Tag Archives: Barton Fink

Kubrick – Before and After

This video essay examines the films that influenced Stanley Kubrick (silent cinema, European arthouse, avant-garde etc.,) as well as the many films his work has since influenced.

Cast Away

Superficially, Cast Away asks whether modern man can survive alone on a desert island. But Robert Zemeckis’ best film is really about destiny vs. free will.

Last Tango in Paris

There are several good reasons to watch Bernardo Bertolucci’s controversial Last Tango in Paris, but not all of them make for palatable viewing.

No Country for Old Men

While Cormac McCarthy’s acclaimed novel broke genre convention, the Coens’ adaptation is a study in audiovisual chaos.

Inside Llewyn Davis

Joel and Ethan Coen never make it easy for the characters, sometimes pitting them against forces of nature. But Llewyn Davis is faced with a uniquely historical storm.

Writers

All films begin at a keyboard. But whether the film is about screenwriters, journalists, novelists or composers, how does cinema depict the art of writing?

Adaptation.

If writers are told to write from experience, is Charlie Kaufman’s adaptation of Susan Orlean’s non-fiction book not really Kaufman’s autobiography?

Sweet Smell of Success

To make a masterpiece about greed, media manipulation and McCarthyism, you hire a director whose background is in comedy.

Coen Country

This short video-essay details the recurring thematic concerns explored by the Coen brothers over the last 30 years. Intercutting all 16 of their films, the characters appear to talk to one another across the stories.

Barton Fink

The Coen Brothers won the Palme d’Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival with this sardonic look at Hollywood. But is that what it is really about?


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