It’s incredible to think that since the chaos of simmering double-cross flick Blood Simple, their debut feature in 1984 which at the time did not credit Ethan’s directorial involvement, the movies of the much-loved Coen Brothers have racked up just short of 50 Oscar nominations. They share four of the gold statuettes between them – Best Original Screenplay for small-town detective flick Fargo in 1996 (which also scored Best Actress for Frances McDormand) and a hat trick in 2007 for drug deal gone horribly wrong drama No Country for Old Men (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, with Javier Bardem’s terrifying performance (and haircut) securing Best Supporting Actor.
They really are the dream team, writing, producing, directing and often editing their own work, so it’s fantastic news that Melbourne's Classic and Lido cinemas are celebrating their canon with a jam-packed retrospective of their best work. The season, including all three movies listed above, runs on Thursday (Lido) and Friday (Classic) nights from February 4 until June 4.
They’ll be joined by a first chance to see their Netflix hit, Western anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, on the big screen. Other faves from the vault include an all-star ensemble in golden age of Hollywood musical comedy Hail, Caesar! that packs in George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton and McDormand. You can also catch Star Wars whiz Oscar Isaac and Promising Young Woman lead Carey Mulligan in blues-filled road trip movie Inside Llewyn Davis, and Nic Cage and Holly Hunter in the madcap literal kidnapping of Raising Arizona for the win.
