Last video of 2018 folks! It's been great year! Hope you all have a great holiday, I'm excited to make many more videos in 2019. If you're interested in helping support my content long term stop by my Patreon: patreon.com/thomasflight
Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro) was in Miller's Crossing for much longer than 2 minutes and 7 seconds. He has at least five scenes, and is one of the major supporting players. You also have him credited to Barton Fink...
@@lowemckee3638 Yep. Screwed that title up, oops. The 2:07 is from Chet in Barton Fink (I must have left it uncorrected when I copied the title over). Bernie is in Miller's Crossing for about 15 minutes, and does play a fairly major role. I had him included originally as an example of how they develop his character and his impact on the story is much larger than his 15 minutes on screen. I changed the script, but left him in, probably could have found a better example for that moment.
The stolen rug in The Big Lebowski is the best minor character in the Coens' universe. Without a single word it said, but it drove the whole story to a philosophical adventure.
The Coen Brothers are good at caricature, which naturally lends itself to minor characters more than major ones. Major characters need to be round and complex. Minor characters can be defined by one or two characteristics. We see this in literature going back to Dickens or maybe even further. Giving minor characters a unique hat or expression they keep repeating can make them more vivid for us than major characters. Major characters often are, paradoxically, more opaque because the image we get of them is complicated by prolonged exposure.
If a main character is done right, the representation is complicated, sometimes complex, at least somewhat contradictory, not fully Socratically self-aware, occasionally spontaneous in thought or action, and suggestive of a great deal of unrepresented aspects, that mysterious dark matter neither probed nor susceptible to probing. I think few real people meet these criteria. They are closer to being caricatures. The more bound to habit a person becomes, the more nearly he approaches the condition of a breathing caricature.
My favorite not mentioned here is JK Simmons in Burn After Reading. He’s in only two scenes, and his utter bafflement over the film’s events makes him an audience surrogate. They’re the funniest scenes in the movie.
You should try to play all "Trails of" game... It's one of underated JRPG, but the amount of quality that they give to creating the world and NPC is very impressive... It's seem that every NPC has their own minor story or script that changed as you progress the story...
Thanks for this, I was lucky enough to play one of those roles and will say it feels like you are a bigger part of the story than a functionary or expositional bit part. I feel bad that Jerry Grayson who I met at our callback may not have lived to see his great work as Mel. He was a nice fellow he regaled me with harrowing show biz stories including the time he literally died on stage and was revived by a doctor in the house years before his actual death.
This is actually very “Dickensian” of the Coen brothers. Idk if they’re avid readers or were influenced by Dickens. But in Dickens novels the minor characters were always larger than life. Often with bizarre/odd appearances, strange ways of presenting dialogue and always memorable. And also like the Coen brothers the major characters are always straight men in these abstract larger than life worlds.
Agreed; enjoyed the video and this comment by Roger Keith. I submit that creating minor characters with such success is an undertaking very different than creating major characters with success. (Both Dickens and the Coen brothers are good at both, in my view.) With such Dickensian minor characters, there is no ongoing requirement for them to fit into any ecology. Social, financial, ethical, moral, even physical eccentricities produce no friction for those characters and therefore they are without boundaries. Main characters, in contrast, are forced to work within many boundaries; as the video points out, often provided by these minor characters. Minor characters like these are free to be as wacky as desired, which is a large portion of their charm/memorability. Major characters are constrained to work within limits and that struggle is a large portion of theirs.
@@EssensOrAccidens main characters have to be relatable and the charm of wacky eccentricities can get tiresome fast. plus the eccentric probably wouldn't go on an adventure in the first place
Well Dickens alone might be the most influential author in cinema's history since his books even describe types of shots that range from close-ups to establishments shots and arguably film continuity and even suspense of what you can't see behind the door, just the knob moving.
@Roger Keith: Yes, you make a good comparison. But it also highlights how the Coen Brothers, like Dickens, use these minor characters primarily as comic relief. And I mean "use" in the pejorative sense of "manipulate" and "exploit". These minor characters are not given respect as full human beings. Contrast that with Dostoevsky's use of minor characters . . .
I think a good bit of credit should be paid to their casting director, Ellen Chenoweth. One of the best in the business. Her first ever feature film was Barry Levinson's DINER. Her third film was the five time Oscar winner, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.
Casting should receive a great deal of credit in finding these actors and adding to the atmosphere. Casting teams spend months prior to a film searching for intriguing and fitting actors. Film directors choose from who casting has filtered.
I've been watching more Coen Movies, and I have noticed that i often look forward to seeing the next random people the main characters meet haha. Big Fan
Thanks for the essay. I am unabashedly a Cohen Bros. fan, and enjoying seeing essays about their work. Their films are rich with detail and layers of fantastic story telling. They never fail to amuse and entertain.
I got to talk with Melissa Peterman a few years ago ("Hooker #2 at 1:39; the blond one), and mentioned her line "Go Bears!" in this scene. She related how it was one of her first roles out of college and not really knowing much about the Coens, she asked if she could ad lib the line, as she is a native Minnesotan. They agreed, and a brilliant little bit of dialogue was birthed. At least to me, those two words changed my whole perception of the character; she now became something more than a clueless sex worker- she was now an old classmate, neighbor, or the sister of a friend, and worthy of empathy. She has gone on to a pretty decent career, most notably on the sitcom "Reba".
@@edha4827 Well, Buscemi might have been, but Melissa certainly isn't nowadays. She is in great shape, like she was when "Reba" wrapped up, and even my wife kept commenting on her knockout legs.
Your observations on the Coen brothers' minor characters cleared up a nagging question for me: why was my memory replaying small parts of their movies as much or more than the major parts? Of course, it was because of he Coen's incredibly artful use of minor characters. Excellent video. Thank you.
Damn! Thank you for helping me understand this concept of featuring minor characters. I didn't understand why I liked their films so well, but I knew that they were saturated with interesting things.
Minor character not even seen: Ed's co-worker in "Raising Arizona," constantly reminding her of what to do--even on her wedding day. "Don't forget your bouquet, Ed!"
It was so interesting to consider how much screen time each character got. For each one I recognized I could have sworn it was longer than you said. That's just how memorable they are.
Exceptional! Absolutely love Joel and Ethan's work and all the talented folks that bring it to life. Thank you. And, thank you Thomas, love your analysis and your channel.
Don't know much about film makers. Judging by the job they did on the re-make of True Grit, which I was not initially interested in seeing, they know what they're doing. It was a pleasant surprise to see what a good job they did with it.
I finally watched all of the Coen's films while making this video (I had seen them all except The Ladykillers) and I rewatched a lot of them while making the video and they're all pretty good. I don't know which ones you've seen but here's my (highly personal) ranking in order of must-watchedness: The Big Lebowski O Brother Where Art Thou? No Country for Old Men Inside Llewyn Davis Blood Simple Fargo Raising Arizona True Grit The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Hail, Caesar! A Serious Man Miller's Crossing Barton Fink Burn After Reading The Man Who Wasn't There Intolerable Cruelty The Ladykillers
Shit dude I saw Burn After Reading in a charity shop today but didn't look at it to know it was a coen brothers film, thanks for letting me know your picks! The Big Lebowski is definatly my favorite they've made that I've seen so far. then I'd probably say The Man who wasn't there, Raising Arizona, No Country for old men, Fargo, A serious man and then O Brother Where Art Thou?. and I loved them all! I just think because of the characters feeling so real, which movie you rate high depends on what characters you like the most or feel you understand more.
@@ThomasFlight That's an interesting and unusual ranking. Mine would be something like this: 1. Fargo (1996) 2. Barton Fink (1991) 3. No Country for Old Men (2007) 4. The Big Lebowski (1998) 5. A Serious Man (2009) 6. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) 7. Miller's Crossing (1990) 8. Raising Arizona (1987) 9. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) 10. Burn After Reading (2008) 11. Blood Simple (1984) 12. True Grit (2010) 13. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) 14. Hail, Caesar! (2016) 15. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) 16. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) 17. Intolerable Cruelty (2003) 18. The Ladykillers (2004)
@@ThomasFlight I'd put 'Barton Fink', 'Fargo', 'No Country for Old Men', 'Miller's Crossing' and 'A Serious Man' in the top tier. 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' as a runner-up? Should be further down the list, with the likes of the so-so Coen flicks like 'Intorelable Cruelty', 'Burn After Reading', 'The Man who wasn't There' or 'The Ladykillers'. And I've always found 'The Big Lebowski' hugely overrated and never as impactful as 'Barton Fink' or 'Fargo' - these two are Coen Brothers at their finest in depicting the madness and loneliness of a man's obsession, with such memorable scenes as the box on the beach next to Barton echoed by the snow buried bag of money in 'Fargo', both of which are preceded by the hat blown in the wind in the opening titles scene of the 'Miller's Crossing'.
Wonderful. Their side-characters are often almost Shakepsearean, in a way. The discussion and the scene at 3:43 reminded me of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern in Hamlet.
THANK YOU! my favorite characters are typically done by character actors in small roles. or even characters with one line in bad movies like that Bill Burr topic on his podcast.
My two favorites are from The Big Lebowski. Manny’s performance art always makes me laugh. And then Knox Harrington, played by the great David Thewlis, just giggles for most of his only scene.
I think what makes these characters so memorable is they are designed to steal whatever scene they are in. It seems the best lines of dialogue are often reserved for them. There isn't one of the Coen brothers movies that I can recall without a great line or two being delivered by someone with only a fleeting appearance in the movie.
All those minor characters and you missed the store clerk in Raising Arizona: "Do these balloons blow up into funny shapes, at all?" "No, unless round is funny." The same actor appeared uncredited as a store clerk in O Brother.
Fargo: The father in law Lebowski: Bunny, the carpet pissers, Maude's giggling friend, the private eye in the VW Burn After Reading: The Seattle morning television show hosts
This was a really lovely doc, almost elegiac. But their films are mesmerising & fascinating and their minor characters resemble the plethora of different shaped creatures under a particularly productive sea-weeded rock at furthest extent of an ebbing tide; a whole and complete universe of life all bumping into each other. // Thks !!
First off, Damn John Goodman is only in O'Brother for 4 minutes. It felt longer. Also Stephen Root's character in No Country Old Man has a name, its "The Man Who Hires Welles".
Donny and Jesus from The Big Lebowski literally didn't have anything to do with the plot yet they're more memorable than most of the characters I've forgotten in superhero movies.
Excellent video, this makes me want to rewatch some of their early work to better appreciate the characters I didn't remember. Well researched and edited, man!
Coen Brothers make all of my favourite movies. I love everything they do, with The Big Lebowski being my favourite of all time. And I loved The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs. Good video.
I really appreciate your work, Thomas. The Bohemian Rhapsody video was the first one that popped up in my feed, this is the third one I’ve watched so far. You’ve earned a new subscriber, please keep up the good work.
Great analysis. Actually, I was just telling a friend about this characteristic of the Coen Brothers, not only with their small characters but with characters in general, they do give each of them elements that keep you interested to the story, even when the story might not be that interesting to you. I think Wes Anderson does the same. Ohh, and I just checked MUBI and wow, very interesting cinema selection, I might give it a try. Thanks.
Cohen brothers are genius-level filmmakers. No Country for Old men sold me on that. Not sure about True Grit thou. But a Serious Man and Fargo cement their style.
I guess yardstick of well-written character is that are they able to support a story of their own. It does not have to be a feature-length film. In great story every character (does something visible or/and has at least one line of dialogue) could be a story worth telling.
Excellent video. Spot on analysis. The Coen Brothers are to cinema, what Rockstar Games are to video games. They love their minor characters and storylines
ever? bit of a stretch. they are up there without a shadow of a doubt. but they're certainly not the best of the best. they certainly can't be mentioned without being a part of a small crowd of directors who are considered to be just as genius as they are.
Students of literature are taught about "round" (main) and "flat" (minor) characters, but the Coen brothers upend the theory and manage to do so by not giving the minor characters much screen time. Their minor characters are more like "fast rounds," one might say.
You nailed it . These movie makers are the cream at the top and one of the major reasons the films they make stick with us is because of these "unimportant" characters that make the movies what they are . "How much have you ever lost in a coin toss?" , " Nobody fucks with the jesus!",Jackie Treehorn , Nox Harington. The girl who drinks beer at the motel or grandma who has the cancer .All of them make those movies . Best stuff ever put to film if you ask me .
Gosh, I love love love this vid. Add this on the list of reason why to love the coens. I feel like this skill of the minor character is also applicable to my other fav filmmakers like PTA Lynch and Kubrick but the coens do it the best
I enjoyed this so much I immediately watched it again. I love the Coen Bro's. Your insights will make me watch their movies (and others) with an eye that is a little more refined.
Loved this - thank you for assembling all of these great characters together. Drop Johnson, man. Especially in the hat. Do have to refute that Blood Simple was devoid of memorable minor characters, though: the landlady and her (former) brother-in-law Mr Garcia, Holly Hunter as Helene Trend on Meurice's voicemail, even Meurice himself is pretty minor yet has memorable mannerisms such as footwork on the bar and geeking out about volcano eruptions
Yeah, I discussed this with another commenter that I definitely overlooked a few in Blood Simple. None of them are as extreme, but they're definitely there.
The Jesus had only 2:45 of screentime?!!? Are you kidding me?!? Of course, the Gypsy King's cover of HC didn't hurt, but man, that Turturro can really chew some scenery. He's a main character in that movie in terms of lasting effect.
The morning news casters in Burn After Reading. Amazing stuff. All the characters in that movie are incredible. What about the janitor that finds the "Russian intelligence" in the bathroom? "It was just lying there"
see old steakhouse waitress from Hell or High Water. establish tactics, history, hopes, and fears - but for side characters they provide the main plot new information, they need to be dynamic, but rememberability helps. Quirkiness through entrance, details, culture, or ticks can only help make them stand out.
Every character in the The Big Lebowski, minor or major, is absolutely perfect. One of the best not mentioned here was David Thewlis as Maude's friend. His laugh in that scene is hilarious.
A subtype of the minor character in Coen Bros movies is the Mystic. The mysterious person seemingly of no account who comes along and makes a prophecy out of the blue that ends up coming true.
The last scene should be the dude walking down the street. Sees his rug rolled up and dumped in a trash can. He puts it over his shoulder and dudes down the sidewalk.
Last video of 2018 folks! It's been great year! Hope you all have a great holiday, I'm excited to make many more videos in 2019.
If you're interested in helping support my content long term stop by my Patreon: patreon.com/thomasflight
Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro) was in Miller's Crossing for much longer than 2 minutes and 7 seconds. He has at least five scenes, and is one of the major supporting players. You also have him credited to Barton Fink...
@@lowemckee3638 Yep. Screwed that title up, oops. The 2:07 is from Chet in Barton Fink (I must have left it uncorrected when I copied the title over). Bernie is in Miller's Crossing for about 15 minutes, and does play a fairly major role. I had him included originally as an example of how they develop his character and his impact on the story is much larger than his 15 minutes on screen. I changed the script, but left him in, probably could have found a better example for that moment.
@@ThomasFlight Thanks for the explanation, and I agree that Bernie's short screen time has a major impact as well! Overall fantastic video.
Great video, think you just need to adjust your audio mixing. Was a little hard to hear your voice over the background music.
Thomas Flight k
The stolen rug in The Big Lebowski is the best minor character in the Coens' universe. Without a single word it said, but it drove the whole story to a philosophical adventure.
You could say...it really tied the film together.
And it tied the room together.
The best example of a MacGuffin
It tied the whole movie together ;)
Should share this credit with the Lebowski car...
Yeah Well that's just like your opinion, man
Saral Koirala I see you’re not golfer.
Lol
LOL
😂👍🏻👊🏻
The Big Lebowski is a masterclass in minor characters, every character in that film is iconic.
Now if only the film itself weren't minor.
Yeah, well, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.
@@dantean nice b8 m8
@@samarvora7185 😂😂!!
The Big Lebowski is an amazing movie
The Coen Brothers are good at caricature, which naturally lends itself to minor characters more than major ones. Major characters need to be round and complex. Minor characters can be defined by one or two characteristics. We see this in literature going back to Dickens or maybe even further. Giving minor characters a unique hat or expression they keep repeating can make them more vivid for us than major characters. Major characters often are, paradoxically, more opaque because the image we get of them is complicated by prolonged exposure.
That's an excellent comment!
If a main character is done right, the representation is complicated, sometimes complex, at least somewhat contradictory, not fully Socratically self-aware, occasionally spontaneous in thought or action, and suggestive of a great deal of unrepresented aspects, that mysterious dark matter neither probed nor susceptible to probing. I think few real people meet these criteria. They are closer to being caricatures. The more bound to habit a person becomes, the more nearly he approaches the condition of a breathing caricature.
Really brilliant comment... Perhaps that's a major reason why I can't stand Dickens.
My favorite not mentioned here is JK Simmons in Burn After Reading. He’s in only two scenes, and his utter bafflement over the film’s events makes him an audience surrogate. They’re the funniest scenes in the movie.
That's a great one!
in fact you have no clip at all from Burn After Reading...
You got that right. My favorite is Mike Yanagita from Fargo. I cringe from remembering. He's also very important to the plot
Yes!!!
@@oddballsok Watch again, he does indeed
Imagine a videogame where all the plot-irrelevant NPCs are scripted by the Coens.
@A Toaster Oh gods, you're right!
Just play any Rockstar game, they’re all masterpieces.
The Legend of Zelda games are another example of colorful minor characters
Carlos Freitas yes !!
You should try to play all "Trails of" game... It's one of underated JRPG, but the amount of quality that they give to creating the world and NPC is very impressive... It's seem that every NPC has their own minor story or script that changed as you progress the story...
The big Lebowski doesn’t have a character I don’t rememberer
the shamus...
If you didn't remember a character you wouldn't remember that you don't remember them xD
Abso 🔔 lutely
Stfu Bradley, you’re out of your element
Bradley it’s a quote from the movie bro
The minor characters really tie the films together.
Thanks for this, I was lucky enough to play one of those roles and will say it feels like you are a bigger part of the story than a functionary or expositional bit part. I feel bad that Jerry Grayson who I met at our callback may not have lived to see his great work as Mel. He was a nice fellow he regaled me with harrowing show biz stories including the time he literally died on stage and was revived by a doctor in the house years before his actual death.
How cool is that! Just watched Inside Llewyn Davis the other week, superb movie
💗
That’s bad ass Frank
This is actually very “Dickensian” of the Coen brothers. Idk if they’re avid readers or were influenced by Dickens. But in Dickens novels the minor characters were always larger than life. Often with bizarre/odd appearances, strange ways of presenting dialogue and always memorable. And also like the Coen brothers the major characters are always straight men in these abstract larger than life worlds.
Agreed; enjoyed the video and this comment by Roger Keith. I submit that creating minor characters with such success is an undertaking very different than creating major characters with success. (Both Dickens and the Coen brothers are good at both, in my view.) With such Dickensian minor characters, there is no ongoing requirement for them to fit into any ecology. Social, financial, ethical, moral, even physical eccentricities produce no friction for those characters and therefore they are without boundaries. Main characters, in contrast, are forced to work within many boundaries; as the video points out, often provided by these minor characters. Minor characters like these are free to be as wacky as desired, which is a large portion of their charm/memorability. Major characters are constrained to work within limits and that struggle is a large portion of theirs.
@@EssensOrAccidens main characters have to be relatable and the charm of wacky eccentricities can get tiresome fast. plus the eccentric probably wouldn't go on an adventure in the first place
Well Dickens alone might be the most influential author in cinema's history since his books even describe types of shots that range from close-ups to establishments shots and arguably film continuity and even suspense of what you can't see behind the door, just the knob moving.
@Roger Keith: Yes, you make a good comparison. But it also highlights how the Coen Brothers, like Dickens, use these minor characters primarily as comic relief. And I mean "use" in the pejorative sense of "manipulate" and "exploit". These minor characters are not given respect as full human beings. Contrast that with Dostoevsky's use of minor characters . . .
Yes yes, indeed. It's all about "grotesque" characters.
I think a good bit of credit should be paid to their casting director, Ellen Chenoweth. One of the best in the business. Her first ever feature film was Barry Levinson's DINER. Her third film was the five time Oscar winner, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.
I watch diner every xmas night
Casting should receive a great deal of credit in finding these actors and adding to the atmosphere. Casting teams spend months prior to a film searching for intriguing and fitting actors. Film directors choose from who casting has filtered.
@@edha4827 Tremendous young ensemble cast.
I've been watching more Coen Movies, and I have noticed that i often look forward to seeing the next random people the main characters meet haha. Big Fan
The Coen brothers have mastered everything at this point.
"I have my bear skin" is easily one of my favorite lines in True Grit
You are not LaBeouf...
@@doctorthirteen5727 lol I was going to write this exact thing before I found your comment. I love that weird-ass dentist.
Thanks for the essay. I am unabashedly a Cohen Bros. fan, and enjoying seeing essays about their work. Their films are rich with detail and layers of fantastic story telling. They never fail to amuse and entertain.
I got to talk with Melissa Peterman a few years ago ("Hooker #2 at 1:39; the blond one), and mentioned her line "Go Bears!" in this scene. She related how it was one of her first roles out of college and not really knowing much about the Coens, she asked if she could ad lib the line, as she is a native Minnesotan. They agreed, and a brilliant little bit of dialogue was birthed. At least to me, those two words changed my whole perception of the character; she now became something more than a clueless sex worker- she was now an old classmate, neighbor, or the sister of a friend, and worthy of empathy. She has gone on to a pretty decent career, most notably on the sitcom "Reba".
kinda funny lookin
@@edha4827 Well, Buscemi might have been, but Melissa certainly isn't nowadays. She is in great shape, like she was when "Reba" wrapped up, and even my wife kept commenting on her knockout legs.
@@yvwic50 Yeah, I think he was just quoting her character! :)
Ha - yeah, that “Go Bears” line is awesome.
Bro, that cop in that scene from The Big Lebowski ( @ 5:34 ) was on a whole another level !
Your observations on the Coen brothers' minor characters cleared up a nagging question for me: why was my memory replaying small parts of their movies as much or more than the major parts? Of course, it was because of he Coen's incredibly artful use of minor characters. Excellent video. Thank you.
Damn! Thank you for helping me understand this concept of featuring minor characters. I didn't understand why I liked their films so well, but I knew that they were saturated with interesting things.
Minor character not even seen: Ed's co-worker in "Raising Arizona," constantly reminding her of what to do--even on her wedding day. "Don't forget your bouquet, Ed!"
The Coen Brothers consistence on making good movie is literally legendary.
I've never noticed it before. This explains why all of these movies are so memorable to me.
It was so interesting to consider how much screen time each character got. For each one I recognized I could have sworn it was longer than you said. That's just how memorable they are.
Another Incredible Analysis! There should be a Compilation somewhere of just their Minor Characters, that'd be Incredible to See!
Exceptional! Absolutely love Joel and Ethan's work and all the talented folks that bring it to life. Thank you. And, thank you Thomas, love your analysis and your channel.
Don't know much about film makers. Judging by the job they did on the re-make of True Grit, which I was not initially interested in seeing, they know what they're doing. It was a pleasant surprise to see what a good job they did with it.
Oddly enough, this is something I enjoy about the show Bob's Burgers. Minor characters are often a larger part of the story.
It is our most modestly priced receptacle
GAWDDAMMIT!!!
Damn I've got a lot of movies to watch tonight haha.
I finally watched all of the Coen's films while making this video (I had seen them all except The Ladykillers) and I rewatched a lot of them while making the video and they're all pretty good. I don't know which ones you've seen but here's my (highly personal) ranking in order of must-watchedness:
The Big Lebowski
O Brother Where Art Thou?
No Country for Old Men
Inside Llewyn Davis
Blood Simple
Fargo
Raising Arizona
True Grit
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Hail, Caesar!
A Serious Man
Miller's Crossing
Barton Fink
Burn After Reading
The Man Who Wasn't There
Intolerable Cruelty
The Ladykillers
Shit dude I saw Burn After Reading in a charity shop today but didn't look at it to know it was a coen brothers film, thanks for letting me know your picks! The Big Lebowski is definatly my favorite they've made that I've seen so far. then I'd probably say The Man who wasn't there, Raising Arizona, No Country for old men, Fargo, A serious man and then O Brother Where Art Thou?. and I loved them all! I just think because of the characters feeling so real, which movie you rate high depends on what characters you like the most or feel you understand more.
@Patrick Farrell I did leave Hudsucker out oops. I'd put it just above Barton Fink and below Miller's Crossing.
@@ThomasFlight That's an interesting and unusual ranking. Mine would be something like this:
1. Fargo (1996)
2. Barton Fink (1991)
3. No Country for Old Men (2007)
4. The Big Lebowski (1998)
5. A Serious Man (2009)
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
7. Miller's Crossing (1990)
8. Raising Arizona (1987)
9. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
10. Burn After Reading (2008)
11. Blood Simple (1984)
12. True Grit (2010)
13. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
14. Hail, Caesar! (2016)
15. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
16. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
17. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
18. The Ladykillers (2004)
@@ThomasFlight I'd put 'Barton Fink', 'Fargo', 'No Country for Old Men', 'Miller's Crossing' and 'A Serious Man' in the top tier.
'O Brother Where Art Thou?' as a runner-up? Should be further down the list, with the likes of the so-so Coen flicks like 'Intorelable Cruelty', 'Burn After Reading', 'The Man who wasn't There' or 'The Ladykillers'.
And I've always found 'The Big Lebowski' hugely overrated and never as impactful as 'Barton Fink' or 'Fargo' - these two are Coen Brothers at their finest in depicting the madness and loneliness of a man's obsession, with such memorable scenes as the box on the beach next to Barton echoed by the snow buried bag of money in 'Fargo', both of which are preceded by the hat blown in the wind in the opening titles scene of the 'Miller's Crossing'.
Wonderful.
Their side-characters are often almost Shakepsearean, in a way. The discussion and the scene at 3:43 reminded me of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern in Hamlet.
THANK YOU! my favorite characters are typically done by character actors in small roles. or even characters with one line in bad movies like that Bill Burr topic on his podcast.
These minor characters feel like they could have their own movies. The Coen brothers are genius.
The Jesus actually did get his own movie.
My two favorites are from The Big Lebowski. Manny’s performance art always makes me laugh. And then Knox Harrington, played by the great David Thewlis, just giggles for most of his only scene.
No Country for Old Men is a masterclass in subtlety, buddy.
I think what makes these characters so memorable is they are designed to steal whatever scene they are in. It seems the best lines of dialogue are often reserved for them. There isn't one of the Coen brothers movies that I can recall without a great line or two being delivered by someone with only a fleeting appearance in the movie.
I have my bear skin.
All those minor characters and you missed the store clerk in Raising Arizona: "Do these balloons blow up into funny shapes, at all?" "No, unless round is funny." The same actor appeared uncredited as a store clerk in O Brother.
I noticed that almost all of their films have an oddball storekeeper or clerk.
That line and "Son, you got a panty on your head"...just thinking of them makes me giggle.
Fargo: The father in law
Lebowski: Bunny, the carpet pissers, Maude's giggling friend, the private eye in the VW
Burn After Reading: The Seattle morning television show hosts
" I'm a Dapper-Dan man! "
Loved your “post”! I subscribed, thanks.
I love all Coen films! They are by far my favourite writers!
I'm glad people like you exist because otherwise I'd continue to say that good movies are bad and bad movies are good.
This entire video is a serotonin boost
That was wonderful, many thanks. Where would cinema be without sublime supporting actors, even in so-called 'bit parts'.
This was a really lovely doc, almost elegiac. But their films are mesmerising & fascinating and their minor characters resemble the plethora of different shaped creatures under a particularly productive sea-weeded rock at furthest extent of an ebbing tide; a whole and complete universe of life all bumping into each other. // Thks !!
First off, Damn John Goodman is only in O'Brother for 4 minutes. It felt longer.
Also Stephen Root's character in No Country Old Man has a name, its "The Man Who Hires Welles".
Don't forget the staff of Hard Bodies Gym and the law office of Tuckman Marsh in 'Burn After Reading.'
I absolutely love all of Coens minor characters. Giving them just enough flavor so that they aren't distracting but stand out.
Donny and Jesus from The Big Lebowski literally didn't have anything to do with the plot yet they're more memorable than most of the characters I've forgotten in superhero movies.
Excellent video, this makes me want to rewatch some of their early work to better appreciate the characters I didn't remember. Well researched and edited, man!
Coen Brothers make all of my favourite movies. I love everything they do, with The Big Lebowski being my favourite of all time. And I loved The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs. Good video.
All time favorite Coen Bros. "minor" character is Stephen Root's blind radio host in O' Brother Where Art Thou.
Stephen Root also portrayed a minor character in season 1 of Fargo.
Thanks for such a great short film. I agree with every word you said.
I really appreciate your work, Thomas. The Bohemian Rhapsody video was the first one that popped up in my feed, this is the third one I’ve watched so far. You’ve earned a new subscriber, please keep up the good work.
Great analysis. Actually, I was just telling a friend about this characteristic of the Coen Brothers, not only with their small characters but with characters in general, they do give each of them elements that keep you interested to the story, even when the story might not be that interesting to you. I think Wes Anderson does the same. Ohh, and I just checked MUBI and wow, very interesting cinema selection, I might give it a try. Thanks.
Cohen brothers are genius-level filmmakers. No Country for Old men sold me on that. Not sure about True Grit thou. But a Serious Man and Fargo cement their style.
I guess yardstick of well-written character is that are they able to support a story of their own. It does not have to be a feature-length film. In great story every character (does something visible or/and has at least one line of dialogue) could be a story worth telling.
Excellent video. Spot on analysis.
The Coen Brothers are to cinema, what Rockstar Games are to video games.
They love their minor characters and storylines
Nailed it ! This is why these guys are above every filmmaker ever .
ever?
bit of a stretch. they are up there without a shadow of a doubt. but they're certainly not the best of the best. they certainly can't be mentioned without being a part of a small crowd of directors who are considered to be just as genius as they are.
Yes, I've noticed this. But you did not mention my fave, the bind DJ in O Brother Where Art Thou?
Just like the Coen Brothers haven’t missed a beat in film, I’ve gotta say your TH-cam channel continues to be hit after hit after hit, Thomas!
Thanks!
The Horse Trader in True Grit 2010 was largely cast because he was the Horse Trader in the original True Grit 1969. Nice vid
according to my script, the "Unnamed" character in Raising Arizona is "Hayseed"
Students of literature are taught about "round" (main) and "flat" (minor) characters, but the Coen brothers upend the theory and manage to do so by not giving the minor characters much screen time. Their minor characters are more like "fast rounds," one might say.
Excellent video essay, thank you!
You nailed it . These movie makers are the cream at the top and one of the major reasons the films they make stick with us is because of these "unimportant" characters that make the movies what they are . "How much have you ever lost in a coin toss?" , " Nobody fucks with the jesus!",Jackie Treehorn , Nox Harington. The girl who drinks beer at the motel or grandma who has the cancer .All of them make those movies . Best stuff ever put to film if you ask me .
Now I want to rewatch each and every Coen Brothers film.
Thank you so much for your videos. They are extremely well-done and very informative.
I love how every character in a Coen brothers movie can have a movie of it's own.
My aim is to emulate the Coen Bros but in an Australian setting. So many possibilities. Thanks for the inspiration.
Gosh, I love love love this vid. Add this on the list of reason why to love the coens. I feel like this skill of the minor character is also applicable to my other fav filmmakers like PTA Lynch and Kubrick but the coens do it the best
The "ear bending co-worker" from Raising Arizona has stayed in my head since I first saw the movie as a kid.
This was a really useful analysis. Thanks Thomas. It's helped me clarify some ideas in my writing.
Every character in Raising Arizona is solid gold.
work's what's kept us happy
What are you talking about Glen?
This is a BRILLIANT video! Excellent interpretation of one aspect of the Coen Brothers successes.
Cheers
I enjoyed this so much I immediately watched it again. I love the Coen Bro's. Your insights will make me watch their movies (and others) with an eye that is a little more refined.
Loved this - thank you for assembling all of these great characters together. Drop Johnson, man. Especially in the hat. Do have to refute that Blood Simple was devoid of memorable minor characters, though: the landlady and her (former) brother-in-law Mr Garcia, Holly Hunter as Helene Trend on Meurice's voicemail, even Meurice himself is pretty minor yet has memorable mannerisms such as footwork on the bar and geeking out about volcano eruptions
Yeah, I discussed this with another commenter that I definitely overlooked a few in Blood Simple. None of them are as extreme, but they're definitely there.
Great review for the Coen brothers. Now I'm going to go watch every single one of those movies.
I've been citing this exact reason the Coens are great for years. Well elucidated.
The Jesus had only 2:45 of screentime?!!? Are you kidding me?!? Of course, the Gypsy King's cover of HC didn't hurt, but man, that Turturro can really chew some scenery. He's a main character in that movie in terms of lasting effect.
From Reddit! Solid video. Now Ill rewatch all their films.
The morning news casters in Burn After Reading. Amazing stuff. All the characters in that movie are incredible. What about the janitor that finds the "Russian intelligence" in the bathroom? "It was just lying there"
Easily my favorite directors. Period.
This is what makes modern movies better; the minor characters are more three dimensional and that adds the spice to the meal.
Next goal. Watch every Coen brothers film in create date order
i really enjoy these videos, thanks for making them
Bernie Bernbaum is a major character in Miller’s Crossing. He’s on screen a hell of a lot longer than 2 minutes.
see old steakhouse waitress from Hell or High Water.
establish tactics, history, hopes, and fears - but for side characters they provide the main plot new information, they need to be dynamic, but rememberability helps.
Quirkiness through entrance, details, culture, or ticks can only help make them stand out.
jay folk No surprise there. I consider Hell or High Water “No Country-lite”. (I love HoHW by the way.)
Fantastic Example. She has always stuck with me, so too have the old timers sat by the door
Every character in the The Big Lebowski, minor or major, is absolutely perfect. One of the best not mentioned here was David Thewlis as Maude's friend. His laugh in that scene is hilarious.
A subtype of the minor character in Coen Bros movies is the Mystic. The mysterious person seemingly of no account who comes along and makes a prophecy out of the blue that ends up coming true.
The Dude’s landlord is named Marty.
Plus, uh... it’s already the 10th.
I was expecting to see Michael Lerner as Lipnik in Barton Fink. One of my favorite minor characters.
Every Author of the old Pulps would be proud. These are some well written Faces. Through them, the World is present.
Another amazing minor Coen character that I didn't spot here... Heinz, the Baron Krauss von Espy.
This video was unbelievably good.
The last scene should be the dude walking down the street. Sees his rug rolled up and dumped in a trash can. He puts it over his shoulder and dudes down the sidewalk.
My new favourite channel ❤️
3:00 I love how Chet's uniform is just as dusty, dirty and in the slow process of falling apart as the hotel itself.
U have a good structure in your videos. Keep it up!
Thanks!
It's a true statement of character development when a minor supporting character is intriguing enough to warrant a look into their story.
Great job. Thank you.
Best scene in Fargo was when Marge and Norm where shuffleing thru the buffet with the elevator music