A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.
- Nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards
- 8 wins & 32 nominations total
J.K. Simmons
- CIA Superior
- (as JK Simmons)
J.R. Horne
- Divorce Lawyer
- (as JR Horne)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Coen Brothers (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen) wrote the character Osborne Cox with John Malkovich in mind. Brad Pitt's character was also written with the actor in mind, inspired by a commercial for which he suffered a similar haircut and dye job. Indeed, the Coen Brothers noted at a Q&A session at the Venice Film Festival that all the leading characters were written for all the leading actors, with the exception of Tilda Swinton.
- GoofsWhen Osborne returns home after being served for divorce, he tries to enter his home with a car key not a house key.
- Quotes
[last lines]
CIA Superior: What did we learn, Palmer?
CIA Officer: I don't know, sir.
CIA Superior: I don't fuckin' know either. I guess we learned not to do it again.
CIA Officer: Yes, sir.
CIA Superior: I'm fucked if I know what we did.
CIA Officer: Yes, sir, it's, uh, hard to say
CIA Superior: Jesus Fucking Christ.
- Crazy creditsAs usual, the Coen Brothers edited this film under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes
Featured review
Maintained a dark comedy feel even through the darkest parts
Burn After Reading is my first run in with the Coen brothers, so I am completely unfamiliar with their style. What they seemed to have on their side from the get go was a rockstar cast filling all lead and character roles. Even some of the unknowns gave fiery performances. This film felt most similar to Requiem for a Dream both in theme and story-telling. I look forward to catching up on more Coen films in the future.
helpful•1711
- jackgdemoss
- Aug 22, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Hủy Sau Khi Đọc
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $37,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $60,355,347
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $19,128,001
- Sep 14, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $163,728,902
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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