The creative split between brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen remains one of the biggest setbacks to cinema in the last decade. Their last film together was the Netflix anthology The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, which was initially announced as a series. Over the years, the Coens have delivered some of the most enduring hits of their generation; including movies such as The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple, and the Oscar-winning masterpiece No Country for Old Men. Their work has blended genres, and sometimes defied them. One of their most commercially successful movies combined dark humor with espionage thrills and screwball comedy; it’s currently streaming in the United States on Netflix, but not for much longer.
The Coens never had any difficulty attracting A-listers to their projects, especially in the second half of their career. Their 2008 film was no different; if anything, it featured perhaps the most star-studded ensemble they’d ever assembled on screen. The film was headlined by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, and others. So magnificent was the cast that the future Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons’ appearance was limited to essentially an extended cameo.
Here’s How Long You Have Left to Watch the Coen Brothers’ Spy Comedy on Netflix
We’re talking, of course, about Burn After Reading. The movie follows two inept gym instructors who come upon the unfinished memoirs of a disgraced CIA agent. Assuming they’ve struck gold, they concoct a harebrained scheme to blackmail the agent, whose wife, meanwhile, is having an affair under his nose. The movie was a major hit, grossing nearly $165 million worldwide against a reported budget of $37 million. It’s now sitting at a “Certified Fresh” 78% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “With Burn After Reading, the Coen Brothers have crafted another clever comedy/thriller with an outlandish plot and memorable characters.” You can watch Burn After Reading on Netflix until August 31, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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September 12, 2008
- Runtime
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96 minutes
- Director
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Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Writers
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Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- Producers
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Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

















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