"This is the modern Whitman, the man in the street, writing for people in the street." So John Martin, Black Sparrow publisher, describes Bukowsky in John Dullaghan's film bio "Born Into This." Tom Waits, one of the friends of Bukowsky interviewed in the film,* says something similar.
This "writer for the man-in-the-street" mantra is pretty frequently invoked when speaking about Bukowsky, but I don't buy it. It seems to canned, too ready-to-hand. Certain Bukowsky's prose and his narrative poems are written in a sparse, deliberately frill-less style. Perhaps this is what prompts so many "man in the street" descriptions. But it seems to me that Bukowsky is above all a chronicler not of the common man, but of Bukowski. There are few authors whose work is more autobiographical. Everywhere, even in Pulp, Bukowski's primary subject is himself. And whatever else one can say about him, whether you love or can't stomach his stuff (I fall somewhere in between), one thing's for certain: he wasn't your common guy in the street.
On one level, Dullagham's film is an excellently crafted biography of Bukowski's exterior life, interspersed with marvelous footage of Bukowksi at poetry readings as well as private interviews (there's also the famous clip of a drunken and enraged Bukowski kicking his wife, Linda Lee). We get a feel not only for the celebrity Bukowski, but also an appreciation of his devotion, as one of his acquaintances says, to the "de-Disneyification of America" through his in-your-face writings.
But one another level--the one at which the film really shines--we get a glimpse of the inner, fragile, lonely Bukowski. The exterior Bukowski at times outmachos a Hemingway or a Mailer, is an obnoxious drunk, and a disgustingly nasty misanthrope. But the inner Bukowski is the kid who was regularly and savagely beaten by his father, ignored by his mother, overwhelmed by life, stuck in a mind- and body-killing job, unrequited in love, shunned by peers. This Bukowski is wounded, telling one interviewer that love is as fleeting as morning fog; writes in a poem that "there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out"; and in one of the film's most poignant scenes, breaks down weepinig as he reads a poem, "The Shower," mourning his lost love Linda King: "Linda, you brought it to me. When you take it away, do it slowly and easily. Make it as if I was dying in my sleep instead of awake"; and, in describing the manic-bedhopping that served as the basis of his novel Women, softly confesses to an interviewer that he eventually stopped because "I became ashamed of what I was doing."
I make no predictions about Bukowski's enduring place in American letters. But I do know that Dullagham's excellent film has helped me better appreciate new depths in Bukowski the man and the artist. And for that, I highly recommend it. _________ * Other interviewees include Linda Lee Bukowski, Neeli Cherkovski, Joyce Fante, Liza Williams, Michael Cano, FrancEye, Marline Bukowski, Harry Dean Stanton, Steve Richmond, Sean Penn, John Bryan, and--for some odd reason--Bono.
a rarity. don't miss it. i have wonderful friends who introduce fascinating things into my life. one such thing was this movie. my friend shawn and i had talked about bukowski books numerous times and i had let him know about the factotum movie with matt dillon and and he turned me on to this one. of course, he prefaced it by saying that no female he has ever shown it to has enjoyed because they thought hank was a pig.
i,of course, don't. for me it was a rare pleasure to listen and watch as he read his poems and talked about his life.
lately, i find bukowski everywhere, there is a site on myspace called charles bukowski which contains a song by a group called manicm and there is a song by modest mouse entitled bukowski. and i'm sure you may even know of others. i also find that many of the things i read lately have references to hank. he is everywhere you look if you stop rushing around.
if you're just beginning to know bukowski, this is a perfect addition to your growing collection of hank's books.
Pork Chops with Chinaski Pork Chops with Chinasky By Christopher C. Happ 2008
A review of: Born into This Magnolia home entertainment 2003
I am interested in the great authors of the 20th century. I have studied the Beats: Kerouac, Burroughs, Corso, Ginsberg and other 20th century writers like, Hemingway, Capote, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Upton Sinclair, Dos Passos, Kafka and many others. I have had a fascination for the less than mainstream writers like Hunter S. Thompson and lately, Charles Bukowski. I did not read Bukowski in the 20th century. I had heard of him and even saw his books on the shelves at City Lights bookstore, the home and spawning grounds of the Beats, although Bukowski never felt a part of that group. His work was innovative, talking about the seedier side of our existence.
I was sorry that I came to his work, so late. In honor of the man, I prepared a pork chop dinner and drank cheap beer and wine to get in the mood. He used the pseudonym Henry (Hank) Chinaski, in his novels and in Barfly, starring, Faye Dunaway and Mickey Rourke.
This is a glimpse of a 20th century writer, like many at that time, a heavy drinker and womanizer. Bukowski was as comfortable in a bar fight as he was at a poetry reading. Like many writers, he talks about the need to write, in order to understand this life and keep him from going crazy.
The documentary opens with Bukowski at a poetry reading in San Francisco at Lawrence Ferlinghetti's, Poet's theater. Founder of City Lights and publisher of many a Beat writer. There is a refrigerator on stage and he drinks beer after beer and wine while reading his work and chiding naysayers in the audience. "One more beer and I'll take you all!"
Bukowski started out writing poetry and short stories, which he submitted to the top magazines at the time, like Atlantic Monthly. Finally, one of his stories was published and he wrote hundreds of poems. The movie Barfly based on his life, a blur of alcohol, women, cigarettes and a trail of meaningless odd jobs. As most writers, the passion for writing was a driving force, eclipsing all else. He lived in drab flophouse rooms and went from job to job.
The documentary shows Bukowski in the 1970's, on his way up and the 1990's, after he had arrived. We watch him read poetry, play the horses and there are interviews with his women and publisher John Martin, of Black Sparrow Press. Martin offered Bukowski $100 per month for life, after tallying his monthly living expenses. ($80 for rent, $19 for food and $3.50 for cigarettes.) That was in the 1960's and of course, any writer would jump at the chance to have such a stipend to be able to write full-time. His work started in the LA Free Press and Martin published chapbooks of his poetry. His column Notes of a Dirty Old Man got him recognized. Martin asked him to write a novel, because of the much greater financial possibilities. A good biography of Bukowkski is, Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life, (1998 Howard Sounes)
His first novel: Post Office, (1971 Black Sparrow Books.), about his life working for the post office as a temporary carrier and clerk, a job he truly hated. In the late 1980's Martin raised his monthly stipend to $8,000 per month. The success of his works led to a house in San Pedro, a BMW, an Acura, a Macintosh computer and the ability to pay cash for them.
He wrote Ham on Rye, (1982 Harper Collins.) the story of his childhood and adolescence. He had acne vulgaris and in his words, "Was not a pretty guy" He describes regular beatings by his father with a razor strop and the alienation he encountered in school due to the acne and boils. His novel, Factotum , ( 1975, Harper Collins.), now also a movie, is a running account of his years as a bum, drinking, fighting, smoking and doing odd menial jobs.
Bukowski was a misogynist and unlucky at love. The documentary is a great insight into his life in his later years. He was really getting famous in the 1970's and died in 1993. The documentary is a portrait of a tortured writer and his disregard for the establishment. A story of redemption; although he drank, gambled and womanized until his death. Bukowski's story gives me hope. Hope that the art in one's soul can eventually lead to a life unencumbered by the 9-5 thing, with enough to live on and the ability to put all energies into one's art. This film is insightful of a writer's life and a slice of literary history. Bukowski had more than forty books published, some novels: Women, (1978) Hollywood, (1989) and a variety of poetry and short stories.
My Father beat the pretense out of me ... Sometimes, things can creep up on you and slap you right across the face, unsuspecting, as if you not only saw it coming -- but didn't know that you were about to get a beat down. There are no words I can use to describe the way I felt after watching this movie other than `kicked into submission'. Charles Henry Bukowski is not what I thought going into this film, and he definitely was far more than I ever imagined coming out.
This is a must see film for anyone interested in writing, poetry or Bukowski. This is also a must see documentary for anyone who wants, or needs to know what it is like to work away in obscurity like you never had right to a voice, never had a chance or anyone on your side who believed in you - and you felt as if you were never going to rise above it. While Bukowski had hopes and dreams that he would rise to fame, he felt `shielded by God' for years, making him suffer in exile wanting him to hone his craft in pain and anguish. Sound familiar?
The film covers Bukowski from a few angles. One is from the eyes and mind of a Documentary Filmmaker who had captured most of the Bukowski footage presented here, which is absolutely captivating. Another is from the perspective of his Publisher who had founded Black Sparrow Press, which comes across as a bit dry and dull but lightly interesting. Other perspectives include other poets, musicians like Tom Waits, Bono, other friends and contemporaries and even some complete strangers. But it's the film and his poetry that win the day.
There are great moments of Bukowski reading aloud `Dinosauria We' and `The Genius of the Crowd' put over some basic montage footage of Hank rambling around a Los Angeles that you may recognize in certain places, and which may look like a rocky plain on Mars as it has changed so much since then.
If you don't like poetry, or understand poetry; if you've never known truth or always felt poetry and literature pretentious ... then this film is for you -- and it is as important as anything you'll probably see for a long time to come.
Well done We see the man talking, driving, speaking, living. This is an honest look at Buk, in his own words, in the words of his friends. Great filler if you follow the novels: who? what? when? where? Fans should love this... RIP To Cook is Divine, Italian, Filipino, and Southern-style Vegetarian Recipes from Outside the Box
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
