ok here we go. now i'm not asking for the funniest or the most beautiful, or the most twisted, just if you had to rate them as a whole, what order would you put them in. I'm at work right now so I can't give a detailed analysis of my picks but I will defend them later.

I gotta go with Millers Crossing as the best all around. If you look at it from a few steps back, I really think it is their most thought-out, mature, and deepest work. There are so many levels to analyze and so much going on but they manage to keep it all organized and well pace throughout. Each character is perfectly cast and there isn't a single wasted shot.

Second is almost a tossup between Lebowski and The Man who wasn't There but I'll go with Lebowski. Hilarious and timeless, it will be enjoyed by generations to come. Again, perfect casting.

Man who wasn't There. georgeous. I had to deconstruct this against the traits of the noir genre and while watching and writing I really realized how much societal commentary (not political commentary) there was in the coen brothers films, especially this one. Yet they are brilliantly subtle about it. There is a lot more going on in this film that I could go on and on about.

Raising Arizona. I didn't know what the hoopla was about the first time I saw it. I think it took me seeing Lebowskit before i "got" the humor. Now i never get sick of it. Not really deep but its so funny it makes up for it. Goodman steals the picture in my opinion. Nic Cage's best film. Holly Hunter is a bit over the top but is ok most of the time.

I'll go with Fargo here. honestly i've only seen it once so i don't have a lot of analytical mumbo jumbo to say about it, other than the obvious.

Barton Fink. I though this was creepy and nothing more than something the brothers wrote out of frustration the first time i saw it. but on subsequent viewings i picked up a bit more, notably the the contrast in fink's literary humanity and his curt/elitist way of interacting with surrounding characters. Well, I guess this one does have a lot of entertainment business political commentary in it.

Oh Brother. only seen it once. thought it was ok. not really thought out.

Blood Simple. I'll put this as a tie with oh Brother. Its thought out, just too thought out. I think its a bit over-directed. There is a sort of stiffness in the characters' delivery, and when coupled with the deliberate pace it just comes off as a film that could have been a bit more judiciously edited. Christ this movie is slow! And yes I thought that before i heard about the brothers new cut. Don't get me wrong its still one of the best movies of the 80's, and really gave low budget/indie filmmaking a small kick, but you gotta admit it has all the traits of a director/writer's first feature.

Ok I admit Hudsucker is my least favorite. I forgot about this one (and it is forgettable) when i was discussing blood simple on the other thread. I think its too over the top. First its a story that we've heard a million times, and they try to find unique characters to compensate for this but they still end up coming off as cartoons. I wouldn't have cast robbins for that part. Which leads to another debate, who would you have cast for that part aside from tim robbins. he just never seems to be at home in that role. Leigh is brilliant but annoying...and eventually the whole movie ends up like that, in my opinion.

I'm at work i gotta go....what am i forgetting??

(Edited by roadie at 7:45 pm on Aug. 4, 2003)

Obviously as I stated in the other thread my fav is Blood Simple. It is the pacing, the delivery, everything about the film just does it for me. It was the first movie I watched that left me with the distinct impression that I had to make movies for a living.

I would put Miller's Crossing as my second. Utterly beautiful film and great acting. Definitely a lot of depth in the story department. Barry Sonnenfeld's best work as a DP (and quite frankly he's never lived up to his potential ever since, especially as a director). I will forever remember the opening title sequence of the slow camera move pointed up at the creeking trees and the hat.

I really never can rank the films from there. I would put Barton Fink and Fargo somewhere at the top of the next batch. I do love Raising Arizona and Lebowski for about the same reasons -- I just love listening to those films. The dialogue is incredible.

And as cliched as it is, I have to put Hudsucker Proxy at the bottom of the list (it is routinely ranked at the bottom in the lists I've seen). Like Roadie feels about Blood Simple I suppose, Proxy is a good film, it just doesn't do it for me and isn't as satisfying as the others.

I haven't been as wild about their last two movies, but I think this is more due to having only seen O Brother and The Man Who Wasn't There only once each. Like every Coen Bros. film, you have to give them multiple viewings so I reserve judgement.

I do like what I see in the trailer to the newest Coen Bros. film. Head over to apple.com and check it out if you haven't already.

Brian i added my analysis of hudsucker and arizona. i'm at work so i have to come and go a lot and i have a lot of other things on my mind. another thing about hudsucker, there is a lot of political commentary but it never really resonates...have you noticed that?

Your point about having to see their films several times is spot on. Perhaps I need to see Fargo a few more times. I think the hype may have kinda spoiled it for me on that one though. the "acquired taste" is more true for the coens than any other filmmakers i can think of (maybe bergman). Thats cool that your inspiration was blood simple. How old were you when you first saw it? I can see how it was influential cause it was in my opinion it was completely different from everything else being made at the time.

It's odd that Miller's Crossing got 0 votes back when we did this before.

I still say that the Lebowski is my favorite. But then again, I haven't seen Miller's Crossing, Blood Simple, or the Hudsucker one. I guess I need to see them, because I've loved every other Coen brothers film I've seen, including O Brother.

asshole. you know as i was doing this it was in the back of my mind that this had probably been discussed before. So its a year later and there's new people around. Let's hear the opinions, and if anyone's opinions have changed.

And you need to see miller's crossing tonight.

I do notice the political commentary attempts in Proxy. A lot of the movie does fall flat but a lot of people seem to like it out of the whole "I don't get why people hate this film, I love it" attitude. The film just doesn't work as well as their others.

And you're right about Barton Fink. From everything I've read it was written out of frustration of severe writer's block that ocurred while writing Miller's Crossing.

I too wasn't blown away by Fargo. I remember seeing Siskel and Ebert and how they just loved it. It was instantly one of Ebert's best films of all time. So I went in with this in mind and already a HUGE Coen fan and I just didn't know what I thought. In time it's grown to be a film I really like, but still can't quite say it deserved all the credit it got. Though Francis McDormand sure deserved that award.

And lastly I first saw Blood Simple at 20 and it came right as I switched from being an engineer major to communications. So it came at the right time. Plus my uncle was at the University of Texas in the 80s when the Coens came along looking for help to produce the trailer for Blood Simple (which wound up as the opening you see with the voice over). So I had always heard this story over the years.

As a very special public service announcement I'd like to point out that Amazon.com is selling both Barton Fink and Miller's Crossing (but new to DVD) for under 30 bucks with free shipping.

A lot of these I've only seen once, and a couple I partially slept through, but my rankings would be:

1) Lebowksi
2) Man Who Wasn't There- ditto roadie's comments
3) Raising Arizona
4) Blood Simple
5) O Brother
6) (tie) Hudsucker Proxy- I'm one of the ones who liked it
6) (tie) Fargo
7) Miller's Crossing- slept through this
8) Barton Fink- also slept through this.

This is a good topic- it will inspire me to watch #7 & 8 again and stay awake when my husband inevitably purchases them. Maybe my rankings will change then.

When I brought this up a year ago, this was my list:

1 - Barton Fink
2 - Miller's Crossing
3 - The Man Who Wasn't There
4 - O Brother Where Art Thou
5 - The Hudsucker Proxy
6 - The Big Lebowski
7 - Fargo
8 - Blood Simple
9 - Raising Arizona

but now I'd have to say I'm feeling more like this nowadays:

1 - Miller's Crossing
2 - Barton Fink
3 - The Man Who Wasn't There
4 - O Brother Where Art Thou?
5 - The Hudsucker Proxy
6 - The Big Lebowski
7 - Blood Simple
8 - Fargo
9 - Raising Arizona

which isn't so much of a change, but certainly indicates that my feelings haven't settles yet.

I've been watching these films more than usually lately because I may be teaching a class on them in the spring (!). So my one-line comment for each film would be:

Blood Simple: Brilliant way of turning Cain on his ear and telling a damned compelling story at the same time. The only film I've had to watch multiple times to "get" or enjoy, and still gets better each time I see it. That last scene is simply breathtaking cinema.

Raising Arizona: I like this. I love the film. But there just isn't enough there for me... no playing with form or genre, less stylistic excitement... just more bland than their other work. Some of the funniest moments of their careers, but just weaker than the rest of the chain.

Miller's Crossing: The grand-daddy of great Coen work, their most indispensible film. Of it I've always said that there isn't a scene or a line that doesn't move the plot forward, and I agree with roadie that the same could be said for shots too. So tightly thought out, and brilliant. The single scene with Buscemi is the crux of it all, and from that point onward, its just the beaty of watching the tightly-wound spring unravel. Polito's performance as Caspar makes him my favorite of the repeat Coen actors.

Barton Fink: Deep. Enriching. Their second most cleverly conceived screenplay. Note how many times Charlie says "head" while talking with Barton and simply be amazed at the way the Coens subliminally taunt their audience.

Huduscker Proxy: I've always loved this film. As a freshman in high school, I called it my favorite film of all time (now that would be 8 1/2). Many people say that it fails because the casting is bad. I can't imagine anyone else in these roles. Many say that it fails because it references screwball comedy films, like those of Hawks, and if you don't know those films, you won't get Hudsucker, and if you do know the films, you will view Hudsucker as a bad imitation. But I was familiar with those films only through reference to them by other elements of pop culture, so I fell in love with Hudsucker anyway. I love it.

Fargo: Great, but less interesting to me. Perhaps because, as I said of Arizona, it plays with genre, convention, and from less than the others.

Lebowski: the most quotable film of all time, and I'd say their greatest screenplay. Forget that it appears plotless and yet is more tightly plotted than any of their films save Miller's, pay attention to the fact that half of what the Dude says can be found elsewhere in the screenplay. Or better yet, that The Dude never addressed Donnie directly in the entirety of the film. Amazing stuff, technically brilliant, from the film of theirs you'd least expect to have depth.

O Brother: Seeing Sullivan's Travels only cemented my love of this film, which I can't get enough of. The characters in this film are all so amazingly vibrant, they stand out more than most other Coen characters, and that says quite a bit.

Man Who Wasn't There: A good bookend to a career that started with Blood Simple, the Coens pay homage to Cain rather than twist him around. The result is what could be called the best adaptation of Cain to the screen ever, and a film that I'm speechless after everytime I see it.

Oh well, I didn't say much of value, but these are my feelings on these films. The Coens are far and away my favorite filmmakers, and I can't wait for Intolerable Cruelty.

Will

Donnie: Your phone's ringing, Dude.
Dude: Thanks Donnie.

That's just off the top of my head.

Lebowski is one of my favorite 3 movies ever and is of course my favorite Coen Brothers film. Of the ones I've seen I'd rank them:

1. Lebowski
2. O Brother (tie)
2. Fargo (tie)
4. Raising Arizona
5. Barton Fink
6. The Man Who Wasn't There

(Edited by Keith at 12:28 am on Aug. 7, 2003)

It's been pointed out to me before, and I believe it's the only instance in the film. I'd have mentioned it, but I frankly forgot the exact instance, and didn't think anyone would draw it up from memory. Oh well, foot in mouth. Doesn't alter the fact that the audience is never aware of the fact that The Dude, for the most part, only communicates with Walter throughout all of the scenes with all three of them, and we don't immediately notice at all.

Will

Just busting your balls.

i can not do this. everytime i try to rate them, i start changing this, then that, and then i start awarding ties and stuff. so i will just have to say that they are all great, and i'm sure that how anyone ranks them is as good as any other. they are so consistent with quality yet so diverse with style and subject matter.