The Coen Bros. Netflix Series THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS is Now a Movie
I was pretty excited about The Coen Brothers Netflix anthology series The Ballad of Buster Scruggs! It was originally supposed to be a six-episode Western series, each one focusing on a different story. Now is being reported by Variety that the Coens have re-edited the series have re-edited the series into a feature film instead.
I was really looking forward to watching a six-episode Coen Brothers series! I'm kinda bummed out that's not happening. On the bright side of things, at least we are getting a new movie from the Coen Brothers!
When the project was first announced about a year ago it was described as being a "feature-length omnibus consisting of six separate stories." But, the original plan was for those stories to be split up over multiple episodes. Based on that initial description, I guess they just wanted to keep the option open for a potential single film, which they ultimately decided to go with. Here are the details on the six stories that the film will consist of:
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is about a singing cowboy.
“Near Algodones” is about a high-plains drifter whose own fecklessness dogs his attempts at bank robbery and cattle driving.
The third story, “Meal Ticket,” follows an actor and impresario of a traveling show.
The fourth, “All Gold Canyon,” is about a prospector who happily finds a gold seam but then unhappily finds an evil encroacher.
The fifth, “The Gal Who Got Rattled,” follows two trail bosses on the Oregon Trail and a woman on the wagon train who needs the help of one of them and who might be a marriage prospect for the other.
Lastly, “The Mortal Remains,” about the five very different passengers on a stagecoach of mysterious destination.
The film stars Tim Blake Nelson as the title character Scruggs, along with Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson and Tom Waits. When talking about the anthology movie, the Coen brothers said:
"We’ve always loved anthology movies, especially those films made in Italy in the Sixties which set side-by-side the work of different directors on a common theme. Having written an anthology of Western stories we attempted to do the same, hoping to enlist the best directors working today. It was our great fortune that they both agreed to participate."
The film will premiere at the Venice Film Festival and it is expected to hit Netflix by the end of the year. I'm a huge fan of the Coen Brothers film work so I can't wait to see how their Western anthology film turns out!