When the podcast Blank Check with Griffin and David started covering the filmography of the Coen Brothers, I decided to make it a little project that I would inevitably fall behind on and possibly abandon entirely, and that nearly happened. I kept up for the most part, writing articles about every film I hadn’t already written about over the years, but when they got to the solo projects of Macbeth, Drive-Away Dolls, and Honey Don’t! I knew I was in trouble. I toughed it out for Macbeth, and I eventually re-watched Dolls, but when it came to Honey Don’t! I couldn’t bring myself to rewatch it, much less write about it. After finally listening to their episode on the latest Coen film, I decided to give up the solo part of it and just focus on the collaborative films.
As stated above, I’ve written about every one of their films now (feel free to use the search bar if you want my extensive thoughts on any of these), so the ranking will commence. Just know that the solo projects, even the one I like (Macbeth), would be at the bottom of the list if I included them. These arbitrary rankings I do are just for me, and they are largely based on which films I want to watch again and again. With the Coens, I don’t want to watch any of their solo films again. As for the rest, I plan on watching nearly all of them again. Hell, some of them I’ve already re-watched since going through the entire filmography.
The Coens are among my favorite filmmakers, and the amount of their films that I unabashedly love is ridiculous. There is not a single film on this list I dislike; there are just a handful near the bottom that I don’t feel like revisiting any time soon. For the ones at the top, these are among my favorite comfort films of all time that I could put on no matter what my mood is. Enough of my rambling; here’s the list. I felt obligated to write something for each entry, I just kind of free-formed it when it came to that.
Not-that-fun fact: When I realized I picked two milk-related pics for the collage at the top, I spent about ten minutes trying to find milk pictures for all five films. Raising Arizona was easy enough, and I even found a moment in Llewyn Davis when he’s pouring milk for the cat, but I would have had to take a picture of a screen for that one, and it looked like shit, so I stopped there. Not sure if there’s a milk moment in Miller’s, but there might be. Did I discover some weird milk thing with the Coens?
1. Miller’s Crossing
Jesus, Tom! I’m just going to use this spot to remind people that in the Vinny Veducci skits on SNL Bobby Moynihan’s son character is based on Jon Polito’s son in this film. That’s some deep Bill Hader shit, I’m sure.
2. Raising Arizona
Originally, I thought this would be lower, but the part when Glenn’s kid writes “Fart” on Hi’s wall came up in a random conversation the other day, and it occurred to me how much this movie has infiltrated my very soul. Just kidding, but I do think about this movie a lot.
3. Inside Llewyn Davis
As I become a bigger and bigger Dylan fan as I get older, this movie just seems to get better.
4. The Big Lebowksi
I recently watched Cutter’s Way for the first time, and it made me realize this was kind of a silly version of that film, which made me like this even more.
5. No Country for Old Men
Of all the scenes to revisit with this one, I keep returning to the part when Jones visits his cousin at the end and he says, “I always figured when I got older, God would sorta come into my life somehow. And he didn’t.” That has always stuck with me.
6. A Serious Man
This is where I need to remind you that I love all of these, and if nearly any other filmmaker had made this movie, it would be their best film by a long shot. With the Coens, it’s not in my top five, and that’s crazy.
7. True Grit
This was the biggest revelation for me upon a rewatch. I just thought this was a good one, but not elite until I watched it again, and again. This is the Coens at the peak of their powers.
8. Fargo
This is a masterpiece or whatever, but it took me many viewings over the years to feel that. Still, it’s one I need to be in the right mood for to revisit.
9. O Brother, Where Are Thou?
I used to teach high school English, and I used this movie when we covered The Odyssey. So I’ve watched this a lot, and I’ve had to read a lot of mediocre essays about it, too. And it’s still a movie I love to watch once every couple years.
10. The Man Who Wasn’t There
Deakins in black and white. That’s all.
11. Barton Fink
Maybe one day this will click with me like it has with a lot of cinephiles. But so far it hasn’t. John Goodman is on fire in this, though. See what I did there?
12. Blood Simple
I like this more each time I watch it, but it’s not a very fun one. Not that it has to be. But it does have to be to make it rewatchable for me.
13. The Hudsucker Proxy
It’s fun just for capturing the Raimi-ness of their early careers. But just a little too silly at times for me.
14. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Just feels too much like a limited series rather than a film, and if I’m rewatching a Coen western, it’s going to be True Grit.
15. Hail, Caesar!
Another that gets better each time, but something still isn’t clicking with me like the rest of their filmography does. Maybe it’s because I’m not that into the golden age of Hollywood stuff.
16. The Ladykillers
I know most people would put this at the bottom, but I have a soft spot for it mainly due to Hanks’s weird ass performance and J.K. Simmons talking shit with Marlon Wayans.
17. Burn After Reading
Ah, we’ve reached the “what the fuck?” spot on the list. This is where I need to remind anyone reading this that I like every single one of these movies. It’s just that some of their straight up comedies don’t hit for me. Though that last scene makes the movie.
18. Intolerable Cruelty
Something had to be at the bottom. If there’s a movie in their filmography that feels like a director-for-hire job, it’s this one. There are still plenty of great moments, and Clooney is great, but yeah, I don’t plan on watching this ever again, and I’m a little annoyed that I’ve watched it twice now.
There you go. Agree? Disagree? Who cares? If you read this whole list, it probably made you want to rewatch at least one of these, so go do that.