A follow up thread from yesterday...My new personal ranking of Coen Brothers movies:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. Fargo
2. The Big Lebowski
3. A Serious Man
4. O Brother Where Art Thou
5. Raising Arizona
6. Ballad of Buster Scruggs
7. No Country For Old Men
8. Blood Simple
9. Burn After Reading
10. The Hudsucker Proxy
11. Miller's Crossing
12. Inside Llewelyn Davis
13. Hail Caesar
14. Intolerable Cruelty
15. Ladykillers
16. Barton Fink
17. The Man Who Wasn't There
18. True Grit

These are just movies that the Coens both wrote and directed. There are a couple of movies where either they directed and someone else wrote, or visa versa, and I admit I haven't seen all of those.

All 18 on the list are worth watching at least once. I would probably say the first eight warrant multiple viewings. The first 5 are all in my top 10 movies of all time, period.

I admit I've only seen Miller's Crossing once and it's fairly well-revered amongst Coen fans. For some reason it didn't make a major impression on me when I saw it (perhaps I was just tired), but I have a feeling if I rewatch it I might get more out of it and it could rank higher.

As an added bonus, I'm ranking the six stories that comprise The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (currently out on Netflix, seriously, watch it if you haven't yet done so):

1. Meal Ticket
2. The Girl Who Got Rattled
3. The Mortal Remains
4. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
5. Near Algodones
6. All Gold Canyon


The fun thing about Coen Brothers movies is amongst fans, they're always a great debate as how to rank them. They all have qualities that appeal to people differently and I think that's why you get such a variety of different listings.

Any Coen fans willing to put down their lists?

[mr_lebowski]

1. Burn after Reading & Hudsucker ... better than Millers Crossing, True Grit, and Barton Fink?

Ummmm .... yeeeeeah ... I'm gonna have to go ahead and kinda disagree

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Barton Fink was sort of like Miller's Crossing for me.

I saw it once years ago, late at night, and it probably didn't have as big of an impact on me that I should. I think a re-watch on my part is deserving but I haven't found either on TV or Netflix recently.

True Grit was just a bit underwhelming for me. It just felt like what it was: a remake of an old movie. Jeff Bridges is a far more talented actor than John Wayne ever was, but beyond that, it didn't make a big impression on me personally. I dunno....I think I prefer original material on the Coens' part (which probably explains why the Oscar winning No Country for Old Men isn't in the Top 5 for me....while the acting and cinematography of that movie was absolutely sublime, and it was an excellent movie, it was more of a Cormack McCarthy adaptation than a genuine Coen Brothers film)

[mr_lebowski]

3. TBH I saw BF in the theater in college, totally baked ...

And just thought it was of the trippiest, coolest friggin' movies I've ever seen. Part of the magic was seeing it at the time, there just weren't THAT many major movies at that point that were as weird and trippy as it was. Sure, you had your Lynch flicks, Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and to a lesser extent Harold and Maude, RHCP, Spinal Tap ... but they were rare, and generally to be cherished simply for their weirdness.

It's wholly possible a re-view all these years later, esp. if sober, wouldn't have the same impact. Weirdness has become a lot more de rigeur in the interim.

You should re-watch Millers Crossing though, it's pretty damn good ... I'd say it's the equal of Blood Simple, myself.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. The Coens were really under the radar until O Brother, truth be told.

Yes, Fargo was nominated for best picture and Raising Arizona generated moderate buzz as a comedy but neither were really box office hits. The Big Lebowski was actually a flop (I was one of the few who saw it in theaters) and it only began to achieve cult status into the hyper-quotable phenomenon it is today in the years following its release.

It really wasn't until O Brother that I think the greater movie viewing world started to take note that they had something special on their hands.

I believe I saw Barton Fink and Miller's Crossing back in 1998, right after I had seen The Big Lebowski and Fargo. As earlier Coens I really should give them another watch because I think my added appreciation of the Coen's craftwork over the years has me thinking I might not have grasped their uniqueness at the time.

[yonder]

5. I just saw "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" a couple of weeks ago

Excellent movie, I'm still thinking about it. I would put it higher than 6 on your list, but can't speak for at least 10 of the others. I would put "True Grit" higher up as well.

As far as the 6 in "Buster" here's mine:

1. The Girl Who Got Rattled
2. Meal Ticket
3. The Mortal Remains
4. All Gold Canyon
5. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
6. Near Algodones

"The Girl Who Got Rattled" was so damn poignant, more so than "Meal Ticket". My daughter pointed out that "Meal Ticket's" Harry Melling was the heavyset, loutish stepbrother of Harry Potter in that series' first. I would have never guessed. He sure played a sensitive part in this one. "Buster" was good, but the ending weird, IMO. How the ambient light subtly changes in "Mortal Remains" sure surprised me.

The other thing about this movie was the period dialogue. Excellent. I believe somebody really did their homework. Good movie all around and I can't say enough about it. Watch it while you can

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. Rankings are subject to change.

I would say The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou, and A Serious Man all grew on me significantly more than just my immediate impression of them after my first viewing. So there's a chance it could grow higher the more I think about it (and I'm still thinking about it).

On the other hand, Fargo was my first Coen, and I remember immediately being floored by it.

[yonder]

7. Oh, and thanks for this thread. nt

[red dog 1]

8. 1) The Big Lebiowski -- 2) No Country For Old Men -- 3) Fargo -- 4) Barton Fink

Those are my top four.

I'm looking forward to seeing The Ballad of Buster Scruggs