Popular reviews

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  Review by 🇵🇱 Steve G 🇵🇸 ★★★★★ 32

  A few weeks ago, somewhere deep within the bowels of Letterboxd, I made a comment below someone's review of Miller's Crossing where I said that I wouldn't be surprised if, were they to ever come up with a scientific theory regarding what makes the perfect film, Miller's Crossing turned out to be that perfect film.

  For years I was pretty convinced that Fargo was my favourite Coen Brothers film. Even though I remembered thinking Miller's Crossing was great and loving Blood Simple, No Country For Old Men and Raising Arizona as well, there wasn't much doubt about that. A few months before I joined Letterboxd (BLE - Before the Letterboxd Era, as it should now be called) I gave Miller's…

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  Review by demi adejuyigbe ★★★★ 8

  Polito, Finney, and Freeman are just absolutely incredible in this feature-length adaptation of the “Smooth Criminal” video.

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  Review by Criterion 14

  A Roaring Twenties gangster saga that only the Coen brothers could concoct, Miller’s Crossing marries the hard-boiled sensibility of classic noir fiction with the filmmakers’ trademark savory dialogue, colorful characters, and finely calibrated set pieces. Gabriel Byrne brings a wry gravitas to the role of Tom Reagan, the quick-thinking right-hand man to a powerful crime boss (Albert Finney), whose unflappable cool is tested when he begins offering his services to a rival outfit—setting off a cascade of betrayals, reprisals, and increasingly berserk violence. The Hopperesque visuals of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, majestically elegiac score by Carter Burwell, and vivid supporting performances from John Turturro and Marcia Gay Harden come together in an intricately constructed slice of pulp perfection that crackles with sardonic wit while plumbing existential questions about free will and our own terrifying capacity for evil.

  Our edition arrives on February 8, 2022. To learn more or pre-order, visit Criterion.com.

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  Review by Will Menaker ★★★★★ 8

  “There’s nothing more foolish than a man chasing his hat”

  Excluding Anton Chiguhr, who is a Cormac McCarthy joint, JE Freeman as “The Dane” may be the Coens most singularly terrifying creation, or neck and neck with Sy Abelman.

  
  “Everyone’s so fucking smart...”

  Top 5 Coens, maybe top 3? 

  Official selection for Menaker Movie Mindset God Tier All Time Classic 10/10

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  Review by Todd Gaines ★★★★½ 39

  Tommy Reagan a suave gangsta with a gambling addiction caught in the middle of a complex love triangle and a battle between mob bosses in this gangsta opera masterpiece from the Coen Brothers. On the rocks. Caspar the Friendly Gangsta. Eddie's black gloves. Badass telephone. Happy Marcia. Late nite chat. Flying high heel. Cool as fuck doggie. Dead fuck's toupée. Nucky before Boardwalk. Tommy's gangsta swag. Square G? Broken mirror. Chubby kids love hotdogs. Chair ownage. Police brutality. Jealously. Tommy's hat. Perfect headshot. Dancing with bullets. Exploding car. You don't fuck with Leo. Too perfect alibi. Accidental tit grab. Hat chaser. Miss Punching Bag? Tic-Tac motherfucker. That fuckin' walk into the woods. Tommy's eyes. Beggin' Bernie. Terry the Terror. Fatty…

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  Review by DirkH ★★★★½ 6

  Film #1 of Make me watch your favourite.

  The Coen brothers have this extraordinary talent for immediately painting characters in clear and crisp brush strokes. It is with their characters they often win me over and Miller's Crossing is no different.

  From the very first scene it's clear you're watching a Coen brothers film, even though it is one of their earliest films. That wonderful exchange between John Polito (who is really one if the best things in this film) and Albert Finney sets the tone. We'll be watching a gangster film with spectacular dialogues, fantastic acting and terrific characters.

  Whenever I watch a film about gangsters or organized crime, it always starts at a disadvantage. I don't like the…

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  Review by Matthew Christman ★★★★★

  "Nobody knows anybody. Not that well."

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  Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★★

  what heart? i'm talking about ethics.

  full discussion on ep 216 of my podcast SLEAZOIDS.

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  Review by YI JIAN ★★★★½ 11

  While staring up into the night sky with a cigarette in hand, I let out a heavy sigh. The smoke escaped from my mouth and, as if sensing the mood, tip-toed out the window immediately.

  "There's too much John Turturro and hardly any Steve Buscemi." I said to the moon.

  The moon did not reply. The stars twinkled. I swear they were teasing me. A single tear ran down my cheek as I took another drag of my cigarette.

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  Review by Ole Holgersen ★★★★★ 12

  A must-see for any lover of Cinema!

  ...and hats. Lots of hats.

  The iconic opening dream sequence pictures Tom's hat blowing to the ground where it rests momentarily before it being blown along a path in the woods at Miller's Crossing - a place at which pivotal events take place. It's a dream that haunts Tom - the central character of Miller's Crossing. Later on in the film the camera will rest upon so many hats that I stopped counting!

  So what's up with all these hats you may ask? I asked myself the same question, and after some heavy reading I think I managed to figure out the Coen's intentions with the many hats.

  Early in the movie Tom…

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  Review by brendan o'hare ★★★★★

  Jon Polito for president. Do not care that he is dead

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  Review by Jamelle Bouie ★★★★

  The tragic story of a hard man with a heart who becomes, by the end, just a hard man.