Barfly (1987)

Well, where to start....ummm...Bukowsky is one of my favorite's writers, he had ideas, sense of humor and "that thing", that we can called talent....

About the film. Good but Hank could be played better. I mean Mickey is a good actor (in my opinion) but he didn't manage to act as alcoholic, well just compare this Hank Chinaski to the one from "factotum" played by Mat Dillon. I'm not a fan of Dillon, but it was a great performance, and Mickey .... well... just read "Hollywood" by Bukowsky and You will know what i mean ;)

...umm one more thing - i didn't like he's "walk" -> it wasn't just "it" But of course Fay was really good :P

Cheers all ;D

Fmovies: This has to be one my favorite movies. I found it very entertaining and fun, which is odd, considering the subject matter. The movie chronicles the misadventures of two talented, yet hopeless drunks. The dialog is snappy and the direction is wonderful. Mickey Rourke gives the film world a glimpse of just how great he could have been. Moreover, Dunaway shows why she will always be considered one of the top female leads of all time. **** out of ****

"Barfly" is not a comedy in the unoriginal meaning of the word; this one really takes you by surprise and writes your laughs in bold and capital letters. Experiencing "Barfly" is like finding a jewel in a trash can or meeting Scarlett Johansen alone in a cheap motel room...

Mickey Rourke, portrays Henry Chinaski, a barfly buzzing around from a waterhole A to a waterhole B. For the bartenders, among them Eddy, the one he fights every night, Henry is a real pain in the ass, how ironic that he also walks as if he had one. And with his Brando-like eyes, Henry seems to look at both nowhere and everywhere, ignoring but understanding the real world with "real" as the derogatory synonym of obviousness, dullness, hypocrisy ... and when he meets Faye Dunaway (no wire hangers this time, but some priceless hangovers I guarantee) it's the perfect cocktail of cynical poetry and endearing trashiness served to you, on the rocks. Still this is the only alcoholic experience that doesn't leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth, for the film is so wasted you wish you could have wasted more time watching it.

The movie is written by Charles Bukowski, one of the most original authors of the last century, a man who gave to the trashiest and lowest life of American streets the letters of an inner nobility that no one could see, except the unfortunate (or were they?) misfits who belonged to that gripping underworld. I wish I could have said that from my readings of some Bukowski's poems or novels, but it's been my whole life since I just knew about this man, and if one thing, "Barfly" is my first immersion in the world of this poet who stinks the sweet perfume of truth and not the one that awakens some repressed suicidal tendencies through a solemn voice over. In "Barfly", truth is delivered through Henry's nasal voice with a musicality singing that life is too serious to be taken seriously Â… and the genius of the script is how unpretentiously but seriously hilarious it is.

You literally savor the script like a sweet, red and juicy appetizer, starting with the most significant quote, the film's tag-line: "Some people never go crazy Â… what truly horrible lives they must live!" Henry is not right because it's naturally better to be crazy, his sentence exceeds his own personal comprehension of craziness, the point is not to be crazy like Henry, but the way we'd love to be every once in a while. The taste of life differs from one person to another. Henry's nonsense speaks true statements about human nature with the same lucidity that governs our hearts when we've just taken one drop too much. Realization is the first step in the road for wisdom while most of us resist to the blinding flash of realization, Henry can't think of what he wants to be, because he's already too tired of thinking of what he doesn't want to be. Henry subtly mirrors our condition as people who not only know but actually ARE what they don't want to be.

Henry can do nothing but drink, sleep, fight and write... still, he's not a loser, hell, how can you be a loser if you've got nothing to lose? The rest of his life consists on a bunch of "can't" but aware, he is, and care, he doesn't; while our masochistic registration to a mediocre formula of life deprived us from the same kind of free-spirited awareness. We try to forget our condition by reassuring ourselves with an ersatz of normality, just to be accepted by t

Barfly fmovies. I've seen this movie several times... I really enjoy it, even though it centers around the lives of two wretched drunks (played by Rourke and Dunaway) who, if you met them in real life, would probably frighten you to death.

Though both of them are wretched souls indeed, there is nevertheless enough compassion, wisdom, and charm emanating from both of them to make them actually likeable screen characters. And you can't help but do a mental "double take" on many of the lines of dialogue: Rourke's character, with a sort of "beat" hipness, really makes you think about your own life and your own values.

The only flaw I could find was that, considering the incredible amount of drinking that is depicted, I felt it would have been more realistic to show Henry and Wanda having more horrible hangovers, maybe even with frequent vomiting attacks. But then again, maybe these are two people who really know how to hold their liquor. See it, and decide for yourself!

P.S.: NOT recommended that you watch this film if you are on the wagon and trying to stay on it!!

Tender and surprisingly straight to the heart romantic-comedy that features Mickey Rourke (in one of his best roles) as Henry, a partially hump-backed middle-aged man is proud to be a part-time poet and full-time drunk who finds himself in a short-time, drawn to a fellow alcoholic, Wanda (Faye Dunaway) and a civilized publisher, Tully (Alice Krige).

Director Barbet Schroeder patiencely takes the movie, which is based on the work and maybe, life of not-so-sober poet Charles Bukowski, and transforms it into a meaningful movie. Even the bar where Henry normally hangs out at, "The Golden Horn", has the same dreary, smoke-filled atmosphere that you'd find at any tavern, bar, or pub. A fitting tribute to anyone who goes to any bar.

That part of the movie that works wonders is the camera work of Robby Muller ("To Live and Die in L.A.", "Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai"), that captures the typical scene in a bar. You don't have to look too close to see the conversations and arguements.

"Barfly" is a different movie and it's worth watching on a rainy day or on the weekend.

Faye Dunaway's best work since Network! She really nailed this role. Mickey Rourke was superb, so sleazy you could almost smell him through the screen. His character's way of speaking and walking were such affectations that I would normally consider overacting, but here they were just right.