Naked Lunch (2003)

Director David Cronenberg (The Fly) deserves a heap of credit for even attempting to lens William S. Burroughs' 1959 novel. Ostensibly an examination of addiction and the creative process, Lunch is a profane, mind-bending, Homer -- by -- way -- of -- de Sade epic. The author's cooperation went a long way toward making Cronenberg's streamlined retelling more linear, if not always lucid. Their shared affinity for droll horror is wrought in a burnished noir, its eye-popping colors suggesting a graphic novel come to life. EXTRAS For those who lack the patience to sit through Cronenberg and Weller's exhaustive commentary, the featurette ''Naked Making Lunch'' is a sort of CliffsNotes for the gnarly narrative.