Lists, Top 5 Movies — June 24, 2011 at 3:03 am

TOP 5 MOVIES: THE COEN BROTHERS

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Anyone who reads my stuff knows I fell in love with a little movie called True Grit a few weeks back. To phrase it like a typical movie critic, I felt it was a triumphant return to form for the Coen brothers! After a few films where I felt the brothers had been kind of hit or miss, True Grit reminded me just how much I love this writing and directing duo. So, I thought it would be fun to look back on their film catalogue and make a Top 5. Here’s mine (in order):

SIDENOTE: I think True Grit actually has a shot at making my Top 5 but until I see it again, I’m not making that leap. So, this list was based on all Coen brothers films released prior to True Grit.

5. MILLER’S CROSSING.

I’ve always been a fan of 20′s to 40′s-era gangsters. There’s just something about the way they talked and lived that I always liked. Naturally, the Coen brothers made me like that era even more by crafting this tale full of twists and turns that features some of the Coen’s best dialogue ever captured on screen.

4.  FARGO.

Fargo  is a great film! It trips me out though because the Coen’s did something very interesting with this film. They put a title card at the beginning of the film that read: The following is based on a true story. Everything that happens is fiction but it’s almost real enough to be believable and I wonder if the film is more enjoyable because you buy into the reality aspect of it. Hmmmm?

3. THE BIG LEBOWSKI.

I fully expect to get a bunch of crap for this as I suspect this is many people’s favorite. Admittedly, I’m not as in love with this film as most people seem to be but I think it’s a damn good film featuring the performance that will come to define Jeff Bridge’s very storied career.

2. O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?

While I feel like everybody likes this movie, I still feel like it’s severely underrated. The majority of it’s success, I think, comes from one of Clooney’s best performances and the music in the film but the Coen’s are to be commended for making such a solid adaptation from difficult source material.

1. RAISING ARIZONA.

The film that put the Coen’s on the map is still my favorite to this day. It wraps up so perfectly what makes the Coen brothers great… quirky music and characters, intertwining storylines, comedic undertones. But what this film did so well that no other film has been able to do is find the perfect way to let Nic Cage be Nic Cage!

So, what are some of your favorites?

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Author: Master list maker and perpetuator of awesomeness!

37 Comments

  • Reply
    Bruce Wayne June 24, 2011 5:09 am

    Wow. What a tough list to make. I think I would drop Miller’s Crossing but what would replace it? Barton Fink, Hudsucker Proxy (“You know, for kids!”) or Blood Simple? And the top four could go in any order. I think I would need to have a Coen Marathon and watch them all again.

    • Reply
      Kaiderman
      Twitter:
      June 24, 2011 3:38 pm

      Just watched Arizona with Shirley. She hadn’t seen it. I didn’t love Blood Simple but it’s their first film. Barton Fink is awesome. May be next on my list. I’d probably put True Grit at 4 or 5 if not excluding it.

  • Reply
    Simon June 24, 2011 5:35 am

    THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE! The best Coen Bros film in my opinion … and it doesn’t even get a mention! Harsh.

  • Reply
    SJHoneywell June 24, 2011 6:26 am

    Hard list to make. I love all five of the movies listed here, but I also wonder about No Country for Old Men (which you evidently didn’t like) and Blood Simple.

    Good on you for taking on a difficult list. I couldn’t have stopped at just 5.

  • Reply
    Rich June 24, 2011 6:58 am

    Finally! Someone else who likes ‘Raising Arizona’ more than ‘The Big Lebowski’!

  • Reply
    James Blake Ewing June 24, 2011 7:46 am

    For a long time, Raising Arizona was my #1 Coen Bros movie. It’s still up there for me. And while it’s not a top 5 for me, I would agree that O Brother is seriously underrated. I also really like The Hudsucker Proxy, which most people designate as one of their worse.

    My list would be:

    A Serious Man
    The Big Lebowski
    Raising Arizona
    Miller’s Crossing
    Barton Fink

    • Reply
      Kaiderman
      Twitter:
      June 24, 2011 3:41 pm

      I’m actually fine with your list, James… oddly! :)
      I think, of their recent films, No Country was horribly overrated and A Serious Man was seriously underrated. I really liked that one.

  • Reply
    Daniel June 24, 2011 8:35 am

    Oh man. My list would be very different from this one. They do have quite a pedigree to their name and it’s interesting because they really do have something for everyone. Mine would go more like this:

    5. Barton Fink
    4. Blood Simple
    3. No Country For Old Men
    2. The Big Lebowski
    1. Fargo

    Bear in mind I haven’t seen Raising Arizona all the way through yet. I found MIller’s Crossing to be well-acted but too much going on for its own good, Hudsucker Proxy was meh, and A Serious Man highly underrated. Their other films that I’ve seen are on the whole just really good after that.

    • Reply
      Kaiderman
      Twitter:
      June 24, 2011 3:43 pm

      Yeah… they are a special taste. Everybody connects with different stuff of theirs but I do think 3 of yours are a bit overrated but no fault in liking them. Coens don’t make BAD movies.

  • Reply
    Dylan
    Twitter:
    June 24, 2011 9:53 am

    I haven’t seen Miller’s Crossing in forever. Haven’t seen The Man Who Wasn’t There or The Ladykillers at all.

    Most of their films are in the good-great stage, with really only A Serious Man standing out as the one I don’t care for (yes, that means I liked Intolerable Cruelty).

    Still, I can’t help but put my list as 1a. Lebowski, 1b. Fargo, 2. everything else. Too hard to pick just three more out of the remaining dozen or so. I’d probably go with True Grit, No Country, and Arizona, though that could change by the day.

    • Reply
      Kaiderman
      Twitter:
      June 24, 2011 3:44 pm

      Ladykillers sucked balls.
      Take that Serious Man and Intolerable Cruelty thing and switch it. :)

      • Reply
        Wayne
        Twitter:
        July 6, 2011 1:43 pm

        I agree Ladykillers wasn’t great, but like all Coen Bros movies it gave us some great lines. My fave, “We must all have waffles forthwith”, which I still use in breakfast conversation.

        Intolerable Cruelty was decent, but didn’t they pick up the reins from another director? It’s worth watching for Geoffrey Rush, but that goes for any movie starring Rush.

  • Reply
    Nick June 24, 2011 3:11 pm

    My list would probably be…

    5) The first 2/3s of either True Grit or No Country. (…or I just need to re-watch Raising Arizona.)
    4) Burn After Reading
    3) Fargo
    2) O Brother, Where Art Thou?
    1) The Big Lebowski

  • Reply
    John June 24, 2011 7:17 pm

    This is an impossible list to make. Ask me one week and I’ll give you a different answer the next. Right now, the list is A Serious Man, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and… The Hudsucker Proxy? Other times I’ve answered this, the list has included Raising Arizona, No Country, O Brother, The Man Who Wasn’t There, and Miller’s Crossing. The only one I’ve kind of disliked was The Ladykillers, and I even thought that one was average (i.e. only a “bad” film by Coen standards).

    There are no films that put me in a better mood than Lebowski, but I honestly think A Serious Man and Barton Fink are better films. Not as lovable, but more skillful filmmaking.

  • Reply
    Tom Clift
    Twitter:
    June 25, 2011 2:02 am

    I just watched Miller’s Crossing the other day, and while I liked it, it wouldn’t be near the top of my favourite Coen’s flicks. For me, they rank like this

    1) A Serious Man (LOVED it)
    2) Fargo
    3) The Big Lebowski
    4) No Country for Old Men
    5) Raising Arizona

    I still need to see a few of their earlier films though, like Blood Simple and Barton Fink

  • Reply
    Anna June 25, 2011 7:17 am

    Surprise no. 1! I couldn’t place these in order, it’s like picking who’s your top 5 daughters/sons or something.

  • Reply
    Nic Cage June 28, 2011 10:15 am

    The Big Lebowski at 1 for me. No Country could replace Miller’s Crossing though, depending on my mood.

    I enjoyed watching True Grit, but it didn’t stick with me like I had hoped. Great acting and a whole lot funnier than I expected it to be.

    5. Miller’s Crossing / No Country
    4. O Brother
    3. Fargo
    2. Raising Arizona
    1. The Big Lebowski

  • Reply
    Wayne
    Twitter:
    July 6, 2011 1:38 pm

    I know I’m a little late to the party, but I was watching mucho movies this past week…including a special screening of The Big Lebowski. I think that makes 3 times I’ve seen it on the big screen now. So obviously, that’s my #1. The whole list:

    1. Big Lebowski
    2. Raising Arizona
    3. Fargo (funny, b/c I hated it the first time I saw it!)
    4. O’ Brother
    5. A toss up between A Serious Man/True Grit

    I’d need to watch both of my #5s again to make a final call as to which is better.

    I also like to give a special mention to the Man Who Wasn’t There for its inclusion of a sexually promiscuous Scarlett Johansson.

  • Reply
    Jack July 7, 2011 1:11 pm

    in my opinion these is the top 5 :

    1- No Country for Old Men
    2- The Big Lebowski
    3- Fargo
    4- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
    5- Blood Simple.

    • Reply
      Kaiderman
      Twitter:
      July 7, 2011 1:50 pm

      I can live with that list for the most part, Jack. EXCEPT with No Country at number 1. If that works for you, then go with it by all means (Coens don’t really make “bad” movies), but I feel like the Coens have several films, even on your list, that are better films.

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