The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Netflix)

The Coen Brothers’ first foray into television will be a six-part western miniseries to be released on Netflix later this year.

Descriptions for the segments:

1. “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” follows a singing cowboy. Tim Blake Nelson plays the title character.
2. “Near Algodones” is about a high plains drifter whose own fecklessness dogs his attempts at bank robbery and cattle driving. James Franco stars alongside Stephen Root and Ralph Ineson.
3. “Meal Ticket” is about an actor and impresario of a traveling show.
4. “All Gold Canyon” is about a prospector who happily finds a gold seam but unhappily finds an evil encroacher.
5. “The Gal Who Got Rattled” follows two trail bosses on The Oregon Trail and a woman on the coach train who needs to help one of them and may be a marriage prospect for the other. Zoe Kazan stars as the titular gal.
6. “The Mortal Remains” follows five different passengers on a stagecoach headed for a mysterious destination. Tyne Daly appears.

Liam Neeson and Brendan Gleeson have also been confirmed as cast members though the segments in which they’d appear have not been disclosed.

Don’t expect this to drop until late in the year. December, maybe. Filming is still underway.

In.

Oh...my...God

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@Yoda request to move this to Upcoming Movies & Sequels, please.

It really wouldn’t be a thread I started if the project being discussed wasn’t met with mixed results.

http://collider.com/ballad-of-buster-scruggs-reviews/

To the surprise of no one, the filmmaking is being praised as top notch though the writing and connectivity of the segements is less so. A lot of critics seem to agree this would have benefited from the original mini-series format.

It’s apparently quite the downer as well. I mean, most Coen fare usually is but this, in particular, won’t be as amusing as the “singing cowboy vigilante” synopsis makes it out to be.

Always hype for more Coen stuff, but especially so now.

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I can’t wait. Love the shot of Tim Blake Nelson dusting off like something out of the Looney Tunes. I also think the Coens are giving Stroszek a nod here and there.

This, along with Roma, will be given brief theatrical releases, by the way, to qualify for Oscar competition.

So I got the first segment down this morning and it’s feeling like a whole lot to unpack. At first it seemed like some kind of joke from the Coens to the audience about themselves. The line from Buster about not being misanthrope and then going off on a gleeful tale of brutal violence but there’s something darker there than just a wink and a nod. It’s not just about an unending cycle of violence either, it’s got something to do with Buster’s hold on his audience. The way his demeanor, aptly, disarms. He’s got us singing along not a minute after claiming yet another life. I’m reminded of Judge Holden’s introduction in Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, even.

Something’s seriously chilling here.

So, good start, I suppose. I’ll get back to it later in the day and I kind of want to take breaks in between segments too. Treat this as the miniseries it started out as.

I noticed this popped up today and you were the first one I thought of.

Okay, so to follow-up the sing-along short about a psychopath fulfilling his destiny and getting swallowed up by the endless stream personifications of smiling malice we have... James Franco sucks? I don’t have any theories on this one. Like, I think the misanthropic double entendres landed in the last one. Not sure we needed quick one right away to clarify.

But, I guess, Stephen Root was having fun? Nice to see the dad from The Witch on giving end of misfortune (albeit, briefly)?

Thanks?

You seemed to be the one most excited about this, so I was glad that an imaginary internet acquaintance finally got something they wanted.


The B.o.B.S. segment was...well, I wasn't expecting that. Pretty inventive shots, stuff I've never seen done before. Unfortunately, the Franco part was where I slipped off.

Will hopefully be able to watch this tomorrow. I read somewhere that the Coens said this actually was never meant to be a miniseries. The media just made that part up.

Will definitely let you all know what I thought of it.

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

Don’t let it stop you. It really hits its stride in the next two segments. It’s cruel, cynical stride. Best use of Neeson’s granite features I can think of and, similarly, Tom Waits is pitch perfect as a defiling prospector.

I liked every segment. Some more than others, for sure. But every one of them was enjoyable and I was genuinely sad when it ended. Lovely film.

I will say that after the first half, you start to get a feel for the wry, cruel nature of the tales, and you can start predicting certain general things. High Noon, high concept, low characters. Blacksmith Mirror, if you will.

Tom Waits' segment was my favorite.

So far, I've watched the first 2 segments. The one with Blake Nelson was perfect in a Coen Brothers way. The James Franco segment was good but not as great as the first. I stopped at the Liam Neeson segment, which felt kind of boring. I have to finish the film, and I'm sure it will pick up and will be superb!

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“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” ~ Rocky Balboa

These six western stories of the old west (some no more than vignettes) range from quite comedic and absurd, while others are far more quiet and serious, but all of them offer us a view of the world through the lens of existential fatalism. I love it. I only just watched it a couple days ago, and already I want to watch it again. It's certainly not among the Coen's very best work, but even their lesser films are a delight, assuming you can groove to their particular brand of absurdity.

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

Four and Five are the most exceptional segments in my view, but as many of you have already stated: they're all very watchable and interesting in their own ways.

A few weeks after watching it for the first time, this film still has an impact on me. A very good sign.

Can't wait to see what the Coens will be doing next.