The Coen Brothers Thread

It's hit and miss for people around here, but my favorite Coen Brothers film is still The Big Lebowski. It's held up to many, many repeat viewings and I still laugh out loud at certain parts that I've seen fifty times.

I watched NCFOM twice. Every scene is sensational. I liked the Deakins' bleach photography. I commented on BL on another thread. Barton Fink has Goodman doing a let's say weird salute. I am without words regarding that film. The Coen bros. deserve all the praises.

The Ladykillers is the worst film in their oeuvre, far and away.

I adore each of their films, even THE LADYKILLERS and INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, which make me laugh with greater frequency and harder than 95% of most things.

Movie that should not go five posts in a Coen Brothers thread without being mentioned: MILLER'S CROSSING.

There's a disturbing lack of mention of Raising Arizona so far. That's my pick for the Coen's masterpiece.

Not one mention of HUDSUCKER PROXY yet? For shame!

Y'know, for kids!

Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, NCFOM, and Fargo are some of my favorite films.

Ordered Lebowski and Hudsucker the other day, hope they're as fun as RA.

That.

This was the movie that did it for me. I missed it at cinemas and only rented it after watching Barton Fink. I loved it. After that every one of their movies was day one viewing for me. The Big Lebowski made sure that I wouldn't mind not only one but ten Ladykillers. I have to admit that for some reason I'm not that fond of Raising Arizona.

MILLER'S CROSSING is really the one that while I won't say is overlooked, it is recognized as being great, doesn't seem to get talked up as being one of the best gangster films of the modern era.

The Danny Boy scene is just such a treasure.

Not to mention that it's the only reason that I like Gabriel Byrne. Well, that and his death-pissing at the End Of Days.

I remember seeing this movie the summer before my sophomore year of high school a few years back, on VHS no less. The dialogue seemed funky, and I did appreciate it, and once I got to the Danny Boy scene I was like holy shit, this movie KICKS ASS. The deal-sealer is when Finney repeatedly shoots the car to the point of explosion.

Shortly it worked its way into my top 10 favorites and hadn't been really challenged for title of Best Coen Bros. Movie Ever until No Country.

Miller's and No Country are their best dramas. Lebowski is easily the best comedy. A movie that will never EVER get old. One of the few movies where I laugh at everything every time I see it, and also one of the few where I find myself reciting lines as they're said. I've seriously gone to Halloween gatherings as the Dude AND Walter before, though not a combo like the Batman/Joker hybrid in Prince's "Batdance" video.

They've yet to make a straight up bad film, and I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite. That in of itself is pretty fucking amazing.

No love yet for Blood Simple? I think it easily stands up against the rest of their dramas.

For me it's easily

1) No Country
2) Fargo

and then the ranking gets difficult. Next would probably be all the films with Turturro.

For me, their trifecta of Arizona, Miller's Crossing and NCFOM stands high on the pedestal of great movies of the last quarter century.

Next tier of greatness: Fargo, Hudsucker, Blood Simple, Barton Fink

Like a great deal with reservations: Lebowski, Burn After Reading, O Brother

Still decent: Intolerable, Ladykillers, Man Who Wasn't There

I agree with others: no outright bad movies in there.

I need to see Blood Simple one of these days, I think that and Barton Fink are the only one of their "major works" that I haven't seen. Oh, and O Brother Where Art Thou. Totally know what I'm doing as soon as I finish with my Lumet retrospective.

Anyway, if I had to rank them, only because I love making lists, I'd probably go something like for the dramas:

1. Miller's Crossing
(Which if I had to make a list of the 10 greatest films of all time, I'd have to really give serious consideration to put on the list. At least in the top ten of the greatest movies I've ever seen.)
2. Fargo
3. No Country for Old Men
4. Man Who Wasn't There

Comedies:

1. Hudsucker
2. Lebowski
3. Arizona

I like O Brother and Blood Simple quite a bit, but Barton Fink is downright perfect, you're in for a treat.

Miller's Crossing has always been my favourite of their films closely followed by No Country, Big Lebowski and Oh Brother Where Art Thou. I just love how understated their comedies are, they never emphasis their punchlines and it just makes things infinitely funnier.

There's a moment in Oh Brother which gets me every time I see it. Our 'heroes' are trapped in a barn, the police are outside and Clooney keeps exclaiming 'damn we're in a tight spot' each time the situation worsens. The camera pulls out of the barn and focuses on the police as they thrown a lit torch into the barn setting it ablaze and in the background, barely audible, you hear 'Damn we're in a tight spot'. Just gets me every time.

This is probably the place to mention it but what is the relationship between Raimi and the Coens. I know Raimi has a quick cameo in Miller's Crossing but did the Coen's ever assist Raimi. I say this because I've always felt that A Simple Plan was a proxy Coen Brother's film.

In fact the only Coen Brothers films I don't particularly like are Blood Simple and Ladykillers.

They've been friends for years, since the beginning of their careers. Joel worked on Evil Dead as an editor, and both brothers wrote Raimi's 1985 film Crime Wave.

The scene in which H.I. is dreaming and the way the camera moves over the Arizona state and right into the bedroom is a direct homage to Evil Dead.

Also I echo my dislike for The Man Who wasn't there. Man was that dull.

This was probably one of the few times in a movie theater where I laughed so hard I couldn't catch my breath. I'm not sure why but it hit me at that exact moment when I was exposed to extreme funny.

Since I absolutely love the lists:

1. Raising Arizona
2. Fargo
3. No Country for Old Men
4. Barton Fink
5. Miller's Crossing
6. Blood Simple
7. The Hudsucker Proxy
8. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
9. Burn After Reading
10. The Big Lebowski
11. The Man Who Wasn't There

I'm with Hocken, I can appreciate some of the ideas they were trying to put across with Man Who Wasn't There but the film that results is so dull I have a hard time appreciating it.

Evil Dead 1 and 2 influences are all over Raising Arizona and I love it particularly the long dolly shot up into the baby's room.

Lebowski at 10??

I was one of the guys that agreed when it showed up on the So Wrong list earlier in the year. I like it, it's quite funny at times, but I've never understood the cult.

Really? I just thought it was strange for the sake of strange. That and having Polito hit on Thornton was kind of sick.

Nothing can top The Big Lebowski for me. I really need to rent The Man Who Wasn't There and Barton Fink. Still haven't seen either one yet.

Every time I drive past Radford, I do wonder if there's an IN-N-OUT burger somewhere on that road.

I know, like I said. Couldn't get into it.

Raimi also co-wrote Hudsucker with The Coens.

I'd rate 'The Man Who Wasn't There' higher, it's a great direct nod to noir films like Double Indemnity, it doesn't take itself seriously at all, I like that the question 'what kind of man are you' keeps getting raised and no-one answers it, Ed Crane actually get's nailed for a crime he doesn't commit, it's irony in the best noir sense.

Bruce Campbell has a great anecdote on an episode of Dinner for Five where he says that the Coens were basically gofers on the first Evil Dead, or at least Joel was, and how that made it awkward for him when he cameoed in one of their flicks, because he was used to saying "Hey, Joel, go get me a cup of coffee."

They've been friends for years, and Spike's comment about Simple Plan being very Coens-y is funny, because Raimi basically consulted with them on how to shoot snow based on their experiences with Fargo.

Man Who Wasn't There is great and underrated as fuck.

I've recently made a serious effort to watch as many Coens films as I can. Saw Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, Raising Arizona, and The Hudsucker Proxy.
I know people will give me hell for this wherever I bring it up, but, except for the "Danny Boy" scene, Miller's Crossing left me cold. Especially the scenes with Marcia Gay Harden, who was stunningly awful.
I did my final essay for my summer Film Noir class on Blood Simple, and in the process, fell madly in love with it. It's such a relentlessly mean film, but I like to consider it a pitch black comedy. "If I see him, I'll be sure to give him the message." is absolutely hilarious. I'd put Loren Visser among the top Coens characters.

Hmmmm....
Top 10 Coens Characters:
1. Marge Gunderson
2. The Dude
3. Loren Visser
4. Walter Sobchak
5. H.I. McDonough
6. Ulysses Everett McGill
7. Norville barnes (you know, for kids!)
8. Jesus Fucking Quintana
9. Leonard Smalls, The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse
10. Chad Feldheimer

The awesome thing about the Coens, is we can "agree to disagree" on pretty much all of their films. Each one has it's moments. My favorites(for different reasons) are probably Miller's Crossing, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, No Country For Old Men, and Barton Fink(personal favorite). I really do consider all these movies classics. Of course "time will tell" and all that, but all of these flicks are amazing.

They've had an amazing run, all things considered. "Genius" is a bold fucking term to throw around, but yeah, the Coens are genius filmmakers. Even when they fuck up, there are redeeming qualities.

Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing book:

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Lebowski-M.../dp/0393317501

Absolutely! and it's funny as fuck - something that too many people seem to miss. Richard Jenkins, Tony Shalhoub, Michael Badalucco, the alien stuff... It's probably their funniest for me after O Brother (though Barton Fink is my personal favourite).

Thing is, one gets the feeling that, from Blood Simple through to NCFOM, the Coens believe they're making nothing but comedies. It's what I love about them.

First time I saw Barton Fink was at about 2am in my run-down apartment during my college days...didn't know anything about it...had a high fever...and when Barton slapped the mosquito and what proceeded to happen happened I immediately stopped the tape and held onto my couch for twenty minutes before I could start the movie again. It felt like I was in the jaws of hell.

I bought book that as a fan of Lebowski and Fargo, not a full fledged Coen Brothers devotee. It converted me, think it's time to reread it.

Miller's Crossing may be well regarded around here, but it doesn't even exist a lot of peoples radar. It's one of those movies I force people to watch and it never fails to win them over.

Would say my top three are No Country, Miller's Crossing, and Lebowski in no particular order. I could never rank one above the other.

I like ranking. Even is it's off the top of my head, and largely changeable. Mostly, I just wanted to write a bit about the Coens.

1. The Big Lebowski - The cult may have overstated this masterpiece, I'm afraid, or rather, led to the slightest of backlashes. But I simply cannot get even a little tired of this movie, and I've put it to the test. I think the reason it works, beyond being hilarious, actually is the Zen acceptance of life from the Dude. He's a man with practically nothing whose life is falling apart around him, and yet he's ineffable, upbeat, and overall, fine with his lot in life. None of this comes from any sort of creed or philosophy, either, just an innate attitude and worldview. I love the details in this movie, like the way character hear someone else use a phrase (in the parlance of our times, goldbricking) and it finds a way into their conversation forty minutes later. And Bridges delivers one of the greatest performances of the last twenty years.

2. Fargo - I just revisited this, and it lead to this thread resurrection. I always liked Fargo, but seeing it now makes me think it's a little underrated. Pitch perfect tone throughout, with so many scenes that pop in unexpected ways and moments that are simultaneously the funniest and saddest thing you've ever seen. Mike Yamagita, for example, or anything with Macy. If you haven't seen this in a while, it's worth a rewatch.

3. No Country For Old Men - Everyone remembers how great this is, especially in repeat viewings. The accumulated punch the ending delivers is stunning, and despite a career of memorable work, I doubt anything Tommy Lee Jones does will ever be as perfect or as defining as Sheriff Bell. His last monologue is like everything great he's ever done distilled into one perfect minute. I also like the strange misdirection that confuses everyone to the point where no one quite agrees on what's happening (or being said) in the last hotel room sequence.

4. O Brother, Where Art Thou? - This is of a piece with Raising Arizona, I always felt, in that it somehow makes viscious fun of yokels while at the same time celebrating them fully. Clooney has never been more charming, and the color desaturation makes it probably their most remarkable looking film. It reminds me of an unwritten Mark Twain book. Great music too.

5. Raising Arizona - So many brilliant ideas are present in this thing. The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse is a vivid childhood memory of mine. The dialogue between Forsythe and Goodman. "They were jammies, they had Yodas and shit on 'em!" But my favorite stuff is the Carter Burwell score, especially the repeated lullaby, and the yodelling, of course.

6. Miller's Crossing - I can't believe this is down at 6. It's great. Everyone loves Danny Boy, and rightly so. But for me, the best parts of this are any scenes where Turturro or Polito gets to talk for an extended period. Turturro has never been more of a shit than he was in this.

7. Barton Fink - It's a very strong film, although due to it's nature and the nature of Turturro in it, it's always been hard for me to fully embrace it like others have. Goodman is pretty brilliant, and the fire at the end sure kicks ass.

8. Burn After Reading - This will probably go up in subsequent years. Very funny, and enjoyably dark. I love the horrific scene with Malkovich talking to his father, and Clooney really works some miracles with a difficult role.

9. The Hudsucker Proxy - I love what this film is trying to do, and many things about it totally work. But I do feel it misses the mark slightly, mostly because the script doesn't quite gel in the way I want it to. But Paul Newman and Tim Robbins seem to be having a great time, and it's a great watch.

10. The Man Who Wasn't There - Really interesting as an experiment. I like this movie, and should watch it again, but my central problem with it is that if Thornton doesn't care if he or anyone else lives or dies, I don't really either. Which isn't really a fault, but it keeps the movie entirely a mental experience.

11. Blood Simple - This is excellent as a debut feature, and only suffers when compared to Fargo and No Country, which say many similar things better. But M Emmet Walsh!

12. The Ladykillers - This deserves to be rewatched, I suppose. I remember the whole being less than the sum of it's parts. It really is one of Hanks's funniest turns, but it's all a bit too on the nose, and I recall thinking the supporting cast, and the writing for them, wasn't quite as good as I wanted them to be, especially JK Simmons, who has proven he's well up to the challenge most of the time. But the Hanks drawl on lines like "As a child, I was a very lemur", is priceless.

13. Intolerable Cruelty - Holy shit, they've made thirteen movies. Clooney and Zeta Jones don't really have much chemistry and they're unlikable in offputting ways (as opposed to unlikable in likable ways, like most Coen characters). Thornton is fun in it. But I actually don't feel any need to check this one out again.

Funny, in my experience Fargo is the movie the Coens are most known and loved for. That may have changed with No Country, but at the very least it's close. I would say it's in no way underappreciated, though that may be because I rank in the bottom half of their filmography.

1. Raising Arizona - one of the funniest films ever made. Nearly every line is either hilarious or beautiful (and many times both). Few films match this one in terms of energy and number of laughs. Hard to believe it was only their second. Barry Sonnenfeld's camerawork makes me wish he'd never started directing (though to be fair, RV does that too).
2. Big Lebowski - Just gets better and better every time I see it. Can't watch Jeff Bridges or John Goodman in anything else without thinking of their performances in this. Love the subtle nods to Cutter's Way (I still think they're intentional). Goodman should never act again, as he could only detract from his greatness here.
3. Miller's Crossing - a crime masterpiece. should have swept the Oscars (and probably would, were it released today)
4. Barton Fink - their most beautiful screenplay. Some of the Coens' later films seem more off the cuff, a bit first draft-y (cause they probably are), but this one feels so layered and intricate. Most 700 page novels don't have as much depth as this 2 hour film.
5. No Country for Old Men - one of the best adaptations ever made
6. Fargo - the film that made me realize movies were more than Jim Carrey comedies or Batman movies (hey, I was 12). I was a Coen fan for life after witnessing the leg in the woodchipper.
7. Blood Simple - Reinventing the noir. Everyone should see this--and make sure you see the new edit. One of the few times when a new cut done 20 years later improved the film.
8. The Man Who Wasn't There - underrated, a great, humorous nod to James M. Cain (and the films made from his works)...one of Thornton's best performances. In an interview with the AV Club, Edward Norton talked about how he was obsessed with the minimalist acting Thornton does here. You don't see that sort of thing much anymore. David Mamet probably jizzed himself.
9. Burn After Reading - I think this one will age well. Seems like they'd found their original voice again with this one after some missteps (not counting NCFOM since it was an adaptation).
10. Intolerable Cruelty - it's a weird film--probably their most mainstream, but it's the weirdness under the surface that makes it for me. Clooney is a god in this one. I think people have a problem with this one cause it doesn't feel very original, and we've come to expect originality from the brothers.
11. O Brother Where Art Thou? - Have a love-hate relationship with this one. Really like parts of it, really bored by other parts. Some great lines though, and Turturro and T.B. Nelson make it worth watching.
12. Hudsucker Proxy - I know it's sacrilege to rate this one so low, but for some reason I've never been able to get into it. It's a beautiful film to look at, but I never find myself wanting to watch it.
13. The Ladykillers - so disappointing...it felt like a Coens rip-off more than a Coens movie.

I guess I'm not a fan of their screwball attempts.

I'm saddened by how low some of you rate Hudsucker.

Hudsucker is so, so great. I had a huge crush on Jennifer Jason Leigh for years because of that movie, before I even knew what "screwball comedy" was.

Everytime this thread gets bumped, it reminds me I need to watch Blood Simple, Barton Fink, and O Brother. Those are the only "major Coens" missing off my list.

To be fair...Ladykillers is the only movie on there I would say I absolutely do not like. It should be far, far below the rest.

I find Hudsucker to be, at best, a middling Coen Bros. film. Admittedly, that's still pretty good.

The film plays like a movie that sounded hilarious in the brainstorming phase, but whose execution ended up being hit and miss. And unlike, say, Lebowski, when it gets indulgent I find myself losing patience with it. Take the Amy Archer (emphasis on arch) character as an example. The way they let Leigh play with a screwball sensibility comes off as annoying at best, grotesque at worst.

Measured strictly by laughs, I find more consistent humor in most of their other comedies. In terms of substance, it's pretty far down on the list as well.