Bukowski - Born Into This [DVD]

I'm glad this was made! Saw it in a theatre when it opened about three years ago and was happy to see it was out on DVD recently--and snapped one up off the amazon site right away.Props to the filmmaker! A big thank you to Tom Waits (another favorite) for making an appearance and for reading the Buk poem. Others have tried to read Bukowski's stuff, and it just doesn't work, doesn't come off right. Waits is absolutely perfect for this sort of material and ought to consider doing an entire album of either Buk's prose and/or poetry.Back to Bukowski for a minute: I don't care what his detractors continue to moan and gripe about when it comes to the man's work--because I said it more than 25 years ago and I'm still saying it today--and I will say keep saying it until the day I die: he was a mad genius! One good/solid third of his output is pure GOLD--and I am talking about the best stuff. As a result, he will be read forever. In my opinion, this guy remains the greatest American poet of them all, period.A third of his output is fair, and the last third is quite lousy, in fact, unreadable (and I place Pulp in that last third bunch; some of the stories in Hot Water Music are weak; the novel Hollywood is really not as good as it otherwise might have been, etc) -- but, so what? How many great hitters, get the best, can hit a homer each and every time at bat? Every single time? No way.Did the writer have flaws and weaknesses as a man? Hell, yes! Who isn't flawed? I'm not perfect, and neither are you--or anyone else. All I have to say just take a real good look at what the man endured as a child, look what he lived through. And if you can't understand that, and don't get it, or simply REFUSE to get it...well, there is nothing else to be said.I was pleasantly surprised to see how truly insightful Taylor Hackford's take on the man was, also Linda Bukowski's comments were quite poignant.Where was the other Linda, by the way? Why was Linda King left out? And why was Ben Pleasants not included as well? And what about Dan Fante, the late, great John Fante's son?Okay, I could be nit picking...The one individual who to me, and this was some kind of downer, did not come off as incredibly bright (and by that I mean lacking true insight into Charles Bukowski) was his long-time publisher John Martin. Yes, give him credit for having had at least enough intelligence for seeing value in Bukowski's writing, but that's about it.I could be wrong here, and I hope I am, but I have this feeling that the reason some of Buk's poetry lacks his verve and profundity/punch could be because Martin (or someone employed by him) may have done some "minor" editing and/or trimming here and there. Like I said, I am only guessing --but some of the lines come across as truly weak and pedestrian in various volumes written towards the end of the writer's life.Again, I could be wrong, but some of the material just does not hold up. Could have been Buk (having some off days; it happens--and I am talking about stuff written way before illness was upon him) or it could be something else.By the way, when will the Bukowski Tapes (shot by Barbet Shroeder) be put out on DVD? Isn't it about time? Come on, Barbet!John Dullaghan: again, thanks for hanging in there! Yes, I was one of those who wept when I heard the man was gone. I admit it, a Nam vet, been around, lived through some heavy /hard times of my own, seen my share of it...and I wept. We loved him, still do.

I stopped watching television about 14 years ago becasue of all of the commericalized garbage flooding out from the little screen into my home. I do watch videos and DVDs and it is a pure delight to me that they are bringing this extrodinary Bukowski documentary out on DVD. I saw it in a theatre here in San Fransico and I loved it so much. Why? Well becasue it was so real. It was about this man, Bukowski, survior of the United States Post Office that somehow, with poetry no less, escaped and soared from the really wretched miserable corner he was in and created his own life on his own terms. And he did it with with honesty to make a Santa Cluse blush. It is a powerful story and Born Into This needs to be given credit for not merely being superb film-making but for going behind the myth and introducing the very sensitive, teddy bear Bukowski behind the mask. That wrote as the great musicians make music. Before I went to see the film a young woman said it made her cry and I went and saw it and I see why. It doesn't hurt at all having Bono sitting down and singing Bukowski's praises either. I have two wishes. That people that have misjudged Charles Bukowski will watch this DVD and give him a chance and then go out and read his work. My second wish is that David Chase will make a Dirty Old Man series to follow his success with The Sopranos to prove it wasn't a fluke. And I hope John Dullaghan who made this fine documentary will make many more films. I guess that was three.

So says the grave of Charles Bukowski a man who, behind his pocked and weathered face, had an ambition of which no one would have guessed. At this point, readers may have grown tired of hearing me rave about this or that documentary--as I have seen so many excellent ones over the course of the last year; however, "Born Into This," is as good a bio-pic as any ever made. It is unbelievably interesting and artful. The director knew Bukowski well, and this footage is extremely intimate. Stylistically, its strongest feature is the superimposing of Buk's poetry and sentences across the screen--which are then reproduced at the same speed at which he speaks. It creates a powerful effect and this is never more true than when he passionately mouths the title poem.It's really not a pretty tale. Bukowski led a sorrowful life. Although, its damage was somewhat mitigated by his later, unforeseeable, success in which "the blondes with the [certain unmentionable physical attribute] came too late." There was a certain, dare-I-say, nobility about this dirty and talented old man. He existed to drink, write, and have sex. He was what he was, and how many people can say the same? There was not a once of pretension in him. He had a high level of artistic integrity and wrote diligently every day. Even if one doesn't like Charles Bukowski or feels repulsed by him, his perspective was so unique that one must appreciate him. What a life! This documentary captures the man far better than any book that I've read about him. I'd say R.I.P., but I'm not sure peace is something he ever wanted.

This is one of those rare documentaries that should appeal to viewers who are newcomers to the Charles Bukowski mystique and also to those of us who know a lot about him. It covers his biography, from the abusive childhood (in a chilling clip, Hank is filmed at the house where the abuse occurred), to the post office years, to the significant women/womanizing. Some attention is also given to the influence he had on other artists, such as Steve Richmond, Tom Waits, and Bono. We see Hank at his best (being a father, and thoughtfully discussing Life at the end of his own life) and worst (cursing and kicking his last wife, Linda). At the end, I felt I knew him as well as anyone can know a born loner, and was left wanting to read more of his writing and learn more about his life. It was a rich life, with a lot of hardships (often self-inflicted), which should inspire many of us with slightly raggedy lives to achieve meaningful art.

Great!

This is one of the absolute best documentaries I haveever seen. Also; it's fascinating to see Bukowski up closelike this. Allows us to understand more of both the poetand the man.

Charles Bukowski - wer diesen Autor als Lieblingsautor nennt erntet oft Kopfschütteln und gerät leicht in den Verdacht, perverse Neigungen zu billiger Schundliteratur zu haben. Er verdürbe den Charakter, sei schmutzig und ordinär.Dem stehen die Bukowski-Leser gegenüber, die seine Sachen nicht nur einmal, sondern mehrmals gelesen haben und hierbei entdeckt haben, dass sich unter einer oberflächlich rauhen Schale sehr feinfühlige und tiefsinnige Erkenntnisse verbergen, die entdeckt werden wollen.Der hier besprochene Film ist hierbei ein Schlüssel, nach der Lektüre der Bukowski-Sachen, einen Zugang zu seinem Werk und zu seinem Leben, welches ja das Werk erst ermöglicht hat, zu finden.Was sehr schön ist, dass es neben Aussschnitten aus Lesungen auch viele Interviews gibt und hier Bukowski so gar nicht der unantastbare Obermacker ist sondern ein feinfühliger Mensch, der sehr verschmitzt lachen und lächeln kann und hierbei Weisheiten vom Stapel lässt, bei denen man sagt: Ja! So ist es! Er trifft die Sache auf den Punkt!Empfehlen möchte ich den Film, der ein Dokumentarfilm ist, Bukowski-Fans, die schon das eine oder andere gelesen haben. Als Einstieg für einen, der die Bücher nicht kennt, ist der Film eher ungeeignet.Die Version, die ich erhalten habe, hat ein Cover, welches sich vom Cover in der Produktbeschreibung unterscheidet. Zu sehen ist Buk in Großaufnahme, mit dem linken Arm (Armbanduhr) vor seinem Kinn.Die Zeitangaben sind 134 min, DVD-9 dual layer disc, Sprache NUR englisch! ARTF0124L.Im Abspann erkennt man Produktionsjahr als das Jahr 2000. Nur am Rande bemerkt, damit man weiß, welche DVD denn nun besprochen wurde für den Fall, dass es (wg. unterschiedlichem Cover) auch unterschiedliche Versionen geben sollte.

The dvd is brilliant. Nice interviews. Hank was simply unique and i enjoy listening to his voice. This item is a must see

Interesting and sympathetic ( perhaps too sympathetic) account of his life and work. Well made and some good interviews. Sometimes people are a bit sycophantic and he comes over as a bit of a bore. His voice is a major let down, all winy and nasal but alot of his writing is good.