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Barton Fink (1991)

 -  Drama  -  21 August 1991 (USA)
7.7
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Ratings: 7.7/10 from 58,548 users   Metascore: 69/100
Reviews: 199 user | 90 critic | 19 from Metacritic.com

A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.

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Title: Barton Fink (1991)

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Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 8 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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David Warrilow ...
Garland Stanford
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I.M. Hobson ...
Derek
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Poppy Carnahan (as Megan Faye)
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Richard St. Claire
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Pete
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Storyline

In 1941, New York intellectual playwright Barton Fink comes to Hollywood to write a Wallace Beery wrestling picture. Staying in the eerie Hotel Earle, Barton develops severe writer's block. His neighbor, jovial insurance salesman Charlie Meadows, tries to help, but Barton continues to struggle as a bizarre sequence of events distracts him even further from his task. Written by Scott Renshaw <as.idc@forsythe.stanford.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Between Heaven and Hell There's Always Hollywood! See more »

Genres:

Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some scenes of violence | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

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Language:

Release Date:

21 August 1991 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Barton Fink - DelĂ­rios de Hollywood  »

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$6,153,939 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of Barton Fink's play 'Bare Ruined Choirs' is from William Shakespeare's Sonnet #73, the first 4 lines of which are "That time of year thou mayest in me behold, When yellow leaves or none or few do hang, Upon those boughs that shake against the cold, Bare ruined choirs where late the sweet bird sang". See more »

Goofs

Colonel Lipnick's uniform contains awards created after 1941, including a Master Parachutist Badge (1949) and the Combat Infantryman's Badge (1943). See more »

Quotes

Jack Lipnick: It's supposed to be about big men! In tights! Both physically and mentally!
See more »


Soundtracks

"FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS"
by Edward Heyman, Al Sherman and Abner Silver
Licenced with Permission the Successors of Marlo Music Corporation/ASCAP
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User Reviews

 
Classic dark comedy spoofs Hollywood hacks, literati alike
2 August 2003 | by (Oakland CA) – See all my reviews

This is a satire which really eviscerates its main character, nebbish Barton Fink, a semi-successful, very Jewish New York playwright who comes to Hollywood to make his dreams come true, which in his case is definately not writing the next Wallace Beery wrestling picture. There are just too many funny things in this movie to mention them all, so I won't mention any. But this is a movie that is going to stand up to the test of time; it may be the Coen brothers' best movie, because it is both dead funny and dead serious.

Turturro gives the performance of a lifetime as Barton, and Goodman proved with this movie that he was a first class acting talent (what made the Coens think of him in this role, anyway? surely a mark of genius). Davis also shows herself off extremely well, in one of this underrated actresses finest roles.

There is, simply put, no better satire of Hollywood, and none that I can think of that so successfully manages to also spoof the pretentions of those who despise it.


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