cinema.indiana.edu
23
The Burroughs Century 23
Twister
(1989)
Directed by Michael Almereyda
Saturday - February 8 - 6:30 p.m.
Michael Almereyda's first feature film presents an eccen-
tric Kansas tycoon and the ruins of his eccentric and high-
ly dysfunctional family. Maureen Cleveland, now single,
lives with her precocious daughter and her very strange
brother, Howdy (Crispin Glover). They wind up trapped in
the family mansion as a particularly bad Kansas twister is
heading their way. To complicate matters, their estranged
father, Eugene (Harry Dean Stanton), joins them with his
prudish new girlfriend, a children's TV evangelist, and an-
nounces their engagement. Twister is a medley of bizarre
conversations and oddball characters, including William
S. Burroughs, who plays a neighbor who enjoys shooting
targets in his empty barn. (35mm. 93 min. Rated PG-13.)
Naked Lunch
(1991)
Directed by David Cronenberg
Sunday - February 9 - 6:30 p.m.
Peter Weller stars as exterminator Bill Lee,
who finds himself following his wife into
an addiction to the bug powder he uses
for his trade. After accidentally killing her,
he descends into a hallucinatory existence
in which he imagines himself a secret
agent answering to a series of bizarre
creatures. He channels his energies into
writing "reports" on his delusional mission,
while trying to break his addiction. The
story reflects events in the life of William
Burroughs as he developed the infamous
novel. (35mm. 115 min. Rated R.)
Häxan: Witchcraft Through
the Ages
(1922)
Directed by Benjamin Christensen
Saturday - February 8 - 9:30 p.m.
Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a
satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen's legendary
film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore
the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the
Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-
the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself
is far from serious--instead it's a witches' brew of
the scary, gross, and darkly humorous. Producer
Antony Balch commissioned William S. Burroughs
to provide narration of this 1968 version, with a
soundtrack featuring Jean-Luc Ponty. (35mm. 76
min. Not Rated.)
cinema.indiana.edu