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Photo of Joel Coen

Joel Coen

Writer, Producer, Director, Editor, Actor, Additional CreditsBorn November 29, 1954 (70 years)
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) is an American filmmaker, working with his brother, Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers(/ˈkoʊən/). Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).

The brothers generally write, direct and produce their films jointly. However, due to regulations, Joel received sole directing credit while Ethan received sole production credit until The Ladykillers (2004). From then on, they would be credited as directors and producers and shared editing credits under the alias Roderick Jaynes. The duo started directing separately in the 2020s, resulting in Joel's The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), Ethan's Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind (2022) and Drive-Away Dolls (2024). Together, they have been nominated for 13 Academy Awards and one individual nomination. They share Best Original Screenplay for Fargo and Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men. They won the Palme d'Or for Barton Fink at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.

The Coens have written films for other directors, including Sam Raimi's Crimewave (1985), Angelina Jolie's World War II biopic Unbroken (2014) and Steven Spielberg's Cold War drama Bridge of Spies (2015). They produced Terry Zwigoff's Bad Santa (2003) and John Turturro's Romance and Cigarettes (2005). Ethan is also a writer of short stories, theatre and poetry.

They are known for their distinctive stylistic trademarks, including genre hybridity. No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man and Inside Llewyn Davis was included in the BBC's 2016 poll of the greatest motion pictures since 2000. In 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked Fargo among the 100 greatest American movies. Richard Corliss wrote of the Coens: "Dexterously flipping and reheating old movie genres like so many pancakes, they serve them fresh, not with syrup but with a coating of comic arsenic."

Description above from the Wikipedia article Coen brothers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Paris, Je T'aime
  • Spies Like Us
  • The Jesus Rolls

Known For

  • No Country for Old Men
  • Fargo
  • The Big Lebowski
  • True Grit
  • O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  • Bridge of Spies
  • Burn After Reading
  • Inside Llewyn Davis
  • A Serious Man
  • Barton Fink
  • Fargo
  • Blood Simple
  • The Man Who Wasn't There
  • Raising Arizona
  • The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  • Hail, Caesar!
  • Miller's Crossing
  • The Ladykillers
  • Intolerable Cruelty
  • The Hudsucker Proxy
  • Unbroken
  • The Tragedy of Macbeth
  • Suburbicon
  • Paris, Je T'aime

Featured Videos

    Filmography

    2021
    The Tragedy of Macbeth · as Screenplay
    2018
    2017
    2016
    2015
    2014
    Unbroken · as Screenplay
    2013
    2012
    2010
    True Grit · as Screenplay
    2009
    2008
    Burn After Reading · as Screenplay
    2007
    No Country for Old Men · as Screenplay
    2007
    2006
    2004
    The Ladykillers · as Screenplay
    2003
    Intolerable Cruelty · as Screenplay
    2001
    The Man Who Wasn't There · as Screenplay
    2000
    1998
    1996
    Fargo · as Screenplay
    1994
    1991
    Barton Fink · as Screenplay
    1990
    Miller's Crossing · as Screenplay
    1987
    Raising Arizona · as Screenplay
    1985
    1984

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