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Forum namePass The Popcorn
Topic subjectMILLERS CROSSING (1990)
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=359795
359795, MILLERS CROSSING (1990)
Posted by MANHOODLUM, Tue Mar-25-08 05:10 PM
I heard Brad Pitt reference this movie in Ocean's 12, while him and Eliott Gould kind've knodded to a John Turturro scene in this movie.

I've always though Turturro was kind've goaty, but I let the reference slip under my radar.

Fast forward 1 1/2 years later, and I'm in Blockbuster. I see Miller's Crossing on the aisle, so out of curiosity, I pick it up and read the back. A mob movie? GABRIEL BYRNE?? WTF?? How come I never heard of this?

Alas, I forgot my card....and my ID. The enigmatic Millers Crossing escapes my grasp again.

Fast-forward a couple weeks later (today...I never had time to make it back to Blockbuster), and I Google it.

Man, the synopsis sounds insance, the actor line-up sounds incredible. The Cohen Brothers? 1990? How come I've never heard of it, or worse, how come it never gets mentioned?

Yeah, I'm going to rent it, but...

is this movie REALLY as ill as it sounds on paper?

This sounds like some underappreciated diamond.
359798, I love it. Probably my favorite Coen bro flick.
Posted by jigga, Tue Mar-25-08 05:18 PM
>I heard Brad Pitt reference this movie in Ocean's 12, while
>him and Eliott Gould kind've knodded to a John Turturro scene
>in this movie.
>
>I've always though Turturro was kind've goaty, but I let the
>reference slip under my radar.
>
>Fast forward 1 1/2 years later, and I'm in Blockbuster. I see
>Miller's Crossing on the aisle, so out of curiosity, I pick it
>up and read the back. A mob movie? GABRIEL BYRNE?? WTF?? How
>come I never heard of this?
>
>Alas, I forgot my card....and my ID. The enigmatic Millers
>Crossing escapes my grasp again.
>
>Fast-forward a couple weeks later (today...I never had time to
>make it back to Blockbuster), and I Google it.
>
>Man, the synopsis sounds insance, the actor line-up sounds
>incredible. The Cohen Brothers? 1990? How come I've never
>heard of it, or worse, how come it never gets mentioned?

It gets mentioned here from time to time by the die hards.

>Yeah, I'm going to rent it, but...
>
>is this movie REALLY as ill as it sounds on paper?

Dont get your hopes up too high but I'd be surprised if you didn't enjoy it. It's not a typical mob movie. The dialogue is top notch. In fact it pretty much carries the entire movie. And while it can be hard to follow at times, I still enjoyed it tremendously from the way the lines are delivered.

>This sounds like some underappreciated diamond.

Indeed it is. And Gabe Byrne kills it.
359806, ^^^What he said. It's my favorite flick by them
Posted by mrhood75, Tue Mar-25-08 05:48 PM
I can be a little hard to follow on the first watch through, but I realy, really, love this flick. Dialogue is great, performances are top notch. I highly recommend it.
359825, Yeah, that's what the comments said...illest Cohen Bros flick
Posted by MANHOODLUM, Tue Mar-25-08 06:53 PM
I was like serious??

The way it was mentioned, I knew it had to be dope, but I'm reading the hype like "How come I never heard of this??". It sounds bananas.

Gabriel BYRNE?!?! That's the dude.
359831, without a doubt
Posted by 40thStreetBlack, Tue Mar-25-08 07:02 PM
>Gabriel BYRNE?!?! That's the dude.

yeah I never even heard of him before I saw this, and he instantly became my favorite actor. he kills that shit.
359978, The Usual Suspect is when I 1st took notice of Gabriel Byrne
Posted by jigga, Wed Mar-26-08 01:03 PM
>>Gabriel BYRNE?!?! That's the dude.
>
>yeah I never even heard of him before I saw this, and he
>instantly became my favorite actor. he kills that shit.

I dont even remember Miller's Crossing being out in theaters but I came across it on cable 1 night & I get stuck watching it all the time whenever it comes on now even tho I have the DVD. He does a great job in both flicks.
359807, dude you've never seen Miller's Crossing?!?!
Posted by 40thStreetBlack, Tue Mar-25-08 05:49 PM
it's only the greatest Irish mob movie ever - how the fuck did you of all people miss it for so long?


>Man, the synopsis sounds insance, the actor line-up sounds
>incredible. The Cohen Brothers? 1990? How come I've never
>heard of it, or worse, how come it never gets mentioned?

well it came out around the same time as Goodfellas, so it kinda got swept under the rug. but yeah it's terrific. Best Coen Brothers movie before NCFOM.

State of Grace came out about the same time too, you ever see that? if not make that next on your list.


>Yeah, I'm going to rent it, but...
>
>is this movie REALLY as ill as it sounds on paper?

every bit and then some.


>This sounds like some underappreciated diamond.

people who know it know what's up. good amount of people on here love it. but yeah it's generally underappreciated by the masses.

359821, State Of Grace>>>>>>>>>>>Miller's Crossing
Posted by Bombastic, Tue Mar-25-08 06:43 PM
I like both though.
359828, cmon.
Posted by 40thStreetBlack, Tue Mar-25-08 06:58 PM
totally different movies in terms of tone, mood, setting... well, basically everything. guess it depends on your preferences.

that being said, Miller's Crossing still better though.
359842, agreed, the only reason I mentioned it is because of your 'GIMMOAT'
Posted by Bombastic, Tue Mar-25-08 07:48 PM
comment.

I don't think of Miller's Crossing as a 'mob film' in the genre sense for whatever reason. State of Grace stands out to me as more of a true 'mob' movie and the acting from Harris, Penn, and Oldman is tremendous.

Whatever though, I'm not going to get OKP with it and knock one to praise the other......I like both for different reasons, I've probably just watched State of Grace more times and seen it more recently so it's fresher in my memories.
359843, ah
Posted by 40thStreetBlack, Tue Mar-25-08 08:07 PM
>I don't think of Miller's Crossing as a 'mob film' in the
>genre sense for whatever reason. State of Grace stands out to
>me as more of a true 'mob' movie and the acting from Harris,
>Penn, and Oldman is tremendous.

I agree, I was just surprised Manhood the mick hadn't even heard of it so I said it like that.

but yeah I love State of Grace too. and yeah the performances by those 3 in it are fantastic.

359827, Seen it? I never HEARD of it....
Posted by MANHOODLUM, Tue Mar-25-08 06:57 PM
The only reason I even picked it up @ Blockbuster was because of the Ocean's 12 name drop. When I found out it was an Irish Mob movie...with Gabriel Byrne? Where have I been?

To boot, I just heard of Monument Ave a few months ago. I heard THAT was good.

Yeah, I heard of State of Grace around when it dropped from my man Dwight lol I had that dvd for a minute. What's funny is he said "Your Irish, huh? State of Grace!! That's my movie!". I said "State of what?" lol
359833, yeah it's slept on
Posted by 40thStreetBlack, Tue Mar-25-08 07:09 PM
most people who have seen it seem to really like it though.

>To boot, I just heard of Monument Ave a few months ago. I
>heard THAT was good.

I vaguely heard of this, think I heard that was ok, prolly will check it out at some point.


>Yeah, I heard of State of Grace around when it dropped from my
>man Dwight lol I had that dvd for a minute. What's funny is he
>said "Your Irish, huh? State of Grace!! That's my movie!". I
>said "State of what?" lol

yeah that's my shit too. it was loosely based on the Westies, several scenes were straight out of the book.
359810, The movie is gold... a loose remake of the The Glass Key.
Posted by Raised under Reagan, Tue Mar-25-08 06:00 PM
359813, also, similarities to Yojimbo, Fist Full of Dollars, etc..
Posted by Mynoriti, Tue Mar-25-08 06:10 PM
359817, I think they combined the "Red Harvest" and "Glass Key" novels
Posted by mrhood75, Tue Mar-25-08 06:19 PM
by Dashiel Hammett. The former is of course the inspiration for "Yojimbo," "Fistful of Dollars," and, uh, "Last Man Standing," which sucks.
359818, yeah, i didn't wanna mention Last Man Standing
Posted by Mynoriti, Tue Mar-25-08 06:28 PM
trying to keep this campaign positive
359815, It's top tier Coen bros
Posted by Mynoriti, Tue Mar-25-08 06:11 PM
I doubt you'll be disappointed.
359839, oh man!!!!!
Posted by BigWorm, Tue Mar-25-08 07:25 PM
That movie is PERFECT.

I'm not kidding, that is one of the few movies that I will call flat out perfect.

It's hilarious but it is not a comedy. They hit on so many of the gangster/film noir motifs and sometimes in a funny way but the movie is not a parody. When the action kicks in the movie it's no joke, it's all brutal and intense. All the performances are spot on (Byrne, Tuturro, Albert Finny, Steve Buscemi and the underrated Jon Polito), the story is great, the dialogue is great...

This was still when the Coen Bros. were batting 1000, great movie after great movie.

Seriously man you see this and you will kick yourself for having slept on it for so long.
359979, Good call on Jon Polito.
Posted by jigga, Wed Mar-26-08 01:19 PM
All the
>performances are spot on (Byrne, Tuturro, Albert Finny, Steve
>Buscemi and the underrated Jon Polito)
360090, It was so a parody
Posted by Wrongthink, Wed Mar-26-08 09:40 PM
It just wasn't a stupid parody. In fact, it might be the classiest parody ever put to screen.

I understand how you could miss it, because it was subtle, but it was an over-the-top post-modern parody of film noir. If you want to argue about this with me then I'll have to put it in and rewatch it to get some good examples, but for now try to remember the scene where

**Spoilers**



















they tried to kill Albert Finney, and he grabbed a tommy gun and chased the car down the street while strutting with a cigar in his mouth the whole time.

There were genuine emotions in this story, and certain scenes were real as hell which gave the movie gravitas in a way few other directors could pull off, but so much of this movie is just outright hysterical right down to the over-the-top score and the dissolves.

Really fun movie though. Look into your heart.
359840, it's not as great as OKP thinks
Posted by will_5198, Tue Mar-25-08 07:36 PM
359844, take your flunky and dangle.
Posted by 40thStreetBlack, Tue Mar-25-08 08:09 PM
.
359846, why was Byrne's character so dumb lucky?
Posted by will_5198, Tue Mar-25-08 08:12 PM
359906, I think you mean clever and calculating
Posted by BigWorm, Wed Mar-26-08 06:34 AM
359847, Youse fancy pantses, all of ya
Posted by mrhood75, Tue Mar-25-08 08:13 PM
359939, hahahhaha
Posted by 13Rose, Wed Mar-26-08 10:06 AM
it's the kiss off.
359980, ^^^GIVE HIM A PENNY BOYS!!!
Posted by jigga, Wed Mar-26-08 01:22 PM
359855, good flick, but i think it's overrated. not even a coen top 5, imo.
Posted by inpulse, Tue Mar-25-08 08:40 PM
359909, yups. i mean i enjoyed it, but definitely not their best.
Posted by araQual, Wed Mar-26-08 06:57 AM
V.
359931, can we just say it's good and leave it at that?
Posted by BigWorm, Wed Mar-26-08 09:32 AM
It's a good movie.

A damn good movie.

By two guys that have a filmography of almost all good movies.

This isn't an attack or anything but it always kinda irked me when people used that 'good but overrated' line, it's comes off like you just need to find a way to disagree with people just cause they're bigger fans than you.

"Man that movie is great!"

"Yeah it was great, but not great with an exclamation at the end. It wasn't that great."

359938, .
Posted by ZooTown74, Wed Mar-26-08 09:57 AM
________________________________________________________________________
I'm gonna break down at fifty
And I'm not quite a stallion
I'm a good guy for a gal
And I'm mentally slipping
359956, that's a pretty skewed interpretation of wat we're sayin, but ok
Posted by araQual, Wed Mar-26-08 11:25 AM
i thought the lines "good, but overrated" kind speak for themselves? we're not talking in any subtext or have ulterior motives here...

V.
359967, again, not trying to attack
Posted by BigWorm, Wed Mar-26-08 12:16 PM
You're one of the aiight posters in PTP, I wasn't just being argumentative.

Maybe it's just the way it's worded. I'm Just saying, sometimes seeing that kind of thing is a little off-putting.

You know, if you asked your buddy if you should go to Blockbuster and rent Gone Baby Gone and he was like "It's good but overrated", what would you think? Is he saying rent it, or don't rent it?

I put it right up there with "Yeah I liked it, but something was missing..."

Whatever. In a time where this board has huge long threads up about whether Tyler Perry is out to destroy black America...'good but overrated' so should not be an issue. Maybe I'll start complaining again if we both end up judges at Cannes.
359987, NO!! i want a flame war DAMNIT!
Posted by araQual, Wed Mar-26-08 01:52 PM
yeah, i dont really give a shit either lol.

V.
360015, Wait, wait....he's aight, but he's not aiight
Posted by MANHOODLUM, Wed Mar-26-08 03:55 PM
LOL
360481, *flexes bicep*
Posted by araQual, Fri Mar-28-08 12:18 PM
V.
360020, the word 'overrated' serves its purpose
Posted by inpulse, Wed Mar-26-08 04:31 PM
i was turned onto the movie numerous times before i actually saw it

and EVERY SINGLE PERSON was like 'ohmygodyouhaventseenmillerscrossing???!!!!'

most of them even said something like it was a top 5 gangster movie or whatever

so that's just my experience....i like the movie and all, but i don't go bananas over it like all the other folk i know do

it's not about being disagreeable at all when i'm just offering my opinion, and especially if i am not being a jerk about it

basically, i guess i'm just saying you are reading too much into it, my man
360024, the word 'overrated' serves a different purpose
Posted by REDeye, Wed Mar-26-08 04:50 PM
>i was turned onto the movie numerous times before i actually
>saw it
>
>and EVERY SINGLE PERSON was like
>'ohmygodyouhaventseenmillerscrossing???!!!!'

I don't like Pulp Fiction, but if you told me you haven't seen it I'd respond with some variation of "ohmygod". Miller's Crossing may or may not be overrated, but the Coen Brothers are not overrated and I expect everyone* to have seen their major works. It's not like we're talking about Intolerable Cruelty here.

>most of them even said something like it was a top 5 gangster
>movie or whatever

I know people who would say that. I also know lots of people who think it is good but not great.

Don't let your hyperbole-prone* friends sway you. Overrated really should be used in regard to more than what your circle of friends think, no matter how intelligent your friends.

RED
http://arrena.blogspot.com

*Yes, we all are hyperbole-prone.
359976, given the fact that people have never heard of it,
Posted by REDeye, Wed Mar-26-08 12:53 PM
I'd say it's rated right where it needs to be rated.

Like Big Worm, I'm not trying to attack you, but I think "overrated" is vastly overused.

RED
http://arrena.blogspot.com
359988, so u think "overrated" is overrated?
Posted by araQual, Wed Mar-26-08 01:53 PM
im sorry i couldn't resist.

V.
359995, I almost typed that.
Posted by REDeye, Wed Mar-26-08 02:18 PM

RED
http://arrena.blogspot.com
359957, you must've mistaken this for a Fargo post
Posted by 40thStreetBlack, Wed Mar-26-08 11:35 AM
359936, A+ film
Posted by 13Rose, Wed Mar-26-08 09:51 AM
I own it and even have my girl saying "what's the rumpus". I love the dialogue and the angles being played.
360001, I popped the DVD in friday night.
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Wed Mar-26-08 02:40 PM
I watch it 2 or 3 times a year. My favorite cohen brothers film.



**********
My new favorite photographer http://cwhateyec.com/

Every man must know Teedra http://www.myspace.com/teedramoses
360003, Very, very good
Posted by blue23, Wed Mar-26-08 03:02 PM
Top 3 for Coen Bros maybe #1. Photography is incredible and actually almost everything about that film is near perfect. It can come off a little dated but for the most part I think it stands up.

BTW
360013, RE: Very, very good
Posted by sithlord, Wed Mar-26-08 03:50 PM
A bunch of people in this post are giving the movie the high hat!

I liked it a lot when I saw it, but it got lost in the shuffle. The year it came out, there were like 5,000 gangster movies and all of them fell by the mighty sword of Goodfellas.

Not to post jack, but has anyone seen "The Krays"? That one came out around the same time as Miller's Crossing and its the one I didn't see.
360092, I love this movie
Posted by Zion3Lion, Wed Mar-26-08 09:58 PM
haven't seen it in forever
360253, RE: I love this movie
Posted by eightyeight, Thu Mar-27-08 02:15 PM
so do i.