Filmmaking virtuosos Joel and Ethan Coen are among the most accomplished in the industry. With dozens of films under their belts, they have two genres of choice: drama and comedy. Films like Fargo, Inside Llewyn Davis, True Grit, Burn After Reading, Blood Simple and many others are now classics.
Arguably, their two most iconic films are No Country for Old Men and The Big Lebowski. Both these films are the best in their genres (drama and comedy, respectively) and are embedded in pop culture. Both are great and can easily be considered the greatest film by the sibling filmmakers. Here are five reasons why No Country for Old Men is the best Coen film and five reasons The Big Lebowski should be in consideration for that title.
No Country For Old Men: It Has An Excellent Villain
The opening scenes of No Country for Old Men introduced audiences to Anton Chigurh. This cold-blooded psychopath’s trail of terror is the driving force of the film, acting as this near-supernatural figure meant to haunt Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin).
Chigurh is evil personified and is easily one of the greatest villains put on film, thanks to Javier Bardem’s performance (and the worst haircut ever). Bardem steals every scene he is in. No other movie has made a coin toss look so menacing, not even Harvey Dent.
The Big Lebowski: It Features A Greater Cast Of Characters
Coen regulars John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, and Peter Stormare play large supporting roles in The Big Lebowski, with Goodman stealing the show as Walter Sobchak, a Vietnam veteran who is passionate about bowling. Other supporting players include Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Tara Reid, and even Sam Elliot.
At the center of it all is Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski. Arguably Bridges's greatest performance, The Dude is a slacker and avid bowler who is caught up in the worst conspiracy ever.
No Country For Old Men: It Is The Perfect Film Adaptation
Very few films complement the novel they are based on. Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name was originally written as a screenplay, marking it as a more unique and stylistically different affair than his other novels.
The film follows the novel closely to great effect, as it truly captures McCarthy’s vision while allowing the Coens a chance to flex their excellent directorial skills.
The Big Lebowski: It Utilizes Its Influences In The Best Ways
While The Big Lebowski is not explicitly based on any one source, it does take a lot from hard-boiled noir novels, specifically those by author Raymond Chandler. The Big Lebowski plays out like a mystery, against the backdrop of Los Angeles in 1991. Conspiracies unravel at several key moments, with plenty of twists and turns taking place.
While the structure of the film is inspired by these novels, Lebowski shakes things up by providing humor. The entire thing is essentially a big joke, masking a serious detective story.
No Country For Old Men: It Sports A Unique, Bleak Style
There is no shred of happiness in No Country For Old Men. Everything in the film feels dreadful, which is obviously the point. This spans from the grim narration at the beginning, detailing the execution of a child killer, to Chigurh’s use of a captive bolt pistol as his main weapon.
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The look and sound of the film are also unique, though is clearly influenced by the likes of director Sam Peckinpah. The use of sound is also effective, as the Coens forego the use of a consistent score, opting for scenes with no music. Eerie stuff.
The Big Lebowski: It Sports A Unique, Humorous Style
As mentioned earlier, The Big Lebowski takes a lot from noir novels by Chandler, just with gags sprinkled in. A lot of the look of the film also takes from the era. The titles cards are very of the era, the bowling alleys look like they could only exist in the 1950s, and the narration is ripped straight out of old serials.
Oh, and the soundtrack is impeccable. Bob Dylan, the Gipsy Kings, Elvis Costello, and others play in the movie, really tying the room together.
No Country For Old Men: It Set The Standard In A Sub-Genre
The neo-western combines elements of western films with modern crime films. Instead of chasing down criminals on horses like in Pat Garret and Billy the Kid, there are car chases like in Hell or High Water. No Country for Old Men did not invent the neo-western. Instead, it set a new standard for how to make them.
Everything from the Texas setting to the way Tommy Lee Jones acts as Ed Tom Bell feels like it was ripped out of a technicolor western of the 50s. It’s not only the greatest neo-western ever, but it could also easily be among the very best westerns of all time.
The Big Lebowski: Insanely Quotable
“Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.” The Big Lebowski joins the ranks of comedies like Airplane as being some of the most quotable films out there. The staying power of the film has been its quotes, with almost every character delivering a great line. These lines have remained a central part of the pop culture lexicon.
The film overall is also just incredibly funny, with scenes still being referenced to this day (including the use of The Dude in commercials).
No Country For Old Men: It’s The Culmination Of Every Coen Brothers’ Film
By 2007, the filmmaking siblings had some serious classics under their belt. This film feels like a combination of each of those, from the pitch-black humor of Fargo to the gorgeous landscapes of Raising Arizona.
No Country For Old Men are the directors at the peak of their powers delivering a film that could sum up their careers perfectly. It’s the perfect Coen film, fully representing their talents in a way no other film before did. It finally earned them both Best Director and Best Picture at the Academy Awards, a truly deserved award for one of the greatest films ever made.
The Big Lebowski: It Set The Blueprint For Modern Coen Comedies
A comedy by the Coens is a very special thing, as they don’t feel like other kinds of comedies. There is a sort of delicate balance between the absurd, the probable and the bleakness and their comedies know how to do it. The Big Lebowski delivered that in a way wholly unique to this film, as it set out to tell a story with no solution.
The film just ends. The plot threads are not explored further, questions remain unanswered, characters die with no ceremony. Is this a bad thing? No, because it adds layers to the humor of the film. This would later inspire the likes Burn After Reading and Hail Caser!.