This is borderline lazy filler and distraction for the time being as the old poll was uber stale, but it’s worth it to put a query like this out there since the Coens will be fodder for plenty of column inches by week’s end.
But it’s worth pointing out that the brothers are more prolific than ever. “True Grit,” opening nationwide December 22, is the duo’s fourth film in as many years, a record streak (though if they had muscled something out in 2002, they would have had a fiver between 2000 and 2004).
The great thing about Coen cinema is that, as identifiable as it is, each film is wildly different from the last. Though they have a signature, their work never stagnates and always remains fresh, vital and progressive. That kind of thing lends itself to favorites so let’s just put the question out there: what is your favorite Coen brothers film to date? Have your say in the left sidebar poll and come on back to the comments section here to debate and discuss your picks.
[Photo: Paramount Pictures]
Comments
54 responses to “POLL: What is your favorite Coen brothers film?”
impossible to choose
but i’ll think about it
I went ‘Fargo’. It’s still the one I go to put into a dvd player over all their other one’s.
And ‘No Country …’ is still, for me, a bit overrated.
‘A Serious Man’ is pretty up there for me, as well.
No Country for sure
Since top ten lists were made for Nolan and Fincher here this year, I think the Coens warrant such a list, as well as Aronofsky.
Indeed.
My finger hovered over Hudsucker Proxy, Raising Arizona, Big Lebowski and No Country before finally settling on Fargo. What an incredible filmography.
You mark that frame an 8, and you’re entering a world of pain.
Hard to choose between ‘No Country’ and The Big Lebowski. Both are so different that I love both equally.
I’m certainly an atypical Coen Bros fan, as I think that both Fargo and No Country are vastly overrated. For me it was between Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski, with Barton Fink and A Serious Man both warranting serious consideration. But in the end, I had to give it to Raising Arizona.
The Big Lebowski is in my top ten of all time. Easy choice.
I could never get into Fargo, but Barton Fink is not only my favorite Coen Brothers movie, but one of my top 5 movies of all time.
Oh Brother Where Art Thou. Fargo. No Country. LadyKillers.
Years ago I would have said Raising Arizona without batting an eye, but the truth is that, as much as I love the film, it really does lose some steam in the final act. It’s great fun, but I don’t think I could honestly call it their best or even my favorite.
The Big Lebowski is certain one of the most watchable and quotable offerings the duo has delivered. I know that it took the film a good while to catch on with audiences, and some viewers still don’t find it particularly special or amusing. But I still remember seeing it in Austin when it first came out and loving every hilarious, bizarre moment. I saw it two more times that same week, and even though I had been a huge fan of Fargo, I was not one of those people who felt the brothers had followed up their Oscar-winning film with a stinker. I think the cult that has grown up around the movie in the years since speaks volumes to its intelligence and originality. I mean, c’mon…the pencil rubbing at Treehorn’s, the flawed chair barricade, the cover art to the Autobahn LP…all those little touches and so many more add up to an endlessly enjoyable picture.
As stated earlier, I loved Fargo, and, oddly enough, was thinking about it in the shower this morning. No, not in that way. It began with me thinking about what must have happened to Lundegaard’s son after the film’s events were over. I mean, his mom and grandfather were dead, and his father was likely going to prison for many years. Did he end up with Pearl & Marty down in Florida? Did Stan…ya know, Stan Grossman…take him in? Then I started thinking about the wonderful construction and richness of the script. Although the film is pretty short for an Oscar winner, we get a full look into the lives of not only Jerry and his family and business lives, but also the way that Marge Gunderson and the bumbling criminals spend their days. Many crime pictures focus primarily on the victims or the criminals, but Fargo takes a complete look at everyone involved in this clusterf*ck. And as I thought about that I began to feel like maybe it was the Coen Brothers’ greatest movie to date.
One film that doesn’t seem to be getting mentioned, but which I have been saying for years was either my favorite or second favorite of theirs, was Miller’s Crossing. At this point, I’m not sure where I stand on it, but it was a film that took several viewings over the years until its brilliance and power finally struck me.
Crap, have to go do something at work, but I’ll be back later. And when I do I’ll try to muster up the nerve to settle on one — or at most two –titles.
I’m glad someone else mentioned “O Brother, Where Art Thou” which I think is a vastly underrated film, with an incredible soundtrack (whereas I find Barton Fink, Miller’s Crossing and Fargo to be rather ehh).
But I lean towards “A Serious Man” as my favorite Coen film, with “No Country for Old Men” a very, VERY close second. Every time I watch “A Serious Man” I notice something new, it’s brilliant.
Love these guys. Possibly the best American filmmakers working today. Is everything they touch gold? No, but as Kris so put it their very different, fresh, vital, and progressive.
I said No Country for Old Men even if its less devoid of their signature humor, though there certainly are funny moments. Some of my favorites….
Fargo
Barton Fink
The Big Lebowski
A Serious Man
The Man Who Wasn’t There(seriously underrated)
Blood Simple
Miller’s Crossing
Raising Arizona
Hell I might as well list their entire filmography. These guys never have a manipulative moment in their career. They tell cautionary tales getting at tradition values and concerns and have the freedom to make what they want to make.
The Big Lebowski is my favourite, while I’d consider No Country for Old Men their best.
I went with Lebowski, but No Country is a close 2nd, followed by Blood Simple.
Barton Fink
I’m one of the few people who actually enjoyed The Ladykillers…
I’d probably say my favorite is No Country for Old Men, although True Grit looks like it’ll give that movie a run for it’s money based on the previews I’ve been seeing. Can’t wait.
I’ll just do a quick breakdown of their filmography, which I originally posted (although slightly different) in another Coen-related thread a couple of weeks ago:
A
The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Miller’s Crossing, No Country for Old Men
A-
Barton Fink, Blood Simple, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Raising Arizona, A Serious Man
B+
The Hudsucker Proxy
B
Burn After Reading, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
B-
Intolerable Cruelty
BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
The remaining title is The Ladykillers, which easily became my least favorite Coen Brothers film after a single screening during its theatrical run. I haven’t seen it since, so I don’t know quite what I’d rate it, but even if it somehow improved a bit upon a second viewing, it would still have to be their weakest effort to date.
Final Note:
Unlike, say, a Michael Bay film, Coen Brothers movies rarely register fully after one viewing. Even though I loved movies like Fargo or The Big Lebowski from the moment I first saw them, they still revealed a wealth of subtle treasures and hidden depths months, and even years, after first seeing them. It is part of why those films never get old.
But many of their films, like Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, and The Hudsucker Proxy, took multiple viewings before I really fell into their groove, so to speak. To this day, I still feel Barton Fink is a picture that demands to be revisited, because I feel there is more to be discovered within its eccentric frame. Their most recent entry (not counting the essentially unseen True Grit), A Serious Man, is another film that I feel requires further exploration, which I’m all too willing to endure when the filmmaking is this strong. The results may be baffling at times, but they are also incredibly entertaining. And even if, in the end, there is no great hidden meaning to these movies (which in itself might very well be the brothers’ real message), it’s fun to have so many original films worth mulling over. Such works are a rarity these days, but thankfully, the Coens are still going strong, giving disappointed cinephiles everywhere a reason to smile and remain optimistic.
Picking Blood Simple as my favorite was Bloody Difficult.
1. A Serious Man
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Fargo
4. Barton Fink
5. No Country for Old Men
6. Raising Arizona
7. Miller’s Crossing
8. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
9. The Hudsucker Proxy
10. Burn After Reading
11. The Man Who Wasn’t There
12. Blood Simple
13. Intolerable Cruelty
Haven’t seen The Ladykillers but I’ll get around to it
Looks like I’m the first to vote for “Blood Simple” (or the second, assuming Maxim’s vote wasn’t yet processed). Wasn’t an easy choice. Quite the career.
It’s impossible to choose just one! I selected O Brother, just because it was the most recent film of theirs I saw, and I loved it!
For a change, I side with the Academy on this one.
I’ll assume you mean NCFOM and not Fargo.
Also, Scott Feinberg seems to think it’s time to start sharing reactions to True Grit. Is he right or just jumping the gun?
I had to go with No Country For Old Men. Truly a masterpiece in every sense of the word. And the film never gets old for me. I find myself watching it at least a couple times a year, if not more. The ending, to me, is what truly elevates the film above all else, even if everyone else complains about a “lack of resolution”, I found that approach to be brilliant. Like Anne said in the podcast, it’s a brilliant examination of how we react to being confronted with the embodiment of death and unstoppable evil, and how there isn’t always some heroic final shootout in the end where the cop finally gets the bad guy. That’s not how the world works. Truly one of the best films I have ever seen.
It’s a fight between “No Country for Old Men” and “Fargo.” I’d probably go with “Fargo” at the end of the day, but it’s really hard to choose. I also love “Blood Simple,” “The Ladykillers,” “Raising Arizona” and “Barton Fink.” And “Burn After Reading” was an enjoyable lark.
But between “Fargo” and “The Ladykillers,” the Coens hit a huge slump: “The Big Lebowski” was more notable for Jeff Bridges’ The Dude than it was for anything else and came off as relatively forgettable, if you ask me; the soundtrack of “O Brother Where Art Thou?” is more memorable than the film it belongs to; and “The Man Who Wasn’t There” and “Intolerable Cruelty” are downright terrible. “A Serious Man” was certainly ambitious, but I didn’t quite think it was successful.
I only recently upgraded Intolerable Cruelty to a B-, but there is no way that The Man Who Wasn’t There is a terrible movie. I mean, you obviously think so, but I can’t imagine anyone disliking it quite that much. I will say that the Coen Brothers have so many movies that are so good and yet difficult to evaluate, that I should probably start rating them on a different scale. A+ through F simply doesn’t allow for enough differentiation.
huh, this is tough. Went with O Brother Where Art Thou?, but easily could have given it to Fargo, Blood Simple, or Raising Arizona.
I’m surprised to see so little love for “Blood Simple.” Perhaps because it’s their debut people are more likely to put it second or third on a list in favor of a more recent effort, but the film really is among their best works to date.
Though I may be an outsider with respect to my opinion of the Coen brothers, as I haven’t particularly fallen for either “The Big Lebowski” or “Raising Arizona.”
Fargo! because it’s entertaining,very Coen and accessible for every one
A three way tie between the obvious choices of “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men” and the sorely underrated “Miller’s Crossing”.
A Serious Man is unfortunately the only movie from the Coens I’ve seen. But I do love it. Any other year it may have won Original Screenplay and maybe Best Picture at the Oscars.
How the hell can someone posting on a movie website in 2010 admit to having only seen one Coen Brothers movie? I’m downright stupefied.
Miller’s Crossing walks the walk and talks the talk (boy does it talk), and yeah, Albert Finney kick ass, but in the end it left me empty and completely apathetic about its characters.
1. A Serious Man (so. much. subtext.)
2. Fargo (Frances McDormand, just to scratch)
3. No Country for Old Men (Deakins)
This is one hell of a touch question. But a good one. The Coen Brothers have turned out to be absolute masters of cinema. Even their ‘lesser’ works are ten times better then the majority of filmmakers working out there. But if stressed to make a list, it would go a little something like this:
1. The Big Lebowski
2. Miller’s Crossing
3. No Country for Old Men
4. O Brother Where Art Thou?
5. Fargo
6. Barton Fink
7. Blood Simple
8. The Man Who Wasn’t There
9. A Serious Man
10. The Hudsucker Proxy
All in all, pure genius’.
The Big Lebowski by a mile
“Miller’s Crossing”, easily.
1. Barton Fink
2. Fargo
3. The Big Lebowski
4. No Country For Old Men
5. O Brother, Where Art Thou
6. A Serious Man
Their worst film?
The Ladykillers, Intolerable Cruelty and The Man Who Wasn’t There (the most lame noirish pastiche ever…)
Gosh, I keep going back and forth between “No Country for Old Men” and “A Serious Man.” But it’s got to be “A Serious Man.” It’s their funniest, richest, most philosophically and intellectually thought-provoking film, and its execution is flawless. Every scene is its own masterpiece, and the end result is a haunting, cryptic work of art.
I suppose Lebowski has become so cliche an answer, that now the cliche is to not pick it.
Obvious choice it may be, the film rocks. Its quirky, funny, and has a killer soundtrack. So what if its not their most innovative flick.
I am surprised to see so many votes for A Serious Man. It seemed to come and go with a whimper last year.
Interesting to see how many strong cases are being made for almost every movie in their filmography. Aside from maybe 3 or 4 titles, I could understand virtually every one of their movies being considered someone’s favorite. A sure sign of truly great filmmakers.
I’d have to say Fargo followed very closely by No Country and A Serious Man. Both Fargo and No Country are absolute triumphs and No Country in particular is one of the most skillfully directed films of the decade. But Fargo was funnier and featured more memorable characters so that about does it for me. It’s still really close though. There is a quiet sadness to both films and both deal with similar themes of course
***I am surprised to see so many votes for A Serious Man. It seemed to come and go with a whimper last year.***
Like appearing on tons of Best of 2009 lists and being nominated for Best Picture?
1. The Big Lebowski
2. Burn After Reading
3. No Country for Old Men
4. Fargo
5. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
6. Blood Simple
7. A Serious Man
1. Fargo
2. Miller’s Crossing
3. Barton Fink
Speaking English, I am referring to its very limited release and the fact that I never heard too many people talk about it.