Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
I don't normally do requests, but @pukunui did ask me nicely. And I realized that not only would this be the third time I've done a ranking of a particular director's films (previously- Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson), but I enjoy the Coen Brothers so much that I once wrote a (brief) RPG about them! Okay, technically it was about Michael Bay time traveling to the past to use them to increase his prestige, with easily foreseeable and disastrous results, but still!
The rules, briefly-
It has to be a "Coen Brothers" movie. Now that they've split (temporarily?), I won't count their solo projects. Nothing for TV. No shorts. Just bona fide full movies. However, I am including streaming movies, so ... Buster Scruggs is in luck!
18. The Ladykillers. This ... look, I want to say I love everything they've done, but I just don't like this movie. It was a misfire from the second Tom Hanks opened his mouth. No bueno.
17. Intolerable Cruelty. It feels like this movie should be good, but ... it just doesn't work. They've made 18 movies, and while this isn't as bad as The Ladykillers, it also isn't good. Still, the next sixteen movies are all somewhere between good and great.
16. Blood Simple. A good film, and their debut film. It's a bit, um, simple compared to their later work, but it's still a solid and compelling film.
NOTE- All the rankings from this point on get REALLY REALLY hard. I think good arguments can be made for moving most of these movies around, depending on personal preferences. SO I EXPECT Y'ALL TO MAKE THOSE ARGUMENTS.
15. The Hudsucker Proxy. "You know, for kids!" I love this movie so much, and yet ... for all of its charm (and it has a lot of charm!) it can't place higher than the films that follow.
14. O Brother, Where Art Thou? A charming film that both had deep (but obvious) references to The Odyssey and also brought bluegrass back into the popular zeitgeist is always a fun go-to.
13. Burn After Reading. A film that was (unjustifiably) panned when it first came out as being too lightweight, it has just become more and more relevant over time. The Coen Brothers captured something essential about the moronic age we had entered.
12. Miller's Crossing. A movie that is undoubtedly cool, yet over time has appeared to value style over more meaningful substance. Still, one heck of a watch.
11. The Man Who Wasn't There. This is a personal favorite of mine, because it tells a simple story incredibly well, and Billy Bob Thornton gives an amazing performance that any lesser actor would have overacted. It's an austere film that will linger with you long after the credits fade.
10. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The Coens do an anthology! While not every part is equally good, and sometimes it feels like they are just screwin' around with house (um, Netflix) money, it's leaves you wishing they would return to this form again.
9. True Grit. A great genre film that the Coen Brothers, unusually, play relatively straight.
8. Inside Llewyn Davis. This may be my most controversial choice; many people consider this a classic movie, perhaps their best (or one of them). I think it's good, and I appreciated it, but I never loved it like some of their other films.
7. Raising Arizona. NEVER GO FULL NIC CAGE! Okay, maybe here. While the Coens notable failed at over-the-top comedy twice, this is a funny, crazy success of a movie.
6. Fargo. There is little I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said. So instead I'll say this- have you seen Jon Hamm in season 5 of the Fargo TV series?
5. A Serious Man. Why do bad things happen to good people? This movie doesn't answer the question, but it poses it perfectly.
4. Hail, Caesar! Like Burn After Reading, this movie was unfairly tarnished when it was released, and I would argue is one of their finest movies. The genre-shifting within the movie (a movie about making movies) is absolutely perfect.
3. The Big Lebowski. The Dude Abides.
2. Barton Fink. Is this a movie about writer's block? About insanity? About creative compromise? About hell? Yes.
1. No Country For Old Man. Over that which we cannot speak, we must pass over in silence.
The rules, briefly-
It has to be a "Coen Brothers" movie. Now that they've split (temporarily?), I won't count their solo projects. Nothing for TV. No shorts. Just bona fide full movies. However, I am including streaming movies, so ... Buster Scruggs is in luck!
18. The Ladykillers. This ... look, I want to say I love everything they've done, but I just don't like this movie. It was a misfire from the second Tom Hanks opened his mouth. No bueno.
17. Intolerable Cruelty. It feels like this movie should be good, but ... it just doesn't work. They've made 18 movies, and while this isn't as bad as The Ladykillers, it also isn't good. Still, the next sixteen movies are all somewhere between good and great.
16. Blood Simple. A good film, and their debut film. It's a bit, um, simple compared to their later work, but it's still a solid and compelling film.
NOTE- All the rankings from this point on get REALLY REALLY hard. I think good arguments can be made for moving most of these movies around, depending on personal preferences. SO I EXPECT Y'ALL TO MAKE THOSE ARGUMENTS.
15. The Hudsucker Proxy. "You know, for kids!" I love this movie so much, and yet ... for all of its charm (and it has a lot of charm!) it can't place higher than the films that follow.
14. O Brother, Where Art Thou? A charming film that both had deep (but obvious) references to The Odyssey and also brought bluegrass back into the popular zeitgeist is always a fun go-to.
13. Burn After Reading. A film that was (unjustifiably) panned when it first came out as being too lightweight, it has just become more and more relevant over time. The Coen Brothers captured something essential about the moronic age we had entered.
12. Miller's Crossing. A movie that is undoubtedly cool, yet over time has appeared to value style over more meaningful substance. Still, one heck of a watch.
11. The Man Who Wasn't There. This is a personal favorite of mine, because it tells a simple story incredibly well, and Billy Bob Thornton gives an amazing performance that any lesser actor would have overacted. It's an austere film that will linger with you long after the credits fade.
10. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The Coens do an anthology! While not every part is equally good, and sometimes it feels like they are just screwin' around with house (um, Netflix) money, it's leaves you wishing they would return to this form again.
9. True Grit. A great genre film that the Coen Brothers, unusually, play relatively straight.
8. Inside Llewyn Davis. This may be my most controversial choice; many people consider this a classic movie, perhaps their best (or one of them). I think it's good, and I appreciated it, but I never loved it like some of their other films.
7. Raising Arizona. NEVER GO FULL NIC CAGE! Okay, maybe here. While the Coens notable failed at over-the-top comedy twice, this is a funny, crazy success of a movie.
6. Fargo. There is little I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said. So instead I'll say this- have you seen Jon Hamm in season 5 of the Fargo TV series?
5. A Serious Man. Why do bad things happen to good people? This movie doesn't answer the question, but it poses it perfectly.
4. Hail, Caesar! Like Burn After Reading, this movie was unfairly tarnished when it was released, and I would argue is one of their finest movies. The genre-shifting within the movie (a movie about making movies) is absolutely perfect.
3. The Big Lebowski. The Dude Abides.
2. Barton Fink. Is this a movie about writer's block? About insanity? About creative compromise? About hell? Yes.
1. No Country For Old Man. Over that which we cannot speak, we must pass over in silence.
