I thought about asking for your single favorite Coen brothers movie, but that’s unfair given the embarrassment of riches — 18 movies in 37 years (counting Joel’s upcoming “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” which slayed them at last week’s New York Film Festival.) A Top Three would be boring because a lot of people would pick “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men,” leaving hardly any room for quirks of personal taste. A Top 10 is too much work and a Top 7 is just silly. So a Top 5 it is. Here are mine1:
A Serious Man (2009) — The first time the Coens really Meant It. (Maybe.)
Fargo (1996) — Arguably the first masterpiece, the one where everything clicks.
O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000) — “We. Thought. You. Was. A. Toad.”
True Grit (2010) — Better than the original, with an ending that haunts.
Hail Caesar! (2016) — Incomprehensible if you don’t have a deep-dish movie-geek knowledge of obscure Hollywood lore. A joy if you do.
Bonus question: What’s their worst? For me, it’s the antic, empty “Burn After Reading” (2008). Except for the Brad Pitt scenes — they’re hilarious.
Totally agree about A Serious Man! I loved every minute of it and didn't want it to end. Fred Melamed steals the show. But man, I just could not get into Hail Caesar. Too silly, disjointed, an over-the-top, cartoonish plot I couldn't buy into with the Communists & the Soviet sub and all that. I'd put Inside Llewyn Davis on the list instead.
I agree that "Burn After Reading" is their worst, but I also found "Hail Caesar!" surprisingly flat. (Too insidery.) My top five: "No Country for Old Men" (a perfect film), "Fargo" (it's partly because I grew up in Minnesota), "O Brother" (we watched this with our kids endlessly), "Blood Simple" (one of the great first films), and "Barton Fink" (Turturro and John Goodman at their best). "The Big Lebowski" is a possible sixth if there's room--endlessly quotable.
1. Oh Brother Where Art Thou: An epic, and extra points for the Preston Sturges reference
2. Big Lebowski: I didn't get the fuss when I watched, then couldn't stop thinking about it for 25 years
3. Raising Arizona: A perfect manic comedy, the likes of which we rarely see anymore. Ok then!
4. Fargo. Another one that underwhelmed me at first, mostly due to outsized expectations, but also grew on me
5. A Serious Man: I couldn't even try to dislike that one.
I don't get the ranking for Hail! Caesar, but I did catch that the movie wasn't really about what I originally thought it would be about, and enjoyed it the more for that. No Country gets consideration, of course. I also loved Barton Fink, but it's not for everyone.
As for worst, I'll have to keep it to ones I have seen (so no Ladykillers as yet), and it has to be Intolerable Cruelty, which was half of a really fun movie, and I felt like everyone went home at the midway point but kept the cameras rolling. Such a disappointment. You might put Hudsucker Proxy there, but it was less a disappointment than a meh, and I can't put any film with Bruce Campbell on a "worst" list.
Fargo and BIG LEBOWSKI (tied for #1) followed by Raising Arizona, No Country then maybe Blood Simple. How in god’s green earth did you leave Lebowski off of the top five??
1. Blood Simple, if for no other reason than it paved the way for future projects and introduced us to Frances McDormand. It was also Emmet Walsh's finest performance. 2. Fargo, nuff said. 3. Raising Arizona was Nicholas' Cage best performance. 4. Oh Brother where art thou. It was "bonafide"!
Hmm. This is a tough one and likely changed over the years.
1. Fargo - Frances McDormand. The scenes with her are over the top perfection, especially the ones with her husband. They get me every time.
2. Inside Llewyn Davis - Partly because this is my kind of music, but also Oscar Isaac’s best performance I’ve seen. It’s heavy, but I don’t mind. Side-note: Adam Driver on “Please Mr. Kennedy” makes me smile every time.
3. No Country for Old Men - I read this book after seeing the movie and it’s basically all the dialogue without any description. They did it all.
4. Raising Arizona - I haven’t seen this in many, many years, but I do remember it fondly.
5. O Brother Where Art Thou - I had to read The Odyssey in high school and it’s fun to follow along. I don’t think this comes close to 1-4 though.
What are your Top 5 Coens?
Totally agree about A Serious Man! I loved every minute of it and didn't want it to end. Fred Melamed steals the show. But man, I just could not get into Hail Caesar. Too silly, disjointed, an over-the-top, cartoonish plot I couldn't buy into with the Communists & the Soviet sub and all that. I'd put Inside Llewyn Davis on the list instead.
Only two, really. Blood Simple and I love love love many times overs The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
I agree that "Burn After Reading" is their worst, but I also found "Hail Caesar!" surprisingly flat. (Too insidery.) My top five: "No Country for Old Men" (a perfect film), "Fargo" (it's partly because I grew up in Minnesota), "O Brother" (we watched this with our kids endlessly), "Blood Simple" (one of the great first films), and "Barton Fink" (Turturro and John Goodman at their best). "The Big Lebowski" is a possible sixth if there's room--endlessly quotable.
What a great topic, Hmmm.
1. Oh Brother Where Art Thou: An epic, and extra points for the Preston Sturges reference
2. Big Lebowski: I didn't get the fuss when I watched, then couldn't stop thinking about it for 25 years
3. Raising Arizona: A perfect manic comedy, the likes of which we rarely see anymore. Ok then!
4. Fargo. Another one that underwhelmed me at first, mostly due to outsized expectations, but also grew on me
5. A Serious Man: I couldn't even try to dislike that one.
I don't get the ranking for Hail! Caesar, but I did catch that the movie wasn't really about what I originally thought it would be about, and enjoyed it the more for that. No Country gets consideration, of course. I also loved Barton Fink, but it's not for everyone.
As for worst, I'll have to keep it to ones I have seen (so no Ladykillers as yet), and it has to be Intolerable Cruelty, which was half of a really fun movie, and I felt like everyone went home at the midway point but kept the cameras rolling. Such a disappointment. You might put Hudsucker Proxy there, but it was less a disappointment than a meh, and I can't put any film with Bruce Campbell on a "worst" list.
Fargo and BIG LEBOWSKI (tied for #1) followed by Raising Arizona, No Country then maybe Blood Simple. How in god’s green earth did you leave Lebowski off of the top five??
1. Blood Simple, if for no other reason than it paved the way for future projects and introduced us to Frances McDormand. It was also Emmet Walsh's finest performance. 2. Fargo, nuff said. 3. Raising Arizona was Nicholas' Cage best performance. 4. Oh Brother where art thou. It was "bonafide"!
Hey, I thought Hail, Caesar was cool and refreshing.
Hmm. This is a tough one and likely changed over the years.
1. Fargo - Frances McDormand. The scenes with her are over the top perfection, especially the ones with her husband. They get me every time.
2. Inside Llewyn Davis - Partly because this is my kind of music, but also Oscar Isaac’s best performance I’ve seen. It’s heavy, but I don’t mind. Side-note: Adam Driver on “Please Mr. Kennedy” makes me smile every time.
3. No Country for Old Men - I read this book after seeing the movie and it’s basically all the dialogue without any description. They did it all.
4. Raising Arizona - I haven’t seen this in many, many years, but I do remember it fondly.
5. O Brother Where Art Thou - I had to read The Odyssey in high school and it’s fun to follow along. I don’t think this comes close to 1-4 though.
Whoops - forgot the worst - Hudsucker Proxy. Sooooo dull.