Ranking the Films: The Coen Brothers Version

With the blu-ray release of True Grit tomorrow there is no better time to do a good ol' film ranking for one of my personal favorite filmmakers, the Coen Brothers. I can honestly say that I at least somewhat enjoy every single film they've ever made even though a few are only just o.k. Throughout their career they've often been accused of being more style than substance and while there is certainly some truth to that, when the style is as awesome as theirs a lack of pure substance is easily forgiven. With a film canon that runs the gamut from screwball comedies to westerns and film noir (usually mixing a bunch of styles in the process), Joel and Ethan are not afraid to take chances and have firmly established themselves as not only distinct voices in underground cinema but as excellent commercial directors as well. Click on the jump to get a rundown on how I humbly view each of their 15 films.

15. Intolerable Cruelty - 2003

Despite a pretty terrific cast (Cedric the Entertainer nonwithstanding), Intolerable Cruelty never rises above "just o.k." level. It's still better than most romantic comedies (and the death of Wheezy Joe is a classic moment) but it's certainly not a great movie.

14. The Ladykillers - 2004

The Coen's remake of the 1955 British black comedy is not as good as the original and aside from Irma P. Hall there isn't too much memorable about it. Tom Hanks (as an aside, Hanks is a fine actor but he just isn't equipped to do accents) and the Coen's would seem like a good team but The Ladykillers, while still entertaining, was another miss.

13. Burn After Reading - 2008

Here's where it starts to get tough. I really like Burn After Reading. It's a very funny movie about stupid people doing stupid things. The cast is great and there are classic Coen moments throughout but there's also an emptiness to it as well. It will make you laugh but it probably won't stick with you for a long time either.

12. The Man Who Wasn't There - 2001

I really didn't care for The Man Who Wasn't There the first time I saw it and while I've come to appreciate it with subsequent viewings I still think it's just a little to slow and labored. The black and white look (though it was shot in color) is a nice throwback, Billy Bob Thornton is great as the title character and James Gandolfini is always welcome (and the scene with Michael Badalucco riding a pig is awesome) but again there's something missing that I can't really explain.

11. The Hudsucker Proxy - 1994

It pains me to rank The Hudsucker Proxy this low. I'm pretty sure this is the first Coen Brothers movie I ever saw (on Saturday afternoon television) and it holds a special place in my heart. Even though I had never seen the screwball comedies it pays homage to I was blown away by it's visual style. Even now after seeing a bunch of those old classic comedies I still get caught up in the fast talking vibe of Hudsucker. This is a classic example of style over substance (and a true box office bomb) but The Hudsucker Proxy is still a sweet film.

10. A Serious Man - 2009

A Serious Man might be the most Jewish movie ever made. The Coen's give little explanation for us gentile's and dive right into the strange and darkly comic lives of these Minnesota residents circa 1967. There are no name actors, Fred Melamed might be the strangest idea of a villain ever and yet somehow it all works. It's funny, weird, vague and might not make much sense to a lot of people. In other words it signifies everything that can be great about the Coen's.

9. Blood Simple - 1984

The Coen Brothers debut film is a pretty straight forward neo-noir that appears to be a lesser film at first but proves to be true grower with repeated viewings. Sure John Getz isn't really leading man material but with a cast that also includes Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya and M. Emmitt Walsh there are plenty of great and quirky performances and the Coen's visual style -- while not fully formed yet -- was already striking and well worth the price of admission alone. 

8. O Brother, Where Art Thou? - 2000

Here's another one that I wasn't enamored with at first but over time I've enjoyed it more an more. Loosely retelling Homer's Odyssey through the eyes of three great depression prison escapees is not something most directors would even attempt nonetheless pull off but O Brother, Where Art Thou is largely successful. Clooney, John Turturro, Timothy Nelson and John Goodman are all awesome, the old-timey music is infectious and the Coen's usual quirks and visual style are fully evident. Bonus points for having Baby Face Nelson shoot a cow in anger, incorporating the old blues Faustian crossroads myth and the KKK and have it all make sense.

7. Barton Fink - 1991

Barton Fink is easily the hardest Coen film to fully understand and honestly I'm not sure I still completely "get" it after at least 5 viewings. It's a very vague tale of writers block, the artistic process and Hollywood satire that combines elements of noir, horror, and even some modern bromance. It's this vagueness and the Coens unwillingness to explain everything that keeps me coming back to Barton Fink and it's also to their credit that the movie works on a pure entertainment level as well. Both Turturro and Goodman are again excellent and the supporting cast (especially John Mahoney as a pseudo William Faulkner) is equally as strong. I have a feeling that more viewings could easily move this up the list in the future.

6. Raising Arizona -1987

Of all the Coen's wacky comedies Raising Arizona is the wackiest. I mean this in a very good way. There's really no good way to describe scenes like the car chase/diaper robbery, the knock-down drag-out trailer park fight, or anything involving Randall "Tex" Cobb without visual aids and that's pretty much true for the rest of the film. It's a madcap comedy that rarely slows down and the visual style is off the charts crazy. Nic Cage and Holly Hunter are excellent and the comedic supporting performances by John Goodman, William Forsythe, Sam McMurray and Trey Wilson are outstanding.  

5. True Grit - 2010

It's really not fair to place True Grit on this list anywhere since I've only seen it once but it was a very impressive single viewing. While it's not as inventive as a lot of the Coen's work, it's an absolutely beautiful film and a true western. I've gone this long without mentioning longtime Coen cinematographer Roger Deakins  but he's very important to the visual style of almost every film on this list and his work here is simply stunning. I'll put it here at 5 and after I watch it again this week I'll have a better feel for where it will ultimately rest in a possible future revision (but don't hold your breath).

4. Miller's Crossing - 1990

I'm a sucker for a good gangster movie so I probably have this higher than most people would but there's just so much to love about Miller's Crossing.Everything from the intricate plot to the stylized dialogue and overall tone is first rate. The cast is generally top notch -- while Gabriel Byrne in the lead is far from my favorite casting choice, the supporting actors (Albert Finney, John Turturro, Marcia Gay Harden, John Polito, Steve Buscemi) are awesome -- and their performances are all great. It's hard to say that a movie as critically lauded as this is under-rated but I would say Miller's Crossing is the Coen's most under-appreciated film.

3. No Country For Old Men - 2007

At this point we're into true classic territory and any of the next three films could easily be number one (and how vastly different they all are is a prime example of the Coen's versatility). The reason I'm putting No Country third is simply because it's such a faithful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel it hardly seems like the Coen's had to work really hard. Of course that's not true but the success of the film owes as much to McCarthy (and Javier Bardem) as the Coen's so even though it won a ton of awards (including Best Picture) and is one of my favorite films of the last 5 years it only gets to be third here.

2. The Big Lebowski - 1998

Is there a more quotable movie to be released in the last 15 years? I could do a whole write up on the dialogue alone but that would take away from the characters, the performances -- no matter what else he has done or will do in his amazing career, Jeff Bridges will always be "the Dude" -- the crazy dream sequences, the fantastic soundtrack and even the wholly convoluted Raymond Chandler inspired plot. It's that plot that seems to give newcomers to the film the most trouble (and I honestly didn't love it the first time I saw the movie either) but that's also the key to the endless rewatchability of The Big Lebowski. If it was just all funny lines and inventive visuals it would still be a classic but the plot is vastly underrated and makes the movie work on multiple levels. 

1. Fargo

Being a native Minnesotan I can remember loads of people being offended by what they thought was an over the top portrayal of our lifestyle upon Fargo's release. Even if that were true, why on Earth would it even matter? This film is pure genius from start to finish. This is the movie that vaulted the brothers into the upper echelon of American filmmakers and for very good reason. The plot, the pacing, the dark humor, the dialogue, the visuals, the characters, the quirkiness etc. are all just pitch perfect. Frances McDormand and Willaim H. Macy give the performances of their lifetimes and Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare and Harve Presnell are just as good. I can't tell you how many times I've seen this movie and it just never gets old. One of my 25 favorite films of all time.