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Stumbled upon this AV CLUB article https://www.avclub.com/who-s-your-favorite-coen-brothers-character-1830439153 And it really got me to realize just how many memorable, quotable and indelible characters the Coen Brothers have given us over the years and how much that contributes to making their films so fun and easy to re-watch. I had a hard time narrowing mine down to just three (Walter from Lebowski, Anton Chigurh from No Country and Glen from Raising Arizona) but those are almost too obvious and too easy plus I had to omit so many others I love. Even minor characters like Chet from Barton Fink, the snow shoveler and Mike from Fargo, and Sam Elliott's cowboy and the strange artist guy in Maude's loft from Lebowski leave their mark and make you remember them. With the release of their new film on Netflix I figured I'd start a Coen Brother's thread.
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Nov 17, 2018 16:05
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The best Coen Bros character ever is Gale because of the scene where he tunnels up out of the ground from the jail and yells for like 5 minutes.
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Nov 18, 2018 16:42
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I would have to say Pappy O'Daniel from O Brother, Where art Thou. Charles Durning knocks it out of the loving park with his utter contempt at everyone and everything.
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Nov 18, 2018 16:51
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Samovar posted:I would have to say Pappy O'Daniel from O Brother, Where art Thou. Charles Durning knocks it out of the loving park with his utter contempt at everyone and everything. O Brother Where Art Thou's political subplot works incredibly well as an allegory for the 2016 general election Clearly Trump would have lost if he had been successfully baited into calling for the arrest of Bruno Mars on live TV at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show
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Nov 18, 2018 17:03
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Coen brothers are over rated. they are good writers and have made great movies but they have as many turds as they do good movies. Just like spielberg.
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Nov 18, 2018 18:18
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snergle posted:Coen brothers are over rated. they are good writers and have made great movies but they have as many turds as they do good movies. Just like spielberg. Get a load of this wrongness. If anything, they're underrated. At least based on something like commercial success. I find even their weakest films have a lot to offer. Obligatory "well...that's just like...your opinion, man"
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Nov 18, 2018 18:38
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All the characters in True Grit. I could watch that film over and over again. "The jakes is occupied" "Well Rooster, I'm shot to pieces" "I need no affidavit" "I do not know this man". So on. Every line adds something to what we know of each characters thoughts and feelings. Nothing is out of place and nothing is wasted. The clarity of the picture they want to paint is just incredible.
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Nov 20, 2018 17:39
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Samovar posted:I would have to say Pappy O'Daniel from O Brother, Where art Thou. Charles Durning knocks it out of the loving park with his utter contempt at everyone and everything. O Brother is my favorite movie so this, but for every line from every character. WE THOUGHT YOU WAS A TOAD
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Nov 20, 2018 17:46
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Every line of dialogue in Miller's Crossing is perfect, but if you force me to choose then Johnny Caspar. Maybe The Dane.
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Nov 20, 2018 19:10
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Is the cliche about the Coen Brothers' movies is that there is a cold-blooded-killer with a gun on the loose and the other characters are just normal-types who interact with him?
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Nov 20, 2018 19:16
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No?
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Nov 20, 2018 19:21
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BiggerBoat posted:Get a load of this wrongness. If anything, they're underrated. At least based on something like commercial success. I find even their weakest films have a lot to offer. you can only say they are under rated based on profit margins their movies make. they arent trying to make huge block buster movies they are making quirky comedies and character driven dramas which dont tend to be huge box office draws. They always get funding and always get to make a new movie even if their last one was a bomb. they also get lots of awards / nominations. seriously go through their filmography again about 50% are poo poo while the other 50% are great. Its not just one big long run of hits either its very spotty
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Nov 20, 2018 19:28
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There's one Coen brothers movie I don't like and that is The Ladykillers. Burn After Reading was kinda weak but worked well enough. Some of their movies might be weaker in comparison to their other better movies but if you think any of their movies are "poo poo", then you have really weird standards and your opinion is actually poo poo.
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Nov 20, 2018 19:40
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givepatajob posted:Every line of dialogue in Miller's Crossing is perfect, but if you force me to choose then Johnny Caspar. Maybe The Dane. "It ain't elves"
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Nov 20, 2018 20:49
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OrthoTrot posted:"It ain't elves" Caspar slapping his young son, then comforting him by saying "Did someone hit you?"
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Nov 21, 2018 21:48
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snergle posted:you can only say they are under rated based on profit margins their movies make. they arent trying to make huge block buster movies they are making quirky comedies and character driven dramas which dont tend to be huge box office draws. They always get funding and always get to make a new movie even if their last one was a bomb. they also get lots of awards / nominations. seriously go through their filmography again about 50% are poo poo while the other 50% are great. Its not just one big long run of hits either its very spotty I'd really love to see your list of which movies are poo poo, because I'm not seeing it. Blood Simple(very good to great) Raising Arizona(great) Millers Crossing(very good) The Hudsucker Proxy(pretty good) Fargo(masterpiece) The Big Lebowski(great) The Man Who Wasn't There(pretty good) Intolerable Cruelty(ok I'll give you this one is bad) The Ladykillers(I'll give you this one too, it's pretty bad) No Country For Old Men(masterpiece) Burn After Reading(very good) A Serious Man(very good) True Grit(very good) Inside Llewyn Davis(very good) Hail Caesar!(pretty good, but if you want to count this one, ok) The new Western thing they just released on Netflix(haven't seen it yet) So by my count that's 3 substandard films out of 15.
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Nov 21, 2018 22:00
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The new one on Netflix is extremely good and has at least three characters who could make the Coen Bros. pantheon in time.
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Nov 21, 2018 22:10
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Coen bros rule. One of my all-time fave scenes/lines in Raising AZ when they're hosting his dipshit boss (Sam McMurry) and he's talking about adoption and utters "crazy world," to which Hi replies "Someone should sell tickets" and the boss replies "I'd buy one". loving champion.
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Nov 22, 2018 00:42
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My wife and I have not performed the sex act in many years.
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Nov 22, 2018 01:25
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Super Waffle posted:O Brother is my favorite movie so this, but for every line from every character.  ...DOO NAWT SEEK THE TRAYSURE Endlessly quotable movie. For content, I instantly fell in love with Tom Waits' character in the new netflix film, but then, he is Tom Waits. The first story is also Coens as all hell Barry Foster has a new favorite as of 16:49 on Nov 23, 2018 |
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Nov 23, 2018 16:46
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Marge and Norm are my favorite on-screen couple, Coen or otherwise
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Nov 23, 2018 17:10
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Too thin Rooster, too thin!
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Nov 23, 2018 20:47
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Basebf555 posted:So by my count that's 3 substandard films out of 15. you forgot a few but ill do my own list. Blood simple: ok crimewave: bad ( i understand if you want to argue this since raimi helped write and directed.) raising arizona: great millers crossing: ok barton fink: meh hudsucker proxy: meh fargo: good lebowski: good o brother: good ( i personally dont like it but i understand while others go) the man who wasnt there: bad intolerable cruelty: bad ( again there was a third writer but joel directed) ladykillers: bad ( i actually like this one but i like bad movies) no country for old men: good burn after reading: bad a serious man: meh true grit: ok gambit:bad ( they didnt direct) inside lewis: meh unbroken: bad ( they didnt direct and had writing help) bridge of spies: bad ( they didnt direct and had help writing) hail ceaser: bad surbicon: bad ( they didnt direct) buster scruggs: havent seen now that im writing this out i think the problem isnt the coen brothers but the people they let work with them. so i retract my over rated statement and now demand they put a clause into their contract where noone else is allowed to help write or direct their movies. snergle has a new favorite as of 21:22 on Nov 23, 2018 |
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Nov 23, 2018 21:19
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A Serious Man doesn't get mentioned much. Si Ableman is just a wonderful character. He's so unnervingly nice.
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Nov 23, 2018 23:56
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I thought Buster Scruggs was great
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Nov 23, 2018 23:59
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It's Ed because Holly Hunter is so good. I  love him so much
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Nov 24, 2018 00:22
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a kitten posted:It's Ed because Holly Hunter is so good. *somber* "I know ya' do, honey"
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Nov 24, 2018 02:42
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snergle posted:barton fink: meh Yikes
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Nov 24, 2018 03:12
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Can't say I'm familiar with their work.
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Nov 24, 2018 03:37
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Cat Army
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snergle posted:you can only say they are under rated based on profit margins their movies make. they arent trying to make huge block buster movies they are making quirky comedies and character driven dramas which dont tend to be huge box office draws. They always get funding and always get to make a new movie even if their last one was a bomb. they also get lots of awards / nominations. seriously go through their filmography again about 50% are poo poo while the other 50% are great. Its not just one big long run of hits either its very spotty Your opinions are trash and you should gently caress off
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Nov 25, 2018 17:22
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Everyone should check out "The Ballad of Buster Skruggs". It's a little unevenand slow in spots but has all the cinematography, acting, symbolism, charaterization and dialogue that Coen fans like. It was good. I keep coming up with more and more supporting/one scene characters that seem to pepper all of their films. - The taxi cab driver who LOVES The Eagles - Old man in the bank in Arizona who doesn't know whether to freeze or get down on the ground. Seeing as how, iffen he drops, he's a gonna be in motion. And if he freezes, he can't rightly get down on the ground. - The hooker in Fargo who gives the helpful description that Buscemi is "kinda funny lookin" - Old shop owner in NCFOM who "closes now. He closes now" and "needs to know what he's flipping for" - The nihilist, Flea, in Lebowski who whines that "it's not FAIR!" that they get no money - Store owner in Raising Arizona who explains that his balloons are only funny if you get a kick out of them being "round" - H.I.'s cellmate and co-worker who just drone on and on about bullshit; eating crawdads and sand or describing car accidents - JK Simmons in Burn After Reading who is unsure what they're doing but feels like they should learn from it anyway. The Russian counsalent who stares at a CD and asks "PC or MAC"? They even made a memorable character out of a loving painting and a cat in "Ladykillers", which everyone seems to hate except for me. As for main characters, Tommy Lee Jones Sheriff in No Country, Billy Bob Thornton's resigned depressed barber in The Man Who Wasn't There and, now, Tom Waits beaten but persistent prospector in Buster Skruggs
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Nov 25, 2018 18:19
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Watched Buster Skruggs last night; what a roller coaster that was. I'm a fan of modern westerns but I've never been into the classic stuff, but even so I absolutely loved the juxtaposition of Buster and every other character. In fact I loved every single one of the stories, the last one probably being my favorite.
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Nov 28, 2018 02:43
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I haven't seen their entire body of work but I watched Intolerable Cruelty at home and enjoyed it  What's wrong with it?
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Nov 28, 2018 02:51
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BiggerBoat posted:- The taxi cab driver who LOVES The Eagles i dont think this guy loves the eagles i think what he hates are drunk bums want to tell him what he can play on his own god damned radio anyway, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlA9hmrC8DU
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Nov 28, 2018 02:55
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Buster Scruggs is one of the most fun characters they’ve done and I wish his part was bigger.
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Nov 29, 2018 18:59
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bewilderment posted:I haven't seen their entire body of work but I watched Intolerable Cruelty at home and enjoyed it It's a decent example of that kind of movie, I just don't like that genre and don't ever really find myself enjoying movies like that. It was such a departure for them that I just have no desire to ever watch it again. It's competently made though, like everything else they've done. bitterandtwisted posted:Buster Scruggs is one of the most fun characters they’ve done and I wish his part was bigger. I loved him too and that was my main criticism of the movie. Not nearly enough time to get to know all of the characters so when a good one came along they were usually gone forever from the film within 10 minutes.
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Nov 29, 2018 19:04
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The Coen Brothers are so good at writing off-beat and memorable minor characters but my favorite is probably this lady from No Country For Old Men. I love this character, her actress, pretty much everything about how this scene is framed and its story is told in less than a minute of actual screentime. It's so good.
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Nov 29, 2018 19:09
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exquisite tea posted:The Coen Brothers are so good at writing off-beat and memorable minor characters but my favorite is probably this lady from No Country For Old Men. Hahaha I was watching it a while ago and talking to a friend and talking about how hard this lady was and if it weren't for the person in the bathroom she might have been hosed.
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Nov 29, 2018 19:11
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exquisite tea posted:The Coen Brothers are so good at writing off-beat and memorable minor characters but my favorite is probably this lady from No Country For Old Men. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UE3jz_O_EM&t=255s Here's a really good video about the Coens where they use that woman as an example of what you're talking about(around the 4min mark). They use shot-reverse shot a lot, but unlike a lot of directors they use those shots to the fullest extent to give the audience little extra bits about characters who maybe only appear for a single scene. Someone in another thread once linked me to the video, I'd give them credit but I can't remember which thread it was.
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Nov 29, 2018 19:13
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bitterandtwisted posted:Buster Scruggs is one of the most fun characters they’ve done and I wish his part was bigger. Yeah "what if Roy Rogers played Will Munny" is a hell of a good concept.
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Nov 29, 2018 19:36
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