Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Bukowski

Yesterday I saw on TV the documentary "Bukowski: Born Into This". To say I loved it would be an understatement. Films about poets are my favorites because they bring to my guest room people who got something to say and who say it so beautifully that their words and characters can't be forgotten. Films that enrich instead of entertain.

So I turned to Wikipedia and asked what I can learn about this film. I got 15 links and the first was an excellent article about Bukowski's life and work and it mentioned the documentary:


A documentary entitled Bukowski: Born Into This was released in American
theaters on July 9, 2004, generally to good reviews. Actor Sean Penn as well as
musicians Tom Waits and Bono, friends and fans of Bukowski, appear in the
film.

And here is the complementary info I gathered from QTSaver (I asked for Bukowski Born Into This as a whole phrase in the advanced search):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0342150
BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS is a great show into the life of this man. It meanders at points, and tries a bit too hard to exemplify this guy, but you can't argue with some of the majestic footage different folks got. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bukowski_born_into_this
SYNOPSISDirector John Dullaghan spent seven years searching high and low for the most pertinent material he could find about the notorious writer, drinker, and recluse Charles Bukowski (1920-1994). The result is BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS, a highly entertaining, informative tribute to Bukowski's work, his life, and the people who were inspired and influenced by him.
"Bukowski: Born Into This presents a spunky up-close and personal portrait of a bohemian, cantankerous writer who stayed the course." -- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH
"[Bukowski] is never seen in less than fighting spirit or formidable form throughout the documentary Bukowski: Born into This." -- Duane Dudek, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
Rating: 7.7/10 "'Poet laureate of the gutter,' ranter, sexual boaster, bane of the middle class and lifelong outcast, the writer cultivated a persona that begs for documentary treatment, and he gets a good one in Bukowski: Born Into This." -- Walter V.
http://www.movienet.com/bukowski.html
Bukowski: Born Into This Struggling With Bukowski • by John Dullaghan, director of Bukowski: Born into This Author Charles Bukowski is best known as the real-life model for the movie Barfly. : http://movies.aol.com/movie/main.adp?mid=14412
Bukowski: Born into This Released By: Magnolia Release Date: 05/28/2004 Run time: 130 min. Genre: Documentary Rating: NR Synopsis: Advertising writer John Dullaghan makes his feature-length directorial debut with the documentary Bukowski: Born Into This.
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808456237
Bukowski: Born Into This Movie Info - Yahoo!
Production Photos: View Production Photos from Bukowski: Born Into This (2004).
http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/Variety/2003/02/09/10175
A definitive screen overview of the late L. A. booze bard, "Bukowski: Born Into This" makes a compelling case for raising him from cult status to the top rank of 20th century U. S. literary figures --- while providing ample evidence of a very colorful life and times.
http://worldfilm.about.com/od/documentaryfilms/fr/bukowski.htm
But the real reason "Bukowski: Born Into This" sticks in the mind is the man at its center. As stubborn, wounded, and resilient artist, Bukowski was not only vastly entertaining and bracingly human--his grumbling, cursing, and hard-working persona remains an inspiration.
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=278994&inline=nyt_ttl
The New York Times Movies BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS Review, Cast and Synopsis.

Then I entered the words Bukowski documentary and got the following:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29917-2004Jul5.html
And more complicated -- more vulnerable, desperate, conscientious and, strangely, middle-class -- than his mythology, which he more than stoked. And now he comes back to life, 10 years after his death (not of cirrhosis, but leukemia) in "Bukowski: Born Into This," a new documentary by a first-time director who never met him. It opens in Washington on Friday.
That is a line Bukowski might have liked. The critic Fred Shuster, writing in the Los Angeles Daily News, saw the documentary differently: "a grueling two hours spent in the company of this one-man argument for the return of Prohibition." http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808456237
This documentary looks at the life of poet and author Charles Bukowski (1920-1994), whose bibliography includes "Notes of a Dirty Old Man", "Love is a Dog from Hell", as well as the screenplay for Barfly. Bukowski earned a cult following attracted to his graphic and brutal stories of a life (often his own) lived amidst alcoholism, poverty and violence. http://worldfilm.about.com/od/documentaryfilms/fr/bukowski.htm
Bukowski: Born Into Thisfrom Jurgen Fauth The Life and Times of a Hard-Drinking, Hard-Working WriterGuide Rating - Charles Bukowski, poet of the gutter, bard of booze, real-life "Barfly" and acclaimed novelist, makes a great subject for a documentary. The hard-drinking writer and longtime post office clerk loved to rant, kiss, and take another swig of beer on camera.
And he's got illustrious friends and admirers, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, and Bono among them. John Dullaghan, an ad man who slipped into the role of documentary filmmaker because Bukowski inspired him, unfortunately never got to meet the writer. "Hank," as his friends called him, died in 1994. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0342150
Plot Outline: Documentary on Charles Bukowski, author of 'Notes of a Dirty Old Man', 'Love Is a Dog', 'from Hell', and the autobiographical novels, 'Women', 'Hollywood', and 'Post Office'.
http://mytlc.com/news/item?item_id=19622
"Bukowski: Born Into This" is the first comprehensive documentary of this extraordinary man.
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=278994&inline=nyt_ttl
Reviewer: marybartlett1 I've seen this doc three times in past 10 days, taking a variety of friends with me. Best documentary I've seen in years. Each time I see it, I find out new things about not only Bukowski, but myself. Anyone who is concerned with the way the world is going today will find Bukowski's words compelling and prescient. If you love Bukowski, you'll love this film. If you don't know anything about Bukowski, you'll want to know more. If you hate Bukowski, well - you're hopeless.

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