Barton Fink (1991)
Barton Fink (1991)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
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Cast & Crew.
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
Det. Deutsch
Joel Coen
Director
I.M. Hobson
Derek
Meagen Fay
Poppy Carnahan
Ethan Coen
Writer
Lance Davis
Richard St. Claire
Harry Bugin
Pete
Carter Burwell
Composer
Anthony Gordon
Maitre D'
Roger Deakins
Cinematographer
Jack Denbo
Stagehand
Max Grodénchik
Clapper Boy
Robert Beecher
Referee
Darwyn Swalve
Wrestler
Donna Isaacson
CastingDirector
John S. Lyons
CastingDirector
Gayle Vance
Geisler's Secretary
Dennis Gassner
ProductionDesigner
Johnny Judkins
Sailor
Jana Marie Hupp
USO Girl
Isabelle Townsend
Beauty
William Preston Robertson
Voice (voice)
Mamie Jean Calvert
Background (uncredited)
Frances McDormand
Stage Actress (voice) (uncredited)
Bubba Dean Rambo
Banquet Dancer (uncredited)
Barry Sonnenfeld
Page Calling for Barton Fink (uncredited)
Vincent Tumeo
Dancer (uncredited)
Rob Wegner
Police Officer (uncredited)
Linda Wood
Secretary to Head of Movie Studio (uncredited)
William H. Macy
Navy Sailor (uncredited)
Tricia Cooke
Assistant Editor
Skip Lievsay
Supervising Sound Editor
Graham Place
Co-Producer
Kim Robert Koscki
Stunts
Gary Jensen
Stunt Coordinator
Ben Jensen
Stunts
David Powledge
Stunts
David Efron
Stunts
Media.
Details.
Release DateAugust 1, 1991
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 57m
Content RatingR
Budget$9,000,000
Box Office$6,153,939
Filming LocationsLong Beach, United States of America · Malibu, United States
Genres
Wiki.
Barton Fink is a 1991 American period black comedy psychological thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hired to write scripts for a film studio in Hollywood, and John Goodman as Charlie Meadows, the insurance salesman who lives next door at the run-down Hotel Earle.
The Coens wrote the screenplay for Barton Fink in three weeks while experiencing writer's block during the writing of Miller's Crossing. They began filming soon after Miller's Crossing was finished. The film is influenced by works of several earlier directors, particularly Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965) and The Tenant (1976).
Barton Fink had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1991. In a rare sweep, it won the Palme d'Or as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor (Turturro). Although the film was a box office bomb, only grossing $6 million against its $9 million budget, it received positive reviews and was nominated for three Academy Awards.
Prominent themes of Barton Fink include the writing process; slavery and conditions of labor in creative industries; superficial distinctions between high culture and low culture; and the relationship of intellectuals with "the common man". The diverse elements of the film have led it to defy efforts at genre classification, with the work being variously referred to as a film noir, a horror film, a Künstlerroman, and a buddy film. It contains various literary allusions and religious overtones, as well as references to many real-life people and events – most notably the writers Clifford Odets and William Faulkner, of whom the characters of Barton Fink and W. P. Mayhew, respectively, are often seen as fictional representations. Several features of the film's narrative, particularly an image of a woman at the beach which recurs throughout, have sparked much commentary, with the Coens acknowledging some intentional symbolic elements while denying an attempt to communicate any single message in the film.