I admit I haven't read every thread in this forum, but from what I see it appears to be quite overlooked that Mickey Rourke completely botched his portrayal of Bukowski. If you've seen Born Into This, both Barbet Schroeder and Hank Bukowski talk about how Mickey Rourke did not want to rehearse his part despite the time constraints, and that he exaggerated many of Bukowski's qualities and generally got the whole thing wrong. Any comments?
shareIt had a small release pattern.Though it did okay for an art-house movie,it never got the big cross-over audience it deserved.It has quite the fanbase though.It was a big success in Europe,and one thing is for sure....
Mickey was Robbed by those pompous academy snobs.
Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.
I noticed that Mickey Rourke's portrayal was a whole lot different then how Charles Bukowski acted/sounded. But I loved it none the less. If I want to see the real Bukowski I'd see the real Bukowski. I loved Rourke's interpretation. Maybe even better. Also while it's obviously about Bukowski's life it's also an amalgam of his characters. All of which are based on Bukowski himself, but when I read his stories, my imagination picks different looks and mannerisms. And Rourke sure picked some great ones!
Cousin Cheryl, I don't think the family REALLY knows you.
people talk of the real bukowski and use that as a way to debase the film, the real bukowski based on the hank we get in the books. well, if you believe chinaski is the real bukowski and he was getting the kind of action he writes of in women, then fine. hank embellishes, we all do. mickey did a take on the guy. it's his. it's one of his finest roles, one he subsequently hated due to his personal life at the time, but it's a performance few actors could pull off. imagine johnny depp doing it. jesus. look at 9 1/2 weeks from 1986. mickey is the sexiest male in holloywood. a year later he's playing henry chinaski and pulls it off. and i seem to recall reading someplace that bukowski said that mickey's portrayal of henry is the kind of henry he wished he was.
'with the ability to be able to do anything that he wants to do and findin' nothin'.' rumble fish
I have to say, that i had not read any of bukowski's books before i saw this movie, but after seeing it i made sure to get every book he'd ever written. For some strange reason i wanted to be just like hank, and now many years later,i am. Well, almost. This movie really did make me want to drink, but more than that, it made me want to live my life in a way i want to live my life. I don't care about money or a family, i just want to have a good time, well of course money is a big part of having fun, but i think that life itself is fun, and it's free! You only have to sacrifice yourself to have a good time.
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