Barfly (1987)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writer:

Charles Bukowski (writer)

Release Date:

16 October 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.

Plot:

Henry Chinaski never cared for the American dream, the thought of needing to become 'something' and fit into the system disgusts him...

Plot Keywords:

Bar | Whiskey | Bartender | Radio | Fight

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Mickey Rourke	...	Henry Chinaski
Faye Dunaway	...	Wanda Wilcox
Alice Krige	...	Tully Sorenson
Jack Nance	...	Detective
J.C. Quinn	...	Jim
Frank Stallone	...	Eddie
Sandy Martin	...	Janice
Roberta Bassin	...	Lilly
Gloria LeRoy	...	Grandma Moses
Joe Unger	...	Ben
Harry Cohn	...	Rick
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Joe
Joe Rice	...	Old Man in Bar
Julie 'Sunny' Pearson	...	Hooker in Bar
Donald L. Norden	...	Man in Alley

Runtime:

USA:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:MA (TV rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (f) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Bryson Hotel - 2701 Wilshire Boulevard, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Golan-Globus Productions

Trivia:

Composer Trevor Jones was considered to write original music for this film, but director Barbet Schroeder felt that source music was more suited for the film's authenticity.

Quotes:

Wanda: I hate the police, don't you?
Henry: I don't know, but I seem to feel better when they're not around.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "At the Movies: Summer Special 2008/09" (2008)

Soundtrack:

The Sermon

Bukowski's Only Hollywood Screenplay!

What can we say about Barfly? A great picture. That's what we can say. A friend of mine recommended Barfly to me. I watched the start and it said "Some people never go crazy, what truly horrible lives they must live!" After that I was hooked, I knew this guy Bukowski wrote from the gut. I bought as many Bukowski books as possible. Pulp, Hollywood, and Women (my favourite!). I like his novels and short stories more than the poetry. But some of the poems are intense! The movie is also excellent. The two leads are great-Faye Dunaway is in high acting form here. So is Mickey Roarke who seems to have gotten under Bukowski's skin for the role......a side note he did the movie sober! This movie is directed by Barbet Schroeder who also did Reversal of Fortune. He also made the 4 hour Charles Bukowski Tapes (which I own) and it is good, but way to long! Bukowski drinks and reads poems. Back to the film-good supporting actors in this one. The beautiful Alice Krige (from Haunted Summer) is in this as well as David Lynch regular Jack Nance. Lynch was actually on set one day. Bukowski has a funny cameo a barfly in the bar where Mickey meets Faye. I heard that Dennis Hopper wanted to direct this and have Sean Penn star. Schroeder fought hard for it though. Hopper states Schroeder couldn't direct traffic! I guess he proved him wrong. Schroeder went into a production office with a power saw and threatened to cut off his pinky finger if they didn't put more funding into the film. Obviously a labour of love. So check it out if you can, the writing is top notch stuff.......Highly recommended. Thanx.