Another "lost" Coen brothers film is "The Man Who Wasn't There". Slow burn, but filled with great actors, a very interesting plot, and some very unexpected twists. "Barton Fink" was also excellent, but the real revelation in the film is how good John Goodman was in his role. That he continued with a string of striking performances, but never got any recognition, is a crying shame.
@AmericanHero-c7j
8 ай бұрын
I don't think it is underrated by Coen brothers fans.
@nathanieldrake6658
10 ай бұрын
I remember going to see Barton Fink four times in the theater -the feel of it, the eerie angry humor of it - I couldn’t get enough..I remember also the very nasty review of it in The New Yorker which is worth finding and reading to see how exactly wrong someone could get this film…please see this film-and then see it again and again and notice all the amazing performances and enjoy the beautiful darkness -“I WILL SHOW YOU THE LIFE OF THE MIND!!”
@pedrorocha9722
10 ай бұрын
Underrated?? You're obviously under 35....
@fishtolizard3930
9 ай бұрын
“Points.”
@fishtolizard3930
9 ай бұрын
The “Most Underrated Coen Brothers Film” is, arguably, “Miller’s Crossing” (1990), because it’s kinda their masterpiece and it doesn’t get talked about enough. Nice try, though…
@mightisright
10 ай бұрын
At Cannes, it won the Palm, Best Director and Best Actor. Arguably, it may be their most overrated. I would say Hudsucker Proxy is probably their most underrated, even though it's not nearly their best. It came right after Barton Fink, and it was crushed under the expectations from the critics who loved the art film style of Fink. The same thing happened initially with The Big Lebowski. Their followup to Fargo was mercilessly panned in theaters, but now it's their most beloved and known in popular culture.
@panicandfreakout-
11 ай бұрын
I'm sorry but it's BLOOD SIMPLE !!! no budget, first time directors, writers, actress, composer.... it gave them a career, my all time favorite.
@raymondnewton2388
10 ай бұрын
Agreed. In the same way that Bound was for the Wachowskis.
@LuckyBastardProd
10 ай бұрын
The title was “underrated” Blood Simple is not underrated. It has a Criterion release in 4K and is often on peoples best films list. He was wrong that it flopped, 9 mil on a 4 mil budget. Thats not a flop. I was alive back then and it was a limited release mostly in art houses and Its per screen average was quite high. Barton Fink was regarded as a masterpiece when it came out and that film fizzled and is forgotten for the most part hence “underrated.”
@christopherpardell4418
9 ай бұрын
There’s a chinese film called’ the girl’ the gun, and the noodle shop’ that’s essentially a scene for scene remake of blood simple. Set in the 1600’s in China.
@F_ckAllTrumpVoters
8 ай бұрын
Many, many people talk about Blood Simple as an inspiration. It was always legendary. I think Hudsucker Proxy & Miller's Crossing and a few other Coen flicks are equally under-rated with Barton Fink. Which is a masterpiece in my opinion.
@GS-vb3zn
8 ай бұрын
Geeezzz… it’s your favorite movie, we get it. But underrated it’s not. It’s always in the conversation when their greatest films are discussed.
@philmfan
10 ай бұрын
Around the time it was released, the Coens said they’d one day, after John Turturro had aged the same number of years, like to bring him back for a sequel called Old Fink. They said it would show Fink as a college professor in the 60s, as I recall. Presumably he would have been blacklisted, maybe even named names (hence the title). Maybe they were joking, but I would’ve rather seen them make that movie than some of their other films, though I’m happy with what we have.
@jhubjrbrbr
10 ай бұрын
Underrated? It won the Palm D’Or at Cannes…
@vidjack7255
10 ай бұрын
Audrey? Katherine?
@Rainy_Day12234
10 ай бұрын
Barton Fink was a critical success…the critics loved it
@jaimejaimeChannel
10 ай бұрын
Speak up, please, and use audio compression.
@fan-madeguy4985
9 ай бұрын
I love BARTON FINK. It is a brilliant masterpiece. The flaming hallway sequence is the best scene in the movie.
@madahad9
10 ай бұрын
Barton Fink remains my favourite Coen brothers film. I saw it when it was released in '91 and was immediately drawn into this bizarre world. It looks like the real world but there are many things off about it. I still question how much is real and how much is in Barton's fevered imagination. I don't believe Charlie Meadows (aka Madman Mundt) actually exists. When Barton wakes up to find Audrey dead in his bed I think his hold on sanity finally slips away. The scene where the hallway bursts into flames should be the final tip off that what we are watching is not really happening. What's in the box? Is it Audrey's or Mayhew's head? When I watched the film again when it was released on video, and later dvd, I couldn't help seeing a certain similarity with Eraserhead. Barton looks like a cross between Henry and Harold Lloyd. This is a great film.and it's a shame that it was not more popular, but I understand why it might not find a wider audience. I imagine this was also the case with another very underrated and underappreciated Coen brothers film, The Hudsucker Proxy.
@barrybyrne6478
8 ай бұрын
I also sometimes think that Barton like the Coen Brothers taking a break from Miller's Crossing, wrote the story we see in the film.Inspired by the women in the picture above his typewriter while suffering writer's block for the wrestling picture, what we see is what he daydreams while stuck staring at that picture, instead of typing. There are so many possible interpretations, such as your one. It'a a great film.
@willmoore8708
9 ай бұрын
"Underrated???" When it came out, it was called a MASTERPIECE by serious movie viewers..
@fishtolizard3930
9 ай бұрын
Thank You.
@johnprentice1527
10 ай бұрын
I hated Barton Fink; I found it almost impossible to watch. Way too dark, way too creepy. Not my fave.
@fishtolizard3930
9 ай бұрын
Your Honesty is refreshing. We didn’t like it at first either, but we never trust first impressions, or our own opinions… (so much so now, in fact, that we’ve come to somewhat insanely assume that we’ll try to watch every film at least twice, either because it’s that good and we like it that much, or for the simple reasons that we might not have been in the right mood, lacked the cinematic vernacular, or was just too full of our own necessarily growing, but sophomoric sense of film appreciation at the time, rather than just focusing on trying to follow the given film playing on the screen.) Totally cool to not dig something and it’s always fine to stay that way, but something at some point might bring you back to “Barton Fink.” If and when it does, then consider giving it a second chance and try to approach it differently… you might find that you either hate it less, or surprise yourself by liking it more; even coming to love it. If we had a dollar for every time this has happened to us and movies we first couldn’t stand, then we’d have several hundred dollars by now (which feels like less-and-less every day). So, the value of giving movies a second chance, before we’ve even seen them once? “Priceless…”
@johnprentice1527
9 ай бұрын
@@fishtolizard3930 Thank you for your very thoughtful reply. I don't know that I will find the time to give Barton Fink another viewing; there are so many movies on my "to view" list. But I will certainly be open to trying it again. I'm trying to think if I have given a movie a second chance after not liking it the first time. None come to mind, but if one does, I will think on what might have changed in me between the two viewings. Again, thank you for your encouragement.
@johnprentice1527
9 ай бұрын
@Bebtelovimab Indeed!
@vanlock4809
10 ай бұрын
Audrey Hepburn should sue.
@atomicsmith
9 ай бұрын
Their most underrated is The Hudsucker Proxy.
@jdscottphd
2 ай бұрын
I like your work but you REALLY need to "proofread" - calling Katharine Hepburn "Audrey" and mispronouncing the names of key historical figures seems very sloppy for someone making otherwise strong points.
@westernnoir4808
9 ай бұрын
Thanks for using "of our time" Instead of the nonsensical" OF ALL TIME". I'm looking at you Rick Beato.
@samstone9368
10 ай бұрын
Barton Fink was my first Coen Brothers movie.
@pkmcburroughs
10 ай бұрын
I remember when Barton Fink came out and I don't recall it being underrated. It certainly wasn't underpraised. Far from it, in fact. People RAVED. Of course, time alters perceptions, and, at this point, I guess I don't hear it lauded in the way films like The Big Lebowski or Fargo are. However--when was the last time you heard ANYONE mention A Serious Man or The Man Who Wasn't There? Or Inside Llewyn Davis? Now THOSE are "underrated." More so than Barton Fink. For me, Barton Fink was the Coen's veering as close as they ever have before into David Lynch territory, and while I won't claim I understand all of it, I do love it, nonetheless. It's a beautiful film. OH! And I love David Lynch, too. His films are just a different experience.
@rg3388
10 ай бұрын
My favorite Coen film and the first analytical goldmine for me personally.
@spinnetti
10 ай бұрын
I've watched them all. Barton feels very artsy. Ballad of Buster Scrugs impacted me the most, but love all their stuff.
@brianthornber3319
9 ай бұрын
No, it's Miller's Crossing.
@kurtdunbar912
8 ай бұрын
Coen Bros. movies are either really dark or mostly lite. Sometimes, like "Fargo", and "Burn After Running," they are a bit of both. "Barton Fink" is deep in the dark category as is "Miller's Crossing." I tend to like their lite stuff like the Hudsucker Proxy," "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" and especially (being a registered dyed-in-the-wool Achiever) the immortal and indomitable DUDE.
@DudeAbides8229
5 ай бұрын
All dude ever wanted was his rug back:)
@jorgefiguerola1239
9 ай бұрын
So convinced that Coen brothers could do far better take on Napoleon than Scott. So many genres, why not an historical epic, or some unique angle on NB and his times?
@randyzeitman1354
10 ай бұрын
It certainly stands out BECAUSE IT'S THE MOST APPRECIATED ... IT'S NOT UNDERRATED.
@barryweston4887
10 ай бұрын
Far from the best , not bad but not the best
@leighfoulkes7297
9 ай бұрын
I always thought that W.P. Mayhew was based on F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was the insane drunk, abusive to his wife, accused of stealing from his wife's writings, his wife was insane, out of money he ended up writing movies for Hollywood (none of it used) and even half wrote a book about Hollywood (might have turned into his best work if he didn't die from alcoholism). Though, John Mahoney does look a lot like Faulkner. I wonder if their life stories are similar or if the Coen Brothers took from both lives.
@HeroJournalism
Ай бұрын
Great analysis; and one KEY thing: the Coens def were cynical also to Barton himself; at the beginning, and throughout, he's a bit of a pompous dick. Strange for a protag the writers are projecting into. There's a LOT of "he brought this on himself", as @SpaceFleeFilms has noted in other videos based on noir novels. Edit: wow, I've never seen such an uplifting interpretation of the ending
@seanrc8642
10 ай бұрын
This is also probably my favorite Cohen Bros. Film. A masterpiece. I believe it won at Cannes. I’ve always considered it a frame tale as indicated by the beach rock painting.
@fiarandompenaltygeneratorm5044
3 ай бұрын
Oh, hell. We can't get Sonnenfeld for DP? I guess we'll give this Deakins guy a try.
@jankriz5544
Ай бұрын
Burton Fink literally won Palme d'or. You cant be talking about Coen's most underrated film if the film isnt Miller's Crossing. Box office bomb at the time, now known as an overlooked classic.
@nathanslay6342
25 күн бұрын
Barton Fink is such an awesome film! It’s one of the most visually engaging films you will ever lay your eyes on! It also has such great writing, great acting, and great ambiguity! Excellent film!
@patmcstuff671
10 ай бұрын
I went to Barton Fink on a first date in Chicago and took a Valium and woke up to an empty theater and my date gone, I’ve seen it 11 times since
@sclogse1
10 ай бұрын
You took a Valium on a first date. The back story to that is a Coen Brothers film.
@llupescu
Ай бұрын
Great video! Barton Fink is probably my favorite Coen brothers film. What I find the funniest thing in the movie (in a kind of ironic and sad way) is that Barton is obsessed with not being able to top his NY play, not being able to write anything else but that one thing, and then he wrote the exact same thing with his screenplay, only substituting the fishmongers with the wrestlers (watch the opening of the movie, with his play performed on stage, listen to the lines said by the actors on the stage, then listen to the lines from Barton's screenplay read by the detective later in the film, when he's in Barton's room).
@rupertpupkin4348
2 ай бұрын
What is the matter with you people? Most of this move takes place in Bartons imagination/ in that hot room. Listen to the voices he hears in the next room. They are his experiences both prior and to come... Crying in the know that Charlie is leaving / the pounding on the ground of the wresting scene between the two and another experience of his i cant immediatly recall. They are very slick and held it for all these years but hinted to it in a recent interview. Very Linchian.
@papwithanhatchet902
9 ай бұрын
Why are you saying “Con” when the name is “Cohn”? It’s pronounced similarly to “cone”.
@GuapLord5000
9 ай бұрын
Wait, Baby Boom was so bad that after a single viewing they stopped writing Millers Crossing just to shake it off?
@sclogse1
10 ай бұрын
Your audio is WAY too low. But I heard it.
@fishtolizard3930
9 ай бұрын
Always Be Listening… (…and question everything!)
@bh8365
10 ай бұрын
Enjoyed this analysis. It got me in the mood again for that Barton Fink feeling.
@eskhawk
Ай бұрын
I've tried a couple ti es to wat h this... I just can't get into it... And I'm a Coen brothers fan
@behavior852
10 ай бұрын
Barton Fink one of my favorite movies. It came just in the right time.
@JosephHuether
9 ай бұрын
Great essay!
@MichaelLuke-w6p
8 ай бұрын
Barton fink is great, but Miller's crossing is a masterpiece 😮i found it enthralling and the script was magnificent ❤
@shelleydwyer-murphy2281
10 ай бұрын
This was fascinating.
@jimi99colorado
8 ай бұрын
I saw it in theater on release and disliked it. Now I tend to associate it with the film version of Day of the Locust.
@plasticweapon
Ай бұрын
barton fink has always been regarded as one of the coen's best films.
@369frequencyandvibration
Ай бұрын
I had no idea those comedies were by the same as No Country For Old Men
@davidk2594
9 ай бұрын
They are not just "making fun" of serious issues in a mocking way. It jolts the audience. Like when the wife is being kidnapped in Fargo and she blunders around with a blindfold on. It's funny and horrible at the same time, instead of showing these moments as cartoonish humor, you see the pain as well. It's in all of their movies and other directors that make emotionally impactful movies seem to use it too.
@tonogomez2522
11 ай бұрын
Good start mate. This is a nice first video.
@RhinocerosProductions
2 ай бұрын
love this film
@moonshinefilms
9 ай бұрын
Excellent essay. This movie was once a regular watch for me too.
@ecovolved
8 ай бұрын
Great observations about one of my favorite films. Thank you. Keep going!
@clumsydad7158
9 ай бұрын
it is the first film by them i saw that made an impact on me, and had this meditatively profound level to it under all the great events and acting in the story. it was the art of outsiders when such stuff was very hard to find in the early 90s.
@kimsherlock8969
9 ай бұрын
Creating brilliant script making it into movie dimensions Independent gems
@fleadoggreen9062
9 ай бұрын
I hated thst movie sorry Remind me of the raven or clock by Poe
@seanrosetta3079
10 ай бұрын
It's my favorite of their films.
@castelodeossos3947
9 ай бұрын
Saw this film when it came out and my chief recollection is that for all his struggles, he ends up writing a screenplay that is in essence identical to the play that brought him to Hollywood. Funny that this most interesting analysis fails to mention that most salient point, the meaning of which I took to be that Mr Fink was an inferior playwright.
@clumsydad7158
9 ай бұрын
i suppose, he just really is a kind of naive fool ... young and inexperienced and not knowing the trials of the world, which the other characters carry as their burdens, something like that
@Barot8
10 ай бұрын
I really liked Barton Fink. John Goodman was terrifying. I hated the highly overrated Big Lebowski.
@theoriginalsurferbob
10 ай бұрын
The Big Lebowski is a crap movie. They’ve made great movies, but that one sucks.
@DudeAbides8229
5 ай бұрын
Well... That's just ... like your opinion man...
@markmarsh27
10 ай бұрын
I totally disagree. Barton Fink is pointlessly disturbing darkness and sleazy horror, a cheap 'Shocker Flic.' I dislike it for exactly the same reasons I hated David Lynch's Eraserhead - I have copies of both but no WAY will I ever watch them again.
@fishtolizard3930
9 ай бұрын
…wait a minute. You have copies of “Eraserhead” and “Barton Fink,” but you won’t ever watch them again? Why not? Why keep copies if you don’t intend, even on a whimsical, lazy, rainy day, to ever watch them again? Not even a “Hate Watch?” Do what you want and all, but that’s a curious thing for us to grasp. These two titles, for instance, are not likely to improve your love life… Then again, what do we know?
@markmarsh27
9 ай бұрын
@@fishtolizard3930 "Hate watch," exactly. If either one of these 'Masterpieces' comes up in conversation with someone who thinks they're great, I can challenge them to watch them again.
@F_ckAllTrumpVoters
8 ай бұрын
The wave crashing into rocks makes another appearance in the Coen Brothers Golden Era Hollywood flick ( Hail, Caesar! )
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