Barfly (movie)
| Barfly | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Barbet Schroeder |
| Produced by |
Presenter: Francis Ford Coppola Exec. producers: Menahem Golan Yoram Globus Producers: Tom Luddy Fred Roos Barbet Schroeder |
| Written by | Charles Bukowski |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jack Baran |
| Cinematography | Robby Müller |
| Edited by | Éva Gárdos |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Cannon Film Distributors |
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Release date
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October 16, 1987 |
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Running time
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97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $3,221,568 |
Barfly is a 1987 American comedy drama film directed by Barbet Schroeder and starring Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway. The film is a semi-autobiography of poet/author Charles Bukowski during the time he spent drinking heavily in Los Angeles, and it presents Bukowski's alter ego Henry Chinaski. The screenplay, written by Bukowski, was commissioned by the French film director Schroeder, and it was published (with illustrations by the author) in 1984, when film production was still pending.
The Kino Flo light, now a ubiquitous tool in the film industry, was specially created by Robby Müller's electrical crew for a scene in this film, which would have been difficult to light using the conventional lampheads available at the time.
The film was "presented by" Francis Ford Coppola, and features a silent cameo appearance by Bukowski himself. It was entered into the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.
Henry Chinaski (Mickey Rourke) is a destitute alcoholic who lives in a rundown apartment and works menial jobs when he can find them. An intelligent man and keenly aware of his circumstance, he finds solace in expressing his feelings and perceptions of the world through writing poetry and short stories which he submits to magazines and papers for a few extra dollars.
At night, he frequents a local establishment where he drinks, hangs out with other down and out alcoholics, and eventually gets into altercations with other patrons along with the tough guy bartender he hates, named Eddie (Frank Stallone). One night, Henry comes into the bar very drunk; he begins to drink uncontrollably out of other customers' glasses and Eddie promptly throws him out into the street telling him to never come back. Humiliated, the next day Henry wakes up determined to focus on beating Eddie.
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