Charles Bukoski - Born Into This (documentary)

Definitely not a rock'n'roller - in fact he often disdained the entire genre, as his was a lover of classical music - he has, nonetheless, influenced countless musicians and lyricists. (How many bands have named themselves and/or their records after his writings?) His story is that of the most basic punk rocker - terrible home life, left when he was young, traveled, and devoted himself to his art to the point of starving - though Bukowski got lucky and was finally able to support himself in his later years.

This documentary tells his story, albeit in an abbreviated fashion, with lots of interviews with the man himself, his wife, his girlfriends, the mother of his daughter (not looking well in her later years) and many others. Musicians such as Tom Waits & Bono, actors such as Sean Penn & Harry Dean Stanton and other celebrities such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti and John Fante's wife, Joyce, all give their accolades and show their admiration.

Love the 60's B&W interview footage and the trips through old-time Hollywood. Luckily, many people were enamored with Buk even in his early days, so there is a lot of documentation in his homes and in his readings. There are clips from Barbet's Bukowki Tapes of Charles talking of his parents and the cruelty of his father, including a rather emotional segment in the house he grew up in. There is a very disturbing encounter with Buk and his then-girlfriend and later-wife, Linda, in which he starts to physically abuse her - and her later being interviewed and saying that she never took that kind of shit again.

I could go on, but if you know anything about Bukowski, you basically know his story. The great thing about this is that it gives you images to go along with the words that you have read many times over. No, it is not the complete story - far from it - but that is what the books are for. This is a terrific overview and really humanizes the man. Even Melanie, who has not cared for his writings, felt a fondness for the man and his vulnerability here. I feel that I came to him late in the game - in the early 80's - but there was not much that I learned here, though the format and presentation was all quite entertaining and well done.

Good for beginner and novices to the man as well as hard-core fans - even has Buk reading some of his words, which is the way that you should hear them. See it, for sure.