Burn After Reading |  | Actors: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $0.99
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Rating:  271 reviews
Sales Rank: 1099
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 62102034
UPC: 025195016490
EAN: 0025195016490
ASIN: B001JIE7JC
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: December 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 23-DEC-2008
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
After the dark brilliance of No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading may seem like a trifle, but few filmmakers elevate the trivial to art quite like Joel and Ethan Coen. Inspired by Stansfield Turner's Burn Before Reading, the comically convoluted plot clicks into gear when the CIA gives analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) the boot. Little does Cox know his wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton, riffing on her Michael Clayton character), is seeing married federal marshal Harry (George Clooney, Swinton's Clayton co-star, playing off his Syriana role). To get back at the Agency, Cox works on his memoirs. Through a twist of fate, fitness club workers Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt in a pompadour that recalls Johnny Suede) find the disc and try to wrangle a "Samaratin tax" out of the surly alcoholic. An avid Internet dater, Linda plans to use the money for plastic surgery, oblivious that her manager, Ted (The Visitor's Richard Jenkins), likes her just the way she is. Though it sounds like a Beltway remake of The Big Lebowski, the Coen entry it most closely resembles, this time the brothers concentrate their energies on the myriad insecurities endemic to the mid-life crisis--with the exception of Chad, who's too dense to share such concerns, leading to the funniest performance of Pitt's career. If Lebowski represented the Coen's unique approach to film noir, Burn sees them putting their irresistibly absurdist stamp on paranoid thrillers from Enemy of the State to The Bourne Identity. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from Burn After Reading (Click for larger image)
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 271
 Disappointing February 7, 2010
R. Christenson (Pine, CO USA)
Nope. It looks like they ran out of money before finishing this film, or just couldn't come up with a good ending. The thrust of the plot is a ripoff of CHU CHU AND THE PHILLY FLASH which starred Alan Arkin and Carol Burnett as a couple of bums who try to get a reward for returning some secret documents they found. Here it's a couple of gym employees trying to get a reward for some secrets on a computer disk they found. There are some parallel subplots about the owner of the disk, his wife's boyfriend, and some coincidental path-crossing, and some of it is funny; but not as funny as the old Alan Arkin film. However, I would have like it well enough until they failed to show the end of each of the parallel stories, instead having framing characters tell what happened.
 Great Coen brothers movie February 6, 2010
B. Alwin (S. California)
This is hysterically funny! Well worth watching, both to see Brad Pitt get punched in the face, and to see George Clooney play an idiot. Creative plot, funny movie!
Not Up To Usual Coen Bros Standard February 2, 2010
T. Moffitt (Portland OR)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love almost every thing that the Coen brothers have done but this one just didn't work for me.
Unlike their other films which are clever and compelling (and often funny) this one had a half-baked thrown together feel for me.
Some characters have pronounced quirks (meant to be clever no doubt) that get forgotten after a few scenes while others don't appear to have any motivation for the things they do at all.
While the actors do their best their talents are wasted here.
Like my subject header says; This is simply not on par with the kind of writing that we all know the Coen's are capable of.
 Good but strange. February 1, 2010
Brian Nallick (Mpls, MN)
I wasn't really sure what to expect when I rented this.
I figured with all the big names it might be decent.
The good?
Great acting.
Great directing.
A truly weird and totally unbelievable story line, but still a fun story line.
I like the bald guy who swears all the time and the fact that he punches Pitt right in the nose makes him that much more likeable. :)
The bad?
Some people may be turned off by the story line.
That's really all I can think of.
Burn After Reading is one of the strangest films I've seen in a long time.
I give it four for being totally original and innovative.
Kudos to the entire cast for taking such a risk with this film.
Most directors aren't willing to do that nowadays.
I give Burn After Reading....
Four stars and a rental recommendation.
Don't Burn after Viewing February 1, 2010
Steven Fliesler (St. Louis, MO USA)
This is one of the best Coen brothers releases to date. The dark comedic pairing of Clooney and Pitt, the ironic absurdity of the story line with twists and turns.... it's all memorable and classic Coen. This is one you want to see more than once,to catch all of the nuances that you may miss as you're rolling in the aisles during particular scenes. So definitely DON'T BURN after viewing!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 271
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