Naked Lunch (film)

Naked Lunch
A person wearing a hat and a suit, their face entirely obscure by a typerwriter
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Cronenberg
Written byDavid Cronenberg
Based onNaked Lunch
by William S. Burroughs
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPeter Suschitzky
Edited byRonald Sanders
Music by
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 27 December 1991 (1991-12-27) (United States)
  • 24 April 1992 (1992-04-24) (United Kingdom)
Running time
115 minutes[2]
Countries
  • Canada
  • United Kingdom
  • Japan[4]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$16–18 million[5][6][7]
Box office$2.6 million[8]

Naked Lunch is a 1991 surrealist science fiction drama film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, and Roy Scheider. It is an adaptation of William S. Burroughs's 1959 novel Naked Lunch, and an international co-production of Canada, Britain, and Japan.

The film was released on 27 December 1991 in the United States by 20th Century Fox, and 24 April 1992 in the United Kingdom by First Independent Films. It received positive reviews from critics, but was a box office flop, grossing only $2.6 million against a $17–18 million budget due to a limited release. It won numerous honours, including the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director and seven Genie Awards, notably Best Motion Picture. Naked Lunch has since become a cult film, acclaimed for its surrealistic visual and thematic elements.

  1. ^ "Naked Lunch". Library and Archives Canada. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b "NAKED LUNCH (18)". First Independent Films. British Board of Film Classification. 27 January 1992. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Naked Lunch (1991)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  4. ^ Boyd, Susan C. (2009). Hooked: Drug War Films in Britain, Canada, and the U.S. University of Toronto Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-1442610170.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Weinreich was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Naked Lunch – Special Edition Double Disc DVD, Disc Two: The Supplements, "Naked Making Lunch" (1991), interview with David Cronenberg, 2003, ISBN 1-55940-947-9
  7. ^ Melnyk, George (2007). Great Canadian Film Directors. University of Alberta. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-88864-479-4.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference boxoffice was invoked but never defined (see the help page).