Barton Fink

1991

Action / Comedy / Drama / Thriller

46
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 90% · 67 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 89% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.6/10 10 134405 134.4K

hotel screenplay mass murder movie business screenwriter neighbor

Director

Ethan Coen Photo
Ethan Coen

Top cast

Steve Buscemi Photo
Steve Buscemi as Chet
John Goodman Photo
John Goodman as Charlie Meadows
William H. Macy Photo
William H. Macy as Navy Sailor
Frances McDormand Photo
Frances McDormand as Stage Actress
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.02 GB
1280*694
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
1 hr 56 min
Seeds 15
1.91 GB
1920*1040
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
1 hr 56 min
Seeds 75

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by titusbiwot 7 / 10

Hmmm....

Watched the film, understood 60% of it. Went to read its reviews after, understood 75% of it. Now i have to watch it again from another angle to completely get it. This is what the Coen brothers make you do.
Reviewed by AlsExGal 8 / 10

The Coen Brothers' strangest film

You are either going to love or hate this one, and I doubt you'll know which until it's over. Maybe you won't know even then.In 1941, Barton Fink (John Turturro) is a successful Broadway playwright. Now that he's got some success under his belt, he says he wants to write plays for "the common man". But his agent has a tempting offer. A movie studio wants him to come to LA and write screenplays for 1000 dollars a week. The agent convinces him to go. Barton checks into the Hotel Earle, which has ornate decorations in the common areas, but is a dump from the standpoint of Barton's room. The heat has the wallpaper peeling off the walls. The sole decoration in Barton's room is the picture of a woman sitting on the beach, her arm raised to block the sun. Remember this picture - it's important.Barton's first assignment is to write a "wrestling picture" starring Wally Beery. But Barton has writer's block for assorted reasons, one of them being that he knows nothing about this subject. So he stares at his typewriter with the dread an insomniac might stare at his bed. But then what seemed to start out being a film about how the studio system can beat the creativity and the confidence out of a successful writer changes course and becomes something that is completely surreal and even nightmarish by the end. I can really say nothing more specific than that without giving things away.The Coens wrote Barton Fink when they were having writer's block trying to write Miller's Crossing because of the complexity of the plot. So did they manage to pack lots of symbolism into a tight, coherent package, or did they simply let their imagination run wild and undisciplined in an attempt to get back on track on the other film? I have no idea. I just know that I like it and - for me - it's great for repeat viewings.One more thing - How can it be so hot in LA, and then suddenly WWII has started, which would make it December? Why is it Barton doesn't seem to notice WWII has started without being told and then really has no reaction. He really isn't plugged into "the common man" is he?
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