Each single Coen brothers film, ranked from 'Blood Easy' to 'Drive-Away Dolls'

Bearded bowlers. A pregnant police chief. A serial killer with a bowl minimize and a cattle gun.

Since they burst onto the film scene over 35 years in the past with Blood Easy, Joel and Ethan Coen have been accountable for among the most iconic characters within the historical past of cinema.

There aren’t many administrators on the market who often pop up on the prime of the field workplace charts regardless of making motion pictures that do not actually conform to Hollywood traditions, however the author/director crew often known as the Coen brothers have managed to carve out a method that is as well-liked as it’s distinctive — assume recurring actors like Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, and John Goodman; frequent bouts of blackmail and bungled kidnapping; a love of sure genres like noir and western; and a intelligent intertwining of comedy and drama that consistently retains viewers on their toes.

However how does their intensive checklist of flicks evaluate with each other? That are one of the best of one of the best?

As tough as the duty proved (and leaving out the flicks they wrote however did not additionally direct), we have achieved our greatest to rank each single Coen brothers film under.

The place will classics like The Large Lebowski and Fargo land? Is there no victory for No Nation for Previous Males? How about Insupportable Cruelty? (Yep, that is a Coen brothers movie.) Oh, and we have additionally included Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth and Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls, even when they’re technically extra of Coen brother motion pictures. (Shut the f*ck up, Donny.)

20. The Ladykillers

I’m not gonna sugarcoat it: This simply will be the Coen brothers’ worst movie. To be truthful, it has some massive sneakers to fill after the 1955 authentic. You’d assume the Coen brothers would simply be capable to do it with an all-star forged composed of Tom Hanks, Irma P. Corridor, Marlon Wayans, J.Ok. Simmons, and Stephen Root, however that is the place they struck out. Although there’s hilarious character work constant within the Coens’ work, it’s cartoon-y and ungrounded, the on-screen chemistry by no means fairly clicks, and Hanks’ accent feels extra like a Foghorn Leghorn impression than an natural selection. 

The film begins with Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr, a classics “professor” performed by Hanks, renting a room from a non secular aged widow, Marva Munson, performed by Irma P. Corridor. We rapidly discover out, nonetheless, that he intends to make use of Marva’s home as a base for his ragtag band of criminals to execute a on line casino vault heist. Hijinks ensue as stupidity and greed digs them into deeper and deeper hassle. In case you’re in search of a foolish heist movie, The Ladykillers is a enjoyable one so long as you go in with sensible expectations. It’s not a nasty film, it’s only a unhealthy Coen brothers film. — Mark Stetson, Producer

How one can watch: The Ladykillers is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

19. Insupportable Cruelty

It won’t have fairly the identical edge or originality as different motion pictures additional down this checklist, however make no mistake: Insupportable Cruelty remains to be quite a lot of enjoyable. Pitting sly divorce legal professional Miles Massey (George Clooney) in opposition to equally devious divorcée Marilyn Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones), the film is basically a twisty-turny battle of wits that performs out in dramatic courtrooms and tense boardrooms. All people is all the time one step forward of one another, it is unimaginable to guess who’s really forward, and there are many moments you nearly actually will not see coming. one to look at should you simply need one thing mild. — S.H.

How one can watch: Insupportable Cruelty is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

18. Elevating Arizona

All the weather are there. Following an ex-con (Nicolas Cage) on a mission to provide his spouse a child in any respect prices, the Coens’ second ever film comes with bumbling criminals, a wacky plot centred round a kidnapping, an ominous bounty hunter, and lots of different tropes that they’ve since grow to be identified for. The issue, no less than for me, was that these parts did not come collectively wherever close to in addition to they do in another Coen brothers motion pictures — the characters weren’t fairly as properly developed, the story wasn’t as enjoyable, and total I simply did not discover myself remembering scenes and quotes in the way in which I’ve with the duo’s higher movies. On this means Elevating Arizona felt like a coaching floor for concepts that will be higher executed afterward — an early try at themes which can be polished up in motion pictures like The Large Lebowski. — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor

How one can watch: Elevating Arizona is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

17. The Man Who Wasn’t There

This genre-flipping movie noir had a lot potential but finally falls in need of being an ideal Coen brothers film. It nails just about each noir trope however doesn’t do a lot to raise the style, which is one thing the Coens normally do extremely properly. Nevertheless, one factor you possibly can’t deny is that that is one in every of, if not the most, fantastically shot of the duo’s motion pictures. Filmed totally in black and white, this homage to basic noir showcases the otherworldly expertise of the Coens’ longtime cinematographer, Roger Deakins.

The movie follows barber Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton), a person not precisely completely happy together with his scenario. His spouse Doris (Frances McDormand) is a hard-drinking, division retailer bookkeeper, and Ed begrudgingly works for her brother, Frank (Michael Badalucco), whereas she’s having an affair along with her wealthy boss, Large Dave Brewster (James Gandolfini). When a conman convinces Ed to spend money on a get-rich-quick scheme, he decides to blackmail Large Dave Brewster for the money. Throw in Tony Shalhoub, Richard Jenkins, Jon Polito, and a younger Scarlett Johansson and also you’ve acquired an all-star forged that shines on this very-good-but-not-great movie noir that ends, like most Coen movies, in a bizarre but satisfyingly sudden place. — M.S.

How one can watch: The Man Who Wasn’t There is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

16. Hail, Caesar!

A movie about making a movie in Nineteen Fifties Hollywood, Hail, Caesar! brings collectively a ridiculously star-studded forged for this foolish costumed romp. The story sees film star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) getting kidnapped by a gaggle of communist screenwriters whereas fixer Eddie Manx (Josh Brolin) scrambles to pay the ransom for the studio. In the meantime, gossip columnists Thora and Thessaly Thacker (each performed by Tilda Swinton) circle in search of a narrative. The entire thing is as wild because it sounds, however I can not assist however really feel (as we’ll see additional down the checklist) that the Coens have made a greater movie about movie-making… — S.H.

How one can watch: Hail, Caesar! is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

15. Drive-Away Dolls

For his first narrative movie with out Joel, Ethan teamed with longtime collaborator and spouse, Tricia Cooke, who was an editor on Coen brothers motion pictures like O Brother The place Artwork Thou? and Barton Fink. Collectively, Cooke and Coen scripted a gleefully outrageous comedy about two lesbian besties (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) on a roadtrip that’ll change their lives eternally. True to Coen brothers type, the movie affords colourful characters, a unusual Southern allure (mainly in Qualley’s Texan free spirit, whose drawl is thicker than molasses), wild twists, wacky humor, and a stack of stars, together with Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Matt Damon, and Pedro Pascal. Proudly impressed by B-movies of the ’60s and ’70s, this Coen providing additionally relishes is “trashy” jokes and Cooke’s queer sensibility. The result’s a ridiculous romp that is a howling good time. And — if Cooke and Coen have their means — Drive-Away Dolls would be the first in a lesbian B-movie trilogy. — Kristy Puchko, Leisure Editor

How one can watch: Drive-Away Dolls is now in theaters.

14. A Critical Man

Most of the Coen brothers’ motion pictures enjoy their very own obliqueness and complexity, however A Critical Man takes issues to a complete different stage. The film follows the varied misfortunes of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Jewish tutorial in Nineteen Sixties Minnesota whose spouse needs a divorce whereas he is struggling to make tenure within the wake of a collection of nameless letters aiming to discredit him. Sadly for Gopnik issues go from unhealthy to worse, and when he turns to his religion for assist the varied rabbis he consults with appear unable to supply constructive recommendation. On condition that A Critical Man explores the seek for which means in an typically chaotic and unforgiving universe, it is sensible that this one can be considerably chaotic in and of itself — however the bleakness (and deliberate vagueness) additionally make it more durable to get pleasure from than some. — S.H.

How one can watch: A Critical Man is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

13. True Grit

A heavy-drinking Jeff Bridges takes to the saddle as Deputy U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn on this western, employed by younger Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld) to chase down the outlaw (Josh Brolin) who killed her father. True Grit is predicated on the 1969 John Wayne movie, which was an adaptation of Charles Portis’ 1968 novel of the identical title. Roger Deakins’ ever-poster-worthy cinematography is on full show on this one, and Matt Damon will get a enjoyable flip because the awkward Texas ranger LaBoeuf. Bridges is on prime type as all the time, in the meantime, and Steinfeld is great because the no-nonsense 14-year-old attempting to maintain them each in examine. So why doesn’t this one make it greater on the checklist? Effectively, the tough factor for True Grit is that as a western, you mechanically evaluate it with the Coens’ different westerns — and as we’ll see afterward, it’s simply not fairly as memorable as some. — S.H.

How one can watch: True Grit is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video or stream on NOW TV within the UK.

12. Burn After Studying

You have to sustain in Burn After Studying, a film that mixes some critical star energy with the Coens’ trademark black comedy and an impressively convoluted plot. The story revolves round — deep breath — two less-than-genius gymnasium trainers (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) who try to blackmail a former CIA agent (John Malkovich) whose spouse (Tilda Swinton) occurs to be having an affair with a paranoid U.S. Marshal (George Clooney) who can also be seeing one of many gymnasium trainers (McDormand) concurrently he is seeing the agent’s spouse. Yep, there’s rather a lot occurring. The film would not take itself too significantly although, there are some genuinely amusing and stunning moments, and in right this moment’s age of disinformation it feels extra related than ever. The one draw back is it typically feels nearly too meta, with the degrees of parody and convolution often tripping over themselves. — S.H.

How one can watch: Burn After Studying is now streaming on Prime Video.

11. The Tragedy of Macbeth

So, this one technically is not a Coen Bros film; it is a Coen bro film. With Ethan having stepped away from filmmaking, Joel tailored this Shakespearean basic on his personal, impressed by the onstage efficiency of his personal spouse as Woman Macbeth. 4-time Academy Award winner Frances McDormand reprised the function of the ruthless villainess who infamously urged her husband towards treasonous homicide within the quest for the crown. Assembly McDormand at her lofty stage of excellence is two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, taking over the titular function with rigor. Backed by an impeccable ensemble, this dynamic duo devastates, whether or not whispering schemes, touching in tenderness, or delivering really iconic strains. 

Joel offers this centuries-old story a brand new imaginative and prescient, using settings which have a pronounced artifice that blurs the visible expectations between display and stage. Surreal imagery across the witches urges audiences onto the slippery slope of this descent into homicide, insanity, and doom. The ultimate contact is cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel’s black and white cinematography. Mid-contrast and keenly targeted, it captures these fashionable stars’ exact performances as immediately timeless. Nevertheless, for all its virtues, it isn’t actually a Coen Bros film. So… — Ok.P.

How one can watch: The Tragedy of Macbeth is now streaming on Apple+.

10. O Brother, The place Artwork Thou?

Would some individuals put this one greater up on the checklist? Completely. Loosely based mostly on Homer’s The Odyssey, O Brother, The place Artwork Thou? is a basic Coen mish-mash of utmost silliness, following Everett (George Clooney), Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson), and Pete (John Turturro), three escaped convicts on the hunt for buried treasure. There’s rather a lot to like about this one and its intelligent satirisation of the American South, however for some motive it simply hasn’t caught in my reminiscence in the identical means that the Coens’ different cult favourites have. Possibly it is simply that little bit too foolish? Maybe there’s not sufficient darkness in there to distinction with the comedy? It is tough to pinpoint, and it is actually not the favored opinion — however in my thoughts it will possibly’t compete with among the Coens’ grittier works. — S.H.

How one can watch: O Brother, The place Artwork Thou? is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

9. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Coens return to their love of Westerns with this six-in-one anthology, an American frontier brief story assortment magicked to life in a single film. The 20-or-so-minute movies cowl a variety of characters struggling to make their means within the unforgiving Wild West, from the ageing gold prospector (Tom Waits) toiling in a sun-streaked valley to the current widow (Zoe Kazan) navigating marriage proposals and a tiny barking canine on a wagon practice.

Admittedly not everybody sitting down to look at a film might be a fan of the six-in-one construction, and among the tales are stronger than others — however there is a vastly entertaining selection on supply and the overarching themes (the chaotic, unpredictable nature of life; the harshness of the world and people in it) tie the entire thing properly collectively whereas nonetheless feeling related right this moment. — S.H.

How one can watch: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is now streaming on Netflix.

8. Blood Easy

For his or her first characteristic movie, the Coens began as they meant to go on: with a messy neo-noir crime thriller filled with affairs, id mix-ups, and one very unorthodox (and memorable) little bit of physique disposal. Starring Coens-regular Frances McDormand in her breakout function, Blood Easy follows bartender Ray (John Getz) as he makes an attempt to navigate the lower than excellent scenario of the affair he is having together with his boss’ spouse. What follows is a chaotic jumble of jealousy, suspicion, and one very shady non-public detective ready to go to some pretty excessive lengths to get what he needs.

There are many early Coen brothers tropes in proof right here, and despite the fact that this one is probably not fairly as polished as a few of their later work, it is nonetheless extremely completed and entertaining (particularly for a primary characteristic). — S.H.

How one can watch: Blood Easy is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

7. The Hudsucker Proxy

A field workplace bomb that was met with blended opinions, this jaunty 1994 comedy is usually thought-about mid-tier Coen Bros at finest. Nevertheless it deserves significantly better. In a script penned by Joel and Ethan Coen, and Sam Raimi, The Hudsucker Proxy pays tribute to the screwball comedies of Hollywood’s Golden Age with a daffy story of a corny stooge and company sabotage. Tim Robbins stars as Norville Barnes, a small-town American businessman who has come to the Large Apple with big-city ambitions. So, when happenstance — and a surly, cigar-chomping government (Paul Newman) — fingers him the reigns of Hudsucker Industries, he’d be a idiot to not take it, proper? However fast-talking dame/hardheaded information reporter Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) smells a rat. So, she goes undercover as a secretary to discover a scoop…and finally ends up falling for the rube. However can this odd couple outwit and outlast the fiendish heads of company America?

Radiating with vitality, popping with pratfalls, and snapping with quips, this broad comedy is so candy it may rot your tooth. Nevertheless, in a nod to their love for noir, the Coens’ winsome romance provides spice with blackmail, betrayal, jealously, and loss of life. The collision of content material and tone is likely to be dizzying, however a crackerjack forged — that additionally boasts Charles Durning, Steve Buscemi, Invoice Cobbs, and Bruce Campbell — brings loads of zing to zip previous the tough edges. — Ok.P.

How one can watch: The Hudsucker Proxy is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

6. Barton Fink

It is easy to think about the Coens, as younger Hollywood writers themselves, having quite a lot of enjoyable with this one. Barton Fink follows a profitable playwright (John Turturro) who makes the transfer from New York to Hollywood to take a profitable screenwriting job with a serious studio. After setting himself up in a depressing resort, although, and assembly the intimidating studio boss (Michael Lerner), Fink quickly finds himself with a case of author’s block — which he is compelled to navigate by way of interactions together with his talkative neighbour (John Goodman), a well-known alcoholic author (John Mahoney), and the author’s troubled spouse and secretary, Audrey (Judy Davis).

There’s rather a lot occurring on this film, from an exploration of the artistic course of and its many obstacles to the strain between artwork for cash versus artwork as a automobile for which means and alter. The Coens deal with all of it with a deft contact, throwing in some extremely amusing moments (Goodman’s wrestling tutorial and Lerner’s poolside rant being two of them) and making a film that you will wish to rewatch the minute the (excellent) ultimate shot cuts to the credit. — S.H.

How one can watch: Barton Fink is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

5. Fargo

There aren’t many movies on the market well-liked sufficient to encourage a very-popular-in-its-own-right TV present, however Fargo — with its snowy North Dakota setting and offbeat black comedy type — has managed it with aplomb. One of the vital memorable roles in Hollywood historical past, closely pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) makes an attempt to untangle a messy homicide and its hyperlinks to some employed kidnappers, with issues rapidly spiralling within the amusingly chaotic means solely Coen brothers motion pictures can. Complimentary characters embody a spineless William H. Macy as desperate-for-money automotive supplier Jerry Lundegaard, a chillingly dead-eyed Peter Stormare as employed kidnapper Gaear Grimsrud, and Steve Buscemi as his slimy associate in crime. — S.H.

How one can watch: Fargo is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

4. Inside Llewyn Davis

It won’t be as legendary as among the Coens’ different motion pictures (or no less than not but), however Inside Llewyn Davis greater than deserves its spot close to the highest of this checklist. A melancholy movie about artistic frustrations and failure, the movie centres on titular folks singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) over a chaotic and dreary week in New York’s Greenwich Village within the ’60s. Davis is struggling to get his massive break however is hampered by an absence of cash, fixed unhealthy luck, and the loss of life of his former musical associate. This all hangs over him like a cloud as he offers with misplaced pet cats, unusual carpool companions, and a aggressive music scene he can by no means fairly sustain with. Partly impressed by the autobiography of people singer Dave Van Ronk, the movie has some attention-grabbing structural quirks that I will not go into to keep away from spoiler territory, and the soundtrack (together with reside recorded folks songs, some sung by Isaac himself) varieties the proper sorrowful backdrop to a film that fantastically captures the wrestle of realising your goals. — S.H.

How one can watch: Inside Llewyn Davis is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

3. Miller’s Crossing

The gangster film style is a closely aggressive one, full of all-time classics like The Godfather and Goodfellas. However even amongst these titans, Miller’s Crossing deserves its seat on the desk. Set in Prohibition-era America, the film follows Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne), a mobster caught in an escalating battle between two rival crime bosses who additionally occurs to be having an affair with one of many boss’ girlfriends.

Like all of the Coen brothers motion pictures on the prime of this checklist Miller’s Crossing has some really legendary scenes, from bookie Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro) begging for his life within the woods to mobster Leo O’Bannon (Albert Finney) having a shootout in his dressing robe whereas “Danny Boy” performs within the background. These moments are as sensible as they’re as a result of, just like the movie as a complete, they subvert expectations. This is not a film that follows a standard trajectory or performs out the way you assume it may. In contrast to the sensible character arc of The Godfather‘s Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), Miller’s Crossing is all tough and ragged across the edges. You do not know the place it is going, nevertheless it’s all the higher for it.

How one can watch: Miller’s Crossing is now streaming on Paramount+. 

2. The Large Lebowski

When the phrase “cult basic” is uttered, The Large Lebowski needs to be one of many first motion pictures to spring to thoughts. With its forged of idiosyncratic characters, its stream of quotable strains, and a powerhouse central efficiency from Jeff Bridges as The Dude, it additionally needs to be one of many Coens’ finest movies.

The film begins with a case of mistaken id (a well-liked Coen Bros trope), with Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski getting confused for a completely totally different Lebowski who simply so occurs to be a) a millionaire, and b) in some critical hassle with some unhealthy individuals. What follows is a spectacularly entertaining farce involving blackmail, stolen rugs, and extra bowling than you possibly can shake a White Russian cocktail at. John Goodman is sensible as offended Vietnam vet Walter Sobchak and Steve Buscemi’s nervous Donny is the proper complement to their bowling trio, to not point out the superb supporting performances from the likes of Julianne Moore, Peter Stormare, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Oh, and you are still in any doubt in regards to the enduring reputation of this film, there’s even an annual Lebowski Fest the place followers dress up and play video games. There aren’t many motion pictures that depart that sort of legacy, however this one most actually abides. — S.H.

How one can watch: The Large Lebowski is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

1. No Nation For Previous Males

OK, I am simply going to say it: Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh is the best film villain we have seen thus far this millennium. Along with his bowl minimize and dead-eyed gaze he is each terrifying and utterly iconic, a drive of chaotic evil who sweeps by means of everybody in his path with out a trace of emotion or regret. That scene the place he flips the coin within the fuel station? Good. His cat-and-mouse sport with Josh Brolin’s Llewelyn Moss? Good. Carrying that bolt pistol round just like the grim reaper, he’d be sufficient to hold any film on his personal, however the excellent news is he would not even must. As a result of the entire movie is outstanding.

Based mostly on Cormac MacCarthy’s novel of the identical title, No Nation for Previous Males is a neo-western that revolves across the aftermath of a botched drug deal and the invention of a suitcase full of cash. What follows combines Roger Deakins’ beautiful cinematography with a forged of memorable characters, some poster-worthy dialogue, and staggering moments which can be really unimaginable to see coming. The primary time I watched it, in all honesty, I used to be left with blended feelings on the very finish — however the extra I see this movie, the higher it will get. It is the sort of film you possibly can watch again and again and nonetheless benefit from the thrill and stress of the core chase, whilst you discover small particulars that you simply utterly missed on earlier viewings.

Which one’s your favorite Coen brothers movie? Name it, friendo.— S.H.

How one can watch: No Nation for Previous Males is offered to lease or purchase on Prime Video.

UPDATE: Feb. 22, 2024, 4:49 p.m. EST This was up to date to mirror the latest Coen Bros motion pictures.