Day #9 - Raising Arizona

It is very late and I am very tired.  I am going to be brief about today's movie.  The Coen Brothers 1987 classic, Raising Arizona.  This film start Nick Cage (H.I. McDunnough) and Holly Hunter (Edwina "Ed" McDunnough) as an ex-con and cop respectively who get married and try to have a child.  They are unable to conceive (H.I. says in voice over "Her womb is a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase").  So they concoct a scheme to steel a baby from the Nathan Arizona household where they just received quintuplets.

This is a screwball comedy for certain.  I love this movie because where Blood Simple was so atmospheric to the point where Texas was almost a character in the movie, Raising Arizona is the first place where the Coen's Brothers voice and identifiable writing style is first heard.  They (mainly Ethan) writes dialogue unlike any other.  The next best example of this is Fargo but O Brother Where Art Thou is also written with razor sharp wit.  The Coen Brothers are often criticized for "making fun of their characters".  I have never understood that criticism.  I find the dialogue to be authentic and extraordinarily clever, especially considering the characters reciting the lines.

All the visual cue's are still there.  The rapid camera movements and the extreme low angle shots that the Coens have made iconic are used to perfection in this movie.  This films contains a lot of voice over narration by H.I which somehow nevers slows down the story like most narration does.  It also contains an extremely long prologue and epilogue that serve as wonderful bookends to the film.  Like narration, bookends are another device that film makers tries to use and generally fail at.  The picture also has what I consider to be one of the 3 best car chase scenes in movie history.  The French Connection and The Blues Brothers being the other two.  This movie is endlessly quotable and I never tire of re-watching it.

I said I would be brief and I am going to hold true to that.  I would be surprised if you hadn't seen this movie yet.  It is often times on TV and it doesn't really loose much by being viewed on network television.  What else can I say.  Great directors, great script, fine acting, great camera work.  I give this a 4/5 stars.  Check out the link below to see the trailer.  Millers Crossing tomorrow!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AIfVoGUs6c