Barfly Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Barfly Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 16, 2024

Barbet Schroeder's "Barfly" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with actress Roberta Bassin; new program with actress Sandy Martin; archival program with Barber Schroeder; vintage trailer; and archival stills. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

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 88 Films.

The release is sourced from the same old master that MGM has been supplying to various distributors around the world for quite some time. For example, this recent Australian release is sourced from the same master as well.

Even though the master has some limitations, I like it. It produces visuals that reveal good, sometimes even very good delineation, clarity, and depth. A lot of the darker footage, and there is plenty of it, boasts fine shadow details, too. Color balance is good, though in some areas with plenty of natural light, select primaries and nuances can be even better saturated. Density levels are good. However, grain exposure can be improved as well, and if it is, the dynamic range of the visuals will become more convincing. Select highlights can be rebalanced, but during playback there are no major anomalies. Image stability is good. Finally, there are distracting age-related imperfections. All in all, the current master still offers a very attractive organic presentation of the film. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

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 provide for the main feature.

The current lossless track is excellent. All exchanged are very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. There isn't any material with outstanding dynamic activity that could impress audiophiles, but this is how the film's soundtrack was finalized. For this reason, I have previously speculated that a newly remastered audio track will not introduce any meaningful improvements. I still believe this to be the case.

Barfly Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Barber Schroeder - in this archival program, Barber Schroeder discusses Charles Bukowski's public image and some misconceptions about it, his writings, and the interactions he had with him before Barfly was greenlighted. Also, there is some interesting information about the production of the film and Mickey Rourke's performance in it. The material in this program was shot by filmmaker Mark Hartley for his documentary Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, which is available on Blu-ray. In English, not subtitled. (45 min).

• Last Orders - in this exclusive new program, Roberta Bassin explains how she was offered her part in Barfly, which effectively launcher her acting career, and recalls what it was like to work with Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, and Barbet Schroeder. Bassin clarifies that for her audition, she was told to look "worse than Death". In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Time at the Bar - in this exclusive new program, Sandy Martin discusses the early stages of her career and involvement with Barfly. Martin also discusses Mickey Rourke's in front and behind the camera and explains why he was so convincing as Charles Bukowski. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Barfly. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Gallery - presented here is a collection of stills from Barfly. With music. (3 min).

• Coaster - a collectible coaster, with Barfly printed on one side of it, and the 88 Films logo on the other.

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. 88 Films' release is sourced from an older but good organic master and has a nice selection of bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.