The Ballad of Buster Scruggs‘ is one of the best Western movies on Netflix, and the Coen brothers’ film that is praised for its accuracy has managed to complete a 34-year obsession for the directors. The Coen brothers are two of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers of all time, with their filmography spanning a wide variety of genres and tones. While The Ballad of Buster Scruggs May not be as well known as other Coen Brothers movies like The Big Lebowski, FargoAnd No country for old peopleIt is easily one of their most significant films.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a 2018 Netflix original movie directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, with it being the last movie the duo directed before they began working on separate projects. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is an anthology western that tells several different stories that all center around common western tropes, ranging from the hilarious singing cowboys to the dark bank robberies and murders. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was critically acclaimed upon its initial releaseBut some viewers may not realize that the film’s accuracy is one of its best parts.
Why the Ballad of Buster Scruggs is praised for its accuracy
& how it accurately makes fun of the genre
Six years later The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was released, one expert on Western movies pointed out how accurate the film was. Old West historian Michael Grover discusses The Ballad of Buster Scruggs In a recent video from InsideWith the cowboy analyzing various westerns and rating them on their accuracy. Together The Ballad of Buster ScruggsAlso reviewed True sizeThe Coen Brothers West that many lay people would assume is more accurate. However, he ended up giving both films the exact same accuracy rating.
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Grauer reviewed several of the segments in the anthology film, starting with the one featuring the titular Buster Scruggs. Although Grauer admitted that the actual events of the film probably would not have happened, He praises how accurately the segment pokes fun at the singing cowboy trope which was popularized during the height of western cinema. He explains that the film’s parody of this trope pokes “Mild fun“In many popular Western tropes, with this subversion signaling that The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Has done his homework on the Old West. Here are Grauer’s full comments:
“The Tim Blake Nelson character, Buster Scruggs, is hysterical because he’s a singing cowboy right out of the 1930s suddenly appearing in the Old West. Nobody wore a costume like that, it’s all an invention of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, Movie cowboys from the 30’s and 40’s walk into a pub with doors, which, by the way, the swinging doors were an invention of movies and television.
“Salons, varied, attracted a criminal element. Or gamblers – gambling was quite common – and of course alcohol consumption was a big part of that. So often times you saw them as gathering places, but typically they were gathering places for criminals in Gangs and gamblers.
“You had parlor fights, that part is true, and in some cases someone might pull out a hidden weapon. Sometimes. Most of the time it was with fists, and they didn’t last as long. You didn’t have the big scenes like You see where everyone is punching everyone else, punching furniture and so on. It’s usually just a couple of people.
“There wasn’t a lot of money in such a border town. It was largely a cashless society. It was more about bartering than anything else, and so only banks in more established communities really had the money worth the effort that bank robbers would undertake to rob one.
“I would call it a seven . They poke fun — mild fun, to be sure — at the singing cowboy films of the ’30s and ’40s.
The Coen brothers have shown their Western influences since Blood Simple
It has had an influence on many of their films
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a clear homage to the Western genre, something that has influenced the Coen brothers since incredibly early in their career. 1984s Blood simple is the first movie the Coen brothers ever directed, with the film’s popularity launching them into stardom. Blood simple Follows a pub owner who hires a detective to kill his wife after he discovers she’s been cheating on him. However, things soon go wrong when the detective makes a plan of his own, which leads to the first bloody story of twists and turns that have gone on to define the Coens’ career.
Blood simple It mixes neo-noir with many of the tropes of Westerns, with it trying to look at the genre through a more grounded and contemporary lens. Although the film does not take place in the Old West, tropes such as hired hitmen, a tavern owner, and an affair can be seen throughout the Western genre. Embedding Western elements in their first film highlights how important the genre is to the Coen brothers, with this continuing to be a trend throughout their career.
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Movies like Rising Arizona Continued to use elements lifted from Westerns, although the Coens didn’t make another film like it Blood simple Until 2007. That’s when No country for old people was released, with this being another modern take on many Western tropes and stories. The Coens then made a true classic western in 2010 with their remake of True sizePut a fresh spin on the classic 1969 John Wayne movie. True size Proving that the Coens could make a tried and true Western, they then turned the tables on their next attempt.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is the perfect result of the Coens’ love of the West
It allows the Coens to tell any type of Western story
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is the culmination of the Coen brothers’ obsession with Westerns, with the film acting as a true love letter to the genre. Blood simple, No country for old peopleAnd True size were all more serious dramas, meaning that the Coens could only tackle certain facets of the genre with each one. The anthology format of The Ballad of Buster ScruggsHowever, it allows the Coens to encompass everything there is to love about the genre, with each segment tackling a new type of Western story.
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The six stories contained within The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Each take on a different trap, with the film featuring stories about singing cowboys, bank robberies, traveling artists, prospects, the hardships of traveling west, and death. At the end of The Ballad of Buster ScruggsViewers got a sampling of everything the genre had to offer, with the film wearing its inspirations on its sleeve. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was the best way for the Coens to pay tribute to the genre, which is why it is such a fantastic film.
What is the Coen brothers’ best western?
It’s not the ballad of Buster Scruggs
There has been a lot of conversation surrounding which Coen Brothers movie is their best Western, with a variety of different answers. Despite Blood simple And The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Being critically acclaimed, most fans of the directors do not consider these two as their best. Instead, one common answer is No country for old people. Despite its departures from the Western genre, No country for old people is one of the duo’s most critically acclaimed moviesWith it even winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
When it comes to more traditional Western, however, there is no doubt that their best is True size. The film has all the fingerprints of the Coen brothers, but it also acts as a perfect representation of the classic western genre. The film features career-best performances from actors like Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld, and is considered one of the best movies of the 2010s. While The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Is great, it doesn’t quite live True size.