So, the Coens have, in turn, become shorthand for making fantastic films.
“Want to go to the movies?
“, “Sure, what’s playing?
J.K. Simmons, Marlon Wayans, Tzi Ma, and Ryan Hurst in ‘The Ladykillers’.Touchstone/Courtesy Everett Collection
“, “New Coen brothers film”; it’s shorthand for a great night out.
The Coens are true American classics, indefinable and incomparable.
Here is our ranking of the Coen brothers' films from the fine to fantastic.
Frances McDormand in ‘Blood Simple’.Janus Films
Simmons,Tzi Ma,Ryan Hurst, andMarlon Wayanshatching a scheme to rob a casino.
This film is…fine, but it falls short of the Coen brothers' uncanny brilliance and focus.
Emmet Walshin this story of betrayal, confusion, and double-dealing.
George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones in ‘Intolerable Cruelty’.Everett Collection
However, things get catawampus in the process and nothing goes down like it’s supposed to.
Consider this first outing a mission statement by burgeoning auteurs.
However, revenge is a dish best served cold with, as the title suggests, an intolerable cruelty.
Bruce Campbell in ‘The Hudsucker Proxy’.Warner Bros.
Despite the stellar cast, however,The Hudsucker Proxyfeels rushed.
Isaac plays Davis as a couch-surfing, unlikable, self-loathing jerk.
It’s a lot to digest.
Oscar Isaac in ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’.Alison Rosa/CBS Films
With the introduction of chaos, the Coen brothers' presence is very apparent.
12.Hail, Caesar!
(2016)
Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a “fixer” in 1950s Hollywood.
Michael Stuhlbarg in ‘A Serious Man’.Wilson Webb/Focus Features
Hail, Caesar!leans in on Hollywood lore, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Joining them on this journey is LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), who wants Chaney for his own purposes.
Again, misunderstandings abound, and the main crux of the story is, “What just happened?”
Ralph Fiennes in ‘Hail, Caesar!'.Universal Pictures
7.Barton Fink(1991)
One would think the devil would be nicer, especially in Hollywood.
But seriously, this film may contain Goodman’s best performance, ever.
Frankly, though, none of the Coen brothers’ films are bad.
Frances McDormand and Billy Bob Thornton in ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’.USA Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
Some just suffer from too much of one thing and not enough of the other.
5.O Brother, Where Art Thou?
If that sounds kind of confounding, well, it is.
Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges in ‘True Grit’.Lorey Sebastian/Paramount
Plus, the film’s unbelievably catchy soundtrack won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
It’s a classic Coen brothers outing that redefined mysteries and gave Minnesota accents a boost.
He’s simply brilliant and helps to catapult this film to the upper echelon of this list.
Tim Blake Nelson in ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’.Netflix
3.The Big Lebowski(1998)
Lebowski (a.k.a.
2 on this list.
1.Raising Arizona(1987)
Babies are complicated.
Brad Pitt in ‘Burn After Reading’.Macall Polay/Focus Features
Raising children in the yin and yang homestead of criminal H.I.
Even the soundtrack is intriguing and clues us into things happening in the background and periphery.
John Mahoney and Judy Davis in ‘Barton Fink’.Everett Collection
Albert Finney in ‘Miller’s Crossing’.Everett Collection
John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and George Clooney in ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?'.Everett Collection
Frances McDormand in ‘Fargo’.Everett Collection
Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, and Jeff Bridges in ‘The Big Lebowski’.Polygram/Working Title/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
Javier Bardem in ‘No Country for Old Men’.Richard Foreman
Holly Hunter and Nicolas Cage in ‘Raising Arizona’.Everett Collection
