Barfly (film)

Barfly is a 1987 film about a a drunk man's experience as he travels from bar to bar. It is a semi-autobiography of poet/author Charles Bukowski during the time he spent drinking heavily in Los Angeles.
 * Directed by Barbet Schroeder. Written by Charles Bukowski.

Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.

Henry Chinaski

 * Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.
 * [to Eddie] Your mom's cunt smells like carpet cleaner.
 * I remember ordering a draught, barkeep. What, are you out of brew, or has that lobotomy finally taken hold?
 * So you hired a dick to find an asshole?
 * It's hatred. It's the only thing that lasts.
 * [Voice over] And as my hands drop the last desperate pen, in some cheap room, they will find me there and never know my name, my meaning, nor the treasure of my escape.
 * [to his own bloody face as reflected in the bathroom mirror] Nothing but the dripping sink. Empty bottle. Euphoria. Youth fenced in, stabbed and shaved. Taut words propped up to die

Eddie

 * I'd hate to be you if I were me.

Dialogue

 * Wanda: I can't stand people, I hate them.
 * Henry: Oh yeah?
 * Wanda: Do you hate them?
 * Henry: No, but I seem to feel better when they're not around.


 * Tully: You can really write. Why do you live like a bum?
 * Henry: I am a bum. What do you want me to do? Do you want me to write about the sufferings of the upper classes?
 * Tully: This may be news to you but they suffer too.
 * Henry: Hey baby, nobody suffers like the poor.


 * Tully: Why did you send your stuff to us?
 * Henry: Well, I liked the title of the mag. It boggled my scrotum.
 * Tully: Why don't you stop drinking? Anybody can be a drunk.
 * Henry: Anybody can be a non-drunk. It takes a special talent to be a drunk. It takes endurance. Endurance is more important than truth.


 * Henry: This is a world where everybody's gotta do something. Y'know, somebody laid down this rule that everybody's gotta do something, they gotta be something. You know, a dentist, a glider pilot, a narc, a janitor, a preacher, all that. [sighs] Sometimes I just get tired of thinking of all the things that I don't wanna do. All the things that I don't wanna be. Places I don't wanna go, like India, like getting my teeth cleaned. Save the whale, all that, I don't understand that.
 * Jim: You're not supposed to think about it. I think the whole trick is, not to think about it.


 * Henry: That's it.
 * Wanda: That's what?
 * Henry: I'm broke. Can't buy another drink.
 * Wanda: You mean you don't have any money?
 * Henry: No money, no job, no rent. Hey, I'm back to normal.


 * Henry: Why did it have to be Eddie? He symbolizes everything that disgusts me. Obviousness. Unoriginal macho energy. Ladies man...
 * Wanda: You're right. He's not much.


 * Eddie: All you gotta do is beg for a little mercy.
 * Henry: Quittin' to you would be like swallowin' piss for eternity.


 * Henry: Some guys really know how to get the women.
 * Jim: Now, you don't know how?
 * Henry: Hey, I can get one for ten minutes. That's my limit.


 * Tully: You know, in the guest house, you could write in peace.
 * Henry: Hey, Tully baby, nobody who could write worth a damn could ever write in peace...Jesus.

Cast

 * Mickey Rourke — Henry Chinaski
 * Faye Dunaway — Wanda Wilcox
 * Alice Krige — Tully Sorenson
 * Jack Nance — Detective
 * J. C. Quinn — Jim
 * Frank Stallone — Eddie
 * Sandy Martin — Janice
 * Roberta Bassin — Lilly
 * Gloria LeRoy — Grandma Moses
 * Joe Unger — Ben
 * Harry Cohn — Rick
 * Pruitt Taylor Vince — Joe
 * Fritz Feld — Bum
 * Charles Bukowski — Oldtimer