Tales of Ordinary Madness

1981 [ITALIAN]

Drama

1
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 70% · 5 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 70% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.6/10 10 3253 3.3K

beach based on novel or book self-destruction pimp masochism bartender

Plot summary

Poet/lecturer Charles Serking awakens from his alcoholic haze long enough to take a bus back to L.A. and plunge into an orgy of drink and sexual depravity.

Director

Marco Ferreri Photo
Marco Ferreri

Top cast

Roy Brocksmith Photo
Roy Brocksmith as Barman
Ornella Muti Photo
Ornella Muti as Cass
Tobin Bell Photo
Tobin Bell as Bar Patron
Katya Berger Photo
Katya Berger as Girl on Beach
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
899.16 MB
1280*786
Italian 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   fr   de   gr   it   pt   ru   es   tr  
25 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 19
1.63 GB
1760*1080
Italian 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   fr   de   gr   it   pt   ru   es   tr  
25 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 29

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by 8 / 10

Dirty and sleazy tale of madness

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.
Reviewed by 8 / 10

Only a genius would cast Ben Gazarra as Bukowski

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.
Reviewed by 7 / 10

Self-Destructive Souls

After the lecture of a poem to a group of bored students, the alcoholic and sex addicted poet Charles Serking (Ben Gazzara) meets a young girl in the backstage and caresses her breasts. Then he travels to Los Angeles, and has kinky sex with bizarre women. When Charles meets the gorgeous self-destructive prostitute Cass (Ornella Muti) in a bar, he finds his soul mate and falls in love for her.Marco Ferreri is one of the weirdest directors that I know, and this "Storie di Ordinaria Follia" gives a perfect theme for him to make a good movie about of two self-destructive souls. I do not know the work of the underground poet Charles Bukowski, and actually I just know a little about his biography based on the movie "Factotum" that I hated. But in "Storie di Ordinaria Follia", Ornella Muti is on the top of her awesome beauty and her performance in the role of a tormented character is impressive. Ben Gazzara has also a stunning performance in the role of Charles Serking, a man near to madness that survives drinking booze and having dirty sex. However, this movie is only recommended for very specific audiences. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Crônicas de um Amor Louco" ("Chronicles of a Crazy Love")
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