Barton Fink (1991)

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers:

Joel Coen (written by) &
Ethan Coen (written by)

Release Date:

21 August 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Between Heaven and Hell There's Always Hollywood!

Plot:

In 1941, New York intellectual playwright Barton Fink comes to Hollywood to write a Wallace Beery wrestling picture...

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Writers Block | Wrestling | Hotel | Playwright

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

John Turturro	...	Barton Fink
John Goodman	...	Charlie Meadows
Judy Davis	...	Audrey Taylor
Michael Lerner	...	Jack Lipnick
John Mahoney	...	W.P. Mayhew
Tony Shalhoub	...	Ben Geisler
Jon Polito	...	Lou Breeze
Steve Buscemi	...	Chet
David Warrilow	...	Garland Stanford
Richard Portnow	...	Detective Mastrionotti
Christopher Murney	...	Detective Deutsch
I.M. Hobson	...	Derek
Meagen Fay	...	Poppy Carnahan (as Megan Faye)
Lance Davis	...	Richard St. Claire
Harry Bugin	...	Pete

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some scenes of violence.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:U | Brazil:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 (bw) | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #31095) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Circle Films

Trivia:

The Coen brothers cite as a major influence for Barton Fink the Roman Polanski film Le locataire (1976). (Watching The Tenant, according to one writer, will give you a lot better idea of what's in the mysterious kraft-paper-wrapped box in Barton Fink.)

Goofs:

Continuity: The medal strips on the producer's uniform.

Quotes:

Barton: Have you read the Bible, Pete?
Pete: Holy Bible?
Barton: Yeah.
Pete: Yeah, I think so. Anyway, I've heard about it.

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS

A masterpiece of surrealism

The Coen-movie I liked best was "Raising Arizona". But being realisic, I know that "Miller's Crossing" and "Barton Fink" were better. There is so much inside and behind this movie, it's impossible to refer to every single detail. John Turturro has never given a better performance than here, as arrogant, too ambitious author Barton Fink. John Goodman also plays his role for a lifetime. And of course, Michael Lerner was nominated for an Academy Award. The reason why he still is no star is that he didn't act in any other Coen-brothers-movie. It's a fact that with their direction actors reach their climax.

Some of my friends who saw this film disliked it because they didn't understand the plot. Well, this is not a movie for people who need instructions how to handle a film. You have to think, to guess what all the symbols mean, what the ending means. Whatever you'll guess it can't be completely wrong because a real masterpiece like this offers many possibilities for interpretation.