Barfly Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Barfly Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 5, 2022

Barbet Schroeder's "Barfly" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with actor Frank Stallone; exclusive new program with actress Alice Krige; archival audio commentary by the director; exclusive new audio commentary by Kim Cooper and Richard Schave of Esotouric; and a lot more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

My alcoholism? Drinking is a form of slow suicide. I have been working on it for a long time.

Note: The text below was initially used for our review of Koch Media's release of Barfly in 2012.

I used to live in an area that had a bar exactly like the one where the main protagonist of Barbet Schroeder’s Barfly spends most of his time. It was a busy but cozy place. I knew one of the bartenders there and a couple of the regulars. I liked going to the bar because it was the only place around with the right size satellite dish to get Italian TV channels that showed live Italian soccer games each Sunday. The owner closed the bar a couple of years after I left the area. On that same street corner now there is a big and clean Starbucks store. The place does not have a satellite dish, and the owner is not planning to get one. But I am told that by the end of 2012 some Starbucks stores, including this one, will start offering alcohol.

There are two reasons why Henry (Mickey Rourke) goes to his favorite bar, and they do not have anything to do with live Italian soccer games -- he likes drinking and fighting with one of the bartenders. He rarely has enough money to pay for his drinks, but another bartender, who happens to like him a lot, is always willing to help.

One day, after he gets beaten up by the bad bartender (Frank Stallone), Henry meets Wanda (Faye Dunaway), who also has a serious drinking problem. The two drink and talk, and then head back to her place. The two are too drunk to make love, so they just sleep together. On the next morning, Wanda gives Henry a key to her place.

In the days that follow, Henry and Wanda talk about life, get drunk again, and listen to their neighbors screaming. Eventually, they run out of money and Wanda decides to get a job. While she is looking for one, Henry is approached by Tully (Alice Krige), the wealthy editor of a literary magazine, who has published some of his writings and wants more. After Henry a check for $500 from her, she takes him to her lavish villa on the outskirts of the city.

At the villa, Henry and Tully also talk about life and get drunk. Then they talk about writing and money. Tully feels that she has discovered the real Henry and offers him to stay with her. If he agrees, he won’t have to worry about money and could write as much as he wants. She even offers to help him publish his writings and make enough so that he can permanently leave the gutter. But Henry declines the offer because he does not belong in Tully’s world. When Tully asks him to explain why, he tells her that he belongs on the streets, amongst the bums, drunks, and hookers because they inspire him to write.

Based on an original screenplay by legendary Beat Generation writer Charles Bukowski, Barbet Schroeder’s Barfly was completed in 1987. Barfly was executive produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and presented by director Francis Ford Coppola.

Schroeder enters Bukowski’s world with rather impressive confidence, and quickly makes it painfully obvious that practically all of its inhabitants come from the very bottom of society. I think that it is an interesting world to observe, especially when its most outspoken inhabitants address life and its meaning, but it can quickly become quite exhausting because it is too tense, chaotic, and almost always seriously depressing.

The entire film was shot in authentic locations throughout Los Angeles. Many of the bars, hotels, and liquor stores are places that Bukowski visited. Some of the characters seen in the film are also real social outcasts who lived on the streets of Los Angeles.

Rourke underwent an impressive transformation before the shooting of the film began. He gained a lot of weight, like Robert De Niro did for Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull, and apparently stayed away from soap and clean water for weeks. Unsurprisingly, in the film, he truly does look like a man who has been a bum for decades. Dunaway, who looks twice as old as she was at the time, is equally convincing as his alcoholic lover.

*In 1987, Barfly was nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Barfly Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Barfly arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same master Koch Media worked with to produce this release in 2011. It is an older master that comes from MGM's vaults.

While the master has some limitations, I think that it is quite good. For example, delineation, clarity, and depth are usually very pleasing. Grain exposure can be more convincing, but there are no digital anomalies introduced by attempts to repolish the master. The most obvious weakness of this master is in the darker areas where the grain reveals a tendency to appear a bit noisy. A few highlights could have been managed better, but there is nothing seriously distracting that could affect your viewing experience. Image stability is good. I noticed a couple of areas with small compression artifacts (see example in screencapture #3). However, because of the unique lighting during the bar footage, I think that untrained eyes will have hard time spotting it. All in all, while slightly dated now, this master still offers a fine organic presentation of Barfly. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Barfly Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very solid. Clarity, sharpness, and stability are excellent. Dynamic intensity is modest, but this is how the original soundtrack was created. Can the audio sound better? At the moment, I don't think so. I can't see where any meaningful improvements can be made. The current lossless track is healthy, too. Unlike the German release that we reviewed a decade ago, on this release you can view the film with optional English SDH subtitles.

Barfly Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE - BARFLY

• Commentary One - in this archival audio commentary, director Barber Schroeder reveals that it took seven years to develop and secure funding for Barfly, and discusses in great detail the various locations in Los Angeles where he shot it with his crew (his cinematographer was Robby Müller, who lensed many of Wim Wenders' biggest films), the fact that many of the characters that are seen throughout the film are real barflies from the Los Angeles metro area, Mickey Rourke's tremendous transformation, Charles Bukowski's real adventures and attitude toward the film, etc. It is a very informative commentary that makes it easy to have an even greater appreciation of the work that was done to get Barfly made.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by Kim Cooper and Richard Schave of Esotouric Tours, who give the Charles Bukowski bus tour in Los Angeles. I thought that the information in this commentary was outstanding because the two commentators discuss in great detail the fate of the different bars and areas that emerge in Barfly after the film was released and their relationship with Charles Bukowski and his writings. Also, there is plenty of fantastic information about the people that were part of Bukowski's world and their personal stories.

• "High Society" - in this exclusive new program, actress Alice Krige discusses her background and the evolution of her acting career as well as the character she plays in Barfly. Also, there are some very interesting observations about Barbet Schroeder and Mickey Rourke's creative energy and how it is channeled through Barfly. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• "Another Round" - in this exclusive new program, actor Frank Stallone recalls his arrival in Los Angeles as a musician and how he tried his luck in the film industry and why he repeatedly got turned down until Staying Alive, and discusses his friendship with Mickey Rourke who invited him to audition for Barfly, Rourke's unique take on Charles Bukowski's character, the "scumbag" character he played (which was apparently modeled after Al Pacino's Tony Montana), the real patrons of the bar where the bulk of the film was shot, etc. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• "To All My Friends" - in this exclusive new program, editor Eva Gardos recalls how Shock Waves launched her career, the important role Hal Ashby played in her maturation as an editor, and how she became involved with Barfly. Mrs. Gardos also shares a funny story involving Charles Bukowski and Mickey Rourke. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• "Low Lifes and Dive Bars" - in this exclusive new program, production designer Bob Ziembicki has trouble recalling precisely how he got the call to interview for Barfly, but describes in great detail his initial encounter with Barbet Schroeder and discusses the production process as well as some specific details that shaped the film's stylistic identity. Apparently, Robby Müller had some very particular ideas about the lighting of the film that were not always well received by Mr. Ziembicki. However, years later they worked again on Dead Man and were very happy with their communication. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• "I Drink, I Gamble, I Write... The Making of Barfly" - in this archival featurette, Charles Bukowski talks about what it was like to be a "barfly" and live on the streets of LA, and discusses his collaboration with Barbet Schroeder on Barfly as well as Mickey Rourke's performance. Schroeder and Rourke address the story that is told in Barfly as well. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Trailer - a vintage U.S. trailer for Barfly. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

BLU-RAY DISC TWO - THE CHARLES BUKOWSKI TAPES

• Film - it took Barbet Schroeder seven years to complete Barfly. During this long struggle, Barbet Schroeder spent a great deal of time with Charles Bukowski and prepared this four-hour long intimate examination of his world and work. The Charles Bukowski Tapes was filmed on video and is presented here in two parts. Total time: 242 min. In English, not subtitled. LPCM 2.0.

Barfly Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Whenever Barfly is mentioned, there is always someone around willing to bring up that famous story about Barbet Schroeder threatening to cut off his finger if the notorious duo that ran The Cannon Group did not provide funding for it. The story is real, and so was Schroeder's passion for the project, which is why Barfly turned out so well despite the fact that Mickey Rourke does not evolve into a perfect cinematic replica of Charles Bukowski. I always thought that this film would enter the Criterion Collection, but I was wrong to assume that many of Abel Ferrara's early cult films would get there as well. This very stylish two-disc set from Australian label Via Vision Entertainment has a great selection of exclusive new and archival bonus features and offers a copy of Schroeder's four-hour intimate documentary The Charles Bukowski Tapes. The exclusive new program with Frank Stallone is something of a minor classic. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.