Cubby was my mom's first husband and the biological father of my eldest sister and brother. It's always weird to come across these documentaries and articles. His mom Adaline was just "Grandma Selby" to all of us kids.

Selby explored the inner recesses of the human soul like no other author. He was fearless and unafraid to address questions that were taboo to most of society. All of his books made a life-long impression on me...

The Willow Tree is one of Cubby's most powerful and underappreciated novels. I read it every year and always find something new.

Ellen Burstyn is the best actrice I've ever seen.. Amazing! She should have won that Oscar, cause no one can play a difficult dramatic scene as well as she did in 'Requiem For A Dream'. No one, I can't think of anybody. And the soundtrack of that movie is fantastic too, how they milked that one track from the Kronos Quartet is fenomenal. I love that movie!

Excellent documentary. Very reflective of the man and his work. I worked at a Hollywood Literary Agency in the 1990's and Hubert Selby, Jr. was one of our clients. I had the opportuntiy to talk with him several times on the phone and discuss his screenplay "Fear X." He was an extremely gentle and humble man. Always pleasant and grateful for his life. I agree with those who describe his work as spiritual. That was my impression as well. I finally read his novel Requiem for a Dream after he died and it is one of the most emotionally devastating books ever written. It is like seeing us in the world through the eyes of God and being shocked at the horror we inflict on ourselves and one another. RIP, Cubby. In the end you had nothing to regret.

I find it amazing his was a bedridden junkie for years and one day had an epiphany: "I've got to do SOMETHING with my life," and then just tried writing. I began writing when I was eight years old, lived the junkie life, wrote dozens of nonfiction manuscripts and journalistic articles, and yet I've never once even tried to get published. This man inspires me to seek out a literary agent or start publishing on Substack.

Hubert Selby Jr. is one of the most under recognized writers in American history. This documentary does an amazing job of telling his story in his words, those of his lifetime childhood friends, and those of the myriad writers, actors, directors and musicians whom he inspired. Whether you only have passing awareness of the movies Last Exit to Brooklyn or Requiem for a Dream, or if you have read his stuff, you should watch this.

Excellent documentary. I think the one guy nailed it when he talked about America being unwilling to reflect on itself honestly. And Selby was definitely not afraid to hold up the truth mirror. R.I.P genius.

Great documentary. I come back here periodically to watch it and remind myself to not waste my life. Brilliant. Thank you

One of my greatest literary heroes. Last Exit To Brooklyn blew my mind wide open when I was a teenager. Selby could cut through the BS and get straight to the heart of the matter like no one else. The balance between total destruction and salvation in his works is always so tenuous and finely drawn and his explorations into the desperate lives of these characters never feel sordid or exploitive because they're treated with such compassion and sincerity.

I just love the opening sentences Brilliant wisdom on creativity

Selby: one of the great writers.

Been a lover of all things 1950s since I was a kid a couple decades ago now. Only recently exploring the dark underbelly. This film is a capsule to remind lovers of the written of one of the greatest authors of all time. And through shock, a quiet catalyst for progressive change. Thanks for uploading

Just finished reading The Room, then watched this. Excellent work!

In all honesty I couldn't finish "Coda" on Last Exit, too much pain for me to handle. I'd recommend the book to anyone though. Thanks for the upload.

A treasure of a documentary about a treasure of American literature!

What a great writer, what a great person, what a great documentary. Thank you so very much for uploading.

I read Last Exit and Requiem when i was travelling around California at age 19... I devoured those books, like no other books I've ever read. I'm glad I took the time to learn more about the man behind them.... Thanks for the documentary

I absolutely love this film!!! I watched it when it came out when I was in college. This man changed my life -- his books are some of the hardest I've ever read but they're incomparable. They are beauty and pain in carnate.

I was the late Gil Sorrentino's barber the 16 years he taught creative writing at Stanford. He was the coolest guy I've ever known, and the hippest. I miss the wonderful conversations we'd have. I recall us discussing Hugh Selby, but somehow he never got around to telling me about the terrible things Hugh had suffered in his younger days. The stuff Selby wrote about must have horrified him to see in real life, far more than it shocks us when we read it or see it in a film. I never read Last Exit to Brooklyn, but the film, though well executed, is a nightmare. And Gil told me the book is even more hopeless.

My all time favorite author. I wish I'd gotten to meet him. Very difficult to read compared to ANY author I'd read before him, but absolutely dove face first into worlds I knew so extremely well. I've read almost all his work and it'll be a sad day when i finish it.

Thank you so much for having this here. This is my favorite thing.

Great work. This is a beautiful film about a beautiful person.

MWD and I are friends, but before we became friends, I was a fan of his work. I'm still a fan of his work. Past, present, and future. I found this comment in an old journal entry from June 1, 2007 regarding this film: --- Watching the Michael W. Dean film HUBERT SELBY JR: IT/LL BE BETTER TOMORROW. It is one fantastic bit of work. I want to write Dean a letter, stick a twenty dollar bill in there, tell him THAT'S the royalty he should get off of each and every copy sold, the film is that good. Inspiring. That film, that man, is supremely inspiring. --- I never sent Michael the $20, I guess...with interest and inflation, maybe I ought to send him $50. But it IS a fantastic bit of work, this film.

your work here is gold

I had the privilege of interviewing Gil Sorrentino, a wonderful man and writer in his own right, for this film. He gave me an autographed copy of "The Sky Changes" from his personal collection. Unfortunately, most, or all of that interview didn't make it due to a sound issue. Nonetheless, it was an honor to be part of such an awesome project.

I saw this years ago. Had been thinking about it ever since. You nailed Selby. Literary barstool yarning at the elbow of a maniac. Outstanding work, man.

Thank you for that.

Great work Michael. Cheers

thanks for uploading

The arduous writer is becoming extinct. The long hours, the dedication, the non-tiktok crowd...oh my what a tortured life we lead.

To the person who left a "thumbs down": I'll pray for your soul

Thanks so much for this. Great doc.

I had this on DVD, not sure where it's gone, so thanks for the upload. Excellent doc.

Thank you for uploading this.

whaaat. that was so cool that anthony keides was reading with him. that is a collab from out of space.

I love this Film. This is a great documentary about a terrific writer. You nailed him and it.

Beautiful, Michael - thanks for sharing :)

This is so fantastic; as a huge fan of Selby and especially the Requiem for a Dream movie, this was everything I could have wanted it to be. I'm even more excited to read his books now. I only wish Selby got the widespread recognition he deserves here in America! Great job! 10/10

Fear X was so underrated and a shame that Nicolas Winding Refn had to lose so much on it and that it's not mentioned often when there is a talk about his movies. I just remember seeing Last Exit... when I was a boy and did not understand English that well but I felt a lot of anxiety and familiarity. And Requiem For A Dream is one of the best movies about addiction I've come across and I had stopped shooting up and drinking in 1997. Anybody that I know that have not experienced that subject matter, finds that movie awful but I just loved it.

“From time to time I write psalms” 😂🤣💗❤️😘😘

Thanks.

so good!

The leading cause of death is life. People complain I am always late but not to worry I will be someday soon but nobody will notice that I am late then. When is someday? and how long until soon?

He deserves to be much better known I came stumbled onto this film looking for Jennifer Jason Leigh great film make some more

I am Proud to have contributed a tiny, tiny bit to this project.

this was great

i guess the lack of punctuation functions as a method of succinctness.

This really helped me understand and better annotate Fortune Cookie

Interesting, I thought that naked lunch was the last trial charging literature as obscenity, but Selby's case was in 68. Also wonder why they didn't site the naked lunch verdict as precedent

Thank goodness the wonderful film version of Last Exit To Brooklyn was directed by a German and acted by Americans. Had it been made in England it would have been re-named Last Exit To Bloomsbury and performed by the usual suspects led by Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Judi Dench. God help us!

👍

You're Michael W. Dean? I just bought your book $30 Film School :D Cool to see you active on here if it really is you.

I wonder how much money he ultimately made from Last Exit?

whats the song at 24:30? thanks, and thanks for the great documentary!

Last Exit to Brooklyn or Requiem for A Dream? Which do you think is Selby's magnum opus?

1:06:28 what is he reading from?

Jem Cohen gets around

1:07:19 It's not the Duracell Bunny, dummy, it's the Energizer Bunny.

Have he been drug addicted himself?

Hm…it doesn’t seem right that he made up an exaggerated criminal Brooklyn instead of basing it on reality. I am sure the reality was dark but when his friends and he himself sat that actually it wasn’t as bad as in The Last Exit To Brooklyn then what’s the point of the book being even set there? Could have made an imaginary neighborhood. Everyone knows that people reading the book always thought that he is suggesting it was reality.

I happen to like a lot Hubert Selby Jr. So can't do nothing but praise him. Selby wrote what for me is a Masterwork. And in this case, am speaking about The Demon. A passionating page turner. Last Exit to Brooklyn is his first work. It's a book that has to be read. Inspite of being such an impressive but disgusting story. Every Selby book is a different one. In subject and about the way it is written or its structure. It's shocking that a mere sailor, who had to stop being such due to a lungs sickness, was able to be such an excellent writer. This Selby beginning as a writer, goes about a trans sexual and a strike. Selby may have wanted to call attention on him, when writing this. And if this was the case, he got so much attention as to be banned. No matter, this book became an Underground Culture successful novel. It is, indeed, a good, shocking work. Much more if you consider its date. You may not like this page turner. Because its issue is not a pleasant one, and even less the plot development. It's a strong work, a hard hiper realistic reading. Selby did not know what to do, when he knew about his lungs sickness. It was while him unemployed that he thought, as he told once famous, that if he knew something, it was the alphabet. And he decided to start writing. Then we lost a sailor, but earned a very good author. Selby is always interesting, though he can be difficult as in his Requiem to a Dream, that was taken into an also good movie. He's never afraid of having to deal with rough matters. His Short Stories are also interesting ones. He keeps always close to reality. Had not an easy life, but managed to be the good writer he is. He is a Cult Author and there are reasons enough for this. Don't miss Selby, he's something else. But don't start with Requiem for a Dream. It goes about drug addicts and is not an easy one. 🤗💎❤️🆗👍