Why do Coen Brothers movies...

seem to get better each time you see them?


I think they have an incredible ability to reveal a little piece of each character (at least the major ones) with each scene. That way you catch a little bit more every time you see the movie. I think that makes each one more believable and, in turn, funnier with each viewing.

Some of their movies I liked immediately; Blood Simple, Fargo, O Brother and Intolerable Cruelty. Others took a few viewings before I was really into it; Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Big Lebowski, Hudsucker Proxy, The man who wasn't there, and to a certain extent, The Ladykillers.

The first time I saw Raising Arizona I thought it was stupid. I'd catch it once in a while on cable and it kept getting funnier until I watched it through one day and was crying.

As for O Brother and Fargo, it's a strange feeling to be watching a movie for the 20th time and it's as funny, or haunting (Miller's Crossing, which I forgot to list above as one of the ones that was beautiful from the get), as it was the first time.

I also think that each is a terrific lesson in one way to write. They are word virtuosos.

Anyone else have an explanation or opinions?

 

Paging IJAG. IJAG, please pick up the yellow courtesy phone.

 

I liked, maybe even loved, all of them the first time through. I have the DVDs for Miller's Crossing, Blood Simple, O Brother, Barton Fink and the Big Lebowski. When they come out with a deluxe version of Raising Arizona -- what the hell are they waiting for? -- I'll buy it.

And they do only get better with each viewing.

 

The Coens are so far out of the mainstream when it comes to Hollywood movies. Their movies aren't simply dramas, comedies or whatnot, but a combination of styles and genres. Perhaps that is why we don't know how to react one of their films the first time we see them. It is like eating your first gourmet dinner after a lifetime of McDonalds. Their style is unfamiliar and unique. There aren't filmakers out there like the Coens. I loved the Hudsucker Proxy and a different movie with Billy Bob Thornton playing a barber in a film noir style.

 

Has anyone seen "Crimewave" (written by the Coen Brothers; directed by Sam Raimi)? It hasn't been available on video in the States for years [VHS only...never made it to LD or DVD] but is available on DVD in UK. I've been contemplating buying it since:

a. I like the Coen Brothers AND Sam Raimi
b. I have a region free DVD player [thanks to a hack code]

I saw a clip of it on the Sam Raimi episode of "The Incredibly Strange Film Show" that was funny as hell.

By the way...somebody needs to put out every episode of "TISFS" on DVD [the show was BBC and aired in the States on Discovery Channel in the early '90s].