Discover the fascinating world of the Coen Brothers and their cinematic legacy as we explore the definitive ranking of their top five films based on critical and audience acclaim.
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However, further down, I was stunned to see O Brother, Where Art Thou? dead last. After Burn After Reading? Friends. What’s up with that?
There’s no “correct” way to arrange what is an incredible body of work, but we decided to approach it a little more objectively. Also, I don’t want to start any fights with a subjective list. Instead, looking at critical rankings from Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd, Metacritic, and other major outlets, we can compile an aggregated top 5 based on consistent performance across all of them.
True Grit leads Rotten Tomatoes’ rankings with a 95% Tomatometer. Blood Simple, their first feature film, is second, followed by Fargo at third, then No Country and Miller’s Crossing.
In IMDb rankings of Coen brothers films based on audience scores, No Country for Old Men stands as the top with a score of 8.2 (1.1 million votes). Following closely are The Big Lebowski, with an 8.1 score (899K votes), and Fargo, also with an 8.1 (764K votes). Then we have O Brother, Where Art Thou?, with a 7.7 rating (344K votes), and Miller’s Crossing, with a 7.7 rating (147K votes).
On Metacritic, the rankings are a bit shuffled: Inside Llewyn Davis (93 Metascore), No Country for Old Men (92), Fargo (88), Blood Simple (84), and True Grit (80) are the top five.
On Letterboxd, user ratings rank the top five films as No Country (4.3/5), Fargo (4.2/5), Lebowski (4.1/5), Barton Fink (4.1/5), and Inside Llewyn Davis (4/5).
So let’s take all this to make…
A Definitive Coen Brothers’ Top Five
5. Blood Simple
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Their 1984 debut makes our top 5 purely on critical strength, ranking second on Rotten Tomatoes and fourth on Metacritic. Critics recognize it as the film that established their sensibilities and filmmaking ingenuity.
4. True Grit
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The most divisive entry in our top 5, leading Rotten Tomatoes with a 95% score, but ranking lower on audience-driven platforms. Critics consistently praise Jeff Bridges’ embodiment of Rooster Cogburn and Hailee Steinfeld’s career-launching performance.
3. The Big Lebowski
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Despite ranking lower in some critic polls, it achieves consistency across audience-driven platforms. It ties for second on IMDb and ranks third on Letterboxd. The film’s massive cultural impact and quotable lines make it a standout in their body of work.
2. Fargo
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This is the most consistently high-ranking film across all outlets, never dropping below third place. It dominates the World of Reel critic poll, ranks third on Rotten Tomatoes, and maintains strong scores on IMDb and Letterboxd. Frances McDormand’s pregnant police chief remains one of the duo’s most beloved characters.
1. No Country for Old Men
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This is the clear number-one, appearing in most critics’ top 5. The Best Picture win represents the Academy’s validation of the duo’s artistry and features one of cinema’s most terrifying villains in Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh.
One thing I’ll quickly point out is that A Serious Man has undergone significant critical reevaluation, climbing rankings across multiple outlets. Initially well-reviewed, time has allowed the story to marinate with more receptive viewers. Critics now recognize its contemplative depth alongside their more accessible crowd-pleasers. It’s one of my favorite movies, full stop.
And for what it’s worth, The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty generally fall at the bottom, and some people forget The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
What do you think?
Source : nofilmschool.com
