Publisher's Synopsis
A collection of five films directed by acclaimed movie-making duo Ethan and Joel Coen. In 'A Serious Man' (2009) Midwestern physics professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg)'s settled and secure life begins to spiral out of control after his wife, Judith (Sari Lennick), reveals she is leaving him for his arrogant associate, Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed). Larry's attempts to cope with the failure of his marriage aren't helped by the fact that he has to share his house with his unemployed brother, Arthur (Richard Kind), while his son, Danny (Aaron Wolff), is in trouble at school and his daughter, Sarah (Jessica McManus), is stealing money from his wallet. Can things get any worse? In 'The Big Lebowski' (1997), Jeff 'the Dude' Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) is a bowling buff, laid-back to the point of horizontal, who gets mixed up in a blackmail plot involving a millionaire namesake. Roped into delivering the ransom to secure the release of the millionaire's kidnapped wife, the Dude's karmic balance is really put in a spin when his gun-toting buddy, Walter (John Goodman), decides to help out. 'Burn After Reading' (2008) concerns the whereabouts of a sensitive disc containing the incriminating memoirs of alcoholic CIA agent Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich). Cox's wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton), who is having an affair with married federal marshall Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), is making plans to leave her husband, and is advised by her divorce lawyer to copy his personal files onto a disc. The disc finds its way to the Hardbodies fitness gym, where two unscrupulous employees, Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt), decide to exploit their find for all they can get. In 'Barton Fink' (1991) successful young playwright Barton Fink (John Turturro) goes to Hollywood. He immediately obtains a contract, only to develop writer's block when he discovers he is to write a wrestling movie for a faded 1940s star. The Los Angeles heat, his dingy hotel and a noisy neighbour (Goodman) combine to increase the pressure on him, and Barton begins to lose his grip on reality. Finally, in 'Intolerable Cruelty' (2003) Clooney stars as Miles Massey, a divorce lawyer who always wins his case until he comes head to head with the scheming, money-grabbing, yet alluring, Mrs Marilyn Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Miles and Marilyn each embark on their own ruthless romantic missions to outdo one another and amass great wealth. Who will triumph?
