Barton Fink, 1991 - Laserdisc

This is one of those titles that you just have to shake your head and wonder WHY it is not on DVD, properly formatted, with wonderful extras.

The laserdisc edition of this film is, unfortunately, not in widescreen... I hate fullscreen films... but I made an exception with this one.

Barton Fink is, by far, my favorite Coen Brothers film. But, understand that I do not put any of the Coen films on my list of favorites... because each film, with the exception of O' Brother Where Art Thou?, each one is brilliant in its own right.

Barton Fink ended up winning the top three major awards at Cannes, the first film to ever accomplish that, one scant year after Lynch would win for Wild at Heart, my all time favorite film.

I have a lot of respect for the Coen Brothers. Their ability to work together over the years... to be able to overcome personal interest, and to compromise... through all of that, they are able to produce films which are totally engrossing. Their first film, Blood Simple, is probably the best directorial debut I've ever seen. The writing was smart, the characters were well developed... and it provided an atmosphere of creativity that would grow with each film... the subtle improvisations of both the actors and the Brothers... well, you get the feeling that there is something extra happening on the sets of these films, that allows a kind of creative sketchiness to the films.

Raising Arizona is a huge example of this. Nicolas Cage and John Goodman, along with the rest of the cast... you can tell that a large part of the film was born on set... and I'm not talking about the characters, or the dialog... I'm talking about the finished product... the subtle quirks that make the film such a successful comedy.

Following Raising Arizona was the Coen Brothers answer to the mob film, Miller's Crossing, which is, by far, one of the best crime/mob/period films around.

But there is something so perfect about Barton Fink... that, for me, outshines the rest of their films.

John Turturro is one of the best actors of this generation. His work is seamless. I think his work in Do the Right Thing set the tone with his ability and his personality... which led to another Spike Lee film... Mo' Better Blues... and his earlier work in Gung Ho and The Color of Money... I think, at first there might have been a worry of being typecast as an ethnic character actor... but his work in Miller's Crossing changed all of that. That film showed his range... and directly translated to his ability to pull off the character of Barton Fink. It seems, to me, that the film was written with him in mind.

John Goodman... when he is under the direction of a good director (and producer team)... his work is truly brilliant. Sure, his work on the television show Rosanne was well done... but, he did work before Roseanne... like in Revenge of the Nerds, C.H.U.D., Raising Arizona and Burglar... I think that Raising Arizona was what brought him into the public eye, at the time... and set him on the path of Roseanne, which ran for over 10 years.

His work in this film is his best. And I have to wonder why he wasn't chosen for a Supporting Actor nomination the following year at the Academy... although Michael Lerner was. I find that very difficult to swallow... although, understand that I am not taking away from Michael Lerner.

Judy Davis, Michael Lerner, John Mahoney and Tony Shalhoub rounded out the cast perfectly. I'm hesitant to talk about supporting actors (and sometimes actors) because I know what I like... but sometimes I have a very hard time writing exactly what it was I enjoyed in their performance. Supporting actors are supposed to add to the atmosphere of the film... with their distinct personality, charm and abilities. When you get a good supporting cast... it only helps frame the leading roles... makes them more prominent... especially when there is a significant name attached to the film. But not in this picture.

The supporting roles in this film not only added to the overall feel of the film... but had these four individuals not been cast in their respective roles... I think that the film would have been slightly harder to swallow. The casting agents got these roles to the right actors.

This was the first film that the Coen Brothers shot without Barry Sonnenfeld, who went on to direct The Addams Family, after shooting Miller's Crossing and Misery. The Brothers decided on Roger Deakins, who is an incredible cinematographer in his own right. His work prior to Barton Fink was kind of lackluster, save Sid and Nancy in 1986. I don't really recognize man of the films that he shot prior to 1990, but what does that mean? Not much.

His work on this film was simply incredible... and I think that the influences the two Brothers have on, not only their actors, but their DP as well, shows in the fact that the feel of the film was similar. The Coen Brothers obviously trusted Deakins with their film... and he provided them with a very sharp ability... so sharp that they have used him for all of the films that would follow. Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo,The Big Lebowski, O Brother, The Man Who Wasn't There, and their most recent film which will come out next year, Intolerable Cruelty.

After Barton Fink, with the amount of awards that the film garnered... Deakins began to get much more mainstream work. Thunderheart, Passion Fish, The Secret Garden, The Shawshank Redemption, Dead Man Walking, Kundun, The Siege, Thirteen Days... and just recently, A Beautiful Mind. He has been nominated five times over the past seven years. Directors trust him. I can understand why.

The film is one of the best to come out of the last thirty years. It's a film that my friend Jeff had once said "It's a film that every artist should see at least once." I think I would broaden that statement to include anyone who has a creative bone in their body. Which pretty much means everyone.