Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Crap_Connoisseur Only very rarely are two artists as in sync as Charles Bukowski and Marco Ferreri. Both men devoted their careers to exploring the beauty and bleakness of society's underbelly and the disillusioned souls who call it home. It should come as no surprise then that Ferreri's adaptation of Bukowski's "Erections, Ejaculation, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness" is every bit as unflinching and honest as its source material.Tales Of Ordinary Madness begins with Charles (played by Ben Gazzara) reading a poem to a group of disinterested students. After stumbling off stage in a drunken stupor, Charles meets a 12 year old girl and promptly fondles her breasts. This is the first in a long line of disturbing sexual encounters that take place during the film. Other examples include Charles' brief obsession with Vera, a woman who asks to be beaten with a belt and claims to "love being raped". Charles also sleeps with Vera's obese next door neighbour and in one of the film's most confronting scenes, pushes his head between the woman's legs in a literal attempt to return to the womb. The film reaches a turning point when Charles meets Cass (Ornella Muti), a prostitute as self-destructive as she is beautiful, and slowly begins to fall in love with her.Ferreri has crafted a beautifully poetic film about desperate and damaged people. Tales Of Ordinary Madness is never easy to watch but it is always enthralling. Much of the credit for this goes to the Bukowski's riveting source material and Ferreri's obvious affection for it. Marco Ferreri's distinctive use of unusual camera angles and surreal imagery are mostly missing from this film. In fact, Ferreri's direction is expertly restrained in an obvious attempt to recreate Bukowski's minimalist prose cinematically.This sense of restraint is shared by Ferreri's impressive cast. Ben Gazzara is striking as Charles. His brave performance captures both the torment and underlying humanity that shapes Charles' journey. Ornella Muti had some of her most memorable roles in Ferreri films and she gives another impressive performance here as Cass. The scene where she puts a safety pin through her cheek is simply unforgettable. My only qualm with her casting is that she is perhaps too beautiful to be realistic as a low class prostitute. Susan Tyrrell also shines as trashy Vera. This was just one of a string of eccentric roles that made Susan a cult favourite in the early 80s.Tales Of Ordinary Madness has been made with skill, care and deep empathy for its characters. This film does not quite match the brilliance of Ferreri's "La Derniere Femme" but it comes very close. This is highly recommended to both Bukowski and Ferreri fans.

ckyjackson This movie is just plain bad.Badly acted, ridiculous dubbing and filled with fat chicks (save Cass).No wonder Bukowski hated this, the guy who plays him is a joke. He looks like a twelve year old boy with a beard and the voice box of Chuck Siegert. The Most Beautiful Woman In Town is one of my favorite short stories. This movie uses that but in the same way a third grader uses Batman as the basis for his afternoon playtime.Oh, and it's really very boring. Nothing like Buk's work. It reminds me more of "La Au Tu Rene'Svees" or one of those terrible french movies where all the characters do is bone each other.

michelerealini 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").

Paul English A stark picture from Marco Ferreri; "Tales Of Ordinary Madness" is the perfect vehicle for the multi-talented Gazzara who plays the part of a tortured poet/writer immersed in talent and alcoholic dependence. He seduces a number of beautiful women and falls in love with one; the divine Cass.The path to happiness is not straightforward however and the second half of the film sees a descent into bleakness. Uncomfortable viewing but essential nonetheless.7/10