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Product Details
Synopsis: George Clooney and Brad Pitt star in this outrageous spy comedy about murder, blackmail, and physical fitness that critics are calling, "smart, funny, and original" (Ben Lyons, E!).
Starring: George Clooney, Frances McDormand
Supporting actors: Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, Elizabeth Marvel, David Rasche, J.K. Simmons, Olek Krupa, Michael Countryman, Kevin Sussman, J.R. Horne, Hamilton Clancy, Armand Schultz, Pun Bandhu, Karla Mosley, Jeffrey DeMunn, Richard Poe, Carmen M. Herlihy, Raul Aranas, Judy Frank
Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes
Release year: 2008
Studio: NBC Universal
MPAA Rating: Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence.
ASIN: B001N4ROW4
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,835 in Amazon Video On Demand (See Bestsellers in Amazon Video On Demand)
Rights & Requirements
Rental rights: 24 hour viewing period, play online or download to one location. Details
Purchase rights: No time limits. Play online and download to 2 locations. Details
Compatible with: Mac and PC online viewing, Windows PC download, Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link, Roku player. System requirements
Format: Amazon Video on Demand (streaming online video and digital download)

Also available on DVD

Burn After Reading DVD ~ George Clooney

2.9 out of 5 stars (258) $11.99

Theatrical Release Information
  • US Theatrical Release Date: September 12, 2008
  • MPAA: Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence.
  • Production Company: Mike Zoss Productions, Relativity Media, Studio Canal, Working Title Films
  • Filming Locations: Bronx Community College - University Avenue at West 181 Street, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA | Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA | New Rochelle, New York, USA | New York City, New York, USA | Paramus, New Jersey, USA | Steiner Studios - 15 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA | Times Square, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA | Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Video Format Details

Online Viewing

PC Download

Portable device

View instantly from any PC or Mac with a broadband connection
Ready to watch in about 40 minutes*
Ready to transfer in about 40 minutes*
* Your download times may vary--estimates shown are for a typical DSL connection (1.5 Mbits/sec). Rental videos cannot be transferred to a portable device.

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Customer Reviews

258 Reviews
5 star:
 (68)
4 star:
 (39)
3 star:
 (31)
2 star:
 (47)
1 star:
 (73)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.9 out of 5 stars (258 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars lolling the onestars, November 24, 2009
I just wanted to point out that every single complaint that the one-star reviews dole out are just icing on the cake as far as me totally loving this movie. The characters had no depth? The plot was too amorphous? THAT WAS THE POINT FOLKS. The characters are examples of typical character flaws that are variations on stupidity. You're supposed to enjoy their lives falling apart. I sure as hell did.
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74 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Great, November 1, 2008
By Steven Stewart "Critic Extraordinaire" (steveo.stewart@hotmail.co.uk) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Burn After Reading (DVD)
After the true genius of No Country For Old Men, the Coen Brothers come back with a whole new dimension. Burn After Reading is a dark comedy about idiots faced with an intelligent and complex situation. Two Gym instructors Linda Litsky (Frances McDormand) and Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) find a disc containing the memoirs of ex CIA agent Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich). They, being idiots think it's a disc containing top secret information and try to bribe Osbourne for money which would help pay for Linda's cosmetic surgery. Things don't go to plan as Osbourne has bigger things on his mind, his wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) is having an affair with the paranoid Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney).

This film is actually quite intelligent in its own right, the characters seem well defined and are played superbly. The characters were specifically written for the actor playing them and it really shows.

John Malkovich portrays the agent lost of all hope well, you become quite intimidated by both his intelligence and temper.

George Clooney as the paranoid individual who's having more affairs than you can wave a stick at doesn't falter. He's jumpy, but hey who wouldn't be if you were sleeping with three different women. This eratic behaviour becomes a bit tragic and leads to the death of one of the characters in the film.

Brad Pitt as the loveable and wannabe cunning idiot is fantastic, the facial expressions and general stereotypical dexterity of what we would expect a personal trainer to be really works. This becomes especially amusing when he enters into the bribing game with Malkovich and starts to enter into the character of cunning spy. It has to be seen to be believed.

Frances McDormands character is the real shining light of the whole film as she's the catalyst leading up to the films biggest events. She's a middle aged gym instructor paranoid over the look of her body. While trying to get plastic surgery, she's turned down by her insurance company and is the one that convinces Pitts character to bribe Cox. She's a woman on the edge of giving up on life and wants to take one last leap into the chance of a relationship, but is made even more nervous by her own body insecurities.

The Coens once again create a film that is both surreal and believable, the characters are shockingly brilliant. The scenario is a bit over the top but comes together perfectly. There is something that bothered me, however, and that's the fact that every character in the film seemed to be having an affair with someone else. I don't know, maybe that was the whole point that made the film work. For fans of the Coens this is definitely one that sits proudly in their film catalogue next to such greats as No Country For Old Men and The Big Lebowski. I would strongly recommend it to any film fan overall, it's definitely worth it just for the Brad Pitt & Clooney facial expressions. Be warned though as if you're easily offended by swearing, then you might as well take your pad and pen with you to start writing your complaints letter.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Burn After Reading, January 9, 2009
This review is from: Burn After Reading (DVD)
All of the Coen Brothers trademarks are here: the bumbling yet well-intentioned crooks in over their heads, the Preston Sturges-esque pace, the oddball yet strangely intellectual dialogue which only they can write in quite that way. It's a bit of a paint-by-numbers exercise for them at this point, yet the movie is never less than hysterical and incredibly entertaining. It's a sound piece of work to keep their rabid fan base (of which I am a proud member) happy, and is a kissing cousin to their earlier comedies like Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski. Tuckman Marsh!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughing All the Way . . .
I checked the Amazon reviews of this film months ago and was surprised at the dichotomy of opinions then. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Still Singin'

5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny
Non-stop quirky humor prevails throughout this film, which features some unlikely casting to great success.
Published 24 days ago by John C. Fain

2.0 out of 5 stars Idiotic comedy but with some funny parts.
Mostly an idiotic comedy that made little sense and was barely entertaining. A spoof of spies and spy agencies that doesn't quite make it.
Published 24 days ago by S. A. ROBBINS

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Bad if you didn't like/get it. . .
It's all opinion. I think this is possibly the Coen Brothers best movie. Malkovich, Pitt, Clooney, Swinton, McDormand, all brilliant. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Allan Conroy

5.0 out of 5 stars Plot is so fast paced I had no time to think. But I did laugh a lot. I loved it!
I had never heard of this 2008 Coen Brothers comedy. If it did play the theaters it must have had a short run. And I don't remember publicity of any kind. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Linda Linguvic

2.0 out of 5 stars Just Fargo in DC
This movie is little more than Fargo in DC. A collection of disfunctional, self-destructive misfits whose lives manage to cross in various ways. Read more
Published 1 month ago by michaelkf

5.0 out of 5 stars A Quick Moving Tangle of a Farce of a Spy Spoof
This is a convoluted action comedy with a fair amount of blood and gratuitous violence distributed through several dysfunctional romances and a plot on the part of a couple of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. F. Mullins

4.0 out of 5 stars lightweight Coen fun
The Coens have done better (their best days seem behind them -- see my review of "No Country for Old Men"), but "Burn After Reading" is still a clever and entertaining film... Read more
Published 2 months ago by William Sommerwerck

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't burn after watching
Like "Fargo", the Coen Brothers' "Burn After Reading" is one of their occasional productions that combines farce with drama, with neither aspect compromising or diluting the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Joseph P. Menta, Jr.

1.0 out of 5 stars We abandoned the theater 1/2 way thru show and others followed...
Utterly empty plot that aside from the weakly interesting characterizations portrayed by Brad Pitt and George Clooney, leave the film just so horribly devoid of any potential... Read more
Published 3 months ago by LMY

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