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Movie Director Rankings: The Coen Brothers (1 Viewer)

What score do you give the Coen Brothers?

  • Total voters
    68
KarmaPolice

KarmaPolice

Footballguy
Gotten a few requests for them, so here we go.

Filmography:

Inside Llewyn Davis

2010 True Grit
2009 A Serious Man
2008 Burn After Reading
2007 No Country for Old Men
2004 The Ladykillers
2003 Intolerable Cruelty
2001 The Man Who Wasn't There
2000 O Brother, Where Art Thou?
1998 The Big Lebowski
1996 Fargo
1994 The Hudsucker Proxy
1991 Barton Fink
1990 Miller's Crossing
1987 Raising Arizona
1984 Blood Simple.

1. What are your top 5 Coen Brothers movies?

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?

4. What do you think they do well, what do they not do well?

5. What rating did you give them, and why?

 
1. NCFoM (my favorite movie)

2. Lebowski (in my top 3 or 4 all time)

3. Intolerable Cruelty

4. Blood Simply

5. Miller's Crossing

6. Inside Llewyn Davis

Seen all but A Serious Man and Hudsucker Proxy.

 
1- Lebowski

2 - Fargo

3 No Country

4 Raising Arizona

5 Millers Crossing

I think they do quirky better than serious, but I'd put them squarely in my top 5 and gave them a 9 overall.

 
1. What are your top 5 Coen Brothers movies?

Lebowski

Hudsucker

O Brother

Raising Arizona

Ladykillers

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

9

3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?

The Ladykillers seems to get zero love.

4. What do you think they do well, what do they not do well?

My favorite aspect of their movies is dialogue. Can't quite put my finger on it but I know it when I hear it. I also look forward to at least one reverse tracking shot per movie.

The only 'complaint' I have about their movies is also what I like about Lebowski: It's great and all that they can turn a traditional style/story on its head that trying to see what they were going after becomes a distraction.

5. What rating did you give them, and why?

I gave Tim Burton a 9 based not on his standing against other directors but on what I thought of his work in and of itself; likewise, I'm rating the Coens in the same vein. I think they're better at what they do than Burton is at what he does, so I give them a 9.5. I don't love everything that they do but I'm more than confident they're going to consistently deliver the goods.

 
My Top 5 would be:

No Country

Fargo

Blood Simple

Lebowski

Miller's Crossing

2. I have seen all but 3: Hudsucker, Inside Llewyn Davis, A Serious Man

3. I guess maybe I would have to see lists here, but I think that Blood Simple gets overlooked. I think that is one of the better debut films I can think of from our era of filmmakers. Overrated, I would say O Brother.

4. When I think of them, I think about how beautiful their films look. Cinematography is great. Opening scene of No Country, snow scenes in Fargo, etc.. just breathtaking. Seem to get the best from their actors too.

5. VERY hard for me to rank them. They fall into the Scorsese camp for me in that I LOVE a few of their movies, but others I can't stand. I think their lows are lower than Scorsese. Offhand, I think O Brother and Ladykillers are two of my least favorite movie watching experiences. Not as much as with Wes Anderson, but I just don't "get" their comedy for the most part. Still have all the talent in the world, and I still gravitate towards their movies because I love the way they look. I ended up giving them an 8.

 
Charlie Steiner said:
1. What are your top 5 Coen Brothers movies?

Lebowski

Hudsucker

O Brother

Raising Arizona

Ladykillers

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

9

3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?

The Ladykillers seems to get zero love.

4. What do you think they do well, what do they not do well?

My favorite aspect of their movies is dialogue. Can't quite put my finger on it but I know it when I hear it. I also look forward to at least one reverse tracking shot per movie.

The only 'complaint' I have about their movies is also what I like about Lebowski: It's great and all that they can turn a traditional style/story on its head that trying to see what they were going after becomes a distraction.

5. What rating did you give them, and why?

I gave Tim Burton a 9 based not on his standing against other directors but on what I thought of his work in and of itself; likewise, I'm rating the Coens in the same vein. I think they're better at what they do than Burton is at what he does, so I give them a 9.5. I don't love everything that they do but I'm more than confident they're going to consistently deliver the goods.
Click to expand...
:thumbup:

 
10

Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing

See my sig.

 
those first three movies... what a start. fell off a bit with hudsucker and fink (IMO) but then rebounded hugely with the next two.

Seems to be their thing- some amazing movies mixed in with some misses.

that said- their misses are misses from the point of view of people exploring and trying things out in their craft... which I love; they don't sit back and crank out the same, albeit high quality, movies over and over. the seem to look to challenge themselves, and as a result the movie-goer.

I haven't seen the following:

Inside Llewyn Davis

2009 A Serious Man
2004 The Ladykillers
2003 Intolerable Cruelty

My favorites (I'm partial to Arizona at the top of this list):
2007 No Country for Old Men
1998 The Big Lebowski
1996 Fargo
1990 Miller's Crossing
1987 Raising Arizona
1984 Blood Simple.

eta: gave them a 9.


 
Last edited by a moderator:
1) Lebowski

NCFOM

Fargo

Hudsucker

Miller's Crossing

2) Every movie multiple times, except for True Grit, which I figured I would skip as a remake

3) Barton Fink, A Serious Man, Blood Simple, and The Hudsucker Proxy are all underrated, IMO

4) I love that they're able to take a movie genre, send it up, yet also respect it and make something fresh and often whimsical with it (even their dark, foreboding stuff has a black humor to it). I love their synthesis at times, e.g., the cynicism of Intolerable Cruelty set against the backdrop of their own admitted simple and Hollywood-esque desire to want to be the best wardrobe guys for Catherine Zeta-Jones. I guess, in a shorter version, a non-annoying meta-historical cinema tendency that works rather well.

5) I gave them a ten, because there's nobody whose movies I've enjoyed more in the past twenty years.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top 5:

Fargo

Raising Arizona

No Country

Miller's Crossing

Big Lebowski

I didn't like O Brother very much. But I have an absolute hate for A Serious Man, which is one of the worst films in the last 5 years.

Fargo is a near perfect film. I never get tired of it.

 
Absolutely love Miller's Crossing, scenes were made in my neighborhood as well as other areas around New Orleans. But I just love the movie for the screenplay, the dialogue, the symbolism, the actors, awesome.

 
Still not sure how they can put out brilliant films like NCFOM, Fargo, and Miller's Crossing while also honking out gigantic turds like Big Lebowski, Lady Killers, and A Serious Man.

 
1. Fargo, Miller's Crossing, No Country for Old Men, O Brother Where Art Thou, Blood Simple.

2.

2010 True Grit
2009 A Serious Man
2008 Burn After Reading
2007 No Country for Old Men
2001 The Man Who Wasn't There
2000 O Brother, Where Art Thou?
1998 The Big Lebowski
1996 Fargo
1994 The Hudsucker Proxy
1990 Miller's Crossing
1987 Raising Arizona
1984 Blood Simple.

so 12.

3. I won't say overrated, just different taste, but I didn't care much for Raising Arizona, and The Big Lebowski kept my interest for one viewing but that's it. On the flip side, The Man Who Wasn't There was great filmmaking that I feel is underappreciated.

4. They don't lock themselves into a certain genre or style. That causes a great amount of debate as to which is their top film, which is to their credit.

5. I gave them a 9, after serious consideration as a 10. Fargo is in my Top 5 all-time, others in my Top 100. Just a bit too inconsistent to be a 10. If I hadn't seen Burn After Reading (which isn't bad but nowhere near elite level), this might be a 10. At the same time, lots of respect for putting a lot of different material, even if not everything hits the mark for everyone.

 
10. Seen them all.

Top 5:

1. Miller's Crossing

2. Fargo

3. Big Lebowski

4. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

5. No Country for Old Men

Love their cinematography and writing. Their use of music (even in the non-music movies) is great too and always fits the movie ("Danny Boy" in Miller's Crossing, for example). Carter Burwell's scores are also pretty memorable.

Underrated, I guess I'd go for "The Man Who Wasn't There," mostly because that and Ghost World made me aware of Scarlett Johansson.

 
KarmaPolice said:
1. What are your top 5 Coen Brothers movies?

In order:

Fargo

O, Brother

No Country

Raising Arizona

Blood Simple

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

all the ones listed all but The Ladykillers and the Man Who Wasn't There. Guess I need to see those.

3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?

I liked a Serious Man better than a lot of people.

I remember leaving the theater after seeing LLewyn Davis and thinking how I didn't like it. I ended up thinking about that movie a lot for the next week. Soon enough, I was telling people that I liked it and was recommending it. Their movies stick with you more than most.

4. What do you think they do well, what do they not do well?

See #3.

5. What rating did you give them, and why?

9 - I think a lot of people (including myself) will see a movie by the Coen Brothers regardless of anything else.

Plus I like to chant "Barton Fink! Barton Fink" Sneaking into an R-Rated Movie
Click to expand...
 
NCfOM

True Grit

Blood Simple

Millers Crossing

Fargo

9

I'm apparently in the vast minority that cannot see the genius in Lebowski, O Brother, and Arizona.

I love the quirky characters (when they don't become absolute caricatures), their dialogue, and the unique story arcs.

8. Close to a 9. If they come out with something I'm going to give it heavy consideration.

 
KarmaPolice said:
So if we had a Scorsese/Coen Brothers death match, it looks like it would be a good battle on this board.
Click to expand...
Yup. Scorsese has a much larger portfolio, with many solid movies, (and very few dogs), and yet only two or three of his movies can compete with the top half of the Coen Bros efforts.

 
I saw Lebowski in the movie theater as high as I've ever been in my life. At the time, I was incapable of processing colors, let alone that movie; I walked out with my less high friends who were in heaven, and I had no idea what had just happened. But somehow in viewings since, it maintained that *void* state for me and I've never gotten that into it, in spite of laughing at individual moments. Raising Arizona, otoh, struck a nerve from the git-go. see sig.

 
1. What are your top 5 Coen Brothers movies?

1. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

2. The Big Lebowski

3. Raising Arizona

4. Fargo

5a. Inside Llewyn Davis

5b. A Serious Man

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

15

3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?

No Country For Old Men is overrated.

4. What do you think they do well, what do they not do well?

Best at characterization.

5. What rating did you give them, and why?

10.

O Brother is in my top 5 favorite movies. One of the few movies I never get tired of watching.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1990 [/SIZE]Miller's Crossing

[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1987 [/SIZE]Raising Arizona
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]2007 [/SIZE]No Country for Old Men
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1998 [/SIZE]The Big Lebowski
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1996 [/SIZE]Fargo
--------------------------------------------
2010 True Grit
2008 Burn After Reading
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1984 [/SIZE]Blood Simple
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1. What are your top 8 Coen Brothers movies? [/SIZE]

See above

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

Ten. (O'Brother and Barton Fink)

[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?[/SIZE]

Burn After Reading was good but slipped under the radar. Blood Simple gets lost because it was their first I think. I liked Fargo but not as much as most people seem to.

[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]5. What rating did you give them, and why?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]10 -- two of my all-time favorites and another half-dozen really good movies.[/SIZE]

 
Last edited by a moderator:
wdcrob said:
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1990 [/SIZE]Miller's Crossing

[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1987 [/SIZE]Raising Arizona
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]2007 [/SIZE]No Country for Old Men
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1998 [/SIZE]The Big Lebowski
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1996 [/SIZE]Fargo
2010 True Grit
2008 Burn After Reading
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1984 [/SIZE]Blood Simple
[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]1. What are your top 8 Coen Brothers movies? [/SIZE]

See above

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

Ten. (O'Brother and Barton Fink)

[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?[/SIZE]

Burn After Reading was good but slipped under the radar. Blood Simple gets lost because it was their first I think. I liked Fargo but not as much as most people seem to.

[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]5. What rating did you give them, and why?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.2857141494751px]10 -- two of my all-time favorites and another half-dozen really good movies.[/SIZE]
Click to expand...
hmm... I remember thinking Burn after Reading was actually terrible- not just meh- but terrible. it's interesting to see a positive take on it in here- can you expand?

 
btw... I was tempted to add "A Simple Plan" to my list. It's actually Sam Raimi, but he definitely made copied delivered one of the ten best Coen Brothers films.

 
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BroadwayG said:
Loved O Brother. Everything else ranks from Meh to Awful. 3.
Click to expand...
what are some of your other favorite movies? trying to get a sense of what you like, since you don't like coen bros.

what is it about the the other coen movies that you don't like?

 
KarmaPolice said:
2010 True Grit
2008 Burn After Reading2007 No Country for Old Men
2004 The Ladykillers
2001 The Man Who Wasn't There2000 O Brother, Where Art Thou?
1998 The Big Lebowski
1996 Fargo
1994 The Hudsucker Proxy
1991 Barton Fink
1990 Miller's Crossing
1987 Raising Arizona
1984 Blood Simple.

1. What are your top 5 Coen Brothers movies?

In order - Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, No Country and Blood Simple.

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

See above.

3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?

Raising Arizona is in my top 10 films maybe. It's among the very best comedies of all time and yet it is still underrated. Overrated? Lebowski. It seems incredibly indulgent even for directors that are known as being a little self-satisfied.

4. What do you think they do well, what do they not do well?

Pacing is generally a strength of theirs. The movies generally "move" and when it doesn't then you know it's not good. On the other end of the spectrum, as I mentioned before, they can be a little over indulgent and smug with scenes constructed just because they can.

5. What rating did you give them, and why?

I gave them a 7. They are among the best but their output has been incredibly uneven, especially in recent years.
Click to expand...
 
Still think Blood Simple is the best of the bunch.

Top-4:

Blood Simple

Fargo

Millers Crossing

O Brother

Lot of clunkers:

Intolerable Cruelty

Man Who Wasn't There

Ladykillers

Burn After Reading

Serious Man

Thought True Grit was better than the original.

Liked No Country but hated the ending.

No idea how Lebowski has gained such a cult following.

 
1. What are your top 5 Coen Brothers movies?

In order: Big Lebowski (my favorite movie), Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Miller's Crossing, O Brother

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

All of them.

3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?

Appreciate all of them. Have no interest in watching A Serious Man again but could appreciate what they were doing. Ladykillers is not their best but still underrated.

4. What do you think they do well, what do they not do well?

They are great at creating memorable characters.

5. What rating did you give them, and why? 10

 
1. What are your top 5 Coen Brothers movies?

2007 No Country for Old Men
2010 True Grit
1996 Fargo
2003 Intolerable Cruelty
1984 Blood Simple.

2. How many of their movies have you seen?

14

3. Anything you see that's overrated/underrated?

Intolerable Cruelty in my top 5. Not a big fan of Raising Arizona

4. What do you think they do well, what do they not do well?

great dialog, The coin toss call in NcFoM is just perfect.

5. What rating did you give them, and why?

9. # of my favorite movies of all time and they are all rewatchable.

 
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