Charles Bukowski never liked movies. And Hollywood never knew what to do with his books. Yet, the life and work of Bukowski were always an inspiration for generations of filmmakers, and many dozens of movies were made during and after his lifetime, with only a very few of them being established Hollywood productions. Most of these movies were short films, a majority of them student films directed on shoestring budgets solely out of a passion for the author and his works.
Conscientious Reflection : Read in the Substack app Book Review- Bukowski: On Film by Marc Shapiro ~ HARISH P I ~ DEC 08, 2023
Charles Bukowski never liked movies. And Hollywood never knew what to do with his books. Yet, the life and work of Bukowski were always an inspiration for generations of filmmakers, and many dozens of movies were made during and after his lifetime, with only a very few of them being established Hollywood productions. Most of these movies were short films, a majority of them student films directed on shoestring budgets solely out of a passion for the author and his works.
Who was Bukowski? A rebellious poet and story writer, he wrote six novels and countless poems and short stories in many literary magazines, including some obscure ones, which are collected in over sixty books. Called by Time as 'the laureate of American lowlife', Bukowski wrote about the poor by living among them. He wrote about impoverished Americans, alcoholism, sex, and the drudgery of ordinary living. He lived in L.A. and based all his writing around the city. He wasn't noticed much in America at the time, but Europeans celebrated him. Today, he is very popular the world over, with a dedicated fanbase and numerous academic studies being made about his life and work.
Bukowski: On Film is a volume written by Marc Shapiro that tries to list out the movies that were about Bukowski, by Bukowski, or based on the work of Bukowski. This is a tough work because, like his scattered collection of numerous poems and stories, a lot of the movies based on his works are condemned to obscurity. Many of the first-time directors who created them changed their fields, and many others consider them too benign to revisit them. To his credit, the writer has painstakingly tried his best to find out the majority of them and include the details in this book.
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