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When Joel and Ethan Coen announced The Ballad of Buster Scruggs would be a film rather than a TV show, as previously reported, they talked of their love for the Italian movies of the 1960s, “which set side-by-side the work of different directors on a common theme”. Their statement concluded: “We attempted to do the same, hoping to enlist the best directors working today. It was our great fortune that they both agreed to participate.”
It’s good to have them back.
With the release of Buster Scruggs approaching, The Independent presents an entirely subjective ranking of the Coens brothers’ output. Please note, even at their worst, they’re better than just about anyone else.
Show all 17 1 /17The Coen brothers films — ranked The Coen brothers films — ranked 17. The Ladykillers (2004) The first film in which Joel and Ethan Coen shared both producing and directing credits; previously Joel had always been credited as director and Ethan as producer. A largely pointless remake of the classic Ealing comedy, this has some funny moments and Tom Hanks gives a committed performance in the Alec Guinness role – but one can’t help but wonder why they bothered.
Touchstone Pictures
The Coen brothers films — ranked 16. Intolerable Cruelty (2003) The film that preceded 'The Ladykillers', this was the siblings’ first job as writers-for-hire. Tapping into a similar vein of screwball comedy to Preston Sturges's work in the Forties, it has a formidable cast: George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Geoffrey Rush are excellent. Yet this is a rare Coen comedy that does not stand up to a repeat viewing.
Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock
The Coen brothers films — ranked 15. Hail, Caesar! (2016) Audiences felt misled by 'Hail, Caesar!' due to its panoply of Hollywood stars and laugh-heavy trailer. The result was a huge discrepancy in enjoyment between the critics and the punters. A love letter to the golden age of Hollywood, this is one of their lighter efforts, but some of the recreations of film styles of yore are dazzling.
The Coen brothers films — ranked 14. Burn After Reading (2008) This one finds the lads in a playful mood: a spy caper populated with idiotic characters portrayed by the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt and John Malkovich (the latter’s pronunciation of “memoir” is a highlight). The plot is less important than the dialogue, characterisation and jokes. Pitt shows a real aptitude for comedy as a dim-witted fitness instructor.
The Coen brothers films — ranked 13. True Grit (2010) Some see 'True Grit' as a poor man’s 'No Country for Old Men', but this is a more faithful adaptation of the Charles Portis novel than the John Wayne version. The Coens, so often accused of cynicism, have rarely produced anything more heartfelt. Hailee Steinfeld, in her breakthrough role, is staggeringly good as a teenager attempting to avenge the murder of her father.
REX
The Coen brothers films — ranked 12. Miller’s Crossing (1990) There are those who consider this gangster flick — released in the same year as Scorsese’s 'Goodfellas' — to be the Coens' peak achievement. Slow and contemplative, the film contains two of the greatest moments in the entire Coen filmography: John Turturro in the woods and Albert Finney under the bed. Scorsese would later direct the pilot episode of 'Boardwalk Empire', a television show with more than a hint of 'Miller’s Crossing'.
20th Century Fox
The Coen brothers films — ranked 11. Raising Arizona (1987) The opening 11 minutes of the Coens’ sophomore effort — before the title even appears — is one of the most beautiful, hilarious and perfectly executed sequences in modern cinema. Nicolas Cage didn’t enjoy the experience of making 'Raising Arizona' since the filmmakers allow their actors very little leeway in terms of improvisation. Holly Hunter has rarely been better and this contains some of the funniest Coen scenes.
20th Century Fox
The Coen brothers films — ranked 10. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) The Coens attempt at a family film (“you know, for kids”) that was expected to make waves at the box office but proved a flop, perhaps partly as a result of its idiosyncratic title. This is a comedy with shades of Sturges and Frank Capra. The flashback involving the tailor might be the most perfect gag in the entire Coen canon.
Universal Pictures
The Coen brothers films — ranked 9. Barton Fink (1991) John Turturro stars as Barton Fink, a playwright attempting to write a screenplay in a deserted hotel while wrestling with his demons and/or John Goodman. Sharp, with a good dose of pathos, it deservedly won the Palme d'Or in 1991. That the Coens decided to make a film about writer’s block while they themselves were struggling to complete 'Miller’s Crossing' means there's a personal element to it, too (“I’ll show you the life of the mind," says Goodman's Charlie Meadows).
The Coen brothers films — ranked 8. A Serious Man (2009) A favourite with fans, this begins in a 19th-century Eastern European shelter and ends with the disclaimer that “No Jews were harmed in the making of this motion picture”. In between, we are treated to the Coens’ most personal film, pitched somewhere between the 'Book of Job' and Saul Bellow’s 'Herzog'. Michael Stuhlbarg is mesmerising as a Minnesotan physics professor who sees his life fall apart in 1967.
Focus Features
The Coen brothers films — ranked 7. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) The title may be a reference to Sullivan’s Travels, and the plot inspired by Homer's 'The Odyssey', but this is an astonishingly original musical that stands as the most joyous film in the siblings’ filmography. The soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and this sepia-tinted tale of convicts on the run during the Great Depression never fails to lift the spirits.
Touchstone/Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
The Coen brothers films — ranked 6. Blood Simple (1984) The maverick filmmakers burst onto the scene with one of the most accomplished debuts in the history of the medium. Shot in just eight weeks, this is a startlingly violent neo-noir with moments of pure horror and that streak of bleak fatalism that would become a recurring theme.
The Coen brothers films — ranked 5. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) Quite possibly the film of the decade, 'Inside Llewyn Davis' stars Oscar Isaac as a folk singer struggling to make ends meet in and around the Greenwich Village scene of 1961. For anyone who’s ever embarked on a creative pursuit and was worried that talent alone might not be enough, this is more terrifying than any horror.
The Coen brothers films — ranked 4. The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) The Coens most underrated film, 'The Man Who Wasn’t There' was inspired by a poster showing various haircuts from the 1940s that the brothers came across while shooting 'The Hudsucker Proxy'. Billy Bob Thornton has never been better than he is playing Ed Crane, a quiet barber who suspects his wife of having an affair and becomes embroiled in the kind of classic noir perfected by Billy Wilder.
Working Title/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
The Coen brothers films — ranked 3. No Country for Old Men (2007) A crime classic cut from the same cloth as 'Fargo' and 'Blood Simple', this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. It is the Coens’ most taut film and their most critically acclaimed this century. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh is a cinematic villain for the ages.
The Coen brothers films — ranked 2. Fargo (1996) Deftly blending comedy and horror, this timeless crime caper propelled the Coens into the mainstream and spawned a widly successful television series. The screenplay won an Oscar; so, too, did Frances McDormand (wife of Joel) for her terrific performance as the pregnant police chief investigating a double homicide in Minnesota, birthplace of the filmmakers.
Gramercy Pictures
The Coen brothers films — ranked 1. The Big Lebowski (1998) Creedence. White Russians. Bowling. We end where we began, and while some will argue that the Coen brothers have made deeper, wiser and worthier films – that’s just, like, their opinion, man. This is their funniest work and, after a lacklustre reception, its reputation has grown to the point where it is now the quintessential cult movie. More importantly, for large swathes of us, it is absolutely guaranteed to ensure a good mood. The film, like its hero and the brothers behind it, abides.
Rex Features
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is available to watch now on Netflix . The film, split into six separate stories, stars James Franco, Brendan Gleeson, Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson, Tim Blake Nelson and Tom Waits.
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