I just finished watching a pirated copy of the movie Factotum. I'm glad I watched a pirated copy because I would have been even more disappointed had I actually paid to watch it. The movie was very empty. If you had not read the book previously I don't even know why you would have watched it or if you would really have been able to appreciate what was happening. Not at any point in the movie do you get a sense as to why Hank Chinaski is choosing to live the sort of life he lives. All the director has done is put to picture some of the events that took place in the book; however, without the accompanying commentary it comes of as empty and pointless. The characters lack any kind of dimension and, as a result, you don't care one way or another what happens. I just don't understand why this movie was made. It is not at all like Barfly, which was a good movie. I also thought Matt Dillion was a poor choice to play Chinaski, mostly because he is too handsome. Chinaski was ugly. That was a good part of what made him interesting and endearing to readers. To take that away from his character cheapens the whole movie. Another thing that irked me was that the director coped out and didn't shoot the movie in the time period of the book. This would have been much more effective and would have made Chinaski's character more believeable. Who wears brill cream in this day and age? I would not recommend paying money to see this. Download it if you can. That way you won't be too disappointed.
Factotum (movie) (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter fancyladd
- Start date
Hmmm, this statement got me thinking. Does Factotum (or Post Office for that matter) make a point of describing Chinaski as ugly? - or is this a case of us mixing Buk with Chinaski? I'm not sure myself. I know Ham on Rye describes the ugliness though...fancyladd said:
So: How is Chinaski actually described in Factotum (and other texts)? Does he look ugly or are just his actions/lifestyle ugly...?
Based on what Buk wrote in other books, we know that Henry Chinaski is ugly (at least conveniontally speaking). The subject isn't featured prominently in Factotum, but it is mentioned: Gertrude moved her body to the music, moved her head to the music, and looked into my eyes.
"You have a really strange face," she said. "You're not really ugly."
"You have a really strange face," she said. "You're not really ugly."
A long hard slow endurance
And what does Factotum (the book) say about this? Perhaps that Chinaski doesn't:fancyladd said:
Getting below the surface of the Buk-myth is what this movie is about, I think. A myth is a powerful thing, but after a while you understand that there are plenty of pockmarked, ugly ppl in the world, who just don't give a damn, but very, very few of them endure and still keep trying to make sense of it all. THAT is Buk's project. That's the beauty of it: a long hard slow endurance; that's what makes him "endearing" to readers who stick with him long enough to get past the "fuck-it-all-let's-get-drunk" image. Mst ppl who dismiss Buk, never get past that first stage. That's the drawback of the myth...fancyladd said:
zoom man
Founding member
Egads, Our MAN is getting more popular
Anyone see this?,
Matt Dillon was on the front page of Parade
(Sunday insert Mag)
And this pic and 1-liner about the movie included...
(BTW-> Somewhere someone brought up 'dumb board games'....
My addiction is the NY Times Crossword, especially the Sunday Version)
(sorry about the ungodly massive and blurry pic)
[Edit: Resized image - mjp]
Anyone see this?,
Matt Dillon was on the front page of Parade
(Sunday insert Mag)
And this pic and 1-liner about the movie included...
(BTW-> Somewhere someone brought up 'dumb board games'....
My addiction is the NY Times Crossword, especially the Sunday Version)
(sorry about the ungodly massive and blurry pic)
[Edit: Resized image - mjp]
Anyone know where i can download it? or when it will be released on DVD in canada?...
thanks,
thanks,
Does anyone know when the soundtrack is coming out?
The Factotum soundtrack has been released in Europe:
Amazon UK Link
Amazon UK Link
did Buk include a typewriter in his screenplay of Barfly? I can't remember, it's been a while since I read it.
mystery girl
Founding member
During the first part of 1975 Hank and I were exchanging letters, and he was writing Factotum, although at the time he refered to it just as "the novel". He was using his old typewriter to write all his letters, so I assume he typed it.
HenryChinaski
Founding member
here are some of the best voice over quotes from the movie because I have that kind of time on my hands. maybe you guys can tell me which ones actually come from Buk himself...or if any do for that matter.
"As we live, we all get taught and torn by various traps. Writing can trap you. Some writers tend to write what has pleased their writers in the past. They hear accolades and believe them. There is only one final judge of writing and that is the writer. When he is swayed by the critics, the editors, the publishers, the readers, then he's finished. And of course when he's swayed by his fame and fortune, you can float him down the river with the turds."
"Even at my lowest times, I can feel the words bubbling inside of me...and I have to get the words down or be overcome by something worse than death. Words, not as precious things but as necessary things. Yet, when I begin to doubt my ability to work the word, I simply read another writer and know I have nothing to worry about. My contest is only with myself, to do it right, with power, and force, and delight, and gamble."
"A poem is a city filled with streets and sewers, filled with saints heros, beggers, madmen, filled with benality and booze, filled with rain and thunder and periods of drought. A poem is a city at war. It's a baber shop filled with cynical drunks. A poem is a city. A poem is a nation. A poem is the world."
"Amazing how grimly we hold onto our misery. The energy we burn, fueling our anger. Amazing how one moment we can be snarling like a beast then a few moments later forgetting what or why, not hours of this, or days, or months, or years of this, but decades, lifetimes completely used up, given over to the pettiest rancor and hatred. Finally, there is nothing here for death to take."
.....
Jan: "The bible says love thy neighbor..."
Hank: "That could also mean, leave him alone."
yes yes, I know I've already watched the movie three times.
Do you think I have a problem?
"As we live, we all get taught and torn by various traps. Writing can trap you. Some writers tend to write what has pleased their writers in the past. They hear accolades and believe them. There is only one final judge of writing and that is the writer. When he is swayed by the critics, the editors, the publishers, the readers, then he's finished. And of course when he's swayed by his fame and fortune, you can float him down the river with the turds."
"Even at my lowest times, I can feel the words bubbling inside of me...and I have to get the words down or be overcome by something worse than death. Words, not as precious things but as necessary things. Yet, when I begin to doubt my ability to work the word, I simply read another writer and know I have nothing to worry about. My contest is only with myself, to do it right, with power, and force, and delight, and gamble."
"A poem is a city filled with streets and sewers, filled with saints heros, beggers, madmen, filled with benality and booze, filled with rain and thunder and periods of drought. A poem is a city at war. It's a baber shop filled with cynical drunks. A poem is a city. A poem is a nation. A poem is the world."
"Amazing how grimly we hold onto our misery. The energy we burn, fueling our anger. Amazing how one moment we can be snarling like a beast then a few moments later forgetting what or why, not hours of this, or days, or months, or years of this, but decades, lifetimes completely used up, given over to the pettiest rancor and hatred. Finally, there is nothing here for death to take."
.....
Jan: "The bible says love thy neighbor..."
Hank: "That could also mean, leave him alone."
yes yes, I know I've already watched the movie three times.
Do you think I have a problem?
The first two are taken from "The Captain Is Out To Lunch..."
Then you have "a poem is a city" from "The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses..."
Finally "everywhere, everywhere" from "What Matters Most Is How..."
I think all the voice overs are original Bukowski lines, although they've been re-editted from the published versions.
Then you have "a poem is a city" from "The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses..."
Finally "everywhere, everywhere" from "What Matters Most Is How..."
I think all the voice overs are original Bukowski lines, although they've been re-editted from the published versions.
HenryChinaski
Founding member
wow, good work hank. thanks a bunch.
HenryChinaski
Founding member
and another question, whats the last poem that he reads at the very end?
for some reason i thought it was the laughing heart but i was wrong. I know it's one Bono reads in Born Into This
for some reason i thought it was the laughing heart but i was wrong. I know it's one Bono reads in Born Into This
mjp
Founding member
Bono reads "the crunch," from Love is a Dog From Hell in the movie and "roll the dice" from What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire in the DVD extras.
https://bukowskiforum.com/showthread.php?t=45
https://bukowskiforum.com/showthread.php?t=45
HenryChinaski
Founding member
yes...great thats what i was looking for.
Check out the following quote from Factotum:
After losing several typewriters to pawnbrokers I simply gave up the idea of owning one. I printed out my stories by hand and sent them out that way. I hand-printed them with a pen. I got to a be a very fast hand-printer. It got so that I could hand-print faster than I could write. I wrote three or four short stories a week, I kept things in the mail. I imagined the editors of The Atlantic Monthly and Harper's saying: "Hey, here's another one of those things by that nut."
:p
I see there's an official US site for the movies release...
http://www.factotummovie.com/
Includes a different trailer to the one used in Europe.
http://www.factotummovie.com/
Includes a different trailer to the one used in Europe.
HenryChinaski
Founding member
here's a deleted scene from the movie. I just kinda stumbled upon it the other day.
The soundtrack from the movie has 4 Bukowski poems put to music;
--If you're going to try - from Roll the Dice
--Slow Day - from Wind the Clock
--I wish to weep from - orig. No Title
--and My Garden
--If you're going to try - from Roll the Dice
--Slow Day - from Wind the Clock
--I wish to weep from - orig. No Title
--and My Garden
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Hi mjp,
If you follow his postings, it is very clear. He starts out by asking when the soundtrack will be released and then starts pimping it hard.
Shameful, really that he has not perfected his art of selling past spam-like postings on a forum.
Bill
If you follow his postings, it is very clear. He starts out by asking when the soundtrack will be released and then starts pimping it hard.
Shameful, really that he has not perfected his art of selling past spam-like postings on a forum.
Bill
Hi, I just saw the movie in the theater and I am brand new to this forum, and I can't resist replying. Why would I have watched it? Because it sounded interesting. I knew Bukowski was a famous writer -- I am a writer -- therefore I am interested.
Could I appreciate what was happening? Sure, I am no idiot.
I think the movie makes it pretty clear, in several areas when "Hank" makes reference to poverty, the poor & downtrodden, or that kind of life in general -- "you don't know sorrow, but I do" for example, but he says this kind of thing many times both in dialogue and in the quotes they used. The movie makes it pretty clear, why he is living that kind of life, (he is a writer, trying to get by, he has to work, but doesn't really want any of those s--t jobs, of course!). Also the movie makes it pretty clear, what the struggle is -- and besides anyone who has ever heard the phrase "struggling artist" or "starving artist" is not exactly new to the concepts in the movie.
It did not come off as pointless. To me, it reminded me how easy I have it. I have a good job, and it reminded me, I have no excuse for not writing. He can send off stories even at his lowest, so what's stopping me? It also made me think about the fact that maybe my life is too easy... so I think the point hit home very well.
I came to this forum because I wanted to see what "true fans" (as opposed to a newbie; I am only just now learning Bukowski's great body of work) would say about the movie.
Disappointingly, as is the ususal occurrence with fan sites, most people can only protest the "popularization" of their hero. They can't see the great parts of the movie, the successes of it, and forgive it its imperfections.
I'm here to tell you that getting out a movie like this, helps more people to become interested in Bukowski (like me). Something to think about.
mjp
Founding member
If that's the impression you get from this forum, I can only guess that you haven't read much of it yet. This is hardly a hero/fan site. There is a lot of critical discussion and outright myth-busting going on.
Obviously the most active participants are "fans," but I don't see a whole lot of weeping and wailing over Bukowski's increased popularity. I'm pretty sure that most of us expected that he would become more well known as time went on, and that's exactly what's happening. The more people who come to his work, the better. I, for one, don't really care how they get there.
As for movies, I have yet to see one that can capture the essence of a book. How could they? Being disappointed by the movie based on a book that you like is not a phenomenon limited to Bukowski readers.
Welcome aboard, stick around, keep reading, maybe your initial impression will change.
HenryChinaski
Founding member
yeah I agree with mjp. as far as I'm concerned, Charles Bukowski is the most famous-infamous writer that ever lived. lol i dunno if that makes any sense to you, lossst, but yes, however people find out about his work is their business.
The only thing that bothers me is when he is cast into a false light because of these films. Like mjp said, there really hasnt been a film to come along and capture the essence of any of his novels. I'm pretty sure also, that there never will be a film to do any of Buks work justice just for the sheer fact that they are two majorly different ballparks. who would rather watch a film when they can read a book?
read around the forums a little more lossst, some of the people on this forum possess way more knowledge about Bukowski than you would think.
TRUE FANS? What is a "true fan"?
We are scholars.
We are sifting through the madness that is Charles Bukowski.
The only thing that bothers me is when he is cast into a false light because of these films. Like mjp said, there really hasnt been a film to come along and capture the essence of any of his novels. I'm pretty sure also, that there never will be a film to do any of Buks work justice just for the sheer fact that they are two majorly different ballparks. who would rather watch a film when they can read a book?
read around the forums a little more lossst, some of the people on this forum possess way more knowledge about Bukowski than you would think.
TRUE FANS? What is a "true fan"?
We are scholars.
We are sifting through the madness that is Charles Bukowski.
Well you couldn't be more wrong
culturally the film was a great success as it shows the plight of the everyman from a variety of perspectives (working life, relationships, battling against addiction, and striving for artistic expression) all which cohere into a magnificent new alternative vision of Chinaski. Not Buk's beat generation vision but one that is brought into the twentieth century showing the continuing relevance of Buk's work.
Acade3mically and critically speaking the movie was technically excellent, with the choice of music by Kristin Asbjornson evoking that feeling of grim despair and of a man living life on the edge. The sequencing was spot on, diverging from the order of the book in way that was perfect for the movie format. The acting was first rate (was Dillon really drunk in one or two scenes?) and the casting was carried out with precision. Lily Taylor and Marisa Tomei and Fisher Stevens were just right to bring their respective characters to life and ably portrayed.
So basically I just proved you don't know what you are talking about. Maybe you should try watching the film? Ha.
