In music
- In 2002 English composer and jazz pianist Roland Perrin set six of Bukowski's poems for choir and big band in his work 'songs from the cage' which was commissioned by Hertfordshire Chorus and first performed in April 2002
- American band Red Hot Chili Peppers reference Bukowski and his works in several songs; singer Anthony Kiedis has stated that Bukowski is a big influence on his writing.
- In 1993 U2 album Zooropa included the song 'Dirty Day'. The song repeatedly references the Bukowski poetry collection 'The Days Run Away, Like Wild Horses Over the Hill'. The lyrics also reflect on a troubled father-son relationship, which is a central theme in much of Bukowski's writing
- US heavy metal band W.A.S.P in their 1992 album "The Crimson Idol" used one line of Bukowski's poem, "Some People".
- Fall Out Boy referenced Bukowski's novel Post Office in their unreleased song "Guilty as Charged (Tell Hip-Hop I'm Literate)".
- Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner mentions Bukowski in the song "She Looks Like Fun", from the album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.
- US band 311 reference Bukowski's alter ego "Hank Chinaski" in the song "Stealing Happy Hours", from the album Transistor.
- Prior to their live sets, the post-rock band Caspian play a recording of Bukowski's poem Go All the Way as read by Tom O'Bedlam.
- In December 2020, American rock band Chain Sherlock used a sample of a Bukowski interview in their opening track "Soledad" on the album Souvenir L'Amour L'Hospital Décès.
- British-American rapper MF Doom referred to Bukowski as inspiration for his songs, featuring a Bukowski poem in one of his songs, "Cellz", off of his 2009 album, of which the title was a reference to Bukowski's poem "Dinosauria, We": Born Like This.[43]
- Modest Mouse included a song titled "Bukowski" on their 2004 album Good News for People Who Love Bad News.
- Harry Styles stopped One Direction concerts to read Bukowski in 2014.[44] He later quoted "Old Man, Dead in a Room" in his song "Woman,"[45] and opened his 2021 Love on Tour shows with a quote from "Style".[46]
- Killer Mike mentions Bukowski in the song "Walking in the Snow" on the 2020 album RTJ4, saying he reads Noam Chomsky and Bukowski.
- Mac Miller used an excerpt from The Charles Bukowski Tapes on his song "Wedding" from his 2014 mixtape Faces.
- The Volcano Choir song "Alaskans" features a recording of Bukowski reading a poem on French television.[47]
- "Bluebird" is claimed to be the first country song inspired by Charles Bukowski to reach Number 1.[48]
- Hardcore punk rock band Poison Idea's 1987 album War All the Time was named after Bukowski's eponymous book
- Pop punk band The Wonder Years mention Bukowski in their song "Woke up Older" on the 2011 album Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing.
- Post-hardcore band Thursday's 2003 album War All the Time was also named after the Bukowski book of the same name.
- The punk band Hot Water Music took their name from Bukowski's 1983 collection of short stories, Hot Water Music.
- A 2006 musical comedy, Bukowsical!, by Spencer Green and Gary Stockdale, pokes fun at Bukowski's life and hipster image.[49]
- Bukowski's poem "Let It Enfold You", published in Betting on the Muse: Poems and Stories (1996),[50] influenced the emotional 2004 Senses Fail song (and album) of the same name.[51]
- American post-hardcore band Chiodos named their second album after one of Bukowski's books of poetry, Bone Palace Ballet.
- U.K. band Moose Blood named their first EP after him, as well as naming a track, and mentioning his name, throughout their first album, I'll Keep You in Mind, From Time to Time.
- British indie band The Boo Radleys included a track named "Charles Bukowski is dead" on their 1994 album Wake Up!
- Bukowski is compared negatively to author John Berryman in the 2008 song "We Call Upon the Author" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Popular Czech rappers Yzomadias and Nik Tendo mention Bukowski in their song "Bukowski" on their 2022 album Kruhy & Vlny[52]
- Czeck pop rock band Chinaski took its name after Henry Chinaski, the protagonist in Bukowski's novels.
- British indie rock band Razorlight mention Bukowski in their 2004 song "In The City".
- German indie rock band Sportfreunde Stiller mention Bukowski in their song "7 Tage, 7 Nächte".
- The soundtrack for the video game “Alan Wake 2” features a song called “Dark, Twisted, and Cruel” that refers to Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson (as “Raoul Duke” and “Buk”) and Ernest Hemingway in the opening lines.
In film
- In 1981, the Italian director Marco Ferreri made a film, Storie di ordinaria follia (aka Tales of Ordinary Madness), loosely based on the short stories of Bukowski; Ben Gazzara played the role of Bukowski's character.
- Barfly, released in 1987, is a semi-autobiographical film written by Bukowski and starring Mickey Rourke as Henry Chinaski, who represents Bukowski, and Faye Dunaway as his lover Wanda Wilcox. Sean Penn offered to play Chinaski for one dollar as long as his friend Dennis Hopper would direct,[53] but the European director Barbet Schroeder had invested many years and thousands of dollars in the project and Bukowski felt Schroeder deserved to make it. Bukowski wrote the screenplay, was given script approval,[53] and appears as a bar patron in a brief cameo.
- Crazy Love is a 1987 film directed by Belgian director Dominique Deruddere. The film is based on various writings by Bukowski, in particular "The Copulating Mermaid of Venice, California".
- The 1991 French film Lune Froide, directed by Patrick Bouchitey, was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, and is based on the short stories "The Copulating Mermaid of Venice" and "Trouble with the Battery".
- The 2005 film Factotum, adapted from Bukowski's 1975 novel of the same name, was released to mixed reviews.[54]
- In 2013, actor James Franco directed a film simply titled Bukowski, with Josh Peck playing the writer. Franco wrote the script with his brother Dave. The adaptation began shooting in Los Angeles on January 22, 2013, and was partially shot in Oxford Square, a historic neighborhood of Los Angeles.[55] In April 2014, producer Cyril Humphris sued Franco, claiming that the film was an unauthorized adaptation of Bukowski's Ham on Rye, to which Humphris had the film rights.[56] The lawsuit was eventually settled in October 2014.[57] As of 2024, the film has yet to be released.
- Bukowski's poem "Let It Enfold You" is read by Timothée Chalamet's character in the 2018 film Beautiful Boy.[58]
- Bukowski appeared with a cameo in the 1977 movie Supervan, as the "Wet T-Shirt Contest Water Boy".[59]
- Dean refers to Castiel as Bukowski when he suggests in the series Supernatural (S5 episode 22) to get drunk and wait for the end of the world.
- In the film Locating Silver Lake, the hot neighbor lady mentions the poet.
- In the Italian free docu-film with Federico Faccioli mentions the poet.
In literature
Charles Bukowski was the inspiration behind the first chapter of Mark Manson's bestselling self-help book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. His problems with drugs, women and alcoholism despite being a bestselling writer were discussed in the chapter titled "Don't Try" – a reference to the epitaph on the author's gravestone.
