Miller's Crossing

[BellyTank]

You're drunk I guess- Bushmills? :cheers1:

I liked that one too- it was kind of a hybrid remake of old movies.

B
T

 

[Badluck Brody]

Very sharp movie

Now I gotta get it on tape or DVD.

Brody

 

[HaraldTheSwede]

This is a really well made gangster movie. It's not epic, and hasn't got tons of action. But it's a gripping and dark mob tale that is well worth watching. In part thanks to the excellent actor Gabriel Byrne.

 

[The Wolf]

Well done film indeed. Gabriel Byrne seems like he's right out of a Hammett novel.

The Wolf

 

[Feraud]

A fine movie! Gabriel Byrne is certainly cut from the 'anti-hero' mold. Albert Finney gives a great performance as a gang leader that falls hard for Marcia Gay Harden. She's quite the dish.
Did anyone notice Tom(Byrne) getting punched a lot and his hat constantly knocked off? I seem to recall him picking his hat up a lot...

This film was made by the Coen bros. They have made a number of films that are set in the Golden Era. O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Barton Fink, and The Man Who Wasn't There. All good films. Their first film Blood Simple is basically 'Noir' film set in modern day Texas. The plot revolves around an untrustworthy dame, double-crossings, money, and murder.

 

[Badluck Brody]

One for the collection!

Now I just have to find it...

Brody

 

[Feraud]

Now I just have to find it...

Brody

Shouldn't be too hard...

 

[Quigley Brown]

I watched it on Cinemax last night. I was disappointed. I thought the dialog was a bit cliche. Heck, it reminded me of 'Johnny Dangerously' without the humor and containing tons more violence. I did notice that if someone's hat was blowing in the wind or rolling down the stairs that it meant that the owner of it had just been killed.

For a Coen brothers film I'd rate it as their worst.

 

[herringbonekid]

don't get me started on that film.
i love the photography, the muted colours, the drop dead cool dialogue, the plot that is so labyrinthine you have to watch it four times before you can take it all in. i like the stylised, almost cartoonish violence. and the clothes are some of the best i've ever seen...the heavy fabrics, earthy colours, and real shirts (i hate it when period-set films just chuck a white shirt on an actor, that clearly isn't vintage)...these are real 30s shirts with subtle, patterns. if i could raid the wardrobe of one modern film it would be that one.

 

[Quigley Brown]

I didn't say anything bad about the wardrobe/sets...they were great. Maybe it was just the Coen style, but like I said I thought the dialog didn't impress me and if it was supposed to be a bit of a satire of gangster films then it didn't work for me. It had it moments, though (that guy screaming, the kid taking the dead guy's toupe).

 

[herringbonekid]

i don't think the coens ever really do 'satire'. they're driven by love of a genre, so it is more 'hommage'. but there is always a knowing, tounge in cheek aspect to their films too. i would say they usually take a recognisable genre as a starting point, then take it to unexpected places.

 

[Clyde R.]

I haven't seen that one in at least five years, but I enjoyed it very much. I had a roommmate in college who considered it his favorite film at the time. I still think it was a very good flick, and not just one on the level of the sets and wardrobe. The acting and writing were first rate in my opinion, and if the dialogue verges on the cliche at times, we must remember the film was done as an homage to gangster movies of the golden era and that includes the patter. Different strokes for different folks but I like Miller's Crossing. Albert Finney's Tommy Gun scene was the only thing I directly recall being bugged about. Although a fun scene to watch, it was a little distracting to me as Finney fires off something like 500 rounds without reloading...a bit much even for Hollywood. At least that's the way I remember it. But I guess the Coen's didn't mind a little "over the top" to make an impression. They never have minded evidently.

 

[Renderking Fisk]

I have to disagree with Quigley Brown... I think it's one of the best Coen movies ever made... the atmosphere and the style it was directed... just beautiful.

I also liked how the fedora's rolling away was a wonderful way of saying that character was dead.

 

[Quigley Brown]

Well, it WAS three in the morning when I watched it. I guess I'll have to view it again when I'm of sound mind....

 

[Feraud]

Well, it WAS three in the morning when I watched it. I guess I'll have to view it again when I'm of sound mind....

That is not to say that you are of un-sound mind now!
Some films require a second or third viewing. The Coen brothers intend to put a lot into their films. Whether it be a 'too much' scene or story. I prefer filmmakers put more than less into their work.

 

[Clyde R.]

I think it is even better on second and third viewing...
This thread has made me want to check it out again, it has been a while since I saw it.

 

[Feraud]

Same here Clyde R. Right now I could go for a Miller's Crossing / Blood Simple double feature.

 

[Clyde R.]

Well said, Jake! Some movies aren't meant to be "seen" so literally. I think you hit the nail on the head with this one.

 

[nightandthecity]

One of my all time favourites...it was the film that first turned me on to the Coen brothers. They are modern masters, I reckon all their films will be seen as classics in years to come.

 

[John in Covina]

I finally got to see it today and it was very good. Yes some parts seemed a little over the top or cliched butthere was a reason why the twenties roared and the Depression was so,.... well,.... depressing. Stoic, manly men, protecting what was theirs. In a way, itwas operatic, it also made me think of Yojimbo and the Last Man Standing. Also how much a Faustian Bargain it was to be a ganglord. A regular Sword of Damaclese hangs above the head of who's the leader.

Some fine wardrobes in it and even the Coen Brothers described it as a men in hats kind of movie. Would you compare it to "The Road to Perdition" favorably?

A thousand would be fair so I want two.