THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS.

[nachogrande]

A new Netflix movie. Six parts and I've only seen the first. DO YOU LIKE WESTERNS/COMEDIES/MUSICALS? DID YOU ENJOY BLAZING SADDLES & OH BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? Imagine the love child of those movies, only better. I give it 5 taco's. The very first of the 6 series kicks it off with a couple of familiar faces & JUST WOW! I haven't watched further because I keep watching # 1 , IF YOU SEEN EM, YOU PLAY EM, OVER & OVER. The Cohen bros best work??? Thisuns gonna win some awards fer sure. THE BEST western/comedy in a VERY LONG TIME.

 

[gregintenn]

You should stop after the first story. The rest of the movie is terrible.

 

[Absalom]

We already had a thread on this, but at the time I hadn’t seen the thing, so I couldn’t comment. Now I have.

Weirdest collection of stories I’ve ever seen. 100% Coen brothers.

The most violent episode (Buster Scruggs himself) is so over the top cartoonish that it’s just funny.

On the other hand, the most disturbing, depressing episode (Meal Ticket) has no violence in it at all. Neither does the most bizarre, otherwordly story (Mortal Remains). But I found that those two gave me the most food for thought.

The other three are well-made frontier stories illustrating the general idea that bad stuff happens, and people usually die at some point. But some get away. Life is random.

 

[nachogrande]

MAYBE I SPOKE TOO SOON.

4 out of 6 into it, so far #1 is the best. The prospector is very good. For the scenery/authentic dress/sets/camera work & sound- AMAZING.
"TERRIBLE" ??? NOT HARDLY.

 

[Jack Flash]

Interesting that this came up as I just watched it last weekend. I haven't been a real big Coen Bros. fan since Fargo. But I liked three out of the six stories reasonably well, and I have to admit the Coen Bros. really are talented.

The eponymous first story seems pretty clownish to me. I guess you could say it is a satire on Westerns (particularly Italian Westerns) along the lines of My Name is Nobody. Ok, parts of it were funny and no doubt I will watch it again.

"All Gold Canyon", based on a story by Jack London, is by far my favorite. I will refrain from commenting further on it or any of the others to avoid spoiling the movie to those who haven't seen it yet.

Pan Shot!

 

[yaktamer]

I really liked the first two vignettes ("First time?"). At first I disliked the conclusion of the wagon train episode because of the sad ending, but in retrospect I think it's the best one, in terms of being a good story. What really makes this whole thing interesting to watch is the creative little details -- the shot from inside the guitar, the light streaming through the bullet hole in the shutters and through the gunshot wound in the guy before he falls, etc.

 

[Skeet 028]

The stories were interesting.. Buster was kinda funny but to be honest the Meal Ticket vignette was not my cuppa joe. And yeah I read the Jack London based one many years ago. I give the whole thing a 7 out of 10 rating. Even my wife liked the Buster Scruggs lead-off....maybe. Said it was better than the old classic "Day of the Triffids"

 

[canoeguy]

I enjoyed the movie, now I'm going out this holiday season and see if I can duplicate Buster's trick shot, shooting the fingers off his opponents hand. I'll make up a target by tracing my hand on a piece of paper with a sharpie, post it at 50 feet and see what happens....

Revolver is a Stainless Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum.

 

[yeti]

Enjoyed the movie. It was a bit goofy, gratuitous & slow at times, but also made me laugh & wonder what the heck was going to happen next.

 

[Jack Flash]

That's one thing for darn sure: you can't say the endings were predictable!

 

[Wee Hooker]

That's one thing for darn sure: you can't say the endings were predictable!

Yea, that! I was barely done laughing at the antics of Buster Scruggs , when I had to sit in disbelief (and disappointment) that the hero of the story had been killed off that easily. The other stories were up and down a bit but there was no way I could walk away with the unpredictability injected into each.

FWIW, the wagon train and prospector being my second and third favorites but all had their merits ( and excellent cinematography )

Think I've watched them 3 times now.

 

[Jack Flash]

At least four of the stories came to an abrupt (usually startling and disturbing) conclusion. I guess it would be fair to say the Coen Bros. are not the sentimental types.

 

[sigp220.45]

I loved it - every story had something to offer.

The connecting thread is the inevitability of death, and our acceptance of it. The Coens don’t spoonfeed you, but the message is there if you do your part.

 

[nachogrande]

WEIRD, YES!

Just finished all 6 stories. Extremely well done weird. Worth the price of admission for the new catch phrases alone, "that can't be good". Awards for set decorators/photography/costumes/props on the way. The stage coaches/wagons/gear/riata's etc. top notch.

 

[Valmet]

You should stop after the first story. The rest of the movie is terrible.

Absolutely this ^^^^^^

 

[7shooter]

The Coen brothers are weird. But then all the people I know who grew up in St. Louis Park were. Loved their humor too.

 

[runscott]

If it's Coen brothers, I watch it, period. Odd and creative is guaranteed. I thought the first piece was great and watched it twice before moving on. The ones in the middle were good, but not great, and I thought the last one was really superb. Just my opinion - I get how most people could think they were all just strange.

I'm going to have to watch that 'kicking the plank in the table' scene again.

 

[Absalom]

And isn’t it nice that the forum proves every day that people are not like ferrets.

 

[nachogrande]

WEIRD AINT ALWAYS A BAD THING.

Hitchkok, Warhol, Tarantino, S.King were/are weird too. Not to detract from, as they are great in their own right, but not all are like Ron Howard etc who want to keep things PG & PC to maximize ticket sales. In the Walt Disney portrayal, he was a chain smoker (well known) yet in the movie, Tom Hanks held 2 fingers in the air & the audience had to imagine a cigarette being there, so they could keep the rating PG! Downright Idiotic if you ask me. Martin Scorsesse got robbed of an Oscar for too many droppings of the F- bomb in the wolf of wall street. If there had been more golly gees, & aw shucks, the dialogue would have suffered. His real life depiction was pretty spot on IMO & why the movie was so good.Pretty sure the Cohen Bro's knew they could fill more seats by watering down the material & leaving every story with a happy ending. I guess they have the stones, the fan base, & can afford to do things their way. It has been a VERY LONG TIME since I had any desire to sleep on the ground. The all gold canyon made me want to do that & tie a muddler minnow on my fly rod. KUDOS on a great job, whether it's my cup of tea, or not.

 

[Marshwheeling]

The Coen brothers are weird. But then all the people I know who grew up in St. Louis Park were. Loved their humor too.

You must be thinking about the ones who hung out at Bunny’s.