A must-have for Bukowski fans!
Pamela V | Mississippi Gulf Coast | 12/29/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this for my husband, a lifelong Bukowski fan. He was very happy with it.
This dvd features Charles Bukowski at a poetry reading in Canada, in 1979. He reads for less than two hours. During that time, he interacts with the immature crowd and drinks 4 bottles of red red wine. He also smokes some kind of cigarettes from India, and lights them over and over; to me what looked like a nervous habit.
The video was shot from within the crowd, and you can hear the obnoxious braying laughter of one particular man throughout the entire tape.
Equally annoying is the fact that so many people are laughing at poems that simply weren't intended to be humorous. And then there are a few people in the audience who find themselves repeatedly shushed by Bukowski, because they continually talk over his readings.
All in all, it gives those of us not entirely familiar with the Bukowski live reading format the opportunity to see it, and the old Buk fans will certainly love this as much as anything else they can get their hands on that are related to the late-great Charles Bukowski.
A poetry reading - short, sweet and simple. Or is it?"
Not the best example of Bukowski's gifts.
Medicine Hat | 02/01/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I found this to be just OK as the poetry lineup is much the same as "The Last Straw" Video(DVD).
The reading by Bukowski is good, the Canadian crowd was not as numerous people close to the stage were a constant distraction from the reading.
There was in particular one individual with a constant braying laughter on and off throughout, seemingly within a few feet from one of the microphones.
I would choose "The Last Straw", "Hostage"(The Last straw audio version)or "UNCENSORED: The Run with the Hunted Sessions" for a better example of Bukowski.
"