Video Rewind is a review of an avant-garde, cultish, or otherwise odd film that has a small or large following. That means, by its fans, it can be watched over and over with greater enjoyment. We will feature films that can be accessed either via Netflix, OnDemand, or other sites such as YouTube or Hulu.

Barfly, 1987, Color, 100 minutes, Cannon. Directed by Barbet Schroeder. Screenplay by Charles Bukowski. Starring Mickey Rourke as Henry Chinaski, Faye Dunaway as Wanda Wilcox, Alice Krige as Tully Sorenson, Jack Nance as Detective, and Frank Stallone as Eddie. Bukowski appears as an extra in a bar scene. Rating: Seven and one-half stars out of 10.

Perhaps almost as interesting as the film Barfly is the story of how it was OKd as a film project. Director Barbet Schroeder, who had spent years trying to have Charles Bukowski’s semi-autobiographical script made into a film, barged into the head of Cannon’s film division and threatened to cut off his finger with a chainsaw if the film was not financed. The suits backtracked, and Barfly was made into a pretty decent film, bolstered by very strong performances from stars Rourke and Dunaway.

During his life, Bukowski was a prolific writer who abused his body terribly with bravado but produced great novels, short stories and poems that chronicled the life of the poor and drunken. Los Angeles was the setting for most of his work. Most of Bukowski’s work was autobiographical, and he frequently used the name Henry Chinaski. In Barfly, drunken, acclaimed writer Chinaski meets an older, once-beautiful woman named Wanda Wilcox, played by Dunaway. Wilcox is based on the great love of Bukowski’s life, Jane Cooney Baker. Dunaway captures Bukowski’s seediness so well that the author later claimed he was never that scruffy. Rourke later commented ironically that it was probably tough for the screenwriter to see himself as he really was.

Dunaway may have been too attractive to play Chinaski’s aging faithless, alcoholic lover, but despite’s Bukowski’s dislike for her performance, she captures the part perfectly. She’s a mixture of anger, passion, bitterness, love, defeat, vulnerability and violence. The scene where she beats up a rich young admirer/lover of Chinaski (Krige) while Rourke smiles with whimsy is a chief highlight of the film. Stallone as a bullying bartender who fights Chinaski is also above average. Real “barflies” from downtown Los Angeles were used as extras to add flavor to Barfly.

The film did mixed business in the U.S., but was a big hit in Europe, where the late Bukowski is arguably more famous. He later wrote a very funny novel, Hollywood, based on the making on the film. Bukowski’s other novels include Post Office (his best), Factotum (a homage to Down and Out in Paris and London), Women, Ham on Rye and Pulp. He was a prolific poet, so much that his then-publisher, Black Sparrow Press, continued to publish new work years after his death in 1994. “Factotum” has also been made into a film. It stars Matt Dillon as “Chinaski.” You can watch Barfly free on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkNE7W-FeOg.

Portions of this review were originally published at Plan9Crunch blog.