Average Rating: 
Rating: - At Last! This Genius Film Arrives on DVD!
This is easily one of the Coen brothers finest films and it's long awaited debut on DVD will hopefully punctuate it's greatness. Although it never received it's due in it's day, many covet the film for it's absorbing script, mesmerizing acting and jaw dropping technical beauty. The story revolves around a hard nosed mobster who is sharp, cunning and loyal despite his flaws. It also showcases rich characters you simply never see from the tepid world of major studios. Even if you don't catch all that is happening behind the motivations for the plot and it's characters on the first viewing. The acting by Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harding, John Turturro, John Polito, J.E. Freeman and great Albert Finny will keep your attention glued. Also the technical presence of it's cinematography and sound will startle you now that DVD can properly showcase it. Add on top another gorgeous soundtrack by the underrated Carter Burwell, and it will just astound you that this film never swept the Academy Awards. IT IS THAT GREAT! The DVD won't be stacked with extras but, trust me, this movie is so good you won't need them. This film and a few others by Kubrick and Foreman are the only dramas, I watch over and over. I can't thank Fox enough for releasing this film on DVD!
Rating: - It don't get much better than this, folks.
Yes, FARGO won lots of awards; and sure, RAISING ARIZONA is funny; but make no mistake: MILLER'S CROSSING is the quintessential Coen brothers film. In point of fact, it's flawless, a jewel you can turn over and around in your hands again and again, seeing a new facet every time, each one striking and smooth and perfect.Joel Coen and Ethan Coen's script is awash with Prohibition-era jargon both historically grounded and whimsically invented, a symphony of phrases and exchanges that linger and echo long after being heard. It isn't unusual after a viewing to walk around asking friends, "What's the rumpus?", or to complain about being given "the high hat" upon being snubbed. (Good dialogue always has a way of worming its way into common parlance, but only _excellent_ dialogue can do so in defiance of instant recognizability.) The performances, as well, are individually and collectively irresistable. I defy you, in fact, to find a single film in which _any_ of the major players has ever been better. There's not a false or miscast note in the whole of the dramatis personae. There's Gabriel Byrne as the inscrutable, Machiavellian Tom Regan, a trusted Irish mob advisor who falls out of favor with the boss and defects to the rival Italian camp to save his own skin...or does he? Albert Finney plays Leo, the aforementioned Irish power broker whose fists of iron, vicious survival instinct, and all-too-vulnerable heart congeal into a simply remarkable, unforgettable character. John Turturro is equal parts pathetic outcast and conniving opportunist as Bernie Birnbaum, the unscrupulous, vampirically pale bookmaker whose shady maneuvers set the whole plot into motion. Marcia Gay Harden exudes fierce intelligence and buckets of carefully-aimed sex appeal as Bernie's sister Verna, whose unflagging drive to protect her brother -- even from himself -- almost excuse her twisted machinations. Jon Polito, as hot-tempered Italian ringleader Johnny Caspar, may be the only character at hand to actually feel sorry for, as his oddly consistent ethical code makes it a sure bet he doesn't stand a chance in this environment. There's more to say about the acting, of course, but I'll stop there rather than pour accolades onto the entire cast. And when I say "entire," I'm not exaggerating: _every_ person who comes into frame, each and every one, from the leads to the smaller parts to the people with one line or none at all, fit together and play off of each other as though they'd been born to do nothing else in their entire lives. The resultant effect actually makes it difficult to subsequently keep from noticing acting and casting problems in other films. A few brief words about some of the other eleements of production. Barry Sonnenfeld's sure-footed photography, as always, is smooth and steady where appropriate, and frenetic where necessary. The set design and costuming make for such an astonishing illusion that were this not a color film, you might actually forget that it was released 9 and not 69 years ago. And even the sound -- from the music (diegetic and otherwise) to the crystal-clear sound effects that pierce the visual and draw you in by the ears, like they're supposed to -- is a _presence_ in its own right throughout the film. I mean, when was the last time ice cubes dropping into an old-fashioned glass or the wringing out of an alcohol-soaked rag into a tinny dish felt truly _woven_ into the designed effect of a scene in a movie? What continues to amaze me about MILLER'S CROSSING is that no matter how many times I see it, regardless of how hard I look, I _can't find anything wrong with it_. That's an extremely rare situation in my experience. It's what we all want out of a movie, and almost never get. MILLER'S CROSSING delivers exactly that feeling, and when Tom Regan leans against that tree and adjusts that hat in the haunting final shot, he knows it just as surely as we do. He doesn't seem to feel especially happy about it, but that's okay. _You_ will.
Rating:  - Finally MC makes it to DVD!
For those unfamiliar with Miller's Crossing, it is a true masterpiece that has dwelt largely in obscurity since its release in the early nineties. When asked for the Coen brother's greatest achievement, the kneejerk reaction is for the masses to yell "Fargo" while a small group whispers "Miller's Crossing". This is for two reasons: one, no one wants to knock Fargo, a great film that brought the Coens to the forefront. Second, it is almost like having knowledge of a terrific secret. No one would believe you anyway, and you feel pretty smart about it.Three things stand out to me about MC: 1. Gabriel Byrne. This holds par with his performance in "The Usual Suspects" -- which is good, he is in about 90% of the movie. 2. John Turturro. Hell, what isn't this guy great in? A Coen regular, his Bernie is outstanding. 3. Imagery. I won't give a single thing away, except this: just think about hats during the movie. Hats. The cat is truly out of the bag when MC is released on DVD, but that's OK. Those who know what I mean will only smile and nod. Those who don't, well, I only wish I could see this again for the first time. As Johnny said in the movie, "You never say 'I told you so.'" Please enjoy this great mob flick.
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