Barton Fink (1991)

Great!!

Arrived fast and was in perfect condition. I really liked the movie!
Great purchase.. September 26, 2008

Another good one from the Coen brothers

This 1991 film by the Coen brothers is a very dark comedy about the pitfalls of Hollywood.

Barton Fink (John Turturro) is a writer on Broadway that has claimed some success and is wanted by the "Hollywood" studios. He reluctantly goes west to try and achieve some more of his dream as a writer. Barton views himself as a great writer of the typical working man, but is contracted to write a script for a low budget wrestling movie. On the way he meets Charlie (John Goodman) an insurance salesman with a darkside and Audrey a girlfriend to a writer that Barton idolizes. Barton hits a writer's block and things don't go so good.

For those that love the Coen brothers films, like myself, this is another good movie, but not for everyone. If you like Fargo, Raising Arizona and No Country for Old Men, then you'd enjoy this one also. September 9, 2008

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. August 3, 2008

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...
July 7, 2008

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.




June 12, 2008

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