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Barfly

3.96  ·  Rating details ·  1,255 ratings  ·  26 reviews
The screenplay of the 1987 movie, as written by Charles Bukowski.
Paperback, 176 pages
Published May 31st 2002 by Ecco (first published 1983)
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3.96  · 
Rating details
 ·  1,255 ratings  ·  26 reviews


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Marilyn
Mar 17, 2008 rated it it was amazing
The movie The Barfly peeked my interest in Charles Bukowski and since seeing it I have purchased almost all his books. He is hilarious, dirty, dingy, a drunk, a womanizer, a gambler, and best of all he knows it and does not care. Oh, and he is brilliant. He lived and played in the southern California area of San Pedro, frequenting Hollywood Park Race Track. I grew up in that area and found it easy to imagine that scraggly old man walking down the streets. Maybe I even saw him? His books of ficti ...more
Andy
Apr 06, 2009 rated it it was amazing
A good screenplay by Buk in spite of his later complaints about the film. The dialogue is funny and contains condensed versions of some of his short stories and poems. Contains lot of cool pics of Bukowski cutting up on set with Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway, of whom he once remarked, "I never saw a woman that beautiful in a dive bar". He's the expert!
Surrealist Abdul
Jul 29, 2018 rated it really liked it
My 1st read for charles Bukowski and will not be the last , I prefer short stories & novels instead of long ones, especially if it involves a deep reflections as this one .like all the charecters , especially Henry ,(the Barfly) who believes that life is free and yours to live like you see fit, and if that in some cases involves copious amounts of whiskey then so be it. but in front all of this He speaks like a philosopher and have an independent vision for the life and society. and Sometime ...more
Jill Pesqueira
Mar 21, 2017 rated it it was amazing
Loved the book and the movie is a classic. Faye Dunaway and crazy Mickey Rourke. I think I will watch it again. Been a while.
Dane Cobain
Mar 03, 2017 rated it it was amazing
This is a unique little book, and definitely worth reading – especially if you’re a Bukowski fan. In fact, I enjoyed it more than the movie, and the movie was pretty good. This, though, is the original screenplay, which Bukowski wrote based loosely upon his own life, as he did with the rest of his work. It stars Hank Chinaski, a barfly, and Wanda Wilcox, his woman.

The action pretty much just follows the interactions between the two of them, and so that alone should be enough for you to get a goo
...more
Cwn_annwn_13
Mar 22, 2010 rated it liked it
This is the script to the movie Barfly. It was a bit awkward me for to read something in script form. Its full of all the Bukowski cliches and there are a few laughs. Not that this is bad but I'd recomend Bukowski's Hollywood which is his account of the making of the Barfly movie, and even watching the film before I would reading the script. Really this is probably only worth your trouble if your a Bukowski completist.
Ned Stenger White
Jul 18, 2010 rated it it was amazing
"HENRY
Sometimes I get so tired thinking about all the things I don't want to be, of all the things I don't want to do - like go to India, get my teeth cleaned, save the whale. All that. I don't understand it.

JIM
You're not supposed to think about it. I think the whole trick is not to think about it."
Michael
Jul 24, 2010 rated it it was amazing
"Who's that one? She looks like some sort of stress goddess."
"That's Wanda. She's crazy."
"Ooooh."

A good read but the movie is a classic.
Donnie Darko
Feb 16, 2018 rated it it was amazing
Tremendo...
Matthew Konkel
Feb 28, 2008 rated it it was amazing
Anyone looking for the way screen stories should and need to be told, should look to Barfly. I’ve never seen the movie, (waiting for it to come to DVD), but the screenplay by Hank is just the kind of tale that’s lacking in Hollywood. (Actually, with the advent of digtal, I see a trend toward this kind of cinema, but done independently of course.)No car chases, bullet catches, special effects or bullshit, and frankly no beginning and no ending either. Just a glimpse into a real character’s life. ...more
Austin
Jun 29, 2015 rated it it was amazing
This was the last piece by Bukowski I'll ever be able to read. Sure I can break my lifelong record of never reading poetry but I doubt I ever will. I just don't get or like poetry. I can't believe there's no more Bukowski or tales of Chinaski left for me to read. I'm so sad. At least Irvine Welsh is still alive. Okay mayhap I will try one last time with this poetry business. I mean if it's Bukowski. How bad can it be?
Azaghedi
Feb 14, 2014 rated it liked it
Chinaski works better as a character in a novel than in a film. There isn't enough development, either of him or the people around him, to make this a compelling screenplay. That's the problem with writing for a format that just gives you a couple of hours to work with; I don't think it's the proper format for a Chinaski.
Alejandro
Jan 15, 2008 rated it really liked it
Recommends it for: repressed & religious teens and boys
At a time when I was becoming aware on how the world ticks and my hormonal years were drawing to a close, I fell in love with being drunk and depressed over a 'broad', go figure. Then came along my absent father, my ass kicking mother fucker, my personified conscience, my truth, my being okay with being a pervert.
Luke
Dec 25, 2011 rated it it was ok
Not too impressed, but don't read too many screenplays. Interesting how there doesn't seem like much to this screen play, but it really comes to life in the movie. Recommended if you like Bukowski.
Adam Bricker
Jan 02, 2017 rated it it was amazing
In keeping with most of Bukowski's work, this book is beautiful and brutal and twisted and thought-provoking.
Nicholas Koster
Jun 02, 2013 rated it it was amazing
The Iceman Cometh with a happy ending.
Brent Legault
Jan 15, 2014 rated it did not like it
Ought to be retitled as Barfy.
Rachel Lesch
Sep 06, 2012 rated it it was amazing
I love his work, this was no exception...
Elliott
Oct 17, 2013 rated it it was ok
It was like the movie, which is like most of Bukowski's novels especially "Women," which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Sujay Anjankar
Mar 29, 2014 rated it it was amazing
Oh how I long for more Chinaski.
Allen Taylor
Oct 29, 2007 rated it liked it
Truly for the devoted Bukowski fan. No one else will probably like it.
Kristyn
Mar 21, 2016 rated it really liked it
Classic Bukowski shenanigans as always. Was a short one bit a good one. Another novel to add to my collection.
Tiffany
Jun 30, 2013 rated it it was ok  ·  review of another edition
The best review of this book (or the movie it was based on ... ?) I read--in fact the best review I've ever read was this one sentence:

"Barfly: Is that an adverb?"
Sara Angelo
May 14, 2014 rated it it was amazing
One of my inspirations. His raw, no-holds-barred view of the world is a breath of fresh air in a world of sugar-coated, plastic dreams.
Role
Dec 02, 2015 rated it liked it
Folgt dem Filmscript, kurz und authentisch
Sanchez
Aug 17, 2007 rated it it was amazing
Screenplay reads like a book of poetry
Lisa
rated it it was amazing
Aug 01, 2012
Jamie Edwards
rated it really liked it
Dec 20, 2013
C.
rated it really liked it
Sep 08, 2009
Philip Same
rated it did not like it
Jun 22, 2012
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Henry Charles Bukowski (born as Heinrich Karl Bukowski) was a German-born American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles.It is marked by an emphasis on the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women and the drudgery of work. Bukowski wrote thousands ...more
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“Do you hate people?”

“I don't hate them...I just feel better when they're not around.”
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“A i urreni njerëzit?
Unë nuk i urrej ata ... Unë vetëm ndjehen mirë kur ata nuk janë përreth. ”
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