| | | Compelling work from the ultra-gifted Coens. Albert Finney is memorable but John Turturro steals the show as the most despicable character you'll ever see. So similar to Dashiell Hammet's THE GLASS KEY that it might have been better to do a straight adaptation. "An Irish gangster (Albert Finney) and his trusted lieutenant (Gabriel Byrne) and counselor find their domination of the town threatened by an ambitious Italian underboss (Jon Polito). Just as this threat erupts, the two sever their friendship when they realize that they love the same woman (Marcia Gay Harden). When one joins ranks with the enemy, a bloody gang war erupts." Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85. Features interviews with Marcia Gay Harden, Gabriel Byrne and John Turturro |
|
|
| |
| | | 1991 was a banner year in cinema, similar to 1939, 1950 and 1974. No movie is supposed to win more than one major award at the Cannes festival. Despite strong competition jet black comedy BARTON FINK caused a mini-scandal when it won both the Cannes Palm D'Or and the best director and actor prizes, and it really is that good. Genius thrown around like confetti. Mysteriously, though, it's a much-hated film. too weird for most tastes. BARTON FINK is a profound story about creativity and madness wrapped up in layers of hilarious satire of 1930-1940s Broadway and Hollywood. Tedious socialist playwright Barton Fink (John Turturro as a mix of Clifford Odets and S. J. Perlman) grabs the brass ring when Hollywood calls and finds himself a staff writer assigned a Wallace Beery wrestler movie. Since he's a lousy writer who has never even seen a popular movie he encounters writer's block on a grand scale. He turns for help to a thinly disguised William Faulkner character (John Mahoney) who is the studio drunk, but whose long-suffering lover/assistant (Judy Davis) offers some comfort. John Goodman steals the show as the disturbed salesman in the hotel room next door. We don't want to spoil too much, but he's a remarkable character. The whole Coen brothers ensemble is here, including Steve Buscemi, Michael Lerner and Tony Shalhoub. DVD FEATURES: Widescreen anamorphic format . Theatrical trailer . 8 deleted scenes |
|
|
| |
| | | We have watched this flawed masterpiece more than any other Coen brothers film. Takes a lot of chances, so there are elements that don't quite work, but beautiful to look at, wonderfully acted, and most importantly (for a comedy) it's funny. Serious film buffs will be in heaven-the Coen's work is always full of cinematic references, but this is practically a encyclopedic subliminal history of American film 1935-1955. Tim Robbins and Paul Newman shine as the sincere but dim-witted mailroom boy turned corporate magnate, and his evil mentor, but fast-talking girl reporter Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) steals the show as an amalgam of Barbara Stanwyck in MEET JOHN DOE, Rosiland Russell in HIS GIRL FRIDAY, and Katherine Hepburn in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY. The Coens wanted to do a 1930s screwball comedy, but the script has elements that have to take place in the 1950s, so the art direction and costuming is a wild mix of period styles, resulting in a colorful universal old-movie look. Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 & Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)subtitles: English, French |
|
|
| |
| | | Offbeat movie, even by the Coen brothers' standards, about mistaken identity, a kidnapping plot, and a deep love of bowling. Jeff Bridges plays Jeff Lebowski, known as the Dude, a laid-back, easygoing burnout who happens to have the same name as a millionaire whose wife owes a lot of dangerous people a whole bunch of money-resulting in the Dude having his rug soiled, sending him spiraling into the Los Angeles underworld. The cast of lunatic characters includes Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Sam Elliott, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid and riotously funny John Goodman as the Dude's crazy best buddy, and overly emotional Vietnam vet. Set during the 1991 Gulf War it uses the war as subliminal commentary much as Hal Ashby's SHAMPOO uses Watergate DVD FEATURES: Letterboxed - 1.85, Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, Exclusive 30-Minute Coen Brothers Interview. |
|
|
| |
| | | After the likable but somehow wanting O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? Ethan and Joel Coen got right back on track with this Jim Thompson/Charles Wiliford style tale of ambition, repressed desire, and small-town corruption. This is another stop on the Coen's tour of the sub-genres of American hard-boiled literature begun with BLOOD SIMPLE, MILLER'S CROSSING and FARGO. This probably deserved Best Picture the year tedious after-school special A BEAUTIFUL MIND won, but MIND was directed by a former actor. Once you know that 60% of the Academy's voters are actors their weird choices make sense. like giving a Best Director Oscar to actor Kevin Costner. In 1949, Santa Rosa, California, Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton), a silent man who makes no ripples in the pool of life, cuts hair in his brother in-law's barber shop; his wife drinks and may be having an affair with her wealthy boss, Big Dave. Ed becomes convinced by a traveling sharpie that investing in new-fangled "dry cleaning" will get him out of the barber biz, and resorts to blackmail on a hunch. In the best traditions of American existential crime fiction, once a man goes wrong, life becomes an ever constricting spider-web. Roger Deakins' haunting B&W photography swept every cinematography award except the Oscar. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandalfino, Michael Badalucco and Tony Shalhoub. |
|
|
| |
