Friday, August 15, 2014

A Conversation with Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski animatedfilmreviews.filminspector.com
Charles Bukowski
Animation of a Conversation with Charles Bukowski.

Charles Bukowski. Uncensored. from Quoted on Vimeo.

This is the inaugural episode of Quoted‘s animated literary series for Harper Collins. Our subject today is the inimitable Charles Bukowski, who always did have a ... way with words.

This appears to be a rotoscope, at least in major parts, meaning it is a film that is translated into an animated framework, basically dulling the edges of reality to make everything flow and give an impressionistic look. I find that it is more effective when used very sparingly within a larger work of hand-drawn or computer-generated animation to present a lifelike appearance. One of the best uses ever of rotoscoping was in The Beatles' film "The Yellow Submarine," where it was so good (the boys strutting about in their unique style and so forth) that even when you know what they're doing - it still looks like pure animation and is almost magical in its impact.

This? Well, a little less so. But still a workmanlike job by Drew Christie. It's tough to be measured against the best works of your genre or art form (I know, I know, the animation is not a genre!) from long ago. Only artists (and athletes) have to do that, and the current artists lose out to the old-timers a lot more often than the athletes ever do. But it's part of the gig.

Bukowski, sort of a native German (his mother was German, his father was American) but not really, did not live long after this, dying the following year of leukemia.

He definitely sounds like a character.

From the page:
In 1993, candid conversations between Charles Bukowski, his wife, and his producer took place in Bukowski’s home during the recording session for his classic Run With the Hunted.
We brought the outtakes to life for HarperCollins.
Animation by Drew Christie drewchristie.com/
harperaudioclassics.com
And let's leave our subject with a classic Bukowski quote:

“I take much pleasure in being alone
but there is also a strange warm grace in not being alone.”
Charles Bukowski

2020

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