I think they were really at the top of their game and still “fresh” with Hudsucker. It just seemed like after that, they lost me. I don’t really care for TBL. OBWAT is just bad. A serious man was good… probably my favorite after Hudsucker.
True Grit was very good, as was No country for Old Men, The Ladykillers memorable (and very good)… actually all of their movies have been either very good or excellent. My favorite is O, Brother for all of the reasons already mentioned.
Difficult to choose. For me anyway. For the wife, it’s Miller’s Crossing, hands down. (She’s possibly the only Thai who has seen every Coen Brothers film.) But I think I would have to agree, although Fargo, Barton Fink, Blood Simple and The Big Lebowski are all tied for a close second.
I would have to go with Fargo. I put off seeing Miller’s Crossing for a long time because I’m not a huge fan of gangster movies, but it’s also excellent. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Blood Simple but I really liked it. I’m not as big a fan of Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski as some but I like them.
I think the Coen’s are definitely incredible filmmakers.
ETA: I also think The Man Who Wasn’t There is underrated.
I think Burn After Reading may be the most underrated comedy ever made. Doesn’t get any press or cult appeal or anything, no one mentions it, but it’s great the whole way through.
Osbourne Cox: Some clown, or two clowns, have gotten a hold of my memoirs.
Katie Cox: Your what?
Osbourne Cox: Stolen it, or I don’t know…
Katie Cox: Your what?
Osbourne Cox: My memoirs, the book I’m writing.
Katie Cox: Well why in God’s name would anyone think that’s worth anything?I love the way this film completely lampoons the conspiracy thriller genre. Everybody is looking for an angle, there is no fundamental conspiracy (other than the divorces), and the people who thing they know the most know absolutely nothing at all. The final scene is a brilliant summary which tips off the film resoundingly rather than The Big Lebowski’s somewhat disappointing (albeit intentionally) anti-climatic coda.
Stranger
If I could only pick one it would have to be Fargo. You betcha.
Runners up: The Hudsucker Proxy, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona.
But Fargo gets my nod. First, it’s really funny. Second, it’s a pretty good detective story. Third, while McDormand deservedly earned the Oscar, William H. Macy is fantastic as the hapless scheming car salesman.
(Jerry returning to his customer after pretending to talk to his boss)
Jerry: Well, we’ve never done this before. But seeing as it’s special circumstances and all, he says I can knock a hundred dollars off that Trucoat.
Customer: (stunned that Jerry still intends to charge him for something he didn’t order) One hundred… You lied to me, Mr. Lundegaard. You’re a bald-faced liar. A… fucking liar. (to his wife, frustrated) Where’s my goddamn checkbook? Let’s get this over with.
Given this zombie thread, I’m going to buck the trend and pick True Grit. I love most of what I’ve seen by them, but True Grit feels to me like it does the things a movie does better than just about any other movie I’ve ever seen.
I was going to say Raising Arizona. But it occurred to me that I watch Fargo way more often.
Go Bears.
There’s something about Miller’s Crossing that vexes me. . . I think I’ve seen it like 3 times and each time I thought I was seeing it for the first time. And right now thinking about it, I can’t really remember it very well.
I like Fargo a little more every time I see it. The first time I thought it was just a long, blood-spattered Minnesota joke, yah, you bet. But of course there’s much more to it than that.
I confess that I’ve never seen Miller’s Crossing, The Hudsucker Proxy or A Serious Man. But I know that someday I must, and that I’ll probably like 'em when I do.
I went with Fargo because I really think it has the best characters and story and it has this scene which is just subtle perfection.
I guess I’ve seen all their stuff, and come down with No Country For Old Men. Runner-up, True Grit, which I was predisposed to hate being a big John Wayne AND Glen Campbell fan (his skills as a guitarist, not his acting or his big-time career as a musician).
Both are genre pictures which breathe some new life and Bergsonian vitalism into their respective genres.
I’d love TBL if it was really more to do with The Dude and less with Herbie Stempel and so forth (ETA no disrespect to Turturro – his work in flicks such as Quiz Show and Rounders proves he’s not just a stooge). I think RA and MC is the only ones of theirs I’ve seen more than once. Those will stand the test of time [/Harold Bloom].
Miller’s Crossing for me. I have it on disk and can recite most of the dialogue from memory.
Love a lot of their other films, but this is my fave.
I’ve seen parts of *Lebowski *and O Brother - wasn’t at all impressed with either.
The only Michael Bay movie I’ve ever seen was The Rock, but I saw over half of it and enjoyed it, so I voted for him.
Speaking of the Coen Brothers - they are re-writing Angelina Jolie’s newest script for a film she is directing.
Do yourself a favor this weekend. Find Miller’s Crossing, turn off the phone, lock the door and watch it. You won’t be sorry.
O Brother Where Art Thou, because the music is an additional. But that’s a virtual tie with The Big Lebowski. Third would be Fargo, and fourth Raising Arizona.
I recently went on a Netflix binge to see all of their movies I hadn’t seen before, and rewatch any that I hadn’t seen recently. The only one that didn’t do much for me was Intolerable Cruelty.
Something About Mary is my favorite. Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned so far.
That’s because that’s the Farrelly Brothers, not the Coen Brothers.