Black Swan
Abord the Yorikke!
Time to watch Barfly, once more. I have it on VHS. I remember buying it from a video store that was closing for a few buckskins.
Factotum vs Barfly: Which do you think is better?
- Thread starter Austin Charles
- Start date
"Barfly" is the ultimate Henry Chinaski movie. I feel like there needs to be more disconnect between Bukowski and his work, because he did write fiction. And let's not forget that his novels, unlike his poetry, were largely written when his 'seedy past' was already far behind him. I wouldn't even want to see another Chinaski movie so much as a TV series. It's pretty amazing to me that no one has thought of this before, but there is such a wealth of material to draw from, and judging from some of his newer scenes in Bored to Death, I believe that Ted Danson could make for a pretty good Bukowski in a few years, if he was to play the dirty old man version of Chinaski.
Seeing as this topic came up again...
It's easy to forget that "Barfly" was made in 1987, that's 27 years ago(? my maths isn't great) and any film viewer knows that realism and capturing moments in film has come a long way since then, just as it had from 1960 to 1987...
That said, Barfly was the only one made with Bukowski's screenplay and with the man himself involved during the production. Maybe because of that and it's the first one that most would have seen (other than "Crazy Love", which I doubt many english speaking fans would have seen in 1987...) that gives it the favour in my mind, even though it has the admittedly exaggerated Mickey Rourke/Schroeder direction and interpretation of Buk - again, I think largely due to the style of the era.
"Factotum" has the advantage of a more modern production, in an era that captures moments and scenes far more vividly and realistic than in the past...but there is something inherently fucked-up about casting a hollywood matinee idol like Dillon..yes Rourke was too, but at least he was made to look not so purty. Even Dillons confident old-time leading man upright swagger seems to me to be at odds with our protagonist - for my liking anyway.
I sometimes wonder if Rourke should just get that face truly fucked up - with all the plastic surgery help and age and hard times he's had up to this point, and get someone like Paul Thomas Anderson on board to do "Post Office" and do it right. I fucking love Barfly and Factotum is a good movie in it's own right too, but there's still a definitive Buk flick to made some day, I'm sure.
Once last point, I think Barfly captured the humour far better.
It's easy to forget that "Barfly" was made in 1987, that's 27 years ago(? my maths isn't great) and any film viewer knows that realism and capturing moments in film has come a long way since then, just as it had from 1960 to 1987...
That said, Barfly was the only one made with Bukowski's screenplay and with the man himself involved during the production. Maybe because of that and it's the first one that most would have seen (other than "Crazy Love", which I doubt many english speaking fans would have seen in 1987...) that gives it the favour in my mind, even though it has the admittedly exaggerated Mickey Rourke/Schroeder direction and interpretation of Buk - again, I think largely due to the style of the era.
"Factotum" has the advantage of a more modern production, in an era that captures moments and scenes far more vividly and realistic than in the past...but there is something inherently fucked-up about casting a hollywood matinee idol like Dillon..yes Rourke was too, but at least he was made to look not so purty. Even Dillons confident old-time leading man upright swagger seems to me to be at odds with our protagonist - for my liking anyway.
I sometimes wonder if Rourke should just get that face truly fucked up - with all the plastic surgery help and age and hard times he's had up to this point, and get someone like Paul Thomas Anderson on board to do "Post Office" and do it right. I fucking love Barfly and Factotum is a good movie in it's own right too, but there's still a definitive Buk flick to made some day, I'm sure.
Once last point, I think Barfly captured the humour far better.
mjp
Founding member
You really can't say that a movie made in 1987 doesn't benefit from "modern production," because with the exception of the clothes the crew are wearing, you couldn't tell the difference between a 1987 (or 1967) movie set and a 2014 movie set. I think you'd be hard pressed to find any real differences between the production of Barfly and Factotum.
Other than the introduction of good quality high speed film in the 60s and 70s that allowed for filming in low light conditions (and capturing the "realism" that you mention - think about it, the 70s were the heyday of that kind of "gritty" film making), and more recently digital production, the way people make movies and the "capturing of moments" hasn't changed since the days of silent films. The only thing that has improved technically is special effects (CGI), and Crazy Love, Barfly and Factotum aren't exactly brimming with CGI.
Well I beg to differ, just from my own observations of filmmaking. When I say "modern production", I'm talking more generally about movie making - I'm not just talking about CGI and special effects, but the whole style of directing, actors performances, fight scenes etc etc - which in my own opinion (and granted, that's all it is) continues to advance over the years. I still maintain that movies from the 80's in general are more overacted and almost camped up as opposed to now. Barfly was a product of that era and it shows in places. It's still one of favourites, along with 2001: A Space Odyssey, which again is definitely dated by todays standards, but it doesn't diminish it's quality and achievement as a great movie. And for the record, I wouldn't want to see either one be butchered by a remake. Good grief, there's a horrible thought that I wouldn't put past hollywood.
mjp
Founding member
That probably has less to do with movie making than it does with cheap and plentiful cocaine.
Barfly by a country mile for me. Bukowski was raw, gritty, a man of the streets. Dillon gave this sanitized version who you just couldn't really see as a drunk brawling street type. I recall seeing him wearing a yellow patterned shirt at one stage, just didn't feel or look like Bukowski to me.
