18 used & new from $31.99

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

or

Get a $9.00 Amazon.com Gift Card
 
 
The Charles Bukowski Tapes
 
See larger image
 

The Charles Bukowski Tapes (1985)

Starring: Charles Bukowski Director: Barbet Schroeder Rating: NR (Not Rated) Format: DVD
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


5 new from $79.88 13 used from $31.99
Amazon Video On Demand
Amazon Video On Demand Special Offer
Purchase any DVD or Blu-ray and receive $5 towards select TV shows at Amazon Video On Demand. Here's how (restrictions apply).

Special Offers and Product Promotions


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Charles Bukowski Tapes
60% buy the item featured on this page:
The Charles Bukowski Tapes 4.5 out of 5 stars (8)
Bukowski - Born Into This
19% buy
Bukowski - Born Into This 4.7 out of 5 stars (33)
$17.99
Factotum
8% buy
Factotum 3.2 out of 5 stars (49)
$13.49
Charles Bukowski - The Last Straw
6% buy
Charles Bukowski - The Last Straw
$19.99

Product Details

  • Actors: Charles Bukowski
  • Directors: Barbet Schroeder
  • Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
  • Language: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Rating: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: Barrel
  • DVD Release Date: August 29, 2006
  • Run Time: 240 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000GI3KK8
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,079 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
  • For more information about "The Charles Bukowski Tapes" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Special Features

  • The original, complete four-hour edition, with all 52 segments presented over two DVDs
  • Plus: A 36-page booklet featuring essays by Barbet Schroeder and Bukowski biographer Neeli Cherkovski, as well as a 1987 interview with Charles Bukowski

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fifty-two clips of Charles Bukowski ranting and musing comprise Barbet Shroeder’s Charles Bukowski Tapes. It was, until now, a rarity that circulated amongst die-hard Bukowski fans, since the release of Shroeder’s Bukowski-scripted feature, Barfly. This collection of monologues, ranging in topic from Bukowski’s beef with God, to biographical tales of his life as an abused child, to his views on writing as a disciplinary craft, cover the gamut of Bukowski-typical topics, which can also be glimpsed in other Bukowski documentaries, such as Born Into This. But The Charles Bukowski Tapes are set apart by their sheer volume of candid author footage, in which Bukowski has drunkenly abandoned all camera-shyness to reveal, and revel in, his damage. In one chilling segment, Hank and Linda Lee sit on the couch and seriously discuss divorce, leaving the viewer feeling as if they’ve eavesdropped on a therapy session. In another, Hank takes us to his childhood home, to show us the bathroom, nicknamed "The Torture Chamber," where he was repeatedly whipped. The rawness of the tapes is refreshing but painful. This DVD package includes several segments in which Bukowski recites poems, as well as a booklet containing writing by Shroeder, an essay by Bukowski biographer, Neeli Cherkovsky, and a 1987 interview with Hank about the making of Barfly that is, of course, hilariously bitter. The Charles Bukowski Tapes allow for intimacy, making them charmed and disturbing. --Trinie Dalton


Product Description

When Barbet Schroeder (More, General Idi Amin Dada, Single White Female) began work on the movie Barfly, he had no idea that it would be such a struggle. During the seven years it took him to complete the film, he turned his cameras on its screenwriter, poet and novelist Charles Bukowski.

"I couldn’t stand the thought of not being able to share the extraordinary evenings we spent together," said Schroeder. "I finally brought in a small crew, friends of mine, with a high quality video set up. Whoever was the least drunk took control of the camera."

Bukowski, legendary for his drunken excess and frank observations on life, love, and survival, took no exception with Schroeder.

Barbet Schroeder recalls, "I had no idea of what I might do with the material, but I didn’t want those evenings to be lost. As I don’t like formal interviews, I tried to get him started on a topic and then keep from interrupting him. The result was often a monologue of three minutes or longer."

Schroeder eventually completed The Charles Bukowski Tapes, a four-hour long study of the man and the music of his words. "The ideal way to show this material was in short video-clips—a new style of film. Once I had screened it this way, it seemed twice as powerful."

Available for the first time in the world on DVD, Barrel Entertainment is proud to present this exceptional portrait of one of America’s most vital voices.


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Bukowski - Born Into This

Bukowski - Born Into This

DVD ~ Charles Bukowski
4.7 out of 5 stars (33)  $17.99
Factotum

Factotum

DVD ~ Matt Dillon
3.2 out of 5 stars (49)  $13.49
Charles Bukowski - The Last Straw

Charles Bukowski - The Last Straw

DVD ~ Charles Bukowski
$19.99
Charles Bukowski - There's Gonna Be a God Damn Riot in Here

Charles Bukowski - There's Gonna Be a God Damn Riot in Here

DVD ~ Charles Bukowski
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  $19.99
Charles Bukowski - Bukowski at Bellevue

Charles Bukowski - Bukowski at Bellevue

DVD ~ Charles Bukowski
3.7 out of 5 stars (3)  $17.99
Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars essential for the Bukowski fan in your life!, September 24, 2006
2006 seems to be the year for Bukowski on dvd and it's about time! between this and BORN INTO THIS, fans of Buk have a reason to rejoice, and pray there's more stuff in the vaults.I won't go into any production details about THE CHARLES BUKOWSKI TAPES because it's all in the product description, but I will say that it's a four-hour tour into the mind and thoughts of CB broken down into 52 short chapters. if you're a non-fan, it probably won't win you over, but anyone curious as to the thought process of this author who arguably changed the face of modern lit and poetry will be sucked in. for those who think this two-disc set is just the ramblings of an old drunk are wrong: CB is very cogent and thoughtful. some might say Bukowski was pathetic, I say PROPHETIC, and his works will stand the test of time. P.S. for optimum viewing, add a few ADULT beverages and get the kids out of the room.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Bukowski: the myth behind the man, September 3, 2007
By Edward Monk "Edward Monk" (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
I didn't have time to watch the whole DVD, but so far the tapes are exactly what I expected: raw, funny and sometimes, sad.
Bukowski was a character of himself and that role playing was a form to sustain his dignity in the quite hostile environment he was in almost all his life: bad parents, bad jobs, bad women, cheap booze, lack of money. So that's why he tried - and in the tapes this is apparent sometimes - to build a myth of his past, and amused doing that.
But it doen't mean that he is not true or authetic (his bad skin and bad teeth expose everything about his past). It only means that, from time to time, Bukowski looks TOO MUCH Bukowski than one would expect.
Overall, the DVD is a great document about one of the great 20th century american writers and gives to his readers a live and deep insight to some of his thoughts and poems.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Into Charles we go..., July 30, 2007
Into Bukowski I went, and unlike any other Bukowski footage, I was able to leer into the person, the man, the human being beyond the author. I was able to see Bukowski in a light where I could call him "Charles" and feel a personable aura this documentary captured unlike most others.

Charles Bukowski is often associated with an eccentrically-driven tough-guy kind of image, and he's tough, yeah, but he's tough in a complex way unbeknownst to most of the public.

In this recording, Charles is "Charles" before he is singularly a world-famous author, "Bukowski," and we are treated to an intimacy otherwise shelved away. Especially take note of the seen where he visits his old childhood home, recounting the abuse his father gave him; it's here that you see his sensitivity and humanity best: "Let's forget it, okay," he says to the journalist, as he recounts his beatings in the old bathroom.

Okay, maybe...but we won't forget you, Charles. Thank you for the gift of your literature.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Charles Bukowski Tapes REVIEW
I bought this DVD 6 months ago. AND I STILL HAVEN'T FINISHED WATCHING IT. Watch grass grow, watch paint dry. But to sit thru this DVD in one sitting... Read more
Published 10 months ago by David M. Malatesta

5.0 out of 5 stars If you've only read him, you must see this ...
Being an avid reader of Buk's stuff for the past 20 years or so; it occurred to me that I had never seen him on film or for that matter even heard the man speak. Read more
Published on June 21, 2007 by Not dead ... yet.

5.0 out of 5 stars If you saw Born Into This, you are going to want to watch this DVD
Although a bit "Euro" in its presentation (cheesy French piano in between sections), the substance of these two DVDs is solid. Read more
Published on April 23, 2007 by Duarte

4.0 out of 5 stars Much deeper insight into Bukowski than the 'Born Into This' documentary
Schroeder made an interesting choice in conducting this interview. Very little formal questioning was posed, he in fact very rarely interjects any commentary. Read more
Published on March 23, 2007 by Duncan C. White

5.0 out of 5 stars A MAGNATE AMONG AMERICAN WRITERS
All who fail to view this DVD are doomed to a life of ignorance and a sorrowful lack of wisdom.

John Martin was the most eloquent interviewee. Read more
Published on November 9, 2006 by BUKOWSKI BUM

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




IMDb Says...

Learn more about The Charles Bukowski Tapes opens new browser window on IMDb.com opens new browser window the Internet Movie Database.
IMDb Logo

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Movies & TV by subject:











i.e., each DVD must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.



Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.