaign to educate children and young adults about the 'horrors' of drug use was in full force. Regardless, the brain-wave simulator never achieved any kind of widespread fame, despite being reintroduced a decade later by Dr. David Woodard.
With William Burroughs in the Dreamachine, filmmaker and cinematographer John Aes-Nihil documented the author's use of the machine at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California, in 1996, then again at the Nova Convention in Lawrence, Kansas, that same year. The former event was also attended by actor Leonardo DiCaprio and poet Ginsberg, and there's ample footage of Woodard discussing various methods of dreamachine usage and the origins of brain wave simulators. All of this sounds a lot more interesting than it actually is, though it does provide some insights into the way Burroughs' mind worked toward the end of his life. Aes-Nihil also recorded the last-ever interview with Burroughs before the author's death in 1997; in doing so, he provided the film with its most interesting aspect: Burroughs' discussion of a number of pertinent issues, particularly drugs and the government. The footage is not presented in linear fashion; much as Burroughs' work discombobulates his readers by jumping time and place, Aes-Nihil does something very similar with the editing on William Burroughs in the Dreamachine. The result is far from perfect, but it's an interesting enough diversion for Beat fans.
Video/Audio/Extras:
William Burroughs in the Dreamachine comes to DVD courtesy of Cult Epics in standard definition and full frame. The video quality varies but never rises above the level of amateurish; it should be noted that the film was shot on an extremely low budget utilizing a VHS video camera that would today be considered lower than low grade. Resolution is weak while colors are dull. (Some of the footage is presented in black and white.) None of this should turn off prospective viewers with an interest in Burroughs, however; the documentary's purpose is to inform, not to dazzle. It is not intended to be a showcase for fans' home-theater systems.
The soundtrack is provided in Dolby Digital 2.0. The narration is always clear, but the dialogue, particularly during Burroughs' final interview, is sometimes difficult to make out. The reasons for this have more to do with the limitations of the source video than with anything else.
Extras are sparse. There's a stills gallery that runs a little over six minutes and features over 50 images, most in black and white, a few in color. “Dr. David Woodward Dreamachine Installationâ€* covers the good doctor's installation of the title machine in the Freud Museum of Dreams, St. Petersberg, Russia in 2007 but, like the main feature, is dry. It runs 50 minutes in length and contains no chapter breaks, unlike the film itself, which contains 12.
The Final Word:
William Burroughs in the Dreamachine will not be to everyone's taste; actually, it won't be to most people's tastes. But for anyone interested in Burroughs, his career, and his state of mind later in life, the film is an important document, recording as it does some of the man's words, beliefs, and interests not long before his death. The video quality is fairly poor and the dialogue is sometimes difficult to follow, none of which will matter to true fans. There are far too few documentaries on the life of one of literature's most fascinating figures; thankfully, William Burroughs in the Dreamachine provides a much-needed service to the author's ardent fans (though everyone else is advised to stay away).
*The misspelling of Dr. Woodard's last name is part of the onscreen title.
