brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen arguably the best directorial duo to make their films shine on the silver screen, largely because of their confidence and self-assurance. Given the nature of their debut, Blood easy, it’s easy to see how their filmmaking skills come so easily. With films that almost always have noir plot, noir atmosphere, goofball comedy, slapstick humor or a sense of existential dread permeating the main characters, the film duo of the Coen brothers created their own kind of filmmaking.
Updated October 18, 2022: If you’re a fan of the critically acclaimed film duo, you’ll be happy to hear that this article has been updated with additional content.
Also, indebted to the works of Dashiell Hammett and Stanley Kubrick, their films are always referenced in various media, borrowing not only for their entertainment value, but also for the puzzles and moral dilemmas in the subtext of all their works, leading cult classics like The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona but movies that have received massive critical acclaim and box office hits, such as the great 2007 filmNo country for old men. The Coen brothers are two of the best to ever do it. These are the best movies of the Coen brothers.
11/11 a serious man
One of the Coen brothers later becomes less involved with the plot, narrowing the focus to his characters regarding certain philosophical and moral dilemmas, a serious man is a film with a deep disregard for definitive answers. With just a one-time associate starring as a professor whose life seems to slide into the realm of chaos, Michael Stuhlbarg is a revelation. The film’s actions and conflicts don’t necessarily lead us to answers, but are instead an ode to the total randomness of the universe and how humans search for deeper meaning in what should otherwise be considered coincidence.
10/11 Blood easy
One of the great debuts of the late 20th century, Blood easy was a film by two directors who showed you all their interests and a harbinger of a future career. A sparse noir swept with existential dread in every corner, but also a sly, Southern mad sense of humor, Blood easy was the arrival of a dynamic duo whose movie voices would never waver. Starring long-time muse and later wife of Joel Coen, Frances McDormand showed off all the acting chops that would earn her three Academy Awards.
9/11 Oh brother, where are you?
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Playing on their love for early folk music that would later come to fruition in their film Inside Llewyn Davis, Oh brother, where are you? is a road trip comedy that takes casual inspiration from Homer’s “The Odyssey”. Featuring an undeniably fun trio of George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson and their eternal muse, John Turturro, the three escapees set out on a miserable traverse to find buried treasure. Though the treasure seems both near and far, they unknowingly become folk stars with a brief recording as The Soggy Bottom Boys.
The film also grapples with the racist history of the American South and its intersection with mass communication, making the goofball adventure one of the more political films of the Coen brothers as well. The film also spawned a soundtrack that won “Album of the Year” at the Grammys.
8/11 Inside Llewyn Davis
One of the Coen brothers’ saddest films in their lengthy filmography, Inside Llewyn Davis takes us to the East Village of Manhattan during the folk renaissance of the early 1960s and the artists who inhabit the scene. Oscar Isaac plays the titular character while his free fall through artistic and money struggles is also a long drive through hell. Interrupted by the Coen brothers’ fine eye for ridiculous characters, which somewhat relieves the emotional pressure on the audience. Inside Llewyn Davis is a thoughtful attempt to explore how hard it was to make it in the Big Apple.
7/11 real grit
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A remake of the John Wayne Western classic and adaptation of the novel by Charles Portis, real grit features an Oscar-nominated performance by Jeff Bridges and tells a harrowing tale of revenge and retaliation sought by a 14-year-old girl and a booze-loving sniper.
The Coens were determined to make a more faithful version of literary work than Wayne’s 1969 film, infused with their unique kind of dark humor, endearingly eccentric characters and breathtaking cinematography to bring the Portis story to life. real grit was a critical and commercial hit and the Coens were acclaimed for capturing the magic of the Western genre, and while it garnered 10 Academy Award nominations, it shockingly won none.
6/11 Raising Arizona
The first of many crazy melodies, goofball adventures, Raising Arizona is part one road pirate parody and a film about parental anxiety. With an almost alien motorcycle mercenary on par with the devil and a finely tuned southern rendition by Nicolas Cage, the Coens’ first foray into their moral parables is a classic. Not only with the cunning philosophical whips they would later be known for, but also with their fine eye for random characters that accentuate a seemingly surreal world.
5/11 fargo
After failing the checkout of a large studio photo like Hudsucker proxythe Coen’s decided to take a step into the minimal, sparse landscape of Noir that put their name on the map. fargo is an early crime masterpiece by the Coens that behaves like a savage tale of despair and humble criminals who do not follow moral code. Filled with an incredible lead role from Coen muse Frances McDormand, which landed her first Oscar. fargo mixes the funny goofball seriousness of the Midwest with brutal, senseless violence to a chilling degree.
4/11 Barton Finko
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Part cautionary tale of artistic arrogance, but also a completely terrifying plunge into the mind of a writer experiencing a creative blockage, Barton Finko is one of the more terrifying films in the Coen brothers’ filmography. Filled with a Stanley Kubrick-esque terror in the hallways of an eerie Hollywood hotel, the Coens lead us through the corridors of John Turturro’s ghost as he battles his fear, external pressure, and a land full of filthy liars who feign whims in and trying to cover their creative facades. Barton Finko is effective because it stems from the Coens’ distaste for the film industry and their treatment of writers as factory workers. For many people, this is arguably the Coen brothers’ best film.
3/11 No country for old men
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Announced upon release as an instant classic and surprising blockbuster, given its bleak worldview and graphic violence, No country for old men is another perfect sparse noir in the same tune as fargo of the directing duo. This time, Coens’s film swaps the blanket of white snow for the dry, brown landscape of the Texas desert, and Coens’s film doesn’t give us easy answers.
Cemented by a terrifying and horrifying performance by Javier Bardem who leaves the fate of his victim to a coin toss, No country for old men the brothers would win their first and only Oscar for best director. While the end of No country for old men many confused, on second thought it is one of the most haunting, fascinating finales of recent years.
2/11 The Big Lebowski
The depth of the Coen brothers’ films across genres pays tribute to their long string of reference material and subtext metaphors. The great Lebowski, on his face, a stoner comedy about the laid-back life of “The Dude” is caught in the crosshairs of a kidnapping plan. But the cult status of The Big Lebowski suggests more. As well as philosophical jokes about how to live life, a noir mystery and also a commentary on America’s involvement in the Middle East. More than just a comedy of endlessly quoted dialogue, Lebowski has the legs of one of their finest works.
1/11 Miller’s Crossing
The last film long-time cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld would shoot with the Coens — before becoming a successful director himself — is a period piece dripping with existential dread and fine criminal detail. The Coens’ masterpiece addresses the moral dilemma that all great gangster movies do, except soaking up the characters in the Coen brothers’ unique syntax that no one could repeat and some of their great Tommy-Gun sets. With incredible supporting performances from rival bosses Albert Finney and Jon Polito, whose onslaught of quotes like ‘What heart? I’m talking about ethics!” only helps to add to the parts that make Miller’s Crossing the best Coen Brothers movie.