Another wild experience from the Coen Brothers. Loved it! Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema Have a great day!
Barton Fink doesn't fit into any genre category. It's a masterpiece of chaos. The impossibility of telling any story which could ever truly capture the verisimilitude of life. An assault on narrative structure; a film that questions what does it mean to be a character in a film?
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).
Not only rare, literally unprecedented. I’m pretty sure Cannes actually changed the rules afterwards so one movie couldn’t take home three of the biggest awards.
Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, and The Hudsucker Proxy, released in that order, feel like a distinct period to me. Easily their most ambitious scripts. Barton Fink was apparently written during a period of writers' block over how to finish Miller's Crossing--their best script and best movie, IMO.
@@terryemery4348 I feel like it might have been the year in which it was released. Releasing a gangster movie in the same year as GoodFellas and The Godfather Part III must have been tough competition, so it's a bit forgotten.
The first Coen brothers film I'd ever seen, and I never thought I'd ever see a reaction to it. Your reaction seemed pretty similar to mine when I first saw it. I didn't have a clue what I'd just seen, but I thought I liked it. After a few viewings, I knew that I liked it, but I still haven't figured out what I'd seen.
I am simply amazed and impressed that you chose to review this film, and I am delighted you shared this video with us. I borrowed this movie from a coworker in 1993 when I moved to California while we worked at a television station producing and directing commercials. My bro and I eventually parted ways and I never returned his VHS copy. (Sorry Bro! I miss you Bro! I'll pay you for the long-lost copy, but thank you thank you thank you for introducing me to this wonderful, lovely flick!) After seeing that VHS copy over a hundred times, I've grown to believe this is the best Coen movie to date and one of the best movies ever made. Great writing, great cinematography, great development -- a great movie! There are so many ways to interpret this film, but the best part of the experience is that the layered screenplay is so deep and full of intentionally strange scenes that, like a masterpiece painting, it is a odd work of art that is forever open for an infinite number of interpretations. Like Bosch's "Garden Of Earthly Delights" on celluloid. No you are not pushing it! The tears are what explains the theme and brings it all full circle... All the great actors in this flick completely step from their conventional roles and strut their stuff to the fullest! Unless someone brings up this movie to me, I never comment on it (for it is not a movie for everyone) but to me, I think it is one of the greatest movies ever made. Yes, it is like a novel, or a timeless play! It is an incredible movie that is in a class by itself. Great review!!! Best to you-
This is quite possibly the Coen Brothers’ darkest movie. Not in the sense of how many people die (though the film contains a healthy slab of bloodshed), but more in terms of a person slowly losing their soul.
LOOK UPON MEEEEEE!!!!! (lol) I've been waiting years for anyone to react to and review this movie...glad, though not surprised, it was you. One of my all time favorite movie quotes delivered by John Goodman as no one else could: " I will show you the life of the mind!!! " The phrase 'under-appreciated masterpiece' gets used a lot, but this movie is truly just that.
It boggles my mind how they made this movie. It's one thing to write the story so unique and compelling, but the stars must have aligned to get such perfectly executed acting, cinematography, timing, dialogs, characters... it's a masterpiece.
Out of many praise worthy things about this movie, the fact that Deakins somehow made ungluing wallpaper look cinematic is the one that's always boggled me the most. The man is truly unmatched
The interpretation of this film is that Charlie (John Goodman) is the Devil, and the hotel is Hell. When Chet (Steve Buscemi) appears, we see him appear from underground. Charlie also refers to the Hotel as his 'home'. There are also shots whereby the camera descends in to pipes and drains, again giving the impression that something is beyond the walls and buried. At film school we thought that Charlie was collecting souls and keeps them in the many rooms there in the hotel.
I just back from this bookstore that also sells used movies and this was one of the movies that I grabbed. I'm looking forward to watching it tomorrow for the first time.
This is the irony of this film: Barton wrote plays about the common people, but you can see that the audience of his play in NY were all rich people (from the beginning of this movie). When he was invited to Hollywood to make films for the common people, he can't write - because the common people don't watch artsy 'fruity' films, they like wrestling movies (action films). This film is a daring social criticism of Hollywood and the arts, it's a dilemma that all artists felt at one time or another. If you make an art film about the common people, the elite will award it with the Oscars but no 'common man' watches it. They like action - Marvel movies.
One of my favorite of the Coen brothers' films. I still find it impenetrable as far as its meaning, but despite not knowing what the hell is going on, I love it so much. That's a mark of a great film. There are some great video essays on it, too.
What’s your video essay recommendations? I haven’t seen anyone talk about it but I’d like to, I love it but I agree the meaning is hard to figure out lol.
@@davidbowman2001 Yeah, I haven't found many, so it makes the ones that do exist automatically good haha. If you search "Barton Fink video essay" you'll find 'em. I know I've seen the Deep Dive Film School and JessFlix ones. I think the other results might be more Coen-centric than Barton-specific, but I haven't seen them so I don't know. They might be great.
I like your commentary on screenwriting, and the fact you chose to react to a film about a screenwriter suffering writer's block in some hotel from hell was compelling. Barton Fink is a great example of early Coen Bros' work and an excellent example of the influence of American independent filmmaking internationally, evidenced by its domination of the Cannes Film Festival from 1989 to 1994 with American films like Soderbergh's Sex Lies and Videotape, the Coens' Barton Fink, Lynch's Wild At Heart, and Tarantino's Pulp Fiction--all of which won the Palme D'or, the award for Best Picture of the festival.
A wild and fantastic film. It was supposedly written whilst the brothers were in a writer's block, writing Miller's Crossing (another fantastic film) and they took the details from the lives of 2 famous writers - Clifford Odets and William Faulkner - Barton Fink, and W P Mayhew, respectively. A number of things from their lives in Hollywood are brought into this script. A very interesting piece to come out of a writing block.
This is one of my favorite Coen bros movie. It's mesmerizing and nerve-wracking. Goodman, Turturro, and Judy Davis are fantastic. And Michael Lerner was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of the studio head. This pic won the top three honors at Cannes that year.
"Adaptation" is another fun screenwriting threaded film. Thank you for selecting this film for reaction, ...it was fun to have it come up and on by while I was alert and tuned to the breezes which brought it by.
Really loved this reaction! You nailed a lot about the surreal/supernatural hotel setting, the personal/mental space dynamic of it, the OTT characters. You losing it at Lipnik made me lose it because Lipnik is amazing! Also the other fast talking agent guy you identified as Spy Kids man is Tony Shalhoub, and he has a way of popping up in a lot of great stuff. I tend to know him as Monk otherwise! I think this movie deserves to be called underrated, and is a wonderful unpackaging and extension of writer's block.
What a great choice of film to react to! This is what I so appreciate about you, James! You choose unique films and as a filmmaker, your comments are so much more insightful than most other RUclipsrs. You are perhaps the only reaction channel where I learn something new every time I watch.
They wrote this when they had writers’ block for the third act of Miller’s Crossing, which shares the theme of when the head/mind and heart don’t get along. In miller’s crossing, I think, variations of the words for head and heart were used dozens of times, I think.
In my early 20s I lived in a building in St. Paul that had that almost exact same hallway. The wallpaper, the carpet, the Art Deco sconces. It wasn't as long as this, obviously, because this hallway is infinitely long, but for a year and a half I basically lived where Barton Fink lived. If you know St. Paul geography it is the red brick building directly behind W. A. Frost. I had a studio apartment. I believe every unit was exactly similar to mine except maybe the end units. Mine was an 18 x 24 foot box with a galley kitchen behind the right hand wall and a closet and bathroom on the left. The coolest feature was the transom window over the door. The cathedral was two blocks away and Summit Avenue a couple blocks away so it sounds fancy-pants on paper, but in reality it was hardscrabble. Most of the neighborhood was Hmong immigrants trying to establish a foothold. And some pricy condos, too. A new gentrification outpost or two and some high-end boutique niche retail in an old neighborhood. A sushi joint. It was an interesting neighborhood. I have an operating theory that whoever art directed this movie lived in the same building I did. It isn't 100% accurate, the real wallpaper was more muted and the wall sconces a bit more utilitarian, but in lighting, look, feel, tone - that is the exact same hallway as is shown in the movie. It freaked me out when I saw Barton Fink. The hallway is nearly identical to a place I had lived in like 5 years earlier. It is spookily similar! That was the question I should have asked - art direction!
Apropos of absolutely nothing I occasionally use the phrase "It's got that Barton Fink feeling" when trying and failing to to describe an undescribable thing. When something is great but words don't exist to peg it properly it has that Barton Fink feeling. A well made waffle with melted butter and real maple syrup on top has that Barton Fink feeling. I was lucky enough to be at the world premiere at the Walker museum in Minneapolis. Both brothers were there taking questions. It was freaking awesome! I got called on and asked the lamest technical question ever about how they shot the pus dribbling down John Goodman's neck. I had my shot and I blew it.
The coens wrote this while having writers block for millers crossing. I love how the colonel can't read and only repeats Lou's opinions and yet lou isn't allowed to talk. Imop Barton fink satirizes overly complex artsy films while being a complex artsy film. Barton doesn't understand not all stories have to be overly complex and have deep meaning to be good. The film itself is mocking Barton. If you notice the last line of Barton's play from the beginning is identical to the last line of his script at the end, he's a hack. My favorite coens film. Awesome review. Watch it a couple more times to truly catch things. Masterpiece, Goodman deserved an Oscar.
Ready to get your MIND BLOWN, All of the " noises that Barton hears from the neighbors are actually his own.!!! 1 The cries he let out when Charlie was leaving town. The inmacy he had with Audrey, and then interlaced with the sounds of the wresteling movies. Listen close. It implies they are alter-egoes like the same person... Much like Fight Club. Let me know what ya think cheers
@@JamesVSCinema totally, it’s such a weird Lynchian nightmare about writers block and a lot of writer’s self aggrandizing pretension. The third act is wild…
I saw this film in the theatre in 1991. It was my introduction to the Cohen brothers and I've been hooked on their films ever since. This is still one of my favorite films. John Mahoney's take on William Faulkner was pretty interesting too.
this is definitely a little more like a charlie kaufmen film but i love this movie. ready for naked lunch? a movie about an author who is writing maybe the most confusing book in american history. love your reactions btw.
Your bringing up Charlie Kaufman makes me think of Adaptation. Another great movie about screenplay writers. That would be a good one to see on James’s list!
Love the reaction as always, James! I think that even though i could identify with Barton and his writers block/depression, I also think he was pretty much a blowhard, so to speak; he goes on and on about the “common man” yet doesn’t care to hear Charlie’s stories at all. Also, John Goodman’s Charlie is genuinely one of the most terrifying movie characters I’ve ever seen.
I wanted to hear Charlie's stories, and the frustration of not hearing them propelled my enjoyment of seeing Charlie plumb the depths of Barton's soul.
This is just a overlooked film. More people need to watch. My favorite Coen Brothers movie is The Man Who Wasn’t There starring Billy Bob Thornton and James Gandalfini.
Barton Fink makes a GREAT double-feature with David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. Both came out in '91, both surreal period pieces about writer's block...sort of.😆
Barton Fink, for me, is a movie that becomes much better on the second watch. As a writer myself, at first, I was sympathetic to Barton as writers block sucks, and as an artist you'd want to be able to express yourself as freely as possible, because to me, art isn't art unless it's honest. However, while the studio is a bunch of corporate dickheads, they end up being more right than Barton is. If Barton cared so much about the common man, he should've gone out of his comfort zone and written a simple film with a simple premise, movies the common man he loves so much tends to enjoy. But in the end, he doesn't. He's not writing for the common man, he's writing for himself, and after all is said and done, he's wasted time and money on something that nobody asked for, let alone wanted, especially during the period when America is entering WW2. That's why Hollywood works the way it does, because it's a business, not an art gallery. Now he must face the consequences of his actions and spend the rest of his life writing movies that will never be produced because, like Charlie said, he simply won't listen because he can't see past his own vision, and will now spend the rest of his professional life in a purgatory of his own making. Also, the most ironic thing about Barton Fink is that it was also written during a case of writer's block when the Coens were writing Miller's Crossing.
FINALLY, someone watches this damn movie~ Not only is this a Coen Bros. movie, but I consider it part of an unofficial trilogy called the Beast of Los Angeles; Barton Fink, Hail! Caesar, and The Big Lebowski, where this seamy Hollywood legacy seems to be tied together via this one all-consuming monster of a city that people find themselves in, or go to. As far as this movie goes, it is one of their best and most interpretive works, just what is everyone talking about outside of Barton's perspective? Has he gone mad, or is he just an alien in this otherwise absurd world of happenings. WHERE'S MAH HONEY, ARTHUR?!
Yes, excellent idea that this is at least a partner movie to Hail, Caesar. It's an interesting juxtaposition that Eddie Mannix in HC is written as a strong moral force and practically a saint (crying guiltily to his priest at 3am over sneaking ciggies), yet BF makes it clear that the Coens understand big Hollywood players to be more like the devil. Due to the oppositional tone - fun/playful vs nightmarish - each film throws the other into sharper relief when you're aware of them both - HC seems even more absurd and sharply satirical, BF seems more grittier and insightful.
You MUST see ALL of the Coen Bros. films. It’s essential viewing if you’re a filmmaker. There’s been talk about a sequel to Barton Fink, set in the 1970s. The title? “Old Fink”. 😝
Barton Fink is roughly based on the playwright Clifford Odets what with the working man / common person characters plus as much socialism as he could shoehorn in and get away with in the 1930s New York scene. Odets moved to LA and wrote for movies because he basically got blacklisted in New York. I couldn't tell you what movies he wrote, but that would be very interesting to see if they retain any tropes he was fond of - the noble working man beat down by the Capitalist system. Workers of the world unite! Did Odets write any good plays? Several were fairly well reviewed at the time, but he fell out of favor quickly. I'm relying on decades old second hand knowledge, but iirc he wrote plays where the characters were barely recognizable as human and mostly existed to spout socialist propoganda. The angels and producers decided to blacklist him not because of politics but because they thought his stuff would not put paying butts in the seats. No one wants to pay to go to a play and be lectured at. I completely understand their decision - it was mercenary, yes, but completely understandable. Broadway exists because there are butts in seats predictably night after night. No butts, no bucks. (Sorry! That was very cheesy. And also true.) With a movie you can show it on multiple screens everywhere simultaneously. And then streaming. Movies are scalable by design. Plays are venue bound. With a play you have one venue only and butts in seats trumps all. If you hit it stupid big you can maybe finance a touring company show, maybe several, with lesser known actors who vaguely look like the originals or sound like them and let them tour the hinterlands to scoop the local rubes for every penny. This is total speculation but I doubt that Odets went to Hollywood because of the economics of scale, but I strongly suspect he went because he knew he needed enough income to pay for housing and utilities. Capitalism sucks, but it gets its due every month. With a play you are bound by scale and economics much more so than in the movie business. You have one and only one venue.
This movie gives me a "darker version of Wes Anderson" feeling. I've watched it many times and every time I discover something new about the story. Quirky, but it really piques my interest.
It's funny, I feel like Barton Fink hangs together as the most coherent Coen Brothers flick, thematically, and the one that potentially means the most to me. For me it's about the relationship between truth, beauty and suffering, with a sub-theme about how it's impossible to say anything 'true' or meaningful in a Hollywood-like setting. Barton wants to write the truth about life, but doesn't really know what it is (although there may have been some elements of it in his theatre work - all we really learn about his play is that socialites love it and it might be a bit hacky, because he lazily defaults to the same setting). Charlie is the common man, the embodiment of truth which goes hand in hand with suffering. The woman in the frame and at the end is beauty - the end shot slightly spoilt by the plopping bird, to show its authenticity over the ideal - which Barton has been reaching and hoping for without understanding, the whole time he's been trying to write. What Charlie knows and shows, in his exhibition of the life of the mind, is that you can't understand beauty without experiencing suffering. It can't simply be told, because Barton is too immersed in his ego to listen. So once Barton's had his mind blown by the suffering caused by his collision with Charlie and Hollywood, he's able to finally produce a story that's 'something beautiful; something about all of us.' It's Lipnick who lays the smackdown on this idea at the end. Hollywood understands true beauty and suffering - it just doesn't want it! How arrogant of Fink to think he can tell everybody about a journey that everybody is capable of undergoing; what makes him so special that he's too good for the poetry of the ring in Blood, Sweat & Canvas? 'These are big movies, Fink, about big men - in TIGHTS, both physically and mentally. Especially physically!' Fink should have kept his mental tights on like a big man - that's Lipnick's perspective anyway. Most people don't come to Hollywood for the truth of suffering. On a rewatch, consider the possibility that the Bill Mayhew character has undergone a similar journey of suffering and creative imprisonment by Hollywood. His door says he is writing 'Slave Ship' and he walks around singing 'Old Black Joe', a real 19th century parlour song from the perspective of a slave, written by a white man. He tells Barton that his drinking is done to build a levy, keeping truth AWAY from him, 'building a levy to keep that raging river of manure from lapping at mah door.' If he's the equivalent of post-ending Barton, it would be no surprise that he gave up writing 'to make a difference' and started having everything secretly co-authored long ago. Before hitting Audrey, he says to her: 'the truth, my honey, is a tart that does not bear scrutiny; breach my levy at your peril!' Perhaps she told Bill to tell Barton the truth? Which would also explain why she loves him and urges Barton to understand and not to condescend to him, if she knows the deeper truth of his situation.
"Miller's Crossing" which came out around this same time, and possibly even proceeds "Barton Fink", and is The Coens take on the gangster genre. A classic in its own right.
This is the nearest to a David Lynch film that the Coen Bros ever came up with - very surreal, the otherworldly feel of the hotel and Barton himself is quite similar to some of Lynch's iconic characters IMO
Speaking of "screen writing" James...The Coen Bros wrote this whilst having writers block on Miller's Crossing. (Tommy, in MC, lives at the Barton Arms as a result.) Hope someday you check out Miller's Crossing, which is arguably one of the most complexly scripted films ever. Tommy is Keiser Soze! (😂)
Feel like Barton Fink is very underrated and under appreciated Coen bros. Was very surprised to find how little talk there is about in the online film community, compared to say The Big Lebowski or Fargo. Instant hit for me!
Not that it means anything but since I just watched your episode on "The Apartment" I noticed a bit of a similarity between the two. The views of the hallway just outside Barton's apartment makes it look as if it extends to infinity. In "The Apartment" Wilder does the same thing with shots of the office where CC Baxter works. It is not uncommon but these days this effect would probably be done with CGI. But the Coens built a long set and Wilder used forced perspective using smaller desks and children in the distance.
The Coen Bros films all seem to have an amazing color palette or filter on the lens. Do you know what it is? Their movies are always a pleasure to view regardless of the plots. I'm not sure what it is but you can tell when you see their films that visually it's going to be a feast for the eyes.
Another one of my favorites . My opinion , Barton is having a hard time handling the pressure of success in NY. His play is a big hit and he's terrified of higher expectations. I don't think he went to Hollywood . I believe he cracked thinking about everything that could go wrong if he goes to Hollywood. This is his nightmare. He's a mess . You can see it in his face in the opening.
There is a kinda trilogy of Coen bros movies, set around the same time period, this movie, Miller's Crossing and The Hudsucker Proxy. All the movies have a connection to each other, after watching Miller's Crossing you can guess what could be in the box in this movie.
Thanks for reacting to this movie when not many people do! On a different note, are you going to be reacting to the new season of Jujutsu Kaisen? The first episode just released yesterday.
This film was my first big analytical opportunity. It is so full of Christ imagery (references to fish, "Don't CROSS me, Fink," Barton's manual stigma, etc.) that about all that's missing is John Turturro wearing a "Jesus" name tag, which is postponed until THE BIG LEBOWSKI. The end echoes the central turning point in Joyce's A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN.
Great reaction as usual James! Definitely one of the weirder Coen brothers movies, but I love it. On a side note, I notice you reference RDR2 a lot in your videos, would you ever consider doing any gaming-related content?
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Another wild experience from the Coen Brothers. Loved it!
Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema
Have a great day!
Barton Fink doesn't fit into any genre category. It's a masterpiece of chaos. The impossibility of telling any story which could ever truly capture the verisimilitude of life. An assault on narrative structure; a film that questions what does it mean to be a character in a film?
What a great choice. I'm so happy that you react to so many less known artsy movies. They deserve so much more love!
Happy to show it some! Literally learning so much from these films.
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).
Not only rare, literally unprecedented. I’m pretty sure Cannes actually changed the rules afterwards so one movie couldn’t take home three of the biggest awards.
Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, and The Hudsucker Proxy, released in that order, feel like a distinct period to me. Easily their most ambitious scripts. Barton Fink was apparently written during a period of writers' block over how to finish Miller's Crossing--their best script and best movie, IMO.
Thank you for pointing that out. I love the Coen Brothers, but these three movies always seem to be under appreciated and overlooked.
absolutely!,,, a reaction to The Hudsucker Proxy, would be awesome
Yep, "Hudsucker Proxy" IS a delightful ride.
I also love Miller's Crossing. I don't understand whey it isn't considered a cinema classic.
@@terryemery4348 I feel like it might have been the year in which it was released. Releasing a gangster movie in the same year as GoodFellas and The Godfather Part III must have been tough competition, so it's a bit forgotten.
John Goodman saying "Heil Hitler" is on of the most wild moments in any film. What an impact
He's such a great actor. He goes from goofy and loveable to utterly terrifying in the space of seconds.
You have been reacting to banger after banger lately. First The Apartment, now Barton Fink.
The first Coen brothers film I'd ever seen, and I never thought I'd ever see a reaction to it. Your reaction seemed pretty similar to mine when I first saw it. I didn't have a clue what I'd just seen, but I thought I liked it. After a few viewings, I knew that I liked it, but I still haven't figured out what I'd seen.
Hell, I still haven't figured it out 30 years after watching it for the first time. I just know that I love it. ♥︎
I am simply amazed and impressed that you chose to review this film, and I am delighted you shared this video with us.
I borrowed this movie from a coworker in 1993 when I moved to California while we worked at a television station producing and directing commercials.
My bro and I eventually parted ways and I never returned his VHS copy.
(Sorry Bro! I miss you Bro! I'll pay you for the long-lost copy, but thank you thank you thank you for introducing me to this wonderful, lovely flick!)
After seeing that VHS copy over a hundred times, I've grown to believe this is the best Coen movie to date and one of the best movies ever made.
Great writing, great cinematography, great development -- a great movie!
There are so many ways to interpret this film, but the best part of the experience is that the layered screenplay is so deep and full of intentionally strange scenes that, like a masterpiece painting, it is a odd work of art that is forever open for an infinite number of interpretations.
Like Bosch's "Garden Of Earthly Delights" on celluloid.
No you are not pushing it! The tears are what explains the theme and brings it all full circle...
All the great actors in this flick completely step from their conventional roles and strut their stuff to the fullest!
Unless someone brings up this movie to me, I never comment on it (for it is not a movie for everyone) but to me, I think it is one of the greatest movies ever made.
Yes, it is like a novel, or a timeless play!
It is an incredible movie that is in a class by itself.
Great review!!!
Best to you-
This is quite possibly the Coen Brothers’ darkest movie. Not in the sense of how many people die (though the film contains a healthy slab of bloodshed), but more in terms of a person slowly losing their soul.
Damn right, twisted!
LOOK UPON MEEEEEE!!!!! (lol)
I've been waiting years for anyone to react to and review this movie...glad, though not surprised, it was you.
One of my all time favorite movie quotes delivered by John Goodman as no one else could:
" I will show you the life of the mind!!! "
The phrase 'under-appreciated masterpiece' gets used a lot, but this movie is truly just that.
It boggles my mind how they made this movie. It's one thing to write the story so unique and compelling, but the stars must have aligned to get such perfectly executed acting, cinematography, timing, dialogs, characters... it's a masterpiece.
Out of many praise worthy things about this movie, the fact that Deakins somehow made ungluing wallpaper look cinematic is the one that's always boggled me the most. The man is truly unmatched
The interpretation of this film is that Charlie (John Goodman) is the Devil, and the hotel is Hell. When Chet (Steve Buscemi) appears, we see him appear from underground. Charlie also refers to the Hotel as his 'home'. There are also shots whereby the camera descends in to pipes and drains, again giving the impression that something is beyond the walls and buried. At film school we thought that Charlie was collecting souls and keeps them in the many rooms there in the hotel.
Finally someone reacting to this brilliant film. Thanks, James.
I just back from this bookstore that also sells used movies and this was one of the movies that I grabbed. I'm looking forward to watching it tomorrow for the first time.
This is the irony of this film:
Barton wrote plays about the common people, but you can see that the audience of his play in NY were all rich people (from the beginning of this movie). When he was invited to Hollywood to make films for the common people, he can't write - because the common people don't watch artsy 'fruity' films, they like wrestling movies (action films).
This film is a daring social criticism of Hollywood and the arts, it's a dilemma that all artists felt at one time or another. If you make an art film about the common people, the elite will award it with the Oscars but no 'common man' watches it. They like action - Marvel movies.
One of my favorite of the Coen brothers' films. I still find it impenetrable as far as its meaning, but despite not knowing what the hell is going on, I love it so much. That's a mark of a great film. There are some great video essays on it, too.
What’s your video essay recommendations? I haven’t seen anyone talk about it but I’d like to, I love it but I agree the meaning is hard to figure out lol.
I love how opaque this film is. Impervious to logic.
@@davidbowman2001 Yeah, I haven't found many, so it makes the ones that do exist automatically good haha. If you search "Barton Fink video essay" you'll find 'em. I know I've seen the Deep Dive Film School and JessFlix ones. I think the other results might be more Coen-centric than Barton-specific, but I haven't seen them so I don't know. They might be great.
That's funny because as a jew the meaning is very clear. Let's just say it's a selfcritique of certain tendencies.
@@bsjett Thank you!
I like your commentary on screenwriting, and the fact you chose to react to a film about a screenwriter suffering writer's block in some hotel from hell was compelling. Barton Fink is a great example of early Coen Bros' work and an excellent example of the influence of American independent filmmaking internationally, evidenced by its domination of the Cannes Film Festival from 1989 to 1994 with American films like Soderbergh's Sex Lies and Videotape, the Coens' Barton Fink, Lynch's Wild At Heart, and Tarantino's Pulp Fiction--all of which won the Palme D'or, the award for Best Picture of the festival.
A wild and fantastic film. It was supposedly written whilst the brothers were in a writer's block, writing Miller's Crossing (another fantastic film) and they took the details from the lives of 2 famous writers - Clifford Odets and William Faulkner - Barton Fink, and W P Mayhew, respectively. A number of things from their lives in Hollywood are brought into this script.
A very interesting piece to come out of a writing block.
This is one of my favorite Coen bros movie. It's mesmerizing and nerve-wracking. Goodman, Turturro, and Judy Davis are fantastic. And Michael Lerner was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of the studio head. This pic won the top three honors at Cannes that year.
Yes! One of the Coens' most overlooked and under exposed movies. I think it's brilliant. Never seen anyone react to it on YT, so thank you!
"Adaptation" is another fun screenwriting threaded film.
Thank you for selecting this film for reaction, ...it was fun to have it come up and on by while I was alert and tuned to the breezes which brought it by.
Really loved this reaction! You nailed a lot about the surreal/supernatural hotel setting, the personal/mental space dynamic of it, the OTT characters. You losing it at Lipnik made me lose it because Lipnik is amazing! Also the other fast talking agent guy you identified as Spy Kids man is Tony Shalhoub, and he has a way of popping up in a lot of great stuff. I tend to know him as Monk otherwise! I think this movie deserves to be called underrated, and is a wonderful unpackaging and extension of writer's block.
Just watched it for the first time. I'll never forget the hallway scene at the end
What a great choice of film to react to! This is what I so appreciate about you, James! You choose unique films and as a filmmaker, your comments are so much more insightful than most other RUclipsrs. You are perhaps the only reaction channel where I learn something new every time I watch.
This made my day!! Thanks so much Jennifer!
Been waiting for you to see this one. One of my favorite Coen brothers movies.
I was hoping for this reaction, one of my favorite movies of all time. You should do Miller's Crossing next!
Wow my husband and I watched this waayy back in the day and I always liked it. It’s one of the Coen Brothers’s lesser known gems.
This is a really good film. It’s always good to watch a classic Coen Brothers film. Great reaction James, have a great weekend and take care!
Favorite Coen movie.
And I never realized that was the father from Fraiser
Hey James i just wanna say im proud of you keep up the good work you are an amazing person love ya😁
Appreciate you! Keep vibing
Finally😊….one of my favorites. Thanks James for reaction.👍
Ayyy anytime!
My favorite film of all time...
They wrote this when they had writers’ block for the third act of Miller’s Crossing, which shares the theme of when the head/mind and heart don’t get along. In miller’s crossing, I think, variations of the words for head and heart were used dozens of times, I think.
In my early 20s I lived in a building in St. Paul that had that almost exact same hallway. The wallpaper, the carpet, the Art Deco sconces. It wasn't as long as this, obviously, because this hallway is infinitely long, but for a year and a half I basically lived where Barton Fink lived. If you know St. Paul geography it is the red brick building directly behind W. A. Frost. I had a studio apartment. I believe every unit was exactly similar to mine except maybe the end units. Mine was an 18 x 24 foot box with a galley kitchen behind the right hand wall and a closet and bathroom on the left. The coolest feature was the transom window over the door.
The cathedral was two blocks away and Summit Avenue a couple blocks away so it sounds fancy-pants on paper, but in reality it was hardscrabble. Most of the neighborhood was Hmong immigrants trying to establish a foothold. And some pricy condos, too. A new gentrification outpost or two and some high-end boutique niche retail in an old neighborhood. A sushi joint. It was an interesting neighborhood.
I have an operating theory that whoever art directed this movie lived in the same building I did. It isn't 100% accurate, the real wallpaper was more muted and the wall sconces a bit more utilitarian, but in lighting, look, feel, tone - that is the exact same hallway as is shown in the movie.
It freaked me out when I saw Barton Fink. The hallway is nearly identical to a place I had lived in like 5 years earlier. It is spookily similar!
That was the question I should have asked - art direction!
Finally someone reacts to this movie.
This is probably one of The Coen Brothers Underrated masterpiece.
My favourite Coen Bros. film. So glad you got around to this one.
Blood Simple (1984) through The Big Lebowski (1998) represent maybe the greatest streak of amazing cinema by any filmmakers ever.
Apropos of absolutely nothing I occasionally use the phrase "It's got that Barton Fink feeling" when trying and failing to to describe an undescribable thing.
When something is great but words don't exist to peg it properly it has that Barton Fink feeling. A well made waffle with melted butter and real maple syrup on top has that Barton Fink feeling.
I was lucky enough to be at the world premiere at the Walker museum in Minneapolis. Both brothers were there taking questions. It was freaking awesome! I got called on and asked the lamest technical question ever about how they shot the pus dribbling down John Goodman's neck.
I had my shot and I blew it.
That's funny. A friend of mine and I like to use "that Barton Fink feeling" phrase as a joke. Nobody, of course, ever understands it.
@@EdDunkle
Only cool people get it. Which makes it the best joke.
The coens wrote this while having writers block for millers crossing. I love how the colonel can't read and only repeats Lou's opinions and yet lou isn't allowed to talk. Imop Barton fink satirizes overly complex artsy films while being a complex artsy film. Barton doesn't understand not all stories have to be overly complex and have deep meaning to be good. The film itself is mocking Barton. If you notice the last line of Barton's play from the beginning is identical to the last line of his script at the end, he's a hack. My favorite coens film. Awesome review. Watch it a couple more times to truly catch things. Masterpiece, Goodman deserved an Oscar.
Ready to get your MIND BLOWN, All of the " noises that Barton hears from the neighbors are actually his own.!!! 1 The cries he let out when Charlie was leaving town. The inmacy he had with Audrey, and then interlaced with the sounds of the wresteling movies. Listen close. It implies they are alter-egoes like the same person... Much like Fight Club. Let me know what ya think cheers
This movie is insane. I think about it at least once a month...
Packs a punch right?
@@JamesVSCinema totally, it’s such a weird Lynchian nightmare about writers block and a lot of writer’s self aggrandizing pretension. The third act is wild…
Thanks for checking out this Coen Brothers classic that no other reactors seem to touch. One of their best.
"You know, but with the head still on".
This and 'The Hudsucker Proxy' are the Coen Bros most underrated films. Hope you do that one sometime!
Awesome movie! John Goodman is so good. Don’t know if you’ve done I already, but if not Miller’s Crossing is great from the Coen brothers.
I saw this film in the theatre in 1991. It was my introduction to the Cohen brothers and I've been hooked on their films ever since. This is still one of my favorite films. John Mahoney's take on William Faulkner was pretty interesting too.
This is the one in which Tony Shalhoub became one of the greats, for me.
Blood Simple was there directoral debut a must watch to see how they moved forward in there movie making
this is definitely a little more like a charlie kaufmen film but i love this movie. ready for naked lunch? a movie about an author who is writing maybe the most confusing book in american history. love your reactions btw.
Your bringing up Charlie Kaufman makes me think of Adaptation. Another great movie about screenplay writers.
That would be a good one to see on James’s list!
Naked Lunch would be epic!
one of my favorite Coen movies and the one which made me need to devour their filmography and ultimately follow their career.
I love surreal movies like this. Huge fan of David Lynch's nearly incomprehensible work as well.
That you open by talking about the art of screenwriting, then blind pick one of the greatest movies *about* screenwriting, is amazing :)
Love the reaction as always, James!
I think that even though i could identify with Barton and his writers block/depression, I also think he was pretty much a blowhard, so to speak; he goes on and on about the “common man” yet doesn’t care to hear Charlie’s stories at all.
Also, John Goodman’s Charlie is genuinely one of the most terrifying movie characters I’ve ever seen.
This was my main takeaway as well.
I wanted to hear Charlie's stories, and the frustration of not hearing them propelled my enjoyment of seeing Charlie plumb the depths of Barton's soul.
"You don't LISTEN!!"
"You're a sick f**k Fink," is probably my favourite lines in movies.
Fun fact: the bird falling into the water was entirely unscripted. Of course, once it happened, they HAD to keep it.
This is just a overlooked film. More people need to watch. My favorite Coen Brothers movie is The Man Who Wasn’t There starring Billy Bob Thornton and James Gandalfini.
Glad you didn’t have to see it on the old DVD. The menu gave away a huge plot point!
At some point they are planning to make a follow up called Old Fink when Jon Turturro gets old enough. Which should be soon, I would think.
Barton Fink makes a GREAT double-feature with David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. Both came out in '91, both surreal period pieces about writer's block...sort of.😆
Gotta admit, John Goodman's entrance and go "Life of the mind" while the walls are on fire is just badass.
Just discovered John Tuterro pretty recently. Pretty underrated guy
P.s. I hope I spelled his name right
P.S. Learn how the internet works.
P.S appreciate ya g!
Millers Crossing up next?
Barton Fink, for me, is a movie that becomes much better on the second watch. As a writer myself, at first, I was sympathetic to Barton as writers block sucks, and as an artist you'd want to be able to express yourself as freely as possible, because to me, art isn't art unless it's honest. However, while the studio is a bunch of corporate dickheads, they end up being more right than Barton is. If Barton cared so much about the common man, he should've gone out of his comfort zone and written a simple film with a simple premise, movies the common man he loves so much tends to enjoy. But in the end, he doesn't. He's not writing for the common man, he's writing for himself, and after all is said and done, he's wasted time and money on something that nobody asked for, let alone wanted, especially during the period when America is entering WW2. That's why Hollywood works the way it does, because it's a business, not an art gallery. Now he must face the consequences of his actions and spend the rest of his life writing movies that will never be produced because, like Charlie said, he simply won't listen because he can't see past his own vision, and will now spend the rest of his professional life in a purgatory of his own making.
Also, the most ironic thing about Barton Fink is that it was also written during a case of writer's block when the Coens were writing Miller's Crossing.
I like your analysis
FINALLY, someone watches this damn movie~
Not only is this a Coen Bros. movie, but I consider it part of an unofficial trilogy called the Beast of Los Angeles; Barton Fink, Hail! Caesar, and The Big Lebowski, where this seamy Hollywood legacy seems to be tied together via this one all-consuming monster of a city that people find themselves in, or go to. As far as this movie goes, it is one of their best and most interpretive works, just what is everyone talking about outside of Barton's perspective? Has he gone mad, or is he just an alien in this otherwise absurd world of happenings.
WHERE'S MAH HONEY, ARTHUR?!
Yes, excellent idea that this is at least a partner movie to Hail, Caesar. It's an interesting juxtaposition that Eddie Mannix in HC is written as a strong moral force and practically a saint (crying guiltily to his priest at 3am over sneaking ciggies), yet BF makes it clear that the Coens understand big Hollywood players to be more like the devil. Due to the oppositional tone - fun/playful vs nightmarish - each film throws the other into sharper relief when you're aware of them both - HC seems even more absurd and sharply satirical, BF seems more grittier and insightful.
You MUST see ALL of the Coen Bros. films. It’s essential viewing if you’re a filmmaker.
There’s been talk about a sequel to Barton Fink, set in the 1970s. The title? “Old Fink”. 😝
Barton Fink is roughly based on the playwright Clifford Odets what with the working man / common person characters plus as much socialism as he could shoehorn in and get away with in the 1930s New York scene. Odets moved to LA and wrote for movies because he basically got blacklisted in New York.
I couldn't tell you what movies he wrote, but that would be very interesting to see if they retain any tropes he was fond of - the noble working man beat down by the Capitalist system. Workers of the world unite!
Did Odets write any good plays? Several were fairly well reviewed at the time, but he fell out of favor quickly. I'm relying on decades old second hand knowledge, but iirc he wrote plays where the characters were barely recognizable as human and mostly existed to spout socialist propoganda. The angels and producers decided to blacklist him not because of politics but because they thought his stuff would not put paying butts in the seats.
No one wants to pay to go to a play and be lectured at. I completely understand their decision - it was mercenary, yes, but completely understandable.
Broadway exists because there are butts in seats predictably night after night. No butts, no bucks. (Sorry! That was very cheesy. And also true.)
With a movie you can show it on multiple screens everywhere simultaneously. And then streaming. Movies are scalable by design. Plays are venue bound.
With a play you have one venue only and butts in seats trumps all. If you hit it stupid big you can maybe finance a touring company show, maybe several, with lesser known actors who vaguely look like the originals or sound like them and let them tour the hinterlands to scoop the local rubes for every penny.
This is total speculation but I doubt that Odets went to Hollywood because of the economics of scale, but I strongly suspect he went because he knew he needed enough income to pay for housing and utilities. Capitalism sucks, but it gets its due every month.
With a play you are bound by scale and economics much more so than in the movie business. You have one and only one venue.
This movie gives me a "darker version of Wes Anderson" feeling. I've watched it many times and every time I discover something new about the story. Quirky, but it really piques my interest.
Oooooo! Well said!
Barton Fink! Barton Fink! Barton Fink!
🔥🔥I’ll show you the life of the mind!!!! 🔥🔥
BARTON FINK! BARTON FINK!
It's funny, I feel like Barton Fink hangs together as the most coherent Coen Brothers flick, thematically, and the one that potentially means the most to me. For me it's about the relationship between truth, beauty and suffering, with a sub-theme about how it's impossible to say anything 'true' or meaningful in a Hollywood-like setting.
Barton wants to write the truth about life, but doesn't really know what it is (although there may have been some elements of it in his theatre work - all we really learn about his play is that socialites love it and it might be a bit hacky, because he lazily defaults to the same setting). Charlie is the common man, the embodiment of truth which goes hand in hand with suffering. The woman in the frame and at the end is beauty - the end shot slightly spoilt by the plopping bird, to show its authenticity over the ideal - which Barton has been reaching and hoping for without understanding, the whole time he's been trying to write. What Charlie knows and shows, in his exhibition of the life of the mind, is that you can't understand beauty without experiencing suffering. It can't simply be told, because Barton is too immersed in his ego to listen. So once Barton's had his mind blown by the suffering caused by his collision with Charlie and Hollywood, he's able to finally produce a story that's 'something beautiful; something about all of us.'
It's Lipnick who lays the smackdown on this idea at the end. Hollywood understands true beauty and suffering - it just doesn't want it! How arrogant of Fink to think he can tell everybody about a journey that everybody is capable of undergoing; what makes him so special that he's too good for the poetry of the ring in Blood, Sweat & Canvas? 'These are big movies, Fink, about big men - in TIGHTS, both physically and mentally. Especially physically!' Fink should have kept his mental tights on like a big man - that's Lipnick's perspective anyway. Most people don't come to Hollywood for the truth of suffering.
On a rewatch, consider the possibility that the Bill Mayhew character has undergone a similar journey of suffering and creative imprisonment by Hollywood. His door says he is writing 'Slave Ship' and he walks around singing 'Old Black Joe', a real 19th century parlour song from the perspective of a slave, written by a white man. He tells Barton that his drinking is done to build a levy, keeping truth AWAY from him, 'building a levy to keep that raging river of manure from lapping at mah door.' If he's the equivalent of post-ending Barton, it would be no surprise that he gave up writing 'to make a difference' and started having everything secretly co-authored long ago. Before hitting Audrey, he says to her: 'the truth, my honey, is a tart that does not bear scrutiny; breach my levy at your peril!' Perhaps she told Bill to tell Barton the truth? Which would also explain why she loves him and urges Barton to understand and not to condescend to him, if she knows the deeper truth of his situation.
"Miller's Crossing" which came out around this same time, and possibly even proceeds "Barton Fink", and is The Coens take on the gangster genre. A classic in its own right.
This is the nearest to a David Lynch film that the Coen Bros ever came up with - very surreal, the otherworldly feel of the hotel and Barton himself is quite similar to some of Lynch's iconic characters IMO
I caught this movie years ago on accident. No clue what it was.
Blew my friggin mind.
You’re in for a wild ride! 😜
Definitely strapped in!
Speaking of "screen writing" James...The Coen Bros wrote this whilst having writers block on Miller's Crossing. (Tommy, in MC, lives at the Barton Arms as a result.)
Hope someday you check out Miller's Crossing, which is arguably one of the most complexly scripted films ever.
Tommy is Keiser Soze! (😂)
Feel like Barton Fink is very underrated and under appreciated Coen bros. Was very surprised to find how little talk there is about in the online film community, compared to say The Big Lebowski or Fargo. Instant hit for me!
Not that it means anything but since I just watched your episode on "The Apartment" I noticed a bit of a similarity between the two. The views of the hallway just outside Barton's apartment makes it look as if it extends to infinity. In "The Apartment" Wilder does the same thing with shots of the office where CC Baxter works. It is not uncommon but these days this effect would probably be done with CGI. But the Coens built a long set and Wilder used forced perspective using smaller desks and children in the distance.
The Coen Bros films all seem to have an amazing color palette or filter on the lens. Do you know what it is? Their movies are always a pleasure to view regardless of the plots. I'm not sure what it is but you can tell when you see their films that visually it's going to be a feast for the eyes.
Another one of my favorites . My opinion , Barton is having a hard time handling the pressure of success in NY. His play is a big hit and he's terrified of higher expectations. I don't think he went to Hollywood . I believe he cracked thinking about everything that could go wrong if he goes to Hollywood. This is his nightmare.
He's a mess . You can see it in his face in the opening.
A burst of superb creativity and then a cavalcade of self-pitying misery. Poor old Barton.
One of the best Coen Bros movies and o e of the best movies about Hollywood. Thanks!! This would be a great double feature with Sunset Blvd.
There is a kinda trilogy of Coen bros movies, set around the same time period, this movie, Miller's Crossing and The Hudsucker Proxy. All the movies have a connection to each other, after watching Miller's Crossing you can guess what could be in the box in this movie.
Thanks for reacting to this movie when not many people do! On a different note, are you going to be reacting to the new season of Jujutsu Kaisen? The first episode just released yesterday.
Just watched this one last night and loved it! Gave it a 9.5/10. The beginning of this movie reminds me of Eraserhead in a weird way.
Millers Crossing…absolute fave Coens movie!
YES!
An episode (#3 ?) of fargo's third season references a lot Barton Fink. You should rewatch it now that you have seen the movie.
Fever dream
A story about a screen writer. seems close to home. New map of hell, based on Hollywood machine. A different world fromNew York, nice beaches.
This film was my first big analytical opportunity. It is so full of Christ imagery (references to fish, "Don't CROSS me, Fink," Barton's manual stigma, etc.) that about all that's missing is John Turturro wearing a "Jesus" name tag, which is postponed until THE BIG LEBOWSKI. The end echoes the central turning point in Joyce's A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN.
It feels like the Coen brothers watched _Eraserhead_ and _Blue Velvet_ right before making this movie.
Remember, listen to people!!
Great reaction as usual James! Definitely one of the weirder Coen brothers movies, but I love it. On a side note, I notice you reference RDR2 a lot in your videos, would you ever consider doing any gaming-related content?
Absolutely! Stay tuned ;)
"Barton Fink! Barton Fink!"
Millers Crossing next
I'll show you the life of online
Two heads are better than one!
James..... I know I am not a patreon but I am throwing a suggestion out there... Big Night. Don't watch when hungry.