Bukowski: Born into This (2003) User Reviews

beautiful look into the life of a great writer

[bkadams · 8/10 · 6 May 2006]

I'd never heard Bukowski speak before. I'd seen the pictures and read the words. This hard-nosed writer surprised me as a very soft spoken, very sensitive artist. His intimidating face became friendlier and friendlier to me as the film progressed. With this movie, you get to see a lot of interview footage and a lot of personal commentary from close friends. You get your heart tugged at when his childhood is filled in for you. You laugh at his wit while handling interviewers. And you probably get thirsty looking at all the wine and beer he drinks. The only thing I didn't care for about this was the ever-so-pompous Bono sharing his 2 cents.

The poet without metaphors

[selfishbastid · 9/10 · 26 March 2006]

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.

A Fascinating Look At Charles Bukowski

[CitizenCaine · 10/10 · 14 November 2003]

Charles Bukowski is probably the greatest American poet, who, to this day, remains largely unrecognized by the literary establishment in the United States. His greatest recognition came in and still is in Europe. He's the poet that college professors love to dislike; because, many of them tried to do what Bukowski did and failed. Bukowski became a cult, literary underground figure in the late 50's, known only to the few thousand fellow small press readers and publishers of the time. He wrote of his experiences in flop houses, bars, and women in a very distinctive, one-of-a-kind, formless fashion. He worked for several years for the post office in two different stints in the 1950's and 1960's. Bukowski wrote on his own terms and never compromised, thanks to his $100 monthly "grant" from a man that would become his lifelong publisher, who started Black Sparrow Press. For the next 24 years from January of 1970 until his death on March 9, 1994, Bukowski wrote stories, poems, and novels, finding time in his later years to replace drinking with racetrack betting.

This is an extraordinary documentary, capturing Bukowski in the 1970's and 1980's mostly, telling the story of his incredible life and alternatively capturing private moments that define him as well as defy his reputation. The film uses interviews of those that lived with him and knew him to portray a man that waded through an interpersonal sewer of a life, only to conquer the literary world on his own terms and make a decent living from it to boot. It's the story of a man, a writer, who just lived life as it presented itself to him. He had an unflinching ability to face the realities of his life with charm, wisdom, and a determination that even he would not be able to recognize. Whether he spoke of his upbringing, his drinking, his laziness, his unattractiveness, his women, and especially about love, death and sex, he remained steadfast in his cynicism laced with humor, much like the comic artist Robert Crumb. Most of the highlights in the film occur when Bukowski is either conversing or reading his own work. He reads his own work in a world weary tone of voice that possesses a cadence that seems to say he's tired of it all. Just then though, he hits us with another gem, another truth about ourselves and the world around us. See this at all costs. **** of 4 stars.

Must-see for Bukowski fans

[knichols1 · 2 November 2004]

For Bukowski fans, this film is another of those items you have to possess but which will leave outsiders repulsed or appalled.

Most of the information in the film has been captured in various published interviews and biographies and in Bukowski's own autobiographical writings. But it is good to see the man moving about before our eyes again, driving his VW, visiting the track and the laundry, and his childhood home, where he 'reminisces' about the beatings his father administered with a razor strop. And it's interesting seeing some of Bukowski's lovers and associates again.

The quality of the archival footage is pretty poor, having been shot, it appears, with amateur 8mm equipment. We can be thankful it was shot at all, since who knew what value it might have. The sound, however, is quite good.

After many years of reading about Bukowski, I still haven't decided whether he was a sensitive soul driven to occasional episodes of egotistical pettiness and meanness by a bad childhood or just a self-centered ass who happened to have talent. However you view him in that regard, you cannot deny that he stuck by his vocation in spite of all. He personified the driven writer.

Tears of a dirty old man

[ppalomurto · 10/10 · 20 December 2004]

I highly recommend this unique masterpiece. Hank was even more lovable person in live than I expected.

When the documentary ended I was very touched. Even a couple of tears on my cheek. Those might be caused by wine a drank while watching this hypnotic film. But anyway if you are not familiar with his work it's about time to read one of the greatest writers within this genre. Lots of rare material (at least here in Finland) and even a short interview with his daughter Marina.

As a dilettante's summary: a must for anyone ever read Bukowski and for others hopefully a trigger to start right away.

Don't try, God bless.

An Introduction to One of the Greatest Poets of the Twentieth Century

[TheExpatriate700 · 9/10 · 5 November 2010]

Charles Bukowski was arguably the greatest poet of the twentieth century. His output sustained its quality long after that of Beats such as Allen Ginsburg had faded, while still retaining a daring unknown to figures such as Robert Frost. This documentary gives insight into Bukowski's life, showing both his artistry and his personal problems.

Particularly for someone who is new to Bukowski's work, this film will be a revelation. The documentary artfully combines information about the poet's life with excerpts of his work, including a reading of "Dinosauria, We" the poem which gave the film its title. We see how the artistry reflected the reality of Bukowski's life, particularly fitting given the experiential focus of his work.

The film is not a hagiography, and gives extensive coverage to the poet's dark side. However, it makes clear that his behavior was a mechanism of coping with his childhood traumas and sensitivity. Ultimately, it is a moving portrait of a flawed man.

Bukowski, as he was

[slake09 · 8/10 · 2 December 2007]

If you're a Bukowski fan, you'll love this documentary about his life and works. Interviews with his friends, lovers, patrons and publishers make up a good part of the film, interspersed with footage of Bukowski being himself around the house and during poetry readings.

The big mystery to me is how he attracted all those women; we're not talking skid-row winos here, Bukowski kept company with some good looking girls and seemed to take them for granted. What's up with that? He wasn't nice to them, didn't use them as muses, certainly didn't take them places or buy them things, and I doubt anyone would describe him as an Adonis. There must have been something...

In any case, he appears on film here exactly as he came through in his written work, there are no disappointments. From watching him drive to the racetrack to arguing with his wife, this is essential stuff for Bukowski fans.

Incredibly detailed account of a complex man

[tomgillespie2002 · 7/10 · 8 April 2012]

Genius, alcoholic, misogynist, poet, borderline psychopath. These are some of the words and labels branded on 'Beat' poet and author Henry Charles Bukowski Jr. during this extremely detailed and informative account of his life and work. For those unacquainted with his blue- collar genius, Bukowski started out drifting through meaningless jobs across America in the 1940's, drinking and writing all he could in his spare time. It wasn't until the 1960's when a collector of 1st editions and manager of a printing company offered to publish a collection of his works, when his career took off. He wrote possibly thousands of poems and was asked to write a novel. This work was Post Office, an deadpan account of his 16 years working for the U.S. Post Office.

Although he was, and still is, recognised as a 'Beat' writer (alongside the likes of Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg), he was very much a man of his own style. Where Kerouac wrote about his personal journeys in a structured, detailed way, Bukowski wrote about mundane things in a straightforward way. It was very much poetry for the blue collar workers. In this documentary, John Dullaghan pieces together interview footage shot by the likes of Taylor Hackford and Barbet Schroeder, as well as pieces conducted by Italian and Belgian TV, to create a portrayal of a very complex and misunderstood man (there are also interviews with the likes of Sean Penn, Bono, Tom Waits and Harry Dean Stanton).

Like A Man Within (2010), which focused on fellow beat writer William S. Burroughs, Born Into This tries to tackle the various attributes that made the man. While telling a relatively chronological story of Bukowski, it covers the subjects of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father, his alcohol abuse, his treatment of women, his reaction to fame, and how this led to an influx of women begging for his 'purple onion' (as he called it). Running at 130 minutes, this is an incredibly (and necessarily) detailed documentary that really gets to the heart of the man who created some incredibly pieces of literature. I remember reading Post Office and Factotum when I was younger, and being blown away by its simplistic beauty and honesty. A must-see for any fans.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Bukowski: Born for This!

[anaconda-40658 · 8/10 · 29 April 2015]

Bukowski: Born Into This (2003): Dir: John Dullaghan / Featuring: Charles Bukowski, Linda Lee, John Martin, Bono, Marina Bukowski: Documentary about writer and poet Charles Bukowski whose work has achieved cult standing with his dark, cynical and somewhat comical view of life. Director John Dullaghan presents interview footage of Bukowski in colour and black and white where he discusses his abuse as a child as well as various sexual flings until he married Linda Lee, the one woman who seemed strong enough to tolerate his cynical and abusive nature. He worked at a post office and viewers are informed of the time he quit and his method of re-hire. John Martin was his editor and publisher who enabled Bukowski a salary while presenting his writing in print. Various celebrities comment on his work and behaviour but their contribution, however merit, do not add so much as distract from the more important subject, which is actual footage of Bukowski himself. Celebrities can tell much but they seem more as a marketing tool than an important collaborator. John Dullaghan's film should appeal to those scholars who study the intellect of men like Bukowski. He is presented as a man who saw only the dark side of life but delights us with his humorous presentation of it. He was born into a world where he saw no hope but scoffed the grim reality of humanity. Score: 8 ½ / 10

I just wanted to vote

[afghan23226 · 10/10 · 5 July 2006]

I caught most of this on cable the other night. Lots of rare footage and no cinematographical errors that I could discern. My contribution to the general Chuck discussion may be only that he 'sings' his words like Christopher Walken or many stutters. I didn't know that, and I'm glad I could watch this movie and discover that for myself. It may explain a lot; it may not. I'm going to pee, pet my cats and drink another beer.

PS - this entry wasn't long enough. I hope that it is soon. I don't need to pee that much but I'm tired of typing and I want to go back to surfing the internet. Hopefully now it is almost long enough. Did I mention that I really like amazon.com and I purchase many consumer goods on their site on a regular basis?

What Great Footage!

[rolinmoe · 11 October 2003]

An old friend of mine used to regail me with stories of Charles Bukowski, the great everyman poet who wasn't afraid to tell it like it his, who didn't care at all about formalism or what had come before him...he just wanted to put his essence on the page (no matter how crudely he might fashion it).

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. A scene shot in 1986 shows a drunk Bukowski yelling at his wife and then literally trying to kick her off the couch...footage that silenced the auditorium and solidified the idea of Bukowski as a drunken belligerent. But at another point, we see Bukowski cry while reading a poem of his about a woman he lost...completely different from the mythical man. Other stories of his rudeness are shadowed by stories of his covert kindness.

There is nothing incredibly special about how this is shot...but for any Bukowski fan, this is a must-see...the most in-depth look into the life of the man so far shown in America. Too bad that one of the greatest American poets ever is more famous abroad than at home.

Excellent overview

[jellopuke · 8/10 · 1 April 2021]

You're going to get a great look at his life and career with talking heads and samples of poems. It'll up to you if you take that as a jumping off point into diving into his work. He may put some people off, but he's really great.

The great American poet

[PWNYCNY · 10/10 · 21 April 2006]

I first became acquainted with Charles Bukowski's work about a year ago and actually purchased one of his books. His poetry is of the nitty-gritty, down-to-earth, no-holds-barred variety, that I find revealing and fascinating. This movie goes beyond Mr. Bukowski's poetry to examine the man behind the work, and does a credible job of presenting the life of this extraordinary writer and artist. It shows how he overcame major social, emotional and financial barriers to become a world famous author while at the same time remaining true to himself. The movie tries to portray Mr. Bukowski as a gruff man, which at times he was, but he was also a decent man whose poetry gave expression to the thoughts and feelings of millions and millions of persons whose voices are never heard, and if heard, is never heeded. Watch this movie.

Deadbeat as cult writer

[Chris Knipp · 6 June 2004]

For those of us who haven't read any of his writing, Charles Bukowski, as seen in this informative, engaging new documentary by John Dullaghan, is a craggy deadbeat everyman, a working class L.A. writer with enough cult status to have some cool famous fan admirers. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Harry Dean Stanton, Tom Waits, Bono of U2, and Sean Penn are the main guys who read lines or speak in admiring and affectionate terms of Bukowski. He also had a string of women, some wives, the last one, Linda Lee, a beautiful, classy lady with a tough and tender edge worthy of Lauren Bacall. More important yet for his reputation perhaps, he had an editor and publisher who put him on a monthly salary and brought out a lot of his books, John Martin of Black Sparrow Press, who saw Bukowski as an updated Whitman, a man of the people spewing wild poetry.

Somebody else told me he was the kind of writer you like if you're young and wild and drink a lot, the kind of tortured outsider persona that appeals to a 22-year-old, but that you wouldn't go back to. If you used to hit the sauce and gave it up you may feel Bukowski's prose has lost its flavor, like a doper's stoned insights. There are those who consider the writer a case of arrested development. Be that as it may, all his life Bukowski never wanted to be anything but a writer and never stopped writing, poems, then stories, finally novels. Two of his books most often mentioned are Post Office and Ham on Rye.

These may be young men's books with more rough flavor than depth of thought, but the fascination, for the young man, is with something solid: the hard nuggets of brutal boring existence, the courage of the deadbeat who's seen it all and bravely slogs on. First there's the six years, age six to twelve, of being beaten severely once a week with a razor strop by his ex-soldier father. An experience like that, Bukowski says, is good for a writer because it teaches you to tell the truth. Next he had ulcerative acne vulgaris as an adolescent and his face was covered with pullulating boils that left his face craggy and pitted for life -- though there are angles in some of the varied films from different decades that show him tanned and sunny, almost elegant-looking and possessed of an evident macho sexiness that explains in part the many women in his life. The other part is that he was a late bloomer as a ladies' man and took advantage of the fame of his later years to make up for lost time.

After the beatings and the acne Bukowski started visiting Skid Row to prepare for his future life. As his second decade wore on he wandered round the country staying at flophouses, rooming houses and cheap hotels, drunk, obviously, most of the time, throughout the Forties, excused by a psychiatrist from wartime military service. In the Fifties he settled into a minimal working stiff existence: employee at the post office, delivering mail (`living hell'); later on sorting it all night (which was so monotonous he'd get so he couldn't lift his arm), and, because he couldn't sleep, spending the day drinking and writing. Then, when a new addiction to gambling kicked in, he'd be at the racetrack playing the horses and play barfly in the afternoons brawling and flirting. He trashes the Barbet Schroeder movie from his screenplay about that part of his life, says Mickey Rourke is too theatrical and flowery; and he wrote a book called Hollywood after the filmmaking experience to show the dream factory was even stupider and faker than he'd ever imagined.

Eventually a regular column in an L.A. weekly got Bukowski noticed. Then John Martin stepped in with his financial and moral support and through the Seventies and Eighties the man's reputation and financial success grew to the point where he moved to a nice house in San Pedro with his lovely wife. He wasn't expected to live after developing severe bleeding ulcers in his thirties (1956) but he recovered and had a new burst of creativity. In his last few years he got tuberculosis, lost 60 pounds, and gave up heavy drinking. He died soon after being diagnosed with leukemia, at 73.

Watching this documentary you feel good because of the man's clarity and humor. Simplistic his expression may be, but it has the brilliant directness of the practiced writer who wears no mask. But despite all the tastes of his writing he and his celebrity admirers provide, I still don't know if I'd want to read some of his prolific oeuvre, and the picture of a similar, but sober, figure named Harvey Pekar in American Splendor (Bukowski too was wildly re-imagined by R. Crumb) seems more complex and multilayered, while no less down to earth. It's no secret that Harry Dean, Bono, Sean, and Mr. Waits are enthusiastic boozers themselves, and that's one big reason why `Hank' Bukowski's their bard and patron saint.

And if you compare Bukowski to another heavy user (but a more wildly adventurous one), William Burroughs, his mind and work don't seem as rich or as interesting as Burroughs', nor his life as intensely engaged with the issues of his times as the Beats'. Nevertheless, that's not to impugn the authenticity of his voice. There's nobody quite like Bukowski; hence, no doubt, his cult status, and the way people from other countries, places where the brawling and the articulate life are less often combined, find him so fascinating – and so accessible.

not bad

[littlesiddie · 3 June 2004]

This was a special movie for me since Bukowski occupied a special place in my life and provided me with some basic notions about looking at the world during an early formative time in my life. The year was 1975, and I was 21.

Now that I'm 50 and I've been "clean and sober" for over half my life, Bukowski has lost quite a bit of his charm. Watching him in this movie I couldn't help but realize what a total case of adolescent arrested development he was. And although I think he should practically be canonized as a saint for his refusal to knuckle under to the phony plastic American success machine, it's also apparent that most of what he had to say was only negative, it only went half way there, so to speak. In other words, he provided no positive suggestions. He just said: be yourself, be a slacker, follow your own obsessions. And this isn't enough as far as offering young people something good to believe in, something that will help them feel like they can belong to something worthwhile.

And much of the negative imagery quoted in his poems in this movie (I was never a fan of his poetry, only his prose) is almost embarrassingly lurid and crude, only a small step up from, a slightly more polished version of, garden variety Heavy Metal rock 'n' roll doom and gloom song lyrics.

One other impressionistic thing I wanted to note was just how much John Martin, the publisher of Black Sparrow books, reminded me of Leonard "Nipper" Read, the police officer that arrested and helped prosecute the infamous UK gangsters, the Kray twins. Just a fun fact, that's all.

Another thing that struck me was Bukowski's attitude. I'd heard him speak before, on cassette tape and on an early video of a reading he did in Bellevue, Washington, and I knew he had this kind of snotty, purring way of talking, but it really came through here. He really didn't seem like a very nice person, not someone whose attitude I would put up with in real life for very long.

But, all-in-all, this was a very well done documentary, very well paced and hardly ever got bogged down. And it was a real pleasure to get a well rounded picture of a personality I had always been very curious about. And it was also very good to get to see and know some of the other people in Bukowski's life. John Martin, for example, is a very interesting and engaging man in his own right.

As a portrait of an interesting literary and cultural figure I would recommend this film highly to everyone. And I think most Bukowski fans will like it a lot, too.

Here's to Buk, here's to Dullaghan

[oyason · 10 July 2008]

Nothing explains Bukowski like Bukowski himself, and that's why this film works. This memoir keeps his voice at the center, alongside some tough minded commentary by his wife Linda Lee Bukowski and his publisher John Martin at Black Sparrow Press. His daughter Marina also appears briefly,as do a number of his former girlfriends. As a long time admirer of his cleanness of line on the page,and contempt for long winded abstraction in poetry, I think this film of John Dullaghan's rings true as a work convinced of the worthiness of its subject. Bukowski was one of the best poets of the 20th century, though if you troll through the much esteemed halls of poetry even now, you'll see the same pretentious farts scoring him downward. That's the way of it. Bukowski was his own poet, his own voice, his own reference. What a hustle, What a game. Here's to Bukowski, here's to Director John Dullaghan. Let the spoonfed tend to the spoonfed.

A must for any fan, or an introduction to man for the currious non conformist.

[jalexa1036 · 25 February 2004]

This Documenty just increase my love for the man. The poet drags you into his life and shows you some of his behind the seens life and gives you a glimpse of the "bluebird" in his heart. Combineing newer footage along with lots of black and white film of a 70's documentery crew, interviews and some readings. The film also interviews people close to 'Buk' such as his last wife, his co-worker at the post office and also famous friends such as Bono, Sean Penn, and Harry Dean Stanton. If you get the chance to see this film, don't hold back. I hope to purchase the dvd soon. Not sure of the release date, but as charles says "You may have my soul, but, I have your money."

OK doc about the greatest American writer ever

[drew-155 · 18 June 2004]

The film making wasn't great. I could care less about Boner or Ramona's ex husband, and their designer glasses. And even less about the boring 60's montage over that awful jefferson airsuck song.

He is great though. The movie was pretty long (over 2 hours) but I could have kept watching for hours. It's great just to hear him talk. He's totally honest and charming and sincere. This is a great companion to the book Bukowski in Pictures. Together they probably give you a good picture of what the guy was really like.

I really don't have much to say other than if you like Bukowski, you have to see this one.

Born Into This

[adrian_3 · 27 February 2006]

Nothing wrong with Born Into This, I thought it brilliant. It simply showed one completely individualistic and unique person that never told people what they should do or or how to lead their lives As you get older you basically settle down into the life of a sheep - always a slave to something. Whether it be marriage / a relationship, the job, or keeping up with the neighbors ("ooh dear, they have a new car with 2 cup holders. Better go get one that has 3") etc etc. He just didn't give a toss about any of that stuff and basically kept the same attitude throughout his life. At the very least he kept true to his "endurance is more important that truth" saying