Programmed November 2024

The Coen Brothers

Built around offbeat characters, ultraquotable dialogue, and a total command of craft, the films of Joel and Ethan Coen make up one of the most illustrious bodies of work in contemporary American cinema. For four decades, the prolific Minnesotans have been putting their cleverly idiosyncratic spin on an array of genres—from film noir ( Blood Simple ) and screwball comedy ( Raising Arizona ) to the gangster drama ( Miller’s Crossing ) and the western ( True Grit )—while bending and subverting their conventions at will. Featuring colorful performances from regular collaborators like Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, and John Turturro, the Coens’ wickedly entertaining, endlessly surprising films constitute a delightfully strange and twisted universe all their own.