The one thing the Coens kinda suck at is...

Started by ShanghaiOrange, October 14, 2003, 06:17:56 PM

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ShanghaiOrange

naming their movies.

Intolerable Cruelty, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona  :yabbse-thumbdown:

Blood Simple and Oh Brother Were Art Thou are pretty good though.

The Man Who Wasn't There I'm ambivalent about.
Last five films (theater)
-The Da Vinci Code: *
-Thank You For Smoking: ***
-Silent Hill: ***1/2 (high)
-Happy Together: ***1/2
-Slither: **

Last five films (video)
-Solaris: ***1/2
-Cobra Verde: ***1/2
-My Best Fiend: **1/2
-Days of Heaven: ****
-The Thin Red Line: ***

ono

Very true.  Their movie titles do pretty much suck.  They fail to give you any idea what their movies are ultimately about.

kotte

I disagree. They all sound good to me.

Although it should have been "The Pantsie"...

mutinyco

Why does a title have to give you an idea of what it's about? A Clockwork Orange? Minority Report? Short Cuts? Full Metal Jacket? Reservoir Dogs?
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

kotte

I think that's the point of a title. So we can remeber what the film is about.

It would make no sense if The Big Lebowski was named Rasputin
Nowadays titles are more far-fetched and clever.

ono

Quote from: mutinycoWhy does a title have to give you an idea of what it's about? A Clockwork Orange? Minority Report? Short Cuts? Full Metal Jacket? Reservoir Dogs?
...except all those titles give you a real good idea of what the film is about.  At least for me.  A Clockwork Orange is the only iffy one in that bunch, and that title's the most brilliant and succinct one of them all.

Sleuth

I don't think a title always has to be what the film is about.  But Coens do have so pretty bad titles
I like to hug dogs

NEON MERCURY

Quote from: ShanghaiOrangeambivalent .

what does that word mean?

..also..i agree w/ you except I kindd.a like I.C.

Ghostboy

I think their titles are wonderful, and that they do give you just as much of an idea about the movie as most titles do. It's not like they're just completely random...of any of them, Blood Simple would be the most vague.

I don't think titles need to describe the movies at all, actually...they just need to approximate what one is going to experience when watching it. When I come up with titles for my films, they're often less about the movie and more about evoking a certain feeling. I wrote a horror screenplay called 'Post,' the title of which had nothing really to with the movie (although one could ostensibly read into it), but the word itself just sort of felt right, so I went with it.

mutinyco

"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

ShanghaiOrange

Quote from: NEON MERCURY
Quote from: ShanghaiOrangeambivalent .

what does that word mean?

It means I have mixed feelings about them.

I don't not like the titles because they don't relate to the content of the films. I don't like them because they just don't sound nice.

I mean, the Hudsucker Proxy! Come on. Who in the hell names they're movie the Hudsucker Proxy?

The Coens, that's who.
Last five films (theater)
-The Da Vinci Code: *
-Thank You For Smoking: ***
-Silent Hill: ***1/2 (high)
-Happy Together: ***1/2
-Slither: **

Last five films (video)
-Solaris: ***1/2
-Cobra Verde: ***1/2
-My Best Fiend: **1/2
-Days of Heaven: ****
-The Thin Red Line: ***

ElPandaRoyal

I actually think "The Hudsucker Proxy" sounds great.
Si

Ernie

I hate "Intolerable Cruelty", I haven't seen the movie but that's just a lame title I think. It sounds like a really horrible horror movie or something, where Russell Crowe has a nervous breakdown and holds his head and cries at the end of the trailer. All their other ones are great though, except Blood Simple. I think Ebert goes on for like a whole paragraph in his review of Fargo about why it's the perfect title for the movie. I think it was him anyway.

A Matter Of Chance

Quote from: RoyalTenenbaumI actually think "The Hudsucker Proxy" sounds great.

I agree, it's interesting to me

Gold Trumpet

The one thing the Coens kinda suck at is...

Not one thing at all. Many things. I plan to write a book about it for next year. Random House is showing interest with the outline I detailed out.

~rougerum