Tag Archives: joel coen

Pedler On Coens

This month, only two of us had seen each of the films we reviewed: Martyn and Sophie had seen Anomalisa, Sophie and Lee had seen The Pearl Button, and Lee and Martyn had seen Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Somehow, symmetrically, we made it work.

After the reviews, we look at new releases streaming into your home. Will technology allow you to watch the latest big screen releases without ever leaving your couch? It's an issue that's dividing the biggest filmmakers in the world, but it may simply be inevitable.

Then, Martyn takes us through the films of Joel and Ethan Coen, the masters who gave us everything from Raising Arizona to The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink to No Country For Old Men. What is it about the films of this beloved pair that is so unique and so appealing?

If you're keen on further reading, their seminal Fargo has just turned 20. And the argument over the crucial Mike Yanagita scene continues today. But what did it all mean?

Also, Lee posits the theory that the better a Coen Bros trailer is, the less successful - or at least, the less regarded - the film itself is. Here are the trailers for some of their less beloved films so you can judge for yourself:

Outro music: score from Fargo (1996), composed by Carter Burwell

The new episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Martyn Pedler talking the Coen Brothers, can be listened to via Stitcher Smart Radio, subscribed to on iTunes, or downloaded directly from our website.

Hell Is For Hyphenates – March 2016

Writer Martyn Pedler joins us this month as we look at some of the key films of March 2016, including Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s stop motion animated drama Anomalisa, Patricio Guzmán’s documentary The Pearl Button, and Zack Snyder’s contention franchise-builder Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Martyn, Sophie and Lee then look at the push to stream new release films into the home, and whether we’ll soon be able to legally watch new releases from the comfort of our living room. Then Martyn takes us through the filmography of the unique and beloved American indie filmmakers, Joel and Ethan Coen.