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Barton Fink (1991)

Starring John Turturro, John Goodman, Michael Lerner, and Judy Davis.  Cinematography by Roger Deakins. Edited by Roderick Jaynes. Produced by Ethan Coen.  Written by Joel and Ethan Coen.  Directed by Joel Coen.

Barton Fink (played by John Turturro) has written a fantastic Broadway play titled “Bare Ruined Choirs:  Triumph of the Common Man” and has received amazing critical success.  He is encouraged to ship himself off to Hollywood, where the real money is, and put his talents to work for the film industry.  He eventually follows the advice and is soon assigned to write a wrestling picture for Jack Lipnik (played by Michael Lerner), the executive in charge of Capital Pictures. 

Fink reluctantly takes the job, but considers the task to be below a man of his considerable talent. He sits down at his typewriter, eager to finish this lowly genre piece, but nothing happens. He is struck with a horrible case of writer’s block and nothing he does seems to knock the story out of him. Fink starts to slowly slip away from reality and the world around him becomes more and more dreamlike as his frustrations remain unresolved.

Like the title character in Barton Fink, Joel and Ethan Coen have suffered through their own bouts of writer’s block.  It was during their first significant dry spell that this film came along.  While writing Miller’s Crossing, the Coens became overwhelmed with the complexity of the story and could not progress any further.

They were reminded of Clifford Odets, a very talented playwright in the 1930’s who went to Hollywood and wrote a boxing movie called Golden Boy.  Suddenly they were inspired to write a story about a screenwriter who is suffering the same affliction as they were.  They blasted out the screenplay for Barton Fink out in only three weeks and went back to Miller’s Crossing with a fresh mind.

Editing on Barton Fink was not yet completed when it was sent off to the Cannes Film Festival and only an answer print, or unfinished copy, made its way into the competition. Nevertheless, it was the first film in the festival’s history to win the award for best actor, best director, and the Golden Palm (of which it was voted for unanimously).  Though the film tanked in the box office, critics across the globe raved about the project and it earned the Coens a deserved helping of credibility within the film community. Barton Fink was the last film in the Coen brother’s contract with Circle Releasing Corp. and they would move from here into the spotlight as celebrities of the independent filmmaking world.

Budget: $9,000,000

Total US Gross: $5,726,463

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 116 Minutes

US Release Date: 8/21/91

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (intended ratio)

Awards:

Academy Awards:
Nominated for best art direction/set decoration, best costumes, and supporting actor. 

Golden Globes:
Nominated for best supporting actor.

Cannes Film Festival:
Won for best actor, best director, and the Golden Palm. 

Tagline: Between Heaven And Hell There's Always Hollywood.

Quote: “We're only interested in one thing, Bart. Can you tell a story?  Can you make us laugh?  Can you make us cry? Can you make us want to break out in joyous song?”

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