Of all the novels dubbed “unfilmable” over the years, it’s easy to understand why William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch was immediately given that title whenever a filmmaker expressed interest in adapting it. Burroughs’ free-flowing prose is seated in a world fully realized and nearly incomprehensible, and its depiction of power imbalances under capitalism sure hit harder given today’s reality. To look back on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s banning of the book is to find irony in the Democratic capital of the United States trying to stymie expression. Anyway, the point is that Burroughs’ book is the kind of art that changes how you engage with art, and Cronenberg nearly achieves the same with his adaptation.
Burroughs is famous for being cantankerous about adaptations of his work, and he’s more than a bit justified in that exact feeling, though the man’s violent attitude certainly takes an artist of a certain demeanor to parse through all the terse wordplay. In comes Cronenberg, a calm and metronomic presence that seems at odds with Burroughs at first, but what’s always been there is a man that deeply understands our relationship with drugs, power, and money as in how they dictate our reality. Thus, we must revolt, in whatever way we can.
Naked Lunch follows drug addict and exterminator William Lee (Peter Weller), a man who accidentally shoots and kills his wife, but that was after he hallucinated that a giant talking beetle was trying to conscript him to kill his wife for a mysterious corporation called Interzone Incorporated. Lee flees to Interzone, a constantly morphing city located somewhere in North Africa, and becomes involved in a mysterious plot orchestrated by Dr. Benway (Roy Scheider). Naturally, Bill has many drug episodes along the way, including one where his typewriter/beetle creature brutally murders another typewriter in gruesome, weird, and bloody detail.
The film is anything but a straight adaptation of Burroughs’ source, eliding a loose autobiography of Burroughs’ life and specific passages from the book to create something incomprehensible but thematically full. Something that, I think, accurately captures Burroughs’ writing while being something completely of Cronenberg’s making. The horror maestro’s proclivity for stories about addiction and how that morphs both the person and the reality around them is on full display here, and the breathless production design and creature effects make for a fully realized vision.
To write about Naked Lunch is to fail to summarize its strengths neatly, but believe me when I say that it still stands as one of Cronenberg’s most formally and narratively audacious works. And better yet, it still delivers on that confounding, transfixing feeling you get when reading Burroughs’ work.
Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
NOTE - We haven't been able to rip the 4K disc yet, when we can for this release or when we review the Turbine disc, we'll update with new pics and if possible a video sample.
It truly doesn’t matter if you’re tripping from bug dust or not when watching this HEVC-encoded 2160p presentation framed at 1.85:1, as you’ll be treated to an absolutely stunning transfer through and through. This presentation is sourced from a 4K restoration of the original camera negative undertaken by both Turbine Media and Arrow Films. Scanning was done in Toronto, then conforming and color grading was done in Germany by Turbine, and then the final transfer was approved by Cronenberg. The result is a beautiful and filmic image that pulls an incredible amount of detail out of the source.
The film grain is light but natural here, which is perfectly reflective of the stock used during the 1990s. Flesh tones sing here, and that breathless production design has all kinds of textures that you couldn’t quite appreciate in previous 1080p presentations. As for black levels, it’s my great pleasure to report that they are deep and strong. Much of the film was shot on elaborate sets, and Cronenberg’s mastery of lighting extends to his shadow play, all of which looks terrific here.
Now, for all of those creature effects, they’ve all served the test of time and only gain impact when exposed to 2160p. The practical craft is enhanced by the Dolby Vision HDR layer, plus the warm and cool color tones used throughout look better altogether when compared to previous releases. While this may not be the kind of night-and-day upgrade that people seem to clamor for with 4K, I found it to be the absolute best rendering I’ve seen of the film yet.
4K UHD Sourced Images
Arrow provides both the original 2.0 stereo and archival 5.1 sound mixes, with the latter encoded as an LPCM track and the former a DTS-HD MA rendering. Both tracks are remarkably clean and prioritize most of the film’s soundscape to the front channels, although the 5.1 mix adds a lot of ambient environmental sounds and other surround effects that add nicely to the experience. That being said, I know the 5.1 mix is included as an archival extra, as it’s not an accurate rendering of how the film sounded in theaters. I give the edge to the 2.0 stereo track for offering the best balance of Howard Shore’s jazzy score and the film's dialogue.
Arrow has packed this limited edition with supplements, so I’d recommend spiking your coffee with mugwump jizzum before diving in. For one thing, the talent interviews are exhaustive, including an interview with Peter Weller that runs over an hour. The actor is a huge talker, though that can be attributed to his inspiration found in filmmaking, and he had a very close relationship with William S. Burroughs while researching the role. On top of that, he’s very clear and coy about his relationship with drugs and how that too influenced his eagerness to work on the project. It’s a terrific interview to watch and easy to enjoy, as Weller is a vibrant spirit filled with historical anecdotes and a deep admiration for Cronenberg.
Another huge highlight in this set is the interview with Howard Shore that was filmed by Turbine in 2022. Shore frequently collaborates with Cronenberg, and it’s a rare treat to hear how the duo starts working near the beginning of pre-production rather than shortly before shooting or in post-production. Shore is a fan of Burroughs and talks excitedly about having to compose jazz for the film.
Naked Lunch stands as a hugely daring work from master filmmaker David Cronenberg, and it’s a treat to have it exposed to the wonders of 4K Ultra HD and Dolby Vision courtesy of Arrow and Turbine. This limited-edition release comes packed with hours upon hours of supplements, plus physical goodies and essential writing on this crazy film. Call an exterminator if you must because of the bug infestation, but this is a Must-Own release!
