The movie James Cameron and the Coen brothers agree is the greatest ever made
Art is subjective, it’s true. What one person thinks is incredible might be awful to another. The best movie in the world might be a nightmare to the person even sitting next to them in the cinema, as it all comes down to a matter of personal taste. However, there has to be some objectivity – like when James Cameron and the Coen brothers are both backing the same film, surely that means there is some degree of inarguably greatness.
The fact that it’s Cameron and the Coen brothers somehow seems to up that objectivity. It’s tough to imagine more different directorial eyes. James Cameron, of course, is known for his epics. He’s known for making huge blockbuster movies that needed to be blockbusters because of the absolutely eye-watering budgets he manages to get studios to hand over.
Cameron is known for making movies so intensely cinematic that cinema technology itself is forced to keep up, like when he pitched Avatar before it even seemed possible to make it. In short, Cameron makes incredible serious movies, both in style and substance as he leans towards the dramatic and the type of drama that doesn’t really come with a laugh.
Whereas the Coen Brothers, on the other hand, are always in it for a giggle. While something like Inside Llewyn Davis feels more typically serious and moving, there is still a comedy element – there really always is. The brothers are masters of dark comedy, so much so that the second they released Fargo, it became an essential reference for any kind of off-kilter, sarcastic script written since.
Their movies are silly but in their own specific way, merging ridiculousness and black comedy with a clear stylistic edge. Similar to Cameron, their branding is obvious and unique; and it couldn’t be more different from his own.
So to have these wildly different icons of cinema, and to have them agree on the one best movie ever made, that has to mean something.
“My favourite film is The Wizard Of Oz,” James Cameron said. It feels like an obvious choice as one of the best-known movies ever made, but to him, there’s a reason for that. “It’s been with me my whole life, from first viewing on a black-and-white TV as a kid in the early ’60s to my periodic family screenings of it to this day. It’s still as magical now as it ever was,” he said as it’s truly a film that sticks.
It’s an enduring classic. Released in 1939, it was a miracle back then as the film’s bold Technicolour breathed new life into cinema and launched Judy Garland as one of its most important and beloved stars. However, still today, the film remains vital as a reference point for creatives and a true joy for movie watchers everywhere, still thriving as essential viewing.
The Coen Brothers agree, seeing this flick as a gold standard that never rusts. “All we’ve been doing for the last 25 years is remaking The Wizard of Oz,” Joel Coen once said, revealing it to be the duo’s ultimate influence. It’s such an important film in their minds that it seems to always creep in, stating, “It’s true. Sometimes consciously, and sometimes we don’t realise until after we’ve made the movie.” In one of their creation though, they knew what they were doing, admitting, “Consciously in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Oz is the only film we just rip off left and right.”
Uniting icons on whole opposite sides of the spectrum, it speaks to the universal acclaim The Wizard Of Oz has, and has had for decades upon decades. It’s not a matter of opinion anymore – the movie is great. No art sticks around with such a clear grip on the greats if it isn’t.
