Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow (2005)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Michael W. Dean
Kenneth Shiffrin

Writer:

Michael W. Dean (narration)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Tagline:

Sometimes to really live... you have to die a few times.

Plot:

An exploration into the life and art of the renowned author of "Last Exit To Brooklyn" and "Requiem For A Dream." Hubert Selby Jr....

Plot Keywords:

Selby | Tuberculosis | Author | Novelist | Requiem For A Dream

Cast

Darren Aronofsky	...	Himself
Alexis Arquette	...	Himself
Amiri Baraka	...	Himself
Arthur Boyars	...	Himself
Bill Buell	...	(archive footage)
Ellen Burstyn	...	Herself
John Calder	...	Himself
Jem Cohen	...	Himself
Susan Compo	...	Herself
Luke Davies	...	Himself
Carmine 'Tony' DeFeo	...	Himself
Anthony Di Novi	...	Himself
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Narrator
Uli Edel	...	Himself
Cameron Johann	...	(archive footage)
Anthony Kiedis	...	Himself (archive footage)
Michael David Lally	...	Himself
Stephen Lang	...	(archive footage)
Kaytie Lee	...	Herself
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	(archive footage)
Jared Leto	...	Himself
Desmond Nakano	...	Himself
Matt Polish	...	Himself
Richard Price	...	Himself
James Ragan	...	Himself
Lou Reed	...	Himself
James Remar	...	Himself
Henry Rollins	...	Himself (archive footage)
Hubert Selby Jr.	...	Himself
Kenneth Shiffrin	...	Himself
Michael Silverblatt	...	Himself
Gilbert Sorrentino	...	Himself
Jerry Stahl	...	Himself
Nick Tosches	...	Himself
John Turturro	...	(archive footage)
Marlon Wayans	...	(archive footage)
Jimmie Ray Weeks	...	(archive footage)
Nicolas Winding Refn	...	Himself
Burt Young	...	(archive footage)
Bernard Zette	...	(archive footage)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Filming Locations:

Bondi Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Squitten Pix LLC

Trivia:

The title is taken from page 103 of Selby's novel "The Demon". The slash is included in Selby's typography.

Quotes:

Hubert Selby Jr.: The writer has no right to be there in the work. I don't have any right to impose myself between the people I'm creating on the page and the reader... and that, the responsibility of the artist is to transcend the human ego.

You gotta fight for your write...

I had read "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and had seen the film of "Requiem For A Dream" so I was familiar with Hubert Selby Jr., in fact a fan. Being a writer myself, I'm an obvious audience for this film and therefore a critical one as well.

I was astonished by the information this film concisely conveyed about 'Cubby' Selby's life and work, especially what made him write and how he got his eccentric aesthetic. The information comes at us in an entertaining and loving fashion via a "Rogues Gallery" of noted literary figures and filmmakers and a skillful narration by Robert Downey Jr.

I have not seen a film, narrative or documentary, that explores the writers craft and experience as intimately as this film does. I really like Hubert Selby Jr. and I feel I truly know something about the man and the artist now. I highly recommend this documentary to anyone who writes or creates art of any type or has ever aspired to do so.