Coen brothers

Joel David Coen (born 29 November 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born 21 September 1957) professionally known as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers who write, direct and produce their films jointly, although until recently Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing film credits for editor under the alias Roderick Jaynes. Their films include Blood Simple, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, and True Grit.

We've been busy.

My most important professional accomplishment? I think that it's that I'm so scintillating and engaging in an interview.

Quotes

Something pretty fucking weird is going on.

• My most important professional accomplishment? I think that it's that I'm so scintillating and engaging in an interview.
  • Joel Coen, giving terse responses to an interview in "10 Questions: Joel Coen" by Smriti Mundhra, at IGN.com (31 October 2001)

• That movie has more of an enduring fascination for other people than it does for us.
  • Joel Coen, on The Big Lebowski and rumors of a spinoff , in "EXCLUSIVE: 'Big Lebowski' Jesus Spin-off 'Could Happen' But Not Yet, Say Ethan And Joel Coen" (21 September 2009) at MTV.com

• Our mother tried to get us to come here for many, many years … But, you know, life intervenes — we've been busy.
  • Joel Coen, in Israel, accepting the Dan David Prize, awarded to people who have made "an outstanding contribution to humanity" at Tel Aviv University, as quoted in "Coen brothers win $1m Dan David Prize" BBC News (16 May 2011)

Blood Simple (1984)

• The world is full of complainers. But the fact is, nothing comes with a guarantee. I don't care if you're the Pope of Rome, President of the United States, or even Man of the Year — something can always go wrong. And go ahead, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help — watch him fly. Now in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else — that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas … And down here... you're on your own.
  • Loren Visser

• Something pretty fucking weird is going on. Put your coat on and I'll drop you at home. But don't talk to either of 'em until I do. And don't worry. Believe me. These things always have a logical explanation. Usually.
  • Meurice

Raising Arizona (1987)

• Prison life is more structured than most men care for…

Barton Fink (1991)

• We're only interested in one thing, Bart. Can you tell a story? Can you make us laugh? Can you make us cry? Can you make us want to break out in joyous song? Is that more than one thing? Okay!
  • Jack Lipnik

Fargo (1996)

• Mind if I sit down? I'm carrying quite a load here.
  • Marge Gunderson

• I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don't you know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well, I just don't understand it.
  • Marge Gunderson

The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Dude abides.

• Look, let me explain something to you. I'm not Mr. Lebowski. You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. That, or His Dudeness … Duder … or El Duderino, if, you know, you're not into the whole brevity thing.
  • The Dude

• Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.
  • Walter Sobchak

• The Dude abides.
  • The Dude

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

• Damn! We're in a tight spot!
  • Ulysses Everett McGill

• Pete, it's a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart.
  • Ulysses Everett McGill

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

• They got this guy, in Germany. Fritz Something-or-other. Or is it? Maybe it's Werner. Anyway, he's got this theory, you wanna test something, you know, scientifically — how the planets go round the sun, what sunspots are made of, why the water comes out of the tap — well, you gotta look at it. But sometimes you look at it, your looking changes it. Ya can't know the reality of what happened, or what would've happened if you hadn't-a stuck in your own goddamn schnozz. So there is no "what happened"? Not in any sense that we can grasp, with our puny minds. Because our minds... our minds get in the way. Looking at something changes it. They call it the "Uncertainty Principle". Sure, it sounds screwy, but even Einstein says the guy's on to something.
  • Freddy Riedenschneider

• The more you look, the less you really know.
  • Freddy Riedenschneider

No Country for Old Men (2007)

• The crime you see now, it's hard to even take its measure. It's not that I'm afraid of it. I always knew you had to be willin' to die to even do this job. But, I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet somethin' I don't understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He'd have to say: "O.K., I'll be part of this world."
  • Sheriff Ed Tom Bell

• What's the most you've ever lost on a coin toss?
  • Anton Chigurh

• If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?
  • Anton Chigurh

• The coin don't have no say! It's just you!
  • Carla Jean

True Grit (2010)

• You go for a man hard enough and fast enough, he don't have time to think about how many's with him; he thinks about himself, and how he might get clear of that wrath that's about to set down on him.
  • Rooster Cogburn

Quotes about the Coen brothers

I can't think of two people I'd rather shoot the shit with. Besides Bridges, of course. ~ Oliver Benjamin

• The Coens seem to have less affinity for the cult of Lebowski than Bridges, so it's hard to imagine them being very proud of what they've spawned. But I can't think of two people I'd rather shoot the shit with. Besides Bridges, of course.
  • Oliver Benjamin, founder of Dudeism, as quoted in "Big Lebowski Spawns Religion" by Yusuf Laher in Don't Panic Online (11 April 2011)

• I'm a bit puzzled why most critics think Miller's Crossing is their best. I find it too cold and postmodern. But pretty much everything else is amazing. I think some of their lesser-loved films, like The Hudsucker Proxy and The Man Who Wasn't There are my favourites. But then, Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, No Country For Old Men… They're really the best films of our time. The Coens are better candidates for heroes of modern literature than Philip Roth, Don DeLillo, Will Self, Ian McEwan or any other award-winning novelist.
  • Oliver Benjamin, as quoted in "Big Lebowski Spawns Religion" by Yusuf Laher in Don't Panic Online (11 April 2011)

• I like the Coen brothers. Their films are smart and disturbing.
  • Terry Gilliam, in "Terry Gilliam's flying circus" in Haaretz (23 February 2006)

External links

• Joel Coen on IMDb
• Ethan Coen on IMDb
• Coenesque: The Films of the Coen Brothers
• The Films of the Coen Brothers, movie clip compilation, 3 min.