ABSTRACT
William Burroughs and Brion Gysin continued their work with cut-ups long after the group left the Beat Hotel; in fact, both men continued to work with the technique for the rest of their lives. Antony Balch was the first filmmaker to collaborate with William Burroughs, as well as the first to recognize the inherent cinematic potential of the cut-up method. The Cut Ups was the first film to be intentionally created completely using the cut-up method as developed by Gysin and Burroughs. American filmmaker Conrad Rooks was the next to apply the cut-up method as developed by Gysin and Burroughs directly to film, in his feature film Chappaqua, with Robert Frank as cinematographer. British artist David Bowie was a friend of Burroughs’ and utilized the cut-up method in his work as well. A colleague of Bowie’s even developed a computerized cut-up generator for him to aid songwriting.
