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Barton Fink (1991)

tomatometer

91

Average Rating: 7.6/10
Reviews Counted: 53
Fresh: 48 | Rotten: 5

Twisty and unsettling, the Coen brothers' satirical tale of a 1940s playwright struggling with writer's block is packed with their trademark sense of humor and terrific performances from its cast.

91

Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 1

Twisty and unsettling, the Coen brothers' satirical tale of a 1940s playwright struggling with writer's block is packed with their trademark sense of humor and terrific performances from its cast.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 39,507

My Rating

Movie Info

The title character, played by John Turturro, is a Broadway playwright, based on Clifford Odets, lured to Hollywood with the promise of untold riches by a boorish studio chieftain (played by Michael Lerner as a combination of Louis B. Mayer and Harry Cohn). Despising the film capital and everything it stands for, Barton Fink comes down with an acute case of writer's block. He is looked after by a secretary (Judy Davis) who has been acting as a ghost writer for an alcoholic screenwriter (John

R, 1 hr. 56 min.

Drama, Comedy

,

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

May 20, 2003

20th Century Fox

Cast

All Critics (53) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (5) | DVD (14)

Gnomic, claustrophobic, hallucinatory, just plain weird, it is the kind of movie critics can soak up thousands of words analyzing and cinephiles can soak up at least three espressos arguing their way through.

October 13, 2009 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Again the Coens take familiar movie tropes and twist them into something new. This may be their most haunting movie.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Newsweek | Comment
Newsweek
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Scene after scene is filled with a ferocious strength and humor.

November 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
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This creepy satire is full of laughs and flaky twists, but by the end you may still be scratching your head.

November 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comments (8)
Chicago Reader
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It's an exhilarating original.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
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Partly hilarious, partly horrific, totally mesmerizing.

May 12, 2001 Comment
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Goes off the deep end.

April 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Bizarre Hollywood dream factory. Teens only.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

Resembles not the artist's churning mind but the filmmakers' conjoined colon

November 15, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion | Comments (10)
CinePassion

Does cinema get any better than this?

April 19, 2008 Comment
Moviehole

The film's period decor, mood lighting and artful camerawork are beautiful, at times thrilling, to look at.

November 6, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Fascinating tale by the Coen brothers, among their best, with standout work by leads Turturro and Goodman.

November 4, 2007 Comment
Video-Reviewmaster.com

Someone pleaaaaase explain this movie to me!

August 25, 2006 Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | Comments (8)
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

The worst of the Coens' genre-ransacking; mean and self-congratulatory.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: F5 (Wichita, KS) | Comments (9)

Somehow everything coheres, thanks to the Coens' superb writing and assured direction, and a roster of marvellous performances. The result works on numerous levels, thrilling the mind, ears and eyes, and racking the nerves.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Written during their own creative block, Joel and Ethan Coen's noirish satirical allegory decodes the myth of the "sensitive" artist, the mysteries of the creative process, and the ambiguities of Hollywood authorship.

July 3, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment (1)

... a courageous and horrific glimpse through the ego and courage of the human spirit into the emptiness of even the kindest human being's heart.

January 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Looking Closer | Comment (1)
Looking Closer

Another great turn by the Coen brothers, with regulars Turturro and Goodman at their best.

November 11, 2004 Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Barton Fink

In the beginning, Barton Fink is a nice drama film that don't look like a Coen Brothers' picture. But, suddenly, the film give an upheaval and become a surreal and dark comedy with influences of others great movies. With terrific performances of the cast and clever screenplay and direction: Barton Fink is an

January 18, 2012
Lucas Martins

Super Reviewer

A Broadway playwright relocates to Hollywood and suffers writer's block while enduring the attentions of an affable but mysterious insurance salesman who lives next door. Barton Fink is an odd fish, even by the off beat standards of the Coen brothers. It's actually quite difficult to differentiate the "real" from the

November 10, 2006
garyX
xGary Xx

Super Reviewer

    1. Detective Mastrionotti: You're a sick fuck, Fink.
    – Submitted by David A (3 days ago)
    1. Charlie Meadows: Heil Hitler.
    – Submitted by Lucas M (21 days ago)

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