Coen Brothers Best film.

[Smokey]

The pair (Joel and Ethan Coen) might be different from Hollywood filmmakers by the fact that they maintain total control over their vision from script to screen. But it seem they may have lost some of their edgy and coorkiness that are more pronounce in their earlier work.

My vote probably would have gone to Raising Arizona. But after watching it this weekend, I wasn’t as awe struck as I was watching it few years ago. So I am on the fence on Raising Arizona as their best.

http://www.cojeco.cz/attach/image/max/84/c31d/84c31d837ceeed1c5262ef3ca3334317.jpg

[Troy]

I like every one of those movies and am looking forward to that new one. Some definitely more than others, but still, each one has it's merits. Even "Intolerable Cruelty" which didn't even make the list. I'd rather watch that than 9 out of 10 other movies. "Ladykillers" too. I liked it, it made me laugh, and yes, I think it's much better than the dated and stiff British original.

Big Lebowski? Raising AZ? Fargo? It's a toss up for me.

Least favorite: "O Brother Where Art Thou." Hated the music. Don't care about the whole Homeric slant; felt forced. I need to see it again.

Most under-rated: "The Man Who Wasn't There." B&W film noir love-letter. A young Scarlett Johansen as the Lolita. Did anyone actually see this in a theater? It came and went at the local arthouse in a week. No major metroplex theater release around here.

These guys are the best. Probably the best run of movies in the last 25 years.

[noddin0ff]

The trailer for No Country looks pretty good!
http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2007/06/first_look_no_c.html

"If I don't come back, tell my mother I love her."

"Your mother's dead..."

"Well then, I'll have to tell her myself."

[Gerald Cooperberg]

I really, really like their early work with Barry Sonnenfeld (Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing), but I agree with Troy that they haven't really hit a sour note throughout their careers. I'm casting my vote for Barton Fink just to show it a little love, since I think it's probably one of their lesser-seen films (like The Hudsucker Proxy, which didn't even make the list)... very claustrophobic, creepy, evocative... and with career performances from Turturro and Goodman (especially Goodman... what an ending). I've fallen behind in the last few years and never ended up seeing The Ladykillers or Intolerable Cruelty, but I'm still pretty excited for No Country. Anyone know when it gets wide release?

-Coop

[Troy]

I've fallen behind in the last few years and never ended up seeing The Ladykillers or Intolerable Cruelty

-Coop

Put 'em in your queue, you probably won't be disappointed.

"You know, for kids . . ."

[ForeverAutumn]

Put 'em in your queue, you probably won't be disappointed.

"You know, for kids . . ."

Hudsucker Proxy would get my vote. I love that movie! Hubby and I quote, "You know, for kids..." all the time. A classic.

But of the list, I'd have to go with Raising Arizona. The combination of the Coen Brothers and Nicolas Cage back when he was quirky and fun to watch just can't be beat IMO. Although I also enjoy The Big Lebowski everytime I see it.

[Gerald Cooperberg]

Put 'em in your queue, you probably won't be disappointed.

Ha! No queue here, but I will look for 'em next time I'm at the neighborhood video store. ;-)

-Coop

[Smokey]

Thanks for comments. Like Gerald, haven’t seen their latest The Ladykillers or Intolerable Cruelty also. Will put them in my queue :)

I am surprise that nobody have voted for Fargo as it seem to be on most review’s favorite list. And after watching Big Lebowski last night, I might be leaning toward Fargo as their best also.

Although BL have an interesting dialog, but found story and direction not be as “tight” as Fargo. And O Brother Where Art Thou...well.... was just different

[jim goulding]

These bros are the most original and unique guys in the US. Raising Arizona showed me how funny a camera angle could be. They gave it a life of it's own. They're at their best doing their own stuff. Intolerable Cruelty and Lady Killers were a waste of their and our time. Miller's Crossing was note perfect. None of the characters in Blood Simple knew what the f --- was going on. Where do these guys get that Genius? For the music, too, particularly Fargo and Miller's Crossing. "Well, I think it's down there somewhere, how about I take another look" says the Dude. Cracked me up right off. And John Tuturro's brief characterzation is priceless. These guys do plot, humor, and character invention like nobody. Static and concise as in Miller's Crossing and loose as a goose as in Lebowski. I'm not a big fan of John Goodman, however, altho the bros obviously are. I liked him in Oh Brother, but he is too often over the top. He presented the only shrill moment in an otherwise perfect Arizona. "Hell, I don't know . . they had Yodas on em and ****" Nathan Arizona. "Well, which is it young feller, you want we should freeze or get down?". "Mississippi fifty one, Mississippi fifty two. Oh, bull****! Mississippi fifty three . ." Arizona, and again, with perfect music. I'll go for Arizona in a marathon of great work.

[Feanor]

The pair (Joel and Ethan Coen) might be different from Hollywood filmmakers by the fact that they maintain total control over their vision from script to screen. But it seem they may have lost some of their edgy and coorkiness that are more pronounce in their earlier work.

My vote probably would have gone to Raising Arizona. But after watching it this weekend, I wasn’t as awe struck as I was watching it few years ago. So I am on the fence on Raising Arizona as their best.



Hummm ... 10 films? My pole question is, "How many people have seen then all?".

I've seen two: Fargo, (good flick if brutal to watch), and Oh Brother, Where art thou? (good flick and fun to watch). The fascinating thing is how different they are from each other which makes it a lot harder to choose. I don't know about the others.

[PeruvianSkies]

I am not a fan of a few of them and I am a huge fan of the others...

I never cared much for RAISING ARIZONA, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, or the absolute worthless remake THE LADYKILLERS. However, MILLERS CROSSING, BARTON FINK, FARGO, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE rank up there as some of my all time favorite films.

[Troy]

I've seen them all.

You should too.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Geez Smokey, you closed the poll before I could vote! :incazzato:

The Big Lebowski would get my vote for #1, then O Brother mainly because at the time I saw it I was into Blue Grass music, and then Fargo (first movie I DVR'ed).

To me, the role Jeff Bridges played in BL was perfect for him. It seemed like his character was always in the wrong place at the wrong time, always getting f***'ed over, and he did a good job of conveying that *why me* attitude. John Goodman was the perfect Vietnam vet, and that was the first time I'd seen Steve Buscemi in any movie. It's the kind of movie you watch when you have the guys over for a night of poker, pool shooting and beer drinking. :thumbsup:

[PeruvianSkies]

I love this film, but I don't think very many people actually 'get' the film. It's not a film about bowling, it's not a film about a kidnapped wife, nor is it a film about 3 buddies. Rather the entire film is a commentary on masculinity and the male penis.

This film is not about the context, but rather the subcontext of the film and the Coen's really layer this film well with loads of subtleties. First, the title: The "BIG" Lebowski and also notice that the film has many references to male dominance and the male genitalia.

Check out this more thorough review if you don't believe me....


http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/Reviews/bigl.htm

[Troy]

Ay carumba. The Big Lebowski is about the male penis? You need to find a different review site, Peru.

It's an homage to Raymond Chandler Detective stories with smaller nods to westerns and even Busby Berkeley musicals. All set in a modern LA context. Yeah, there's a lot of comedick references to penis removal, but that is SO not "what the movie is about."

Learn about this movie and it's enormous subcultural impacts:

Interview with the Coens specifically about this movie (http://www.coenbrothers.net/interviewlebow.html)

Lebowskifest- real events taking place on 2 continents. (http://lebowskifest.com/default.asp?) I know a guy who went to one of these as a press photog. It is for real.

Dudeism- a religion based on the Later Day Dude. (http://www.dudeism.com/)

The dude abides.

[Rich-n-Texas]

It's in my Blockbuster queue. I can't WAIT 'til it arrives.

Hey Troy, how's the 8 track workin? Let me know if you need more match packs...

[noddin0ff]

I always figured it was an experiment in anti-noir. Instead of gritty, hard boiled, cold-logic noir you get colorful, soft-n-goofy, drug-addled thinking from the dude--he solves the mystery during his dream sequences. Instead of the sultry blonde you get the clinical cold let's get it on so we can conceive femme. "You mean coitus?"

But, it's no more about the penis than it is about interior decorating. "That rug really tied the room together."

Since the Coens are so blatently obviously taken with film noir--Blood Simple, Fargo, The Man Who Wasn't There--I think it's pretty impossible not to see how they took the noir genre and bent it as far as humanly possible with Lebowski.

2 cents

edit: oh, I didn't get the Raymond Chandler reference until I just googled it. I guess Troy kinda made this point already...

[PeruvianSkies]

First off...Noir is a genre not 'what a movie is about' and I am not disagreeing that the film has those elements, but my original point was that this film is more about the subtext of the film rather than what is being said or heard in the film, but rather the underlying and reoccurring themes throughout.

Personally I don't like to listen to filmmakers tell me what their film is about, if they have to tell me what it's about then what is the point? A film should make you think for yourself, but I do appreciate Troy's encouragement for me to 'learn' about this movie as if it's a class offered at the local college: Lebowski 101 - Introduction to Dudism. Thanks for the tip, but I think I'll use my own brain and come to my own conclusions about what a film is about or how it makes me feel. I gave a link to a review that I feel really nails down the interesting background with which the film is set and also gives examples of some of the motifs created in the film.

Maybe for some people they prefer to just have the answer printed out as far as what the movie is about, maybe they can install a computer at the end of the film that prints out little sheets of paper explaining what you just saw and what it 'really' means. I simply offered my perspective on the film based on my observations of watching this film dozens of times over the past 9 years and also being familiar with the Coen's career.

[Troy]

Wait a sec Peru, its' ok for YOU to visit a review site to help you get a handle on what a movie is about, but if I reference one you accuse me of being lazy and not thinking for myself?

Seriously bud, you gotta do better than that.

Rich, it won't fully sink in until the 3rd viewing.

http://www.designshed.com/art/8track.jpg

[ForeverAutumn]

I love this film, but I don't think very many people actually 'get' the film. It's not a film about bowling, it's not a film about a kidnapped wife, nor is it a film about 3 buddies. Rather the entire film is a commentary on masculinity and the male penis.

That's why it never made sense to me. I kept comparing it to the female penis. But it's about the male penis. Oh, I totally get it now. Thanks PS.

[noddin0ff]

Um, I don't think I said it was 'about' noir. I think it took the noir genre, made a film noir-like film but inverted all the noir conventions. The film was about a rug. I thought that was obvious. ;-)

The whole penis thing was simply, IMO, the Coens quirky affinity for language usage. Different people 'sanitize' the word differently. As a plot device the connections between people were made through language usage . 'Johnson helped' Dude connect the Nihilists to Julianne Moores associates among other things. It wasn't about penis's (peni?) but references to them were a plot device to both muddle and connect the elements together.

[Rich-n-Texas]

That's why it never made sense to me. I kept comparing it to the female penis. But it's about the male penis. Oh, I totally get it now. Thanks PS.

Now I see why I failed sex education in high school, and thus, can't get dates. :biggrin5:

Troy, I've looked at that assembly drawing 5 times now and I can't see any engineering design flaws that would lead to track changing problems, but here's my theory: Because DSOTM is so "tightly wrapped around your DNA" (mine too, no joke), the machine IS changing tracks but your brain blocks out that unmistakable ker-chunk sound. However, I'm more experienced with car and table-top 8 track players so there could be acoustic differences that I'm not aware of.

Getting back to the movie... Like I said, I think the actors portayed their characters perfectly. The dude was a hard luck slob, Walter was the perfect jerk, and Donny was well, Donny. I'll leave the slicin-n-dicin, the hidden agenda and subtleties to the real film critics...

[Rich-n-Texas]

Can we try to work vagina into this conversation? I'm really not comfortable with all this penis talk.