Criterion are closing out the year of 2024 with a fine slew of titles. One of them is No Country For Old Men, the 2007 Oscar Award winning movie from the Coen Brothers. While a movie that was released in the booming years of DVDs, Criterion have managed to make a solid released from one the Coen Brothers’ most beloved movies.
The Movie
Based off of the 2005 book of the same name, No Country For Old Men tells a simple yet complex tale about violence and greed. Somewhere in Texas in 1980, Vietnam veteran and welder Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) comes across the scene of a drug deal gone wrong. He comes across and briefcase full of $2 million in cash, taking it for himself. Elsewhere, hitman Anton Chigurh is out to look for the money and will stop at nothing to get the money back.
The movie is unique mix of a western and a thriller with some fine acting performances. Despite a decline in popularity, Brolin impressed movie goers and critics alike with his performance as Moss. Moss is an interesting character: he’s not a criminal nor is he necessarily a morally good person. He found the money and decided to take it for himself. One of the movie’s themes is that of greed: money can make people do crazy things. There’s also Tommy Lee Jones, who plays Sheriff Ed Tom Bell. Bell investigates the drug deal and finds himself as the observer of this game of cat-and-mouse. As the movie progresses, Jones portrays the emotions of Bell, a man who is ready to retire from his job due to the increase in violence.
Violence is another theme of the movie and no person showcases that better than Javier Bardem, who plays Anton Chigurh. Scene by scene, Bardem steals the show as the psychopathic Chigurh. Bardem doesn’t hesitate in killing anyone that gets in his way and his methods of getting what he wants makes him what many critics call one of the most frightening performances in cinema history. Bardem goes around playing mind games with the people he encounters, with the most famous of them being his coin toss game. Bardem won an Oscar for his performance and deservingly so: he gives the strongest performance in the movie.
The cinematography also stands out in this movie. Roger Deakins shot this movie and it looks wonderful. The textures and colors chosen for the movie are a feast for the eyes. While this is the Blu-Ray being reviewed, the shots of Texas in this movie look amazing. One can only imagine how they would look in 4K. From the stellar acting performances to the brilliant visuals, No Country For Old Men is so intriguing that one might forget that there’s little to no music in the movie.
The Special Features
As to be expected from Criterion, this release of No Country comes with quite the number of the bonus features:
– conversation with Joel and Ethan Coen with author Megan Abbott
– conversation with Roger Deakins and associate producer David Diliberto with Megan Abbott
– archival interviews with Bardem, Jones, Brolin and Kelly Macdonald
– four documentaries about the making of the movie
– trailer
Of these, the Megan Abbott interviews are the new additions. Both are good, although the Deakins & Diliberto one is an audio only feature with visuals from the movie. The archival interviews are from back in the day but the feature itself seem to be newly put together. The other four documentaries are all seem to be features found on previous releases of the movie: the “Unauthorized” documentary from Brolin, the making of the movie, Working With the Coens and Diary of a Country Sheriff. Also included is a booklet, which comes with essays written by Francine Prose and Larry McMurtry.
Conclusion
Criterion’s release of No Country For Old Men is another solid title in the company’s continuing collection. While some of the special features are not brand new, Coen Brothers fans should be happy with the new restoration of the movie and new additions.
Movie Rating: 8/10
Release Rating: 7/10
I'm a writer/journalist with a passion for music and pop culture. Having graduated from King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA in 2014, I've been looking for a platform in which I can share my passions. Since 2009, I've been posting to my own blog- The Walrus' Music Blog- via Blogger. I'm also the author of two self-published books, "The Camp: Stories from the Summer" and "The College: Stories from King's." Together, the two books cover the story of my life from 2004 to 2014. I've been lucky enough to interview several of my favorite musicians over the years and go to concerts from time to time. I'm also very devoted to the CBS reality TV show Survivor, which I started watching in 2002 when its fourth season started. I currently live in New Jersey.