Starring: John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner, John Mahoney Directed By: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Label: 20th Century Fox Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: May 20, 2003 Running Time: 115 minutes Theatrical Release Date: August 21, 1991
Description: Set in Hollywood during the 1940's, "Barton Fink" is a comic satire about creative egos, flashy moguls, a travelling salesman and a nasty case of writer's block. Barton Fink (John Turturro) is a New York playwright lured to Hollywood to work as a screenwriter. It doesn't take long for Barton's life to erupt in complete chaos. His studio boss orders the serious-minded Barton to write a low budget wrestling movie. Deeply disappointed, Barton returns to his seedy hotel, types one sentence and then¿ nothing. To make matters worse, he is continually interrupted by Charlie (John Goodman), a chatty travelling insurance salesman who lives next door. Eventually they become friends and Charlie tries to help Barton by teaching him the finer points of wrestling. As the clock ticks away and the temperature climbs, Barton becomes more desperate as his life spins out of control.
Amazon.com essential video: A darkly comic ride, this intense and original 1991 offering from the Coen brothers (Fargo, Blood Simple) gleefully attacks the Hollywood system and those who seek to sell out to it, portraying the writer's suffering as a loony vision of hell. John Turturro (Miller's Crossing, Jungle Fever) plays the title character, a pretentious left-wing writer from New York City who is brought to 1930s Hollywood to write a script for a wrestling movie for palooka actor Wallace Beery. Fink thinks the job is beneath him, but his desire for acceptance gets the better of him, and he suddenly finds himself holed up in a fleabag hotel in Los Angeles, where he is almost immediately afflicted with writer's block. Various distractions begin to enter his life, first in the form of a famous southern writer (John Mahoney) whom Fink idolizes, and then his neighbor in the hotel, a seemingly amiable salesman played by John Goodman (Sea of Love, Raising Arizona). The writer turns out to be a self-loathing drunk whose secretary (Judy Davis) is the one actually doing the writing. And the neighbor, the working-class hero who Fink made his reputation writing about, may have a horrifying secret of his own. Equal parts social commentary and hilarious farce, and winner of the Best Picture, Actor, and Director prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, Barton Fink is a visionary and original comic masterpiece not to be missed. --Robert Lane
inchoate This is a movie by a couple of artists who later learned to do much better. You can, however, see the beginnings of their genius in this film.
The plot concerns Barton Fink, an up-and-coming New York playwright whose recent successes attract the attention of a major Hollywood mogul. After signing a lucrative contract he finds himself holed up in a creepy Hollywood Hotel.
What's unfortunate about this movie is that many scenes which probably worked quite well on paper come off as somehow not right when you see them on the screen.
An example of this would be the scenes where Barton interacts with the hotel staff. This probably seemed a lot more clever in the script, but when you see the scenes you don't know what to make of them.
Perhaps the best aspects of this film are the scenes with the William Faulkner character, whose tenure in Hollywood was, in fact, as bizarre as it is depicted.
But in most of the rest of the movie, the directors seem to have ideas but not know what to do with them. For example using John Goodman as a satanic angel of death provides the odd chuckle, but it's hard to see what he's doing in this movie. I have thought that the main thrust of the film was to explore the angst and futility of a young, soulful writer trying to put his heart on the page in this business that simply didn't care. The fact that this movie turned into a murder mystery about half way through really ended up scuttling that.
The Coen brothers, of course, later proved themselves masters of creeping an audience out, and, at least in this department, they don't disappoint in this film. The problem is, unlike in their later films, the creepiness seems to be for no purpose and to go nowhere.
I believe the whole idea of a studio smooshing a passionate writer certainly held promise. But there is so much extraneous matter floating around this film that what could have been a thoughtful, meaningful pieces ends up being blunted in every way.
Tweaked 'til it screams... The genius of The Brothers Coen lies in their ability to examine American Culture and tweak it until it screams in transcendent agony, this fine film is no exception. John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Steve Buscemi... Imagine their faces, throw in surreal camera-craft, blast them with the contrast of bright Hollywood sunlight and still, deep, dark shadow and you get the idea.
It's set in Hollywood circa the raid on Pearl Harbor. A young and somewhat successful playwright attempts to cope with the coke, booze & benny fueled craziness of the studio. Enter J. Goodman's character: a bona fide psycho, and watch the puzzi get *extra* fancy...
Great movie; why so few DVD features? I liked the still gallery, but there should have been more than that and the trailers. Ah, well...Still, this is a great movie and probably has not been seen by as many people as should have seen it by now. It's not a blockbuster; it's noir and a very dark comedy about a writer who hits a nasty writer's block and then gets caught up in a madman's reign of terror.
This is also a great commentary by the Coens about the nature of Hollywood, how a writer struggles in that town, anti-Semitism, fate, and a symbolically depressing and dangerous environment (portrayed through the dripping, peeling wallpaper, the constant whine of mosquitoes, and the dreary Hotel Earle).
John Goodman and John Turturro do excellent work here as the madman and the writer, respectively, showing us both their comedic and their tormented sides.
The ending, with the hallway in flames, is unforgettable; as is the mysterious package which I hope Barton never opens, since it may very likely contain body parts belonging to people he knew. Credit the Coens for not giving away the mystery.
Burn Hollywood to the ground... I settled down to watch this film the other night because someone told me that it drew a lot of inspiration from `Eraserhead', and since David Lynch's classic rests firmly at the top of my favorite movies ever made I decided that `Barton Fink' was a must see for me. While the film is no where near the brilliance that was `Eraserhead' I must say that the Coen's did not disappoint (yet, with all seriousness; have they ever truly disappointed?). `Barton Fink' is truly a strange and thought provoking film that, like `Eraserhead', may not be fully understood right off the bat, but it sports enough passion and intelligence to warrant a second and third watch through to finally `get' it so-to-speak.
The film revolves around a playwright by the name of Barton Fink. Fink is asked to come to Hollywood and write a wrestling picture for famous working actor Wallace Beery. Sure, he feels that a wrestling picture is far beneath his talent but his desire to become accepted into the world of motion picture moves him to conform to the desires of the studio and settle down in a dusty old hotel to begin his script. And then he pained with writers block, a most savage case at that, and so he begins his long struggle to create a masterpiece.
I've seen a few movies lately that tackle the darker side of Hollywood, and while `Barton Fink' is not the best (that spot securely belongs to `8 ½') it is certainly up there. As Fink tries aimlessly to write something with meaning and significance he gradually drifts into a madness that I can imagine plagues many writers working in Hollywood today. Everyone wants to be known for something important and meaningful, but the sad reality is that meaningful rarely sells, and so they are pressured to create something mediocre that will fill seats.
Case-in-point...how many of you have ever really heard of `Barton Fink'?
Now, how many of you have heard of `I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry'?
My point exactly.
The film is elevated by some intelligent and memorable performances, especially in the supporting category. Judy Davis is stunning as Audrey Taylor, the lovely secretary who steals a little part of Fink's soul. Michael Lerner (who garnered an Oscar nomination for his performance) is extremely memorable as Jack Lipnick, the studio head entrusting Fink with the script. I personally loved John Mahoney's portrayal of desperate alcoholic writer W.P. Mayhew, especially his off screen yammering about honey. Tony Shalhoub (what an accent) and Jon Polito are also noteworthy; even Steve Buscemi in his one scene is spot on with the mood and air of the film.
This movie though belongs to the two Johns; Turturro and Goodman. As Fink, Turturro brilliantly captures the desperation that is slowly unraveling within his soul. We can see the outward symptoms of his madness, but it is always glossed over somewhat. It is the eyes that really drag us in to what is happening inside his mind. Goodman delivers what may be his finest performance ever, and one of my personal favorite supporting performances ever. As Charlie Meadows, Goodman instantly draws in the audience. He seems nice enough, normal enough, simple enough; and then he smiles up at Fink and you know that there is something more there, more than meets the eye and much more that Fink would give him credit for. It was in those minor details that Meadows became the most interesting character in `Barton Fink' and honestly the most real. Charlie Meadows is probably the best way to understand the title character, but I really can't explain my reasons for saying this without giving away too much of the film. Just watch closely and listen intently ("you don't LISTEN") and you will understand the significance that Meadows has in the bigger picture.
There is no denying that the Coen brothers know how to make a film, and they know how to create something fresh and original while never conforming to create something overtly commercial. Just take a look at even their biggest successes. `Fargo', `O Brother, Where Art Thou?' and their latest Oscar winning `No Country for Old Men' can join `Barton Fink' as thought provoking cinema that maintains a vision and delivers triumphantly.
Barton Fink: I've always found that writing comes from a great inner pain. One of the finest Coen Brothers' films, "Barton Fink" (1990) is a skillful inspired mixture of the real and unreal, the nightmarish Lynch - Kafkaesque vision of 1940s Hollywood. Barton Fink, a talented and serious New York playwright is hired by a big movie studio to write a screenplay about wrestling. Soon he finds himself in a writer block, and his hotel neighbor, chatty insurance salesman Charlie (John Goodman, one of Coens' favorite actors) tries to help him out by teaching Fink about wrestling. The situation gets out of control, becomes more and more nightmarish and surreal; and then, one day, two homicide detectives show up at Fink's hotel and want to ask him a few questions.
"Barton Fink" broke the Cannes Festival's record taking three major awards, Golden Palm, the director's prize and the best actor award for John Turturro (the regular actor in Coens' films). I think all awards were well deserved - the film is unforgettable
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