Talk:Edward Bunker
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[edit] Accuracy?
Well, this one was a bit of a pain to write. I enjoy his work, but I was unable to find a lot of information on Bunker (and I'm annoyed to admit that I don't have, nor have I read his autobiography, Mr. Blue: Memoirs of a Renegade) on the web. Most of the information here comes from the biography Inauspicious Beginnings included in the end of Little Boy Blue and Dog Eat Dog. While an interesting read, it's definitely POV stuff. Its author isn't mentioned, and I'm not sure how accurate it is (for example, it lists Bunker's first book, No Beast So Fierce as his sixth book, even though Bunker hasn't even written that many books -- not that I could track down a bibliography that struck me as authoritatively comprehensive, though I do believe that what there is right now is accurate). That said, I believe the events are generally accepted as true; Bunker had a pretty wild time as a younger man.
To further confuse things, apparently Inauspicious Beginnings is actually Born Under a Bad Sign - The Life of Edward Bunker, by Charles Waring, which can be found on the web. Problem is, I'm not quite sure how dependable that text is (or if it even is by Mr. Waring, or if he's just an editor).
So, basically, does anyone out there know better? I'd love some feedback here. -- Captain Disdain 00:09, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Reservoir Dogs
Aren't we burying the lead on this one? Isn't the most notable thing about this guy his connection to Reservoir Dogs? He both starred was in it and wrote the book it was loosely based on.--JChap 06:33, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
- Starred in it? His character, Mr. Blue, has less than a dozen lines and he dies during the heist (and thus isn't seen in most of the scenes). As for being based on a book by Bunker... well, it simply isn't. Tarantino wrote an original script for it. (Well, semi-original, since some of the key plot elements are lifted fairly directly from City of Fire, but just the same, the movies are not exactly similar.) The most notable thing about Bunker is most certainly not his connection to Reservoir Dogs, although I'm sure more could be written about his movie career in general. -- Captain Disdain 14:44, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
- Yow. Strike starred. I thought I read that the film was loosely based on a heist described in his book Dog Eat Dog, which is also the name of Tarantino's production company. He really doesn't seem to have done much else notable, other than his brief appearance in the most famous scene in an incredibly important film, so I still have to say that RD is what he's best known for. I'm not sure it's accurate to say that any of Tarantino's work is based on one source to the exclusion of others as he says he steals from everyone. --JChap 15:47, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
- Well, I don't know what you have read, but I can assure you that the movie is not in any way based on Dog Eat Dog. It's a completely different story about three two-time losers who essentially turn their back on civilized society and make a conscious decision to commit armed robberies for a living. It's not really a heist story. It doesn't have similar scenes in it. There's no "based on the novel by..." credit on Reservoir Dogs (which there surely would be if Tarantino, a big Bunker fan, had based the movie on Bunker's work, especially as Bunker was also acting in the movie). I also have to dispute that Bunker is best known for his role in Reservoir Dogs -- that may be true among moviegoers, but his status as a former criminal, a career convict and a reasonably successful writer afforded him a certain degree of unrelated notoriety. (From what I understand, it's certainly true that his involvement in Reservoir Dogs helped his book sales quite a bit, though -- and as for Tarantino, when it comes to City on Fire, Tarantino has often mentioned it as one of his favorite movies and openly admits to lifting the whole "undercover cop" setup from it as a homage, so it's worth a specific mention.) -- Captain Disdain 16:07, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
- Yow. Strike starred. I thought I read that the film was loosely based on a heist described in his book Dog Eat Dog, which is also the name of Tarantino's production company. He really doesn't seem to have done much else notable, other than his brief appearance in the most famous scene in an incredibly important film, so I still have to say that RD is what he's best known for. I'm not sure it's accurate to say that any of Tarantino's work is based on one source to the exclusion of others as he says he steals from everyone. --JChap 15:47, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
