The Charles Bukowski Tapes 2006 DVD (1 Viewer)

[cirerita]

got it today from an eBay seller at a nice price -sealed and unopened:
http://cgi.ebay.es/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=006&item=160011471217&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1

it comes in a thick case with a booklet containing an intro by Schroeder, a short piece by Cherkovski and a previously available 1987 interview -"Gin-Soaked Boy".



The DVD quality is ok, but not great. A couple of screenies for ya and the booklet cover:

 

[hank solo]

Can't argue with the price. Looks about as good as the old bootleg disks I bought a few years ago. Oh well, that'll teach me to preorder on Amazon...
Is it properly indexed so you can watch the exact chapter you want? And have they left the music intact - you know, the piano tune that everyone loves...

 

[mjp]

Quality of the source video may be degraded, being 20+ years old. Even stored under perfect conditions video tape doesn't last forever. I'll compare it to the original tapes when I get the DVD, but I don't see how it can't be a little better.

I also have a couple of bootleg VHS copies, and one of them is very high quality. Someone did a pro transfer from the original at some point and made a pretty good bootleg. But to me, the ability to skip around or go straight to a certain section is worth the price of the DVD.

 

[HenryChinaski]

whoa good deal cirerita

 

[hank solo]

The Charles Bukowski Tapes DVD (Barrel Entertainment, 2006)

Well, got my copy.

Compared to my bootleg DVD copy, there is noticable improvement in quality, at least when view on my PC monitor. And its obviously much better than the versions on Google Video. Can't compare to my original Lagoon VHS copy - no VCR, but I expect that this new DVD will look slightly sharper. On a first viewing I'd say there is some noticable variance in the dark parts of the picture - sitting in his garden at night the background seems to fade then brighten fade then brighten - like a slight pulsing - but I'm being picky. Sound is pretty good - low hiss compared to other versions.

No bells and whistles on the menus. No extras on either disc, but as well as being able to pick the exact chapter you want, theres also a menu that singles out the few chapters that comprise of a reading of a particular poem, eg. For Jane, Quiet Clean Girls in Gingham Dresses. Sadly the listing of the chapters in the enclosed booklet is very poorly done, with a sort of shakey hand written font, although the 'title' of each chapter is shown on the select chapter menu...

The discs are definitely Region 1 only.

The beloved piano music is there, at the beginning and end of every Chapter... If you can't stand it, watch them on Google instead, where you'll only hear it at the end of the clip.

As mjp stated previously, this was recorded onto old 1 inch video tape, and its never going to be much sharper or crisper than the masters. Well, unless Barbet Schroeder goes back to 'Lucasify' the original masters and throw in some CGI drunks and monsters.

 

[bongobill]

got it today from an eBay seller at a nice price.
it comes in a thick case with a booklet containing an intro by Schroeder, a short piece by Chervovski and a previously available 1987 interview -"Gin-Soaked Boy".

i picked one up today
it's a good thing
i needed a dose
of attitude adjustment
that bukowski alone
could deliver

 

[Beathriz]

Whats this famous music you mention on this DVD?
Because I see the mention of an interview title 'Gin Soaked Boy' I cant help connecting Tom Waits to the music, am I right?

 

[mjp]

No, the only music is a few short bars of funeral piano repeated at the beginning and end of every segment. After hearing it 104 times you kind of want to shoot the piano player.

 

[bright]

yup,he kinda always finishes to no applause.

 

[xxedgexx]

No, the only music is a few short bars of funeral piano repeated at the beginning and end of every segment. After hearing it 104 times you kind of want to shoot the piano player.

Yeah, seriously. Who ever decided that was a good idea was a sick person. It drives me insane to the point that I've been considering redoing the DVD myself just to get rid of that music.

-jeremy

 

[HenryChinaski]

yeah, that depressing music is the only downside to the Bukowski Tapes. They should've made them less frequent throughout the whole thing.

 

[Olaf]

The Bukowski Tapes used to all be on GOOGLE VIDEO! Someone has taken them down!

why o why!

any ideas?

 

[hank solo]

Well as the DVD is out "The Tapes" are once more a commercial product so copyright is clearly going to be a bigger issue than when no one was trying to make a profit from them (excluding the countless bootleggers who still seem to be making money)

 

[roni]

yup,he kinda always finishes to no applause.

hey, bright, that's a great one! I had to laugh!

Who ever decided that was a good idea was a sick person. It drives me insane ...

sure, like anybody I'm suffering from it watching the Tapes.
There WAS a reason to it though: the first appearances of the Buk-Tapes were as single shows once a week on TV. So that's why they had a recognizable music to start and end it and that was o.k. Only listening to it over and over again makes one want to die.

 

[grahamcooke]

Any sign of a region 2 version of this? Never seen it, keep looking in eBay, can only find region 1. I bought a new region free DVD recorder recently via eBay but had to send it back to fradulent seller, so don't really want to buy another.

G.

 

[hank solo]

I know of no plans for European release of those tapes on DVD.

Many DVD players (especially the cheap and cheerful ones) can be made region free.
Check out this site.

 

[Bukfan]

Wow, that's a very useful link! I've had trouble getting a region free DVD player in the past. With this link I no longer have to wait for shops advertising region free DVD players when I need a new one. Thanks, HS...

 

[roni]

Thanks, HS...

the Force is with him, I tellya.

 

[Bukfan]

I think you're right on that one, Roni! It's Han(k) Solo himself! He sure has found some great links more than once!

 

[grahamcooke]

hank solo, thanks for the link. I am aware of this site but unfortunately my (cheap Spanish) player isn't listed, and I've switched my laptop's region code so many times that if I do it again, it'll be stuck.

Possibly time to buy a cheap region-free recorder from a good old fashioned store.

G.

 

[hank solo]

and I've switched my laptop's region code so many times that if I do it again, it'll be stuck

I have DVD Idle on this PC so that my DVD-ROM drive is practically region free (the region code of the firmware is never changed).

There might be other (possibly free) programs that do the same thing too, but I've no experience with those.

 

[Bukfan]

My DVD drive is set to region 2 and instead of changing the region when I want to watch a region 1 movie (you can only change the DVD drive's region up to 4 times before it gets stuck) I just use the free VCL player! The VCL player don't care about what region your DVD drive is set to. It plays both region 1 and 2 anyway!

 

[grahamcooke]

I have DVD Idle

Thanks, I'll check it out.

G.

 

[hank solo]

My DVD drive is set to region 2 and instead of changing the region when I want to watch a region 1 movie (you can only change the DVD drive's region up to 4 times before it gets stuck) I just use the free VCL player! The VCL player don't care about what region your DVD drive is set to. It plays both region 1 and 2 anyway!

I know you mean VLC player... I didn't know it had that capability. Cool.

 

[Bukfan]

Yes, the VLC player from Videolan! Did I say VCL? My mistake! It's VLC, of course. It's great. It does'nt care about regions!