Bukowski: Born into This (2003)

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'.

Director:

John Dullaghan

Stars:

Charles Bukowski, Bono, John Bryan

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Charles Bukowski	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bono	...	Himself
John Bryan	...	Himself
Linda Lee Bukowski	...	Herself
Marina Bukowski	...	Herself
Neeli Cherkovski	...	Himself
Joyce Fante	...	Herself
FrancEyE	...	Herself
Taylor Hackford	...	Himself
John Martin	...	Himself
Michael D. Meloan	...	Himself (as Mike Meloan)
Jack Micheline	...	Himself
Pam 'Cupcakes' Miller	...	Herself
Dom Muto	...	Himself
William Packard	...	Himself

Storyline

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'.

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Plot Keywords:

dirty old man | author | lovers quarrel | cantankerous old man | archive footage | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual content/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

Bukowski: Gennimenos mesa se afto

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$35,685 (USA) (28 May 2004)

Gross:

$303,490 (USA) (20 August 2004)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of the film comes from Bukowski's poem, "Dinosauria, we", which was published in his book, "The Last Night Of The Earth Poems". Published in 1992, it was the final book of poetry released while the poet was still alive.

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Connections

Edited from The Charles Bukowski Tapes (1987)

User Reviews

The poet without metaphors

If you go into this film without ever haven read Bukowski, it can be a jarring experience, but rewarding nonetheless. I love his stuff, most of it anyway, and never really had a chance to see him while he was alive. His book Post Office is perhaps the rawest and perfectly written piece of literature that I've ever read. The documentary does him justice in that it captures him in his perfect drunken, creative, and impossibly complex environment. Filmed over 10 to 15 years, it is not hero worship in any sense, it's as raw and revealing of a tortured, yet extremely funny individual as one can capture on film. We see his relationships with women unravel and patch up, the dusty daily grind of a regular job that he hates, his horrible childhood which would serve as material for Ham on Rye, his struggle with celebrity in the twilight of his life. Like all great artists Pryor, Lenny Bruce, Van Gogh, etc., Bukowski uses the pain and suffering of everyday life to his advantage, the result is a great revealing documentary that opens him up and makes him accessible to even his most die-hard fans. Much better than Barfly.