TychoCelchuuu Posted March 5, 2017 Inspired by the Spielberg thread, this is a catch-all thread for the Coen Bros. and your rankings of their movies. Here's my list, with numbers in parentheses ranking each movie out of 100: 1. A Serious Man (96) 2. The Big Lebowski (94) 3. Inside Llewyn Davis (92) 4. Barton Fink (90) 5. Hail, Caesar! (88) 6. Burn After Reading (87) 7. Fargo (85) 8. Blood Simple (84) 9. Miller's Crossing (84) 10. The Man Who Wasn't There (83) 11. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (82) 12. The Hudsucker Proxy (79) 13. No Country for Old Men (79) 14. Raising Arizona (77) 15. True Grit (76) 16. The Ladykillers (76) 17. Intolerable Cruelty (75) As you can tell, I like every single one of their movies - 75 is a pretty good score - but there are a couple I don't think I liked as much as other people, namely No Country for Old Men and Fargo, which people generally seem to like more than I did. Or do they? Let's find out! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick R Posted March 5, 2017 The Coen Brothers are interesting to rank because they've made so many different kinds of movies of such a consistently high quality that I really wouldn't be too shocked at any one order of someone's list. Like, I think you put Hail Caesar way too high, but it's still the kind of movie I can just imagine really working on someone. When compiling this list, I found that starting from the top was basically impossible, so I had to work out the worst ones first, which is the opposite of how I approached the Spielberg list. 1. Barton Fink 2. No Country For Old Men 3. Burn After Reading 4. Fargo 5. Blood Simple 6. The Big Lebowski 7. Miller's Crossing 8. O Brother, Where Art Thou? 9. A Serious Man 10. True Grit 11. Inside Llewyn Davis 12. The Hudsucker Proxy 13. The Man Who Wasn't There 14. Raising Arizona 15. Hail, Caesar! 16. Intolerable Cruelty 17. The Ladykillers Only the top 5 I have a real passion for, but some of these I haven't seen in about a decade so who knows. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gormongous Posted March 5, 2017 1. Inside Llewyn Davis 2. The Big Lebowski 3. A Serious Man 4. Miller's Crossing 5. Fargo 6. O Brother, Where Art Thou? 7. Barton Fink 8. True Grit 9. No Country for Old Men 10. Burn After Reading 11. Raising Arizona 12. Blood Simple 13. Hail, Caesar! 14. The Hudsucker Proxy 15. The Man Who Wasn't There 16. The Ladykillers 17. Intolerable Cruelty Writing that out was much easier than expected, which doesn't exactly mean that it was easy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rilen Posted March 5, 2017 Going to make my on but I need to watch a few of these, and also re-watch those that slipped from my mind. I literally don't remember a single thing about Ladykillers, I think I enjoyed No Country but after reading it I would like to evaluate it again, and Barton Fink has always been divisive for me. I think maybe it was too front-loaded for me by other people's expectations, but I remember just sliding off it and thinking that it felt amateur-ish and poorly paced. That was ages ago though, and I think I'll re-watch it today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Woodfella Posted March 5, 2017 Miller's crossing No country Fargo Llewyn davis Burn after reading Serious man True grit Barton fink Big lebowski Raising arizona Man who wasn't there O brother Hudsucker Intolerable Cruelty Hail Caesar Ladykillers Ive grouped them. Not seen blood simple for yonks so left it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick R Posted March 5, 2017 You Llewyn Davis people are gonna be the death of me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLastBaron Posted March 6, 2017 Not going to do a list, but if I did O Brother would be first and Ladykillers would be last. Big Lebowski would be lower than most other peoples' lists here and Raising Arizona would be much higher. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted March 6, 2017 Like most people I imagine, my list is pretty arbitrary and probably subject to considerable change based on unknowable factors. But here's one attempt: Fargo A Serious Man The Big Lebowski Inside Llewyn Davis Blood Simple Miller's Crossing Barton Fink No Country For Old Men True Grit The Man Who Wasn't There O Brother, Where Art Thou? Raising Arizona Hail, Caesar! The Hudsucker Proxy Burn After Reading Intolerable Cruelty The bold ones at top are "my favorite Coen brothers movies," in roughly that order, and are movies I'd watch basically any time under any circumstance. The next five are grouped together as "my next favorite Coen brothers movies," fairly unranked. The italicized ones are also unranked, and are movies I really like but would probably have to be in the right mood to watch. Finally, there's Intolerable Cruelty, which I found very unmemorable. I haven't seen The Ladykillers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atlantic Posted March 6, 2017 I haven't seen all of the Coen brothers films but here's where I am so far: I like these: Miller's Crossing A Serious Man Fargo The Big Lebowski Barton Fink No Country For Old Men O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Man Who Wasn't There The Hudsucker Proxy I did not like these: Blood Simple Raising Arizona Burn After Reading Intolerable Cruelty Haven't seen: Hail, Caesar! Inside Llewyn Davis True Grit The Ladykillers I think I'm a bit different to other people in this thread in that I did not like those four in the middle group at all. I disliked most of the characters and their relationships. Those are also the more overt "comedy" films, and I saw them in the last few years and they feel very dated and kind of tacky and cheap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick R Posted March 6, 2017 On 3/6/2017 at 10:34 PM, Atlantic said: I haven't seen all of the Coen brothers films but here's where I am so far: I did not like these: Blood Simple Raising Arizona Burn After Reading Intolerable Cruelty I think I'm a bit different to other people in this thread in that I did not like those four in the middle group at all. I disliked most of the characters and their relationships. Those are also the more overt "comedy" films, and I saw them in the last few years and they feel very dated and kind of tacky and cheap. Do you really think of Blood Simple as a comedy film? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atlantic Posted March 6, 2017 On 3/6/2017 at 10:46 PM, Patrick R said: Do you really think of Blood Simple as a comedy film? Oh lol no. I rearranged the list after I wrote that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spenny Posted March 7, 2017 I've only seen about 1/3 of their body of work, and pretty well thoroughly enjoyed everyone I've seen. Can I ask though, what makes a Coen Bros. film a Coen Bros. film? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick R Posted March 7, 2017 I'm rather fond of this career overview of their work from the Dissolve. I have quibbles with which films the author thinks are best, but it sums up what makes their work unique better than I could. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TychoCelchuuu Posted March 7, 2017 On 3/7/2017 at 12:21 AM, Spenny said: I've only seen about 1/3 of their body of work, and pretty well thoroughly enjoyed everyone I've seen. Can I ask though, what makes a Coen Bros. film a Coen Bros. film? Written + directed by the Coen Bros. Reveal hidden contents Black humor, absurdism, downer endings, Jewishness, (Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Jon Polito, John Turturro or George Clooney), Roger Deakins,. Mix these components together in various degrees and you get a Coen Bros. film. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted March 7, 2017 I can't believe anyone likes A Serious Man. It's so bad. For someone who would call himself a fan, I actually think the Coens actually have a good handful of bad unwatchable movies. But I haven't seen recent output so I'll go over from best to worst on what I have seen/own. I'll throw in undirected movies with scripts by either just because I can't follow the rules: Raising Arizona Miller's Crossing No Country for Old Men Fargo The Hudsucker Proxy The Big Lebowski Bad Santa (If this at all counts!) True Grit O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Ladykillers The Man Who Wasn't There Barton Fink Paris, je t'aime short Unbroken Gambit Burn After Reading Inside Llewyn Davis Intolerable Cruelty Blood Simple Crimewave A Serious Man I actually didn't realize I liked Miller's Crossing that much until ranking these. Raising Arizona is what got me into the Coen Brothers movies in the first place so maybe it's just the nostalgia pushing it up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
feelthedarkness Posted March 7, 2017 truthfully, it's been a long time but I'm surprised everyone has Raising Arizona so low! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
preston Posted March 7, 2017 The thought of ranking 17 titles makes me nauseous. I have a deep appreciation for their adaptation of No Country--though Raising Arizona is one of those rare films for me that if I see it on a TV I'm immediately pulled in by it's folksy tractor beam. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick R Posted March 7, 2017 Raising Arizona is an awesome looking movie and I respect that there's nothing like it, but I just am not on it's wavelength at all, and if you don't find it funny there are stretches of it that are interminable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marginalgloss Posted March 7, 2017 I tried to draw up my own list of Coen movies before coming to the conclusion that I just can't do it, even without numbers. I like all of them too much. (In fact, I was surprised to find that I have seen all of their movies, except for for The Man Who Wasn't There.) All the same, if you put a gun to my head, at the top would probably be Barton Fink. I feel a little ashamed to admit that - it seems so much like the most obviously outlandish, film school buff, dorm room poster choice. But I can't get away from it. Miller's Crossing and Inside Llewyn Davis would vie for second place, perhaps. Beyond that I can't see. I'm fascinated by the fact that movies like Hail! Caesar and Burn After Reading seem to mean very different things to different people. Both of those received a very mixed critical reception; I both, though they seem so far removed from the likes of Fargo and True Grit and No Country that I just find it impossible to compare them. Burn After Reading in particular always seemed to me like a highly prescient look at Bush-era stupidity; it now feels sharper and colder than ever, now that we're all so concerned with the security...of our shit. I would probably put O Brother, Where Art Thou? as the only significant work at the bottom of my list-which-is-not-a-list. It's not a bad movie, not by a long stretch; it does a lot of interesting things, but it's still my least favourite. I just don't think it's for me. (I also really don't like the cinematography, which makes it the only Coen bros movie for which I could possibly have this complaint.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick R Posted March 7, 2017 On 3/7/2017 at 4:46 PM, marginalgloss said: I'm fascinated by the fact that movies like Hail! Caesar and Burn After Reading seem to mean very different things to different people. Both of those received a very mixed critical reception; I both, though they seem so far removed from the likes of Fargo and True Grit and No Country that I just find it impossible to compare them. Burn After Reading in particular always seemed to me like a highly prescient look at Bush-era stupidity; it now feels sharper and colder than ever, now that we're all so concerned with the security...of our shit. Yeah, Burn After Reading is definitely in my top 5 favorite comedies of the century thus far. I remember seeing it in the theater, being the only one cackling like a jackass throughout the entire thing. Must have been what it was like to "get" Lebowski early, though Burn After Reading lacks the warmth and lifestyle fantasy to ever become a cult favorite the way that movie is. And that ending is so fucking incredible. Feels like the exact opposite of A Serious Man's, in a way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elvaq Posted March 10, 2017 Barton Fink Fargo Miller's Crossing A Serious Man The Big Lebowski Raising Arizona No Country for Old Men O Brother, Where Art Thou? Hail, Caesar! Blood Simple Inside Llewyn Davis The Hudsucker Proxy Burn After Reading The Man Who Wasn't There The Ladykillers Intolerable Cruelty True Grit The only ones I didn't totally love are the last 4. I probably need to re-see True Grit and Man Who Wasn't There to reassess them, mind! I should also say that A Serious Man often takes the #1 spot for about 6 weeks after I watch it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
