

Burn After Reading
2008-09-05 · 96 min · ★ 6.7
When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst falls into the hands of gym employees, Linda and Chad, they see a chance to make enough money for Linda to have life-changing cosmetic surgery. Predictably, events whirl out of control for the duo, and those in their orbit.
Trailers are previews, not full movies.
No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.
Production details
- Directors
- Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Production companies
- Focus Features, StudioCanal, Relativity Media, Working Title, Mike Zoss Productions
- Countries
- United States of America, United Kingdom, France
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- USD 37,000,000
- Revenue
- USD 163,700,000
Top Cast
George ClooneyHarry Pfarrer
Frances McDormandLinda Litzke
Brad PittChad Feldheimer
John MalkovichOsborne Cox
Tilda SwintonKatie Cox
Richard JenkinsTed
Elizabeth MarvelSandy Pfarrer
David RascheCIA Officer
J.K. SimmonsCIA Superior
Olek KrupaKrapotkin
Michael CountrymanAlan
Kevin SussmanTuchman Marsh Man
Hamilton ClancyPeck
Armand SchultzOlson
Pun BandhuParty Guest
Karla MosleyParty Guest
Jeffrey DeMunnCosmetic Surgeon
Richard PoeStretching Gym PatronTitle information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.
Where to watch
Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.
Rental
Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Purchase
Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
View authorized watch options on TMDbSeasons & episodes
Recommendations

Casey is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman fighting for her place in it.

In an effort to land the guy she's been pining after since grade school, Abby hires a local stripper named Santa Monica to teach her everything she needs to know about confidence and sex.

An unlikely friendship kindles between a struggling stand-up comedian from L.A. — forced to move back home to Eastern Long Island with his tail between his legs — and a tragically flawed, but charming and charismatic, alcoholic dermatologist. Discovering to be kindred spirits, each helps the other find healing, in addition to the confidence to face the "failures" in their lives.

Nina Geld's passion and talent have made her a rising star in the comedy scene, but she's an emotional mess offstage. When a new professional opportunity coincides with a romantic one, she is forced to confront her own deeply troubled past.

Famous and wealthy funnyman George Simmons doesn't give much thought to how he treats people until a doctor delivers stunning health news, forcing George to reevaluate his priorities with a little help from aspiring stand-up comic Ira.

A weak con man panics when he learns he's going to prison for fraud. He hires a mysterious martial arts guru who helps transform him into a martial arts expert who can fight off inmates who want to hurt or love him.

A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.

Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

A struggling writer in the midst of a divorce befriends a retired serial killer who incidentally becomes his marriage counselor by day, and killing counselor for his next book by night.

Ty was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women turned his stuffed animals into a defining '90s trend. This behind-the-scenes look at history's biggest toy craze is a wild story about what—and who—is valued in this world.

An ambitious young woman, desperate for followers and fame, fakes a trip to Paris to up her social media presence. When a terrifying incident takes place in the real world and becomes part of her imaginary trip, her white lie becomes a moral quandary that offers her all the attention she’s wanted.

A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.

Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.

Based on a true story, a hot shot Washington DC lobbyist and his protégé go down hard as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and murder.

When Ashtray moves to South Central L.A. to live with his father (who appears to be the same age he is) and grandmother (who likes to talk tough and smoke reefer), he falls in with his gang-banging cousin Loc Dog, who along with the requisite pistols and Uzi carries a thermo-nuclear warhead for self-defense. Will Ashtray be able to keep living the straight life?

When a bestselling celebrity biographer is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.

The US President and the UK Prime Minister are planning on launching a war in the Middle East, but—behind the scenes—government officials and advisers are either promoting the war or are trying to prevent it.

A court-appointed legal guardian defrauds her older clients and traps them under her care. But her latest mark comes with some unexpected baggage.

On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Jackie.

Against the backdrop of 18th century England, a massive pox outbreak, and Jacobite uprising – Sir Chauncey Savage and Lady Savage blindly pursue a better life. It's not without a tinge of irony that their family name is the Savages, for this is a Savage House indeed, filled with duels, decadence, and bloodshed.
Similar titles

A couple that seems happy on the surface considers a divorce.

Paris, France, during the First World War. While thousands of soldiers die every day on the battlefields, Henri Landru, a seemingly respectable furniture dealer, married and father of four children, relentlessly feeds his own sinister factory of death.

A simple yet proud rancher conspires to murder his wife for financial gain, convincing his teenage son to participate.

On Halloween night, big-time nerd Warren attends a spookhouse in a small Texas town. But is the haunted house as harmless as it seems, or has a psychotic mental patient found a new stomping ground?

For Every Apricot drifts through the shifting terrain of memory, illustrating a grandmother’s journey in search of a “miracle drug” to cure her father’s illness. What begins as a simple family story, unfurls into a meditation on aging, fragility, and the circinate patterns that shape life. Through live-action interview, 16mm and 8mm archival footage, and a tapestry of handcrafted animation, the film moves between what is remembered, what is imagined, and what time has eroded. As she reflects on her father’s illness alongside her own, For Every Apricot becomes a deeply personal family portrait.

A privileged young man attempts to foray into the world of outrage comedy, but can't finish a set without getting brutalized.

In the fallout of nuclear war, a rag tag team of robots, a mutant engineer, and an unpaid cyborg intern fight to give the survivors of the Trashlands that most vital of resources: entertainment.
A woman takes in a lodger to help with the debts of her funeral business.

Searching for the root of generational trauma, the director takes a camera into his estranged grandfather’s funeral.

After obtaining a divorce from his second wife Emily, Roy Tappan marries Dora Carson, who has just divorced her husband. Left poor with two children, Emily marries Walter Heath, a former suitor, then discovers that she cannot live with her new husband because the divorce is not legal in her home state. Tappan and his new wife soon run out of money, each having thought the other was wealthy. His aunt promises to support him in exchange for his two children. He kidnaps the children and hides them from Emily in his aunt's home. After Emily and Walter find them, they go to Yellowstone Park, where they are considered legally married. Tappan follows and is killed after a fight with Walter when a boiling geyser throws him into the air and throws him onto the rocks below.

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

After her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.

A man starts following a pattern.

Daniel Sloss discusses a variety of topics, from his love of children, to being a man, in this tastefully dark comedy special.

It all starts with a premonitory dream. A national paper reporter for a southern region of Azerbaijan, Karim lives his boring daily life. But something, a memory, is deeply bothering him. The arrival of a new editor-in-chief increases Karim’s worries, he has to go to Baku to meet him.

Nicolas Philibert goes to America after killing a French aristocrat. On his return he tries to divorce his wife, Charlotte, but when he sees others trying to woo her his own interest is rekindled.

Emily Boynton, the stepmother to three children, blackmails the family lawyer into destroying a second will of her late husband that would have freed the children from her dominating influence. She takes herself, the children, and her daughter-in-law on holiday to Europe and the Holy Land. At a dig, Emily is found dead and Hercule Poirot investigates.

Claire Doste is about to reach the age of 35 and has everything one dreams of, such as having four boyfriends and a creative job in a publishing house specialising in crime novels. One day, she invites all of her boyfriends to her birthday dinner so that she can pick out her would-be fiancé. But an accident happens when Claire is getting the dinner ready.

Alex is a disgruntled waiter at a snobby exclusive restaurant who falls on hard times. Forced to deal with the contempt and disgust of the upper class, Alex & cohorts attempt to go on a rampage. Meanwhile, General Karprov and Spider plot to involve the inept anarchists into their plans to derail the prime-minister-to-be's campaign.

Walter is a somewhat church-weary, washed-up exorcist who prefers to spend his free time sipping beer. His tranquil life changes when he suspects he's encountered a vampire. Disorganized, he attempts to track him down and confront him—who else would do it? The centuries-old, sinister Blood Prince, on the other hand, pompous and self-absorbed, is enthusiastic about the new world he's encountered and helpless in the face of its technological and social advancements. Times of open hostility are interspersed with moments of rapprochement, but it soon becomes clear: Vienna isn't big enough for both. A vampire film that juggles the genre's trappings with a wink, charmingly sidestepping all conventions as an entertaining comedy. Sometimes by force.