A few weeks back, we debuted the official teaser poster for the Coen brothers’ “True Grit.” Today, IMDb has dibs on a batch of character banners, including the film’s international poster. We’re expecting to finally see the film some time after thanksgiving, so two, three weeks tops. Unfortunately for the film, anticipation is at a fever pitch. Check out the full image after the jump.
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26 responses to “‘True Grit’ international poster”
I am no gun fetishist but this look badass.
The character posters are nicer.
This one’s not too bad either, except the positioning of Damon in the layout makes it seem as if he’s on Josh Brolin’s side, with his back turned against the others.
I feel like this is going to be Coen Brothers lite. It just got a PG-13 rating, and all the media for it has been rather mainstream, and not like what the Coens are known for.
Am I the only one who’s kinda aching for a glimpse at Barry Pepper in this?
Kris – what are your thoughts about this being the last picture out of the gate? I know people keep mentioning the MILLION DOLLAR BABY scenario in which that film came out at the last minute and knocked out (literally) AVIATOR to win Best Picture but I don’t quite see the parallels. It seems like expectation could put the film at an unfair advantage if it ends up only being good and not a career best picture from the Cohen brothers…
I think if expectations kill it, it’s not the film’s fault. And there’s no holding back waiting to unleash going on, mind you. It’s simply not finished. I think we’re all looking forward to it, but I don’t think there is a parallel to MDB going on here. Many were desperate for something other than The Aviator to come along that year, and when they got it, they jumped. There are a few contenders people already love this season so True Grit doesn’t appear to be a savior or anything.
“It’s simply not finished.”
Is it possible for a movie to have an MPAA rating and still not be finished? I thought that it was a precondition that whatever is submitted to MPAA is done and final.
Happens all the time. They might have all the scenes in place (picture lock), but there are color-timing issues, soundtrack smoothing, etc. still to be done on a film in the late stages.
Interesting. Thanks for the clarification.
Hmm when was the last time the Coens were the last guys we were waiting for? Anticipation is high. Can’t wait. Gonna be a solid Christmas.
Even if the film, heaven forbid, wouldn’t live up to the (almost ridiculously) hyped up expectations, I think you can still count on the Coens to deliver a film that’ll have plenty that’s worthwhile about it. Even in their lesser films there’s always something that makes them worthwhile, and this one will be no different regardless of how well it is received.
Greysmith, I think your view of Damon’s positioning on the poster is too narrow. For one thing, it could represent the character’s independent nature.
Also, one could argue that he does not so much has his back turned against Damon, as has his back. By the way, this type of positioning, where you have two buddy characters back to back in front of other chatacters, is very common in western and hero imagery.
Graysmith*
I’ve seen every Coen Brothers film more than once, except for the only two films of theirs that I consider really weak: Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers. I can’t imagine the latter getting any better with a second viewing, but I’ve been meaning to give the former another look. That being said, True Grit will easily be head and shoulders above those two films. I am, however, worried that all this anticipation is going to skew people’s judgment of it.
@Tapley: You mentioned earlier that people pounced on Million Dollar Baby in 2004 because they were desperate for something other than The Aviator to come along.
What are your thoughts on Sideways, which I thought was easily the best film among the 5 nominees for BP.
‘Intolerable Cruelty’ does get better with subsequent viewings. It is a pretty good film actually, especially if you “get” what it’s trying to do. This is not directed at Keil or anyone else in particular at all.
It’s just that a lot of people put it down because they came to Coens via “Big Lebowski” and simply do not understand or are unwilling to accept any other types of comedy from them. Just as they miss the fact that the film is just as quotable.
I haven’t seen “The Ladykillers” yet but I look forward to it, especially since I absolute adore “Burn After Reading”.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I liked Intolerable Cruelty more now than when I first saw it during its theatrical run. The Ladykillers, on the other hand, I can’t imagine ever liking. But who knows, maybe I’ll give that another whirl too. After all, I had only vague admiration for Miller’s Crossing the first 2 or 3 times I saw it, but then something clicked and it became one of my favorite Coen Brothers films.
And while I know your comments weren’t directed specifically at me, I’ll give you a brief rundown of my feelings toward the Coens’ filmography. Bear in mind that some of these (Barton, Hudsucker, Cruelty and Ladykillers, in particular) I have not seen in ages.
A
The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Miller’s Crossing, No Country for Old Men, Raising Arizona
A-
Barton Fink, Blood Simple, The Man Who Wasn’t There, A Serious Man
B+
The Hudsucker Proxy
B
Burn After Reading
B-
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The remaining two (Cruelty and Ladykillers) would fall below all others, though I’m not sure what rating I’d give them. I can say that Ladykillers is definitely at the bottom of the heap. Hopefully a second viewing of Cruelty will improve my opinion of it.
Of course, these are the Coen Brothers we’re talking about. On any given day I might start feeling that Barton Fink and A Serious Man are the greatest movies ever made. Who knows?
Thank you for your take, Keil. It is always very interesting (and revealing) to read somone’s take on a particular filmmaker’s work, especially when it’s someone who has seen the entire filmography.
Coens are definitely among my absolute favorite filmmakers and both their total body of work and individual films are very impresive to me.
I remember that I first became aware of them through “Hudsucker Proxy” promos that ran on TV. I’ve seen it at a rather impessionable age and remember being really entranced by the film’s style. (In retrospect, it was not unlike Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” – another film that made an early impression on me). It remains one of my absolute favorites among their work.
The movie that made me a fan, however, was “The Man Who Wasn’t There”. I really consider it to be their masterpiece, or, at the very least, their most underrated work. The second place would have to go to “Blood Simple”, which I saw relatively recently. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it is an absolutely perfect film.
It also contains one of my all time favorite shots: the shadow of the a flock of birds crossing the road, followed by the actual flock a few seconds later.
By the way, does Joel’s name always appear before Ethan’s on posters?
I wonder if this holds any significance or if it’s something they’ve always been doing.
Another thing I’ve noticed: Ethan is actually credited before Joel in the “Produced by” section.
Joel directs more often than Ethan does, Maxim. He’s also older.
Directed by Joel Coen:
“Blood Simple” through “Intolerable Cruelty”
Directed by Joel and Ethan:
“The Ladykillers” through “True Grit”
“Joel directs more often than Ethan does, Maxim. He’s also older.”
That’s not quite accurate. Actually, Ethan wasn’t credited till Ladykillers despite having been as much of a co-director as he is now.
And then there’s the fact that their credits don’t read “Directed by” but some variation of “Written and directed by”.
That said, the age thing makes sense. The fact that it doesn’t seem to be taken into account in the aforementioned producers sections might reflect the reality that Ethan is more involved in the producing aspect.
Oh. Whatever. I’m confused now… haha.
But yeah, I think we naturally lead off siblings with the older one. I know my family does, for instance.
I believe they’ve stated that they’ve always helped each other to write AND direct. However, I do know that Joel attended film school and Ethan did not. I’m guessing early on that Joel knew more of the technical stuff, due to his film school training, and so it seemed easier to give him the directing credit. Plus, even Joel and Ethan probably wouldn’t have been ballsy enough to say, fresh out of the gate, “We’re the Coen Brothers and we’re a dynamic directing duo.” With all the brouhaha over writing credits for Oscar nominations, it’s easy to assume that it could have gotten tricky to claim they were both directors on their early films. Then again, this is partially educated guessing on my part.