MRQE Ranks: The Best to Worst Movies by the Coen Brothers

1

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Cast: Tommy Jones, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin, Stephen Root, Rodger Boyce, Beth Grant, Ana Reeder, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Kelly Macdonald, Josh Brolin

Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: While out hunting, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) finds the grisly aftermath of a drug deal. Though he knows better, he cannot resist the cash left be... [MORE]

2

Miller's Crossing (1990)

Cast: Marcia Harden, J.E. Freeman, Mike Starr, Al Mancini, Jon Polito, John Turturro, Albert Finney, Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden

Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Synopsis: When the Italian Mafia threatens to kill a crooked bookie (John Turturro), Irish mob boss Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney) refuses to allow it, chiefly... [MORE]

3

True Grit (2010)

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Pepper

Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) joins an aging U.S. marshal (Jeff Bridges) and another lawman (Matt Damon) in tracking her father'... [MORE]

4

Fargo (1996)

Cast: William Macy, John Lynch, Kristin Rudrud, Steve Reevis, Steve Park, Jose Feliciano, William H. Macy, Harve Presnell, Steve Buscemi, Frances McDormand, Peter Stormare

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: "Fargo" is a reality-based crime drama set in Minnesota in 1987. Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) is a car salesman in Minneapolis who has gotten... [MORE]

5

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Cast: F. Abraham, Ethan Phillips, Robin Bartlett, Max Casella, Jerry Grayson, Adam Driver, Stark Sands, Alex Karpovsky, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, F. Murray Abraham, Jeanine Serralles

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: In 1961 New York City, folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is at a crossroads. Guitar in hand, he struggles against seemingly insurmountable obs... [MORE]

6

Barton Fink (1991)

Cast: Tony Shalhoub, Jon Polito, Steve Buscemi, David Warrilow, Richard Portnow, Christopher Murney, Judy Davis, John Turturro, John Mahoney, John Goodman, Michael Lerner

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Synopsis: Set in 1941, an intellectual New York playwright Barton Fink (John Turturro) accepts an offer to write movie scripts in L.A. He finds himself with ... [MORE]

7

Blood Simple. (1984)

Cast: Samm-Art Williams, Deborah Neumann, Señor Marco, William Creamer, Frances McDormand, M. Emmet Walsh, John Getz, Dan Hedaya

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: "Blood Simple" was the first feature film from Joel and Ethan Coen. This is the newly restored and re-edited director's cut of the film, introduced... [MORE]

8

Raising Arizona (1987)

Cast: Sam McMurray, Frances McDormand, Randall Cobb, M. Emmet Walsh, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Nicolas Cage, Trey Wilson, William Forsythe

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Synopsis: An ex-con and an ex-cop meet, marry and long for a child of their own. When it is discovered that Hi is unable to have children they decide to snat... [MORE]

9

A Serious Man (2009)

Cast: Aaron Wolff, Jessica Mcmanus, Amy Landecker, Peter Breitmayer, Brent Braunschweig, David Kang, Benjamin Portnoe, Alan Mandell, George Wyner, Simon Helberg, Fyvush Finkel, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Adam Arkin, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a physics professor at a 1960s university, but his life is coming apart at the seams. His wife (Sari Lennick) i... [MORE]

10

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Scott Shepherd, Sebastian Koch, Alan Alda

Director: Steven Spielberg

Synopsis: In this historical drama set during the Cold War, a Brooklyn attorney (Tom Hanks) is tasked with negotiating a prisoner exchange between an America... [MORE]

11

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Cast: David Huddleston, Philip Hoffman, Flea Null, Leon Russom, Sam Elliott, Tara Reid, David Thewlis, Ben Gazzara, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Jeff Bridges, Peter Stormare

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Synopsis: Jeff Bridges plays Jeff Lebowski who insists on being called "the Dude," a laid-back, easygoing burnout who happens to have the same name as a mill... [MORE]

12

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

Cast: Billy Thornton, Katherine Borowitz, Jon Polito, Richard Jenkins, Tony Shalhoub, Adam Alexi-Malle, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Billy Bob Thornton, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Badalucco

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: A dark tale of infidelity and murder, crime and punishment. Set in a small northern California town of the late 40s, the film portrays Ed Crane (Bi... [MORE]

13

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Cast: Tim Nelson, Chris Thomas King, Charles Durning, Del Pentecost, Michael Badalucco, J.R. Horne, Brian Reddy, Wayne Duvall, Ed Gale, Ray McKinnon, Daniel Von Bargen, Royce Applegate, Frank Collison, Quinn Gasaway, Lee Weaver, Milford Fortenberry, Stephen Root, John Locke, Gillian Welch, A. Ratliff, Mia Tate, Musetta Vander, Christy Taylor, April Hardcastle, Michael Finnell, Georgia Rainer, Tim Blake Nelson, George Clooney, John Turturro, John Goodman, Holly Hunter

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) is having difficulty adjusting to his hard-labor sentence in Mississippi. He scams his way off the chain ga... [MORE]

14

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Cast: George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Veronica Osorio, Frances McDormand, Alden Ehrenreich, Heather Goldenhersh, Christopher Lambert, Alison Pill, Ian Blackman

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: In the early 1950s, Eddie Mannix is busy at work trying to solve all the problems of the actors and filmmakers at Capitol Pictures. His latest assi... [MORE]

15

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Cast: Tim Robbins, Charles Durning, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman, John Mahoney, Bruce Campbell, Jennifer Leigh, Joe Grifasi, Peter Gallagher, Steve Buscemi, John Seitz, Bill Cobbs, Jim True, Richard Whiting

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: Greedy executive Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) hopes to take control of the company he works for by purchasing a majority share -- but he must... [MORE]

16

Burn After Reading (2008)

Cast: Richard Jenkins, Elizabeth Marvel, David Rasche, J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt

Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst (John Malkovich) falls into the hands of Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) and Chad Feldheime... [MORE]

17

Paris, je t'aime (2006)

Cast: Nick Nolte, Bob Hoskins, Natalie Portman, Bruno Podalydès, Miranda Richardson, Leonor Watling, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elijah Wood, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Fanny Ardant, Willem Dafoe, Sergio Castellitto, Steve Buscemi, Juliette Binoche

Director: Gurinder Chadha, Gerard Depardieu, Frédéric Auburtin, Olivier Assayas, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Sylvain Chomet, Isabel Coixet, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Nobuhiro Suwa, Oliver Schmitz, Walter Salles, Bruno Podalydès, Alexander Payne, Vincenzo Natali, Daniela Thomas, Richard LaGravenese, Christopher Doyle, Gus Van Sant, Alfonso Cuaron

Writer: Bruno Podalydès, Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, Gus Van Sant, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Nobuhiro Suwa, Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuarón, Richard LaGravenese, Olivier Assayas, Wes Craven, Alexander Payne, Gena Rowlands, Tom Tykwer

Synopsis: A collection has 18 vignettes set in Paris. In "Bastille," a man (Sergio Castellitto) considers leaving his wife (Miranda Richardson) for his mistr... [MORE]

18

The Ladykillers (2004)

Cast: Irma Hall, Ryan Hurst, George Wallace, Diane Delano, Stephen Root, Jason Weaver, Greg Grunberg, Irma P. Hall, J.K. Simmons, Tom Hanks, Marlon Wayans, Tzi Ma

Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Synopsis: Professor G.H. Dorr (Tom Hanks), a courtly Southern gentleman, arrives at the home of devout, elderly Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall), hoping to rent h... [MORE]

19

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

Cast: Cedric The Entertainer Null, Richard Jenkins, Billy Thornton, Paul Adelstein, Julia Duffy, Stacey Travis, Jack Kyle, Jonathan Hadary, Irwin Keyes, Tom Aldredge, Mia Cottet, Kiersten Warren, Edward Herrmann, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cedric the Entertainer, George Clooney, Geoffrey Rush

Director: Joel Coen

Synopsis: Miles Massey (George Clooney) is an exceptional divorce lawyer who specializes in saving cheating husbands from having to pay expensive settlements... [MORE]

20

Unbroken (2014/I)

Cast: Jack O'Connell, Garrett Hedlund, Domhnall Gleeson, John Magaro, Finn Wittrock

Director: Angelina Jolie

Synopsis: Angelina Jolie directs this true life tale of Louis Zamperini, the Olympic track star who survived a plane crash in World War II, only to fight for... [MORE]

21

Gambit (2012)

Cast: Togo Igawa, Sadao Ueda, Masashi Fujimoto, Pip Torrens, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Cameron Diaz, Tom Courtenay, Stanley Tucci, Cloris Leachman

Director: Michael Hoffman

Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Synopsis: A mild-mannered art curator (Colin Firth) plans to scam his abusive boss with the help of an expert forger (Tom Courtenay) and a rodeo queen (Camer... [MORE]