Bukowski: Born into This
2003 · Movie · R · 115 min · ★ 6.8 · 81% critics
Director John Dullaghan’s biographical documentary offers a portrait of the infamous poet, blending vintage footage of poetry readings with interviews from fans and notable admirers. It explores his boozing and brawling lifestyle, presenting how that messy reality helped cement his legendary status.
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Details
- Original title
- Bukowski: Born Into This
- Years
- 2003
- Release date
- 2003-01-18
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 115 min
- Critic score
- 81/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.8/10 (53 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you’re drawn to gritty biographical documentaries and passionate literary voices, as well as the way past readings bring it all to life; Not for you if you want a polished, uplifting profile, or if “The Kid Stays in the Picture” and “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story” don’t appeal to you.
Pros: vivid vintage footage; candid fan interviews; intimate biographical focus | Cons: grainy black-and-white look; heavy focus on sordid lifestyle; life details may feel rough
Themes
- barflies
- barfly
Cast & crew
Charles Bukowski
as Self
Harry Dean Stanton
as Self
Sean Penn
as Self
Bono
as Self
Linda Bukowski
as Self
- PM
Pam Miller
as Self
Taylor Hackford
as Self
Barbet Schroeder
as Self
Tom Waits
as Self
- MM
Michael D. Meloan
as Self
Directed by John Dullaghan