From: Reviews and Criticism of Vietnam War Theatrical and Television Dramas (http://www.lasalle.edu/library/vietnam/FilmIndex/home.htm) compiled by John K. McAskill, La Salle University ([email protected])

N6015 (USA, 2007)

Credits: directors/writers, Joel and Ethan Coen ; novel, Cormac McCarthy. Cast: , , , , . Summary: Crime thriller set in West Texas in 1980. Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande. The hunter, Llewelyn Moss (Brolin), impulsively takes the money. Later that night, he suffers a twinge of conscience for having left one of the drug dealers still dying and returns to the crime scene only to be shot at by unknown men before escaping in a nearby river. That misplaced act of kindness exposes Moss’s identity and sets several individuals on his trail. These include the local county sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones), Carson Wells (Harrelson) an intermediary for the money’s rightful owner, and psychopathic killer (Bardem) representing the drug dealers. Both Moss and Wells, it emerges, are Vietnam veterans, but that does not help them escape Anton.

Andersen, Soren. “Texas ‘No country’ for pity in film” News tribune [Tacoma, WA] (Nov 21, 2007), SoundLife & food, p. E01. Axmaker, Sean. “Coen brothers latest riff on a classic genre is powered by its simple, stark storytelling” Seattle post-intelligencer (Nov 16, 2007), What’s happening, p. 4. Bancroft, Collette. “Bloody ‘Country’” St. Petersburg times (Nov 21, 2007), Floridian, p. 1E. Barnes, Harper. “Stunning return of the Coen brothers” St. Louis post-dispatch (Nov 16, 2007), Screens, p. E1. Beale, Lewis. “No country for old men” Film journal international 110/11 (Nov 2007), p. 115. Biancolli, Amy. “Thriller; Brothers’ grim master work” The Houston chronicle (Nov 16, 2007), Star, p. 3. Borrelli, Christopher. “Movie review: No country for old men” McClatchy-Tribune business news (Nov 21, 2007) [ProQuest] Bowles, Scott. “New film is Coen brothers ‘Country’; They’re back to villainous ways, but don’t expect them to talk about it” USA today (Nov 8, 2007), Life, p. 1D. Bradley, Ed. “Coens’ Texas tale more than a chase” Flint journal review (Nov 30, 2007), Entertainer, p. F06. Buchanan, Kyle. “Mad men” The advocate no. 997 (Nov 20, 2007), p. 54, 56. Burr, Ty. “Greed is great – Money talks in two four-star movies that keep on the gritty side of life – ‘No country for old men’” Boston globe (Nov 9, 2007), LivingArts, p. E1. Butler, Robert W. “No country for old men” Kansas City star (Nov 21, 2007), Entertainment news, p. ? Covert, Colin. “Coen country; Its main exports: tight writing, dark wit and violence” The times union [Albany, NY] (Nov 15, 2007), Preview, p. P30. Debruge, Peter. “No country for old men” Daily variety (Dec 17, 2007), Special report, p. A6. DeFore, John. “Plainly stunning” Austin American-statesman (Nov 16, 2007), Lifestyle, p. E01. Dudek, Duane. “Movie review; Feasting on films; ‘No country’ inhabits harsh landscape” Milwaukee journal sentinel (Nov 21, 2007), Cue, p. E1. Ebert, Roger. “” ‘Men’ behaving badly; The Coens create a masterful evocation of time, place and character in a dark, modern-day morality tale” Chicago sun times (Nov 9, 2007), Movies, p. B1. Elliott, David. “Coens throw a bloody good hunting party in ‘Men’” The San Diego union-tribune (Nov 16, 2007), Lifestyle, p. E4. Fischbach, Bob. “A Coen thriller as fine as ‘Fargo’? You betcha” Omaha world- herald (Nov 21, 2007), Living, p. 1E. Forbes, Clark. “No place to hide from evil” Sunday herald sun [Australia] (Dec 30, 2007), IE, p. 9. Gabrenya, Frank. “Movie review / No country for old men; Evil unleashed; Coen brothers mix bloody cocktail of humor, brutality” Columbus dispatch [Ohio] (Nov 20, 2007), Life & arts, p. 1D. Gibson, Zach. “Brothers back with real killer” Sunday mail [South Australia] (Dec 30, 2007), p. 80. Griffin, John. “Death in the desert; The makers of Fargo are at their dark, violent, humorous best in a Cormac McCarthy adaptation” The gazette [Montreal] (Nov 9, 2007), p. D1. Groen, Rick. “A brilliant tour through a twisted moral landscape” The globe and mail [Canada] (Nov 9, 2007), The Globe review, p. R5. Hirschberg, Lynn. “Coen brothers country” New York times magazine (Nov 11, 2007), p. 72-82. Holahan, Jane. “ ‘No country for old men’ is a great movie for you” Lancaster new era [Pennsylvania] (Nov 28, 2007), p. B1. Howell, Peter. “Best ‘No country’ top-drawer Coen Bros.; The Coen Bros. are back with a morality play movie that may well be the year’s best picture” Toronto star (Nov 9, 2007), Entertainment, p. E03. ______. “Murderous role may put Bardem within a hair’s breadth of Oscar; Spanish actor loved working with Coen Bros., but didn’t think much of cattle-gun killer’s freaky coif” Toronto star (Nov 7, 2007), Entertainment, p. E01. Hunter, Stephen. “ ‘No country for old men’ chases its literary tale” Washington post (Nov 9, 2007), Style, p. C01. “In a Coen brothers classic, a mythic Texas standoff” Washington post (Dec 30, 2007), p. M12. Johns, Erin K. “A flip of the coin : gender systems and female resistance in the Coen brothers’ ‘No country for old men’” in No country for old men : from novel to film (edited by Lynnea Chapman King, Rick Wallach, Jim Welsh) Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2009. (p. 124-138) Johnson, Brian D. “Through a glass darkly” Maclean’s 120/45 (Nov 19, 2007), p. 163-4. Kass, John. “‘No country’ a film worthy of its novel” Chicago tribune (Nov 16, 2007), p. ? Kennedy, Lisa. “Wry, deft and desolate, McCarthy novel soars on screen” Denver post (Nov 16, 2007), p. F01. King, Linnea Chapman, “‘Just a cameraman’ : an interview with ” in No country for old men : from novel to film (edited by Lynnea Chapman King, Rick Wallach, Jim Welsh) Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2009. (p. 219-225) Kirkland, Bruce. “Hair-raising character for Javier Bardem” Toronto sun (Nov 9, 2007), Entertainment, p. E18. ______. “Violent masterpiece; Coen brothers’ latest is bad-ass brilliant” Toronto sun (Nov 9, 2007), Entertainment, p. E18. Kung, Michelle. “Actor on the verge; Javier Bardem, with leading roles in ‘No country for old men’ and ‘Love in the time of cholera’ is poised for Hollywood stardom” Boston globe (Nov 11, 2007), LivingArts, p. N9. Lacey, Liam. “Weekend review; movie carnage: Accepting the beauty of horror” The globe and mail [Canada] (Nov 10, 2007), p. R5. Landrum, Jason. “Cold-blooded Coen brothers : the death drive and No Country for old men” in No country for old men : from novel to film (edited by Lynnea Chapman King, Rick Wallach, Jim Welsh) Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2009. (p. 199-218) Lane, Anthony. “Hunting grounds; ‘No country for old men’ and ‘Lions for lambs’” The New Yorker (Nov 12, 2007), p. 98. Lawson, Terry. “Coen country: The filmmakers’ latest set in a violent, beautiful Texas, features killer performances” Detroit free press (Nov 16, 2007), Lifestyle, p. ? Levy, Shawn. “The Coens cast an unwavering eye on a drug deal gone bad” The Oregonian [Portland, OR] (Nov 16, 2007), Arts & entertainment, p. ? Lindsey, Craig D. “Evil enthralls in ‘Country’” News & observer [Raleigh, NC] (Nov 21, 2007), Life, p. ? Lumenick, Lou. “Neo grande – Western noir flirts with Oscar – Voens’ masterpiece borders on classic” New York post (Nov 9, 2007), p. 39. Macdonald, Moira. “Tommy Lee Jones comes knocking; in the Coens’ chase thriller ‘No country for old men’” Seattle times (Nov 16, 2007), ROP zone, p. I23. Martin, Philip. “A Coen classic; ‘No country for old men’ comes close to perfection’” Arkansas democrat-gazette (Nov 23, 2007), Moviestyle, p. ? Masterson, Lawrie. “Men behaving badly” The Sunday mail [Australia] (Dec 30, 2007), Event, p. 12. Mathews, Jack. “Paths to gory in a wild, wild West” Daily news [New York] (Nov 9, 2007), p. 45. Mathieson, Craig. “Film; Killing can be soft, methodical” The age [Melbourne, Australia] (Dec 27, 2007), Entertainment guide, p. 8. Mayo, Jenny. “ ‘Country’ no place for mistakes; Riveting action follows find of drug money” Washington times (Nov 9, 2007), Show, p. D08. McMurtry, Larry. “A river runs through it; The Rio Grande has long inspired the best – and darkest – of stories. The author of ‘’ explores a new film chapter: ‘No country for old men’” (Nov 5, 2007), p. 58. Means, Sean P. “”Review: ‘No country’ is Coens at their bone-chilling best” The Salt Lake tribune (Nov 20, 2007), p. ? Meyer, Carla. “Another country; Coen brothers guide ‘Old men’ through a hypnotic crime drama” Sacramento bee (Nov 16, 2007), Ticket, p. TK17. Morgenstern, Joe. “Weekend journal; Review/film: … No country is Coen brothers at their best” Wall Street journal (Nov 9, 2007), p. W1. Mowe, Richard. “No country for old men” Boxoffice 143/11 (Nov 2007), p. 117. Neman, Daniel. “ ‘No country’ offers no escape: Relentless movie by Coen brothers traffics in nihilism” Richmond times-dispatch (Nov 22, 2007), p. ? Newman, Bruce. “ ‘No country for old men’: Desperados in every direction” San Jose mercury news (Nov 16, 2007), Entertainment, p. ? No country for old men : from novel to film (edited by Lynnea Chapman King, Rick Wallach, Jim Welsh) Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2009. O’Brien, Geoffrey. “Gone tomorrow: the echoing spaces of Joel & Ethan Coen’s No country for old men” Film comment 43/6 (Nov/Dec 2007), p. 28-31. O’Connor, Clint. “Coen brothers’ ‘No country’ rules” Plain dealer [Cleveland, OH] (Nov 16, 2007), Friday, p. T08. Palmer, Martyn. “Killing them softly” The times [London] (Dec 15, 2007), Times magazine, p. 38. Paris, Barry. “Coens’ violent new West includes wry twist” Pittsburgh post-gazette (Nov 21, 2007), Arts & entertainment, P. E3. Partridge, Des. “Coen Bros chase thrills” Sunday territorian [Australia] (Dec 26, 2007), Entertainment, p. 40. Patterson, John. “Film & music; Film: ‘We’ve killed a lot of animals’: Joel and Ethan Coen have never shied away from death, and their latest film is one of their bloodiest – and best…” The guardian [London] (Dec 21, 2007), Guardian film and music pages, p. 5. Pearce, Garth. “Time served” Sunday times [London] (Dec 30, 2007), Culture, p. 20. Persall, Steve. “Bloody ‘Country’” St. Petersburg times [Florida] (Nov 21, 2007), Floridian, p. 1E. Puig, Claudia. “ ‘No country’ cuts to the bone; It’s riveting and unnerving” USA today (Nov 9, 2007), Life, p. 4E. Rainer, Peter. “In ‘No country for old men,’ a wilder West” Christian Science monitor (Nov 9, 2007), p. 12. Ratliff, Larry. “”reel reviews; Bloody thriller is mesmerizing” express- news (Nov 16, 2007), Weekender, p. 3H. Rea, Stephen. “the Coens do death in Texas” Philadelphia inquirer (Nov 9, 2007), Weekend, p. W09. Roddick, Nick. “Return of the brothers grim; No country for old men is one of the Coens’ most violent films, but that won’t stop it at the Oscars. It’s about a man in an unforgiving world, say Joel and Ethan, it has to be brutal” The evening standard [London] (Dec 18, 2007), p. 44. Rothermel, Dennis. “Denial and trepidation awaiting what’s coming in the Coen brothers’ first film adaptation” in No country for old men : from novel to film (edited by Lynnea Chapman King, Rick Wallach, Jim Welsh) Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2009. (p. 173-198) Ryan, Tom. “Movies; No country for old men” Sunday age [Melbourne, Australia] (Dec 30, 2007), Sunday, M; Preview, p. 27. Schwarzbaum, Lisa. “Coens of silence” no. 964 (Nov 16, 2007), p. 48-9. Scott, A. O. “Movie review ‘No country for old men’; He found a bundle of money, and now there’s hell to pay” New York times (Nov 9, 2007). sec. E, p. 1. Scott, Mike. “Insanely good; Coen brothers’ thriller is one of the year’s best films” Times-picayune [New Orleans, LA] (Nov 21, 2007), Living, p. 1. Smith, Michael. “Review: No country for old men” Tulsa world (Nov 21, 2007), Entertainment, p. D6. Sragow, Michael. “Coens powerful ‘Country’” Baltimore sun (Nov 16, 2007), Today, p. 1C. ______. “ ‘Country’ keeps faith with Peckinpah, Mailer” Baltimore sun (Nov 16, 2007), Today, p. 4C. Stein, Ruthe. “The Coen brothers’ bloody best films” chronicle (Nov 25, 2007), p. N28. Stratton, David. “Coens shoot for the stars again” The Australian (Dec 22, 2007), Review, p. 19. Strauss, Bob. “Coens’ grim Texas ‘Country’ unforgiving and unforgettable” The daily news of Los Angeles (Nov 9, 2007), p. L12. Stuart, Jan. “Drama of a deadly chase, very much on target” Newsday [New York] (Nov 9, 2007), pt. II, p. B6. Thomas, Bob. “Coens return to form with a thriller you won’t forget” Wisconsin state journal (Nov 22, 2007), Rhythm, p. 4. Thompson, Anne. “No country for old men” Daily variety (Dec 18, 2007), Special report, p. 19. Thompson, Bill. “Coen brothers add just the right touch to ‘Country’” The post and country [Charleston, SC] (Nov 22, 2007), Preview, p. F12. Topolnisky, Sonia. “For every tatter in its mortal dress : costume and character in ‘No country for old men’” in No country for old men : from novel to film (edited by Lynnea Chapman King, Rick Wallach, Jim Welsh) Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2009. (p. 110-123) Travers, Peter. “An American classic” Rolling stone no. 1039 (Nov 15, 2007), p. 202. Turan, Kenneth. “Movie reviews; Here comes trouble; In the gripping ‘No country for old men’ the Coens depict a society unsafe for all” Los Angeles times (Nov 9, 2007), Calendar, p. E1. Verniere, James. “Movie review; Western-Gothic? You’re in Coen ‘Country’” The Boston herald (Nov 9, 2007), The edge, p. E11. Vice, Jeff. “Coens return to ‘Fargo’ form” Deseret morning news [Salt Lake City, NV] (Nov 21, 2007), p. ? Vincent, Mal. “Coen brothers orchestrate a masterwork of violence” Virginia-pilot [Norfolk, VA] (Nov 22, 2007), p. ? Wang, Li. “Death abounds in ‘No country’” Patriot news [Harrisburg, PA] (Nov 21, 2007), Life, p. D01. Welsh, Jim. “Borderline evil : the dark side of Byzantium in No country for old men, novel and film” in No country for old men : from novel to film (edited by Lynnea Chapman King, Rick Wallach, Jim Welsh) Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2009. (p. 73-85) Whitty, Stephen. “The very best kind of western; beauty of ‘Country’ is in the details” The star-ledger [Newark, NJ] (Nov 9, 2007), Ticket, p. 22. Wirt, John. “No country a masterpiece of good and evil” The advocate (Nov 30, 2007), p. 30. Wolgamott, L. Kent. “‘No country’ is one of Coens’ best” Lincoln journal star (Nov 21, 2007), p. D6.

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