Talk:One Tough Mother

Regarding One Tough Mother by Charles Bukowski DVD

Hi Bovineboy2008, thank you for your concerns about this article.

The significance of this DVD is that it provides Bukowski fans the complete, unedited versions of the last two readings he ever gave, The Last Straw and There's Gonna Be a God Damn Riot in Here, even though he lived and wrote for another 14 years. He just did not like doing the readings, but would only do them when he needed money. Only a couple of hundred of his fans got to attend those readings in 1979 and 1980. But, as Bukowski's fame grew, especially after the film adaptations of his books Barfly (film) and Factotum (film), with major stars, fans wanted to see more of his readings. He's probably more famous now, than when he was alive.

Further, the extras in One Tough Mother are unique and not available anywhere else and are original productions, except for the poem readings by Bono, Tom Waits, and Bukowski’s publisher, John Martin, which were extras in the Bukowski documentary Born Into This.

Here are the other extras, that are very significant to Bukowski fans and unique, unavailable elsewhere:

• Bukowski at the Huntington - Bukowski's widow donated the Bukowski archive to the Huntington, along side of Mark Twain, Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, and Jack London as an important author. They held a major event to mark the occasion.

• Behind the Making of Bukowski: Born Into This — An in-depth interview with filmmaker John Dullaghan, director of the definitive Bukowski documentary.

• Love, Bukowski, Selected Scenes — These performances of Bukowski poems were from a play that had a sold-out run, and were authorized by Bukowski before his death.

• The Vancouver Gang, a mini-documentary of the 25th anniversary screening of the Vancouver reading.

• The Producers — Interviews with the producers of both readings, Dennis Del Torre, who personally knew Bukowski very well, Jon Monday, and music-business manager and producer Denny Bruce, producer of the original Redondo Beach reading and the Hostage CD that was an edited version of the audio of the Redondo reading.

• Inscriptions of a Dirty Old Man — Dennis Del Torre's collection of inscriptions on books by Bukowski.

• The Vancouver Letters — Dennis Del Torre's collection of letters from Bukowski regarding the arrangements for the Vancouver reading.

These extras are precious to Bukowski fans, critics, and researchers, and give a peak behind the curtain of Bukowski's life and impact.

Also, I didn't spend that much time tracking down reviews, but will put more effort into it. The DVD was released by a small label, so it didn't command the PR as if it had been released by a major studio, but I believe is notable nonetheless. Thanks, Ellis408 (talk) 19:31, 28 June 2020 (UTC)

I can see why that might be relevant to fans, but unless the DVD has significant coverage by independent sources, it may not reach the notability guidelines laid out in WP:NF. I would highly recommend looking into some better sourcing for the film. I was not successful in finding appropriate coverage, but I could have certainly missed things. BOVINEBOY2008 19:33, 28 June 2020 (UTC)

I am doing that now, and finding new entries. I'll keep at it. Bukowski and the contents of the DVD are of interest to more than just his fans, as demonstrated by his inclusion in the Huntington Library, with other major authors. But, I hear you. He is the object of academic research and thesis subjects. Of course, Bukowski himself is unquestionably notable, and although notability doesn't not confer notability on his works, I do believe this particular work, the last performances of a major poet, is both rare and notable on it's own. Ellis408 (talk) 21:21, 28 June 2020 (UTC)

So far, all of the references you have included do not speak to the notability of this DVD though. They just point out that the extras of the DVD talk about topics that are notable. The sources don't even mention this DVD. BOVINEBOY2008 10:52, 29 June 2020 (UTC)

Both [The Riot DVD] and the [Last Straw DVD] are listed in both AllMovie.com and IMDB, but are both incomplete films of the readings. Not only does One Tough Mother have both complete readings, but also the unique and valuable extras. I can't say why IMDB hasn't yet listed the DVD, as it's the kind of film that usually gets automatic listing. I would like this put to a vote. Perhaps I can bring the DVD to IMDB's attention. Thank you, Ellis408 (talk) 18:42, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

It is. Follow the link on the article. BOVINEBOY2008 18:49, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

The Huntington Library and Charles Bukowski - Why One Tough Mother is Notable

This is for wiki editors those who might not know of Charles Bukowski as a notable American writer.

The Huntington Library Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution.

The library contains a substantial collection of rare books and manuscripts, concentrated in the fields of British and American history, literature, art, and the history of science. Spanning from the 11th century to the present, the library's holdings contain 7 million manuscript items, over 400,000 rare books, and over a million photographs, prints, and other ephemera. Highlights include one of eleven vellum copies of the Gutenberg Bible known to exist, the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer (ca. 1410), and letters and manuscripts by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln. It is the only library in the world with the first two quartos of Hamlet; it holds the manuscript of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, Isaac Newton's personal copy of his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica with annotations in Newton's own hand, the first seven drafts of Henry David Thoreau's Walden, John James Audubon's Birds of America, and first editions and manuscripts from authors such as Charles Bukowski, Jack London, Alexander Pope, William Blake, Mark Twain, and William Wordsworth.

Unlike many of the great writers, including those honored by the Huntington Library, Bukowski gave readings of his poetry as part of his artistic expression, which was considered Performance art, getting ripping drunk and fighting with the audience. This DVD, One Tough Mother, documents the entire unedited last two readings he ever gave, even though he wrote and published for another 14 years. The edited versions are The Last Straw and There's Gonna Be a God Damn Riot in Here. There are rare films of other poets sitting at a desk, calmly reading their material, but only a few, like Alan Ginsberg and black poetry jams take it off the page and perform. The only media for that art is video. This production also has unique extras that dig deeper in why Bukowski is considered a great American poet and is included in the Huntington..