Bukowski - Ganz normal verrückt

Tales of Ordinary Madness is the first film to be based on a book by Charles Bukowski and focuses on the story of one man as he descends into a life of loose women and alcohol. I have not read the book that this is based on so I don't know how it compares to the source material; but as a movie, it's very good and I was surprised to find that the writer himself did not approve of the film. The plot is fairly straight forward in the way that it focuses on just a single character; but the film changes often and this odyssey is a long way from a commercial movie and thus is not for all tastes. Our central character is Charles Serking; a writer who also happens to be an alcoholic. He goes out looking for booze and women and finds both inside a seedy Hollywood. The story really starts when Charles meets a prostitute with a penchant for cutting herself named Cass. He brings her home to meet his ex-wife and have sex; but it's not long before he begins on a downward spiral of depression and turns to the drink for comfort.

This film presents a completely downtrodden view of the world and director Marco Ferreri completely succeeds in creating a dirty and sleazy atmosphere for everything to take place in. There's plenty of full frontal nudity and sex in the film and it's all portrayed as being very dirty and thus is not erotic at all. The style of the film is excellently matched by a stunning performance from Ben Gazzara in the lead role. The actor fits into this role amazingly well and always convinces as the central character. The film doesn't hold back when it comes to showing things such as nudity either, although it's all done in such a 'matter of fact' way that sometimes the film is not even shocking. The female lead is taken by the stunning Ornella Muti, who is a real beauty and convinces alongside Gazzara. The film feels too smart to not have a point, and while the substance comes from the central character and his plight; there's not really a defining point to the film. Overall, Tales of Ordinary Madness is a film that is well worth seeking for the cult fanatic and I can recommend it.

Spectacularly sleazy, beautiful, boisterous and sexy, this is the real Bukowski deal, a booze-fueled erotic odyssey by the adventurous Ferreri with the perfectly cast Ben Gazzara as Charles Serking (Bukowski).

Ornella Muti, as Serking's sexual muse, is Venus incarnate and turns in a powerhouse performance as Cass, an emotionally damaged whore with a penchant for pain. The scenes of Gazzara swaggering in and out of LA's fleapit bars, apartments and hotel rooms convey a filthy, delirious ambiance that is vividly captured by Tonino Delli Colli's superb cinematography and Dante Ferretti's exquisitely oily production design. This is such an amazing looking film with a thick, steamy, anything-goes atmosphere of lust-ridden anarchy.

Much grittier than the accomplished "Barfly" and more watchable than "Love Is A Dog From Hell", the entire affair has an emotional, raw resonance that slavishly captures the Bukowski sensibility and remains consistently perverse in its singular vision of a man enslaved by alcoholic and sexual gluttony.

Phillipe Sarde's score is moody and rich, as is Gazzara's breathy voice-over.

A masterpiece.

Neither Bukowski nor Marco Ferreri's film will shock the audience any more. This is a grim tale, but told in an exciting way with the enigmatic Gazarra and the superb Ornella Muti in front of the camera, backed by legendary Italians, like production designer Dante Ferretti (who worked, among others, with Fellini and Pasolini, and recently bedazzled movie-goers with 'Titus') and D.O.P. Tonino Delli Colli ('The Good, the Bad and The Ugly'; 'Histoires Extraordinaires') A great film, some years ahead of its time, so now truly not to be missed.

The movie is based on the novel of Charles Bukowski... and the film contains its spirit. "Storie di ordinaria follia" is deliberately sensual and "dirt", the main carachter (Ben Gazzara) takes directly inspiration from Bukowski himself -a drunk writer, who chooses to live among poors and neglected people, a man who lives sex like a philosophy, in order to taste the primal feeling of life...-.

The picture is worth watching -because Gazzara is very good and Ornella Muti as well, she's also so sweet and gorgeous...-. The film is interesting because it tries to capture Bukowski ideals and his pessimistic ways to see the world.

I think nevertheless that it is very difficult to film "materials" from a writer like him, because he's so excessive and outrageous... It's particularly difficult to translate his thoughts in pictures. The film is quite boring, the action is slow. Sometimes we have the feeling that there's no story. Marco Ferreri did doubtless better films (see "La grande bouffe" and "Don't touch the white woman").

Just about everybody seems to hate 'Tales Of Ordinary Madness' even Charles Bukowski himself. I can't see why. For me it's an extraordinary movie just as good, if not better than, 'Barfly'. Director Marco Ferreri also made the unforgettable 'Blow-Out' ('La Grande Bouffe') another overlooked gem. Both movies are disturbing, poetic and very beautiful. Cassavetes fave Ben Gazzara is the perfect choice to play Bukowski substitute Charles Serking. He gives an utterly brilliant performance, his best along with 'The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie', another love-it-or-hate-it movie. Ornella Muti plays Cass, a self-destructive prostitute he falls in love with. Now Muti is just about the most beautiful actress I've ever seen in my life so I can see why someone would have a problem with her being cast in such a role. It may be unrealistic but she's convincing in a difficult part, and she's just mesmerizing to look at! An added bonus is cult fave Susan Tyrrell ('Fat City', 'Bad', 'Flesh & Blood', 'Cry-Baby',etc.) in the supporting cast playing a typically bent character for her. 'Tales Of Madness' is slow and meandering and anecdotal so people who prefer straightforward, simplistic Hollywood movies will hate it. But if you enjoy Bukowski's work or Hubert Selby Jr's check this movie out as I'm sure you'll be impressed.