Raising Arizona

Play trailer

Raising Arizona

PG-13

1987

1h 33m

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

66 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

An ex-con and an ex-cop meet, marry and long for a child of their own. When it is discovered that Hi is unable to have children they decide to snatch a baby. They try to keep their crime a secret, while friends, co-workers and a bounty hunter look to use the child for their own purposes.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

A terrifically original, eccentric screwball comedy, Raising Arizona may not be the Coens' most disciplined movie, but it's one of their most purely entertaining.

Read Critics Reviews

Peter Keough

Chicago Reader

05/09/2022

2/4

Coens have not achieved the maturity needed to appreciate the vision of a Capra or Sturges, and their gifts are too rich and deep for the likes of Heckle and Jeckle.

Go to Full Review

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

01/14/2013

Raising Arizona is no big deal, but it has a rambunctious charm.

Go to Full Review

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

03/13/2009

To their old fascination with Sunbelt pathology, to their side-winding Steadicam and pristine command of screen space, the Coens have added a robust humor, a plot that keeps outwitting expectations and a...dollop of sympathy for their forlorn kidnapers.

Go to Full Review

Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Dec 30

This wonderful film gives the comic-strip treatment it deserves to the wacky violence that seems to have taken over in American life.

Go to Full Review

John Ferguson

Radio Times

Aug 19

4/5

From the audacious pre-credits sequence onwards, the pace never slackens for a second.

Go to Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

02/07/2024

4/5

Two features into their career, Raising Arizona shows that the Coens are as effective with comedies as they were with neo-noir.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Gregory G.

@ggrunloh15 1d

This movie is a classic if you haven’t seen it you’re cheating yourself. One of the most quoted films ever. This movie hit when I was in college and the dialogue became common place in our apartment of four guys. Nicolas Cage at his best.

See more

Levi J

@Lev77 Mar 29

Hilarious, well-acted, early Coen brothers classic!

See more

Thyaagu C

@Thyaagu Mar 24

Silly, chaotic and, oh yeah, emotional! They really knew how to land those feelings. Btw, how did that baby even cooperate with the shooting?!

See more

Callie T.

@heyowatsup Mar 8

It’s a great movie that I watch at least once a year.

See more

Rich S

@RPS1963 Nov 12

May God rest his soul, but Raising Arizona is another movie that Roger Ebert got wrong. He didn't like it. I think the line mentioned on the Siskel & Ebert episode was that Ebert thought it was a "retread of rural humor that lacked humor." On the plus side, it is definitely one of Nicolas Cage's two best movies. Valley Girl is the other. Hence, it's been a long 40-year dry spell for Nic. His downfall, in hindsight, is that he didn't cozy up with the Coen Brothers. They are loyal to the actors they like. Maybe it's not that they didn't like Cage, they just didn't write any roles with Cage in mind since 1987.

See more

Robin O

@RT70734306 Oct 1

Though Raising Arizona is one of their funniest and most accessible films, it is also among their most introspective.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Joel Coen

Director

Nicolas Cage

H.I. McDonnough

Holly Hunter

Edwina "Ed" McDonnough

Trey Wilson

Nathan Arizona, Sr.

John Goodman

Gale Snopes

William Forsythe

Evelle Snopes

The Squeeze

14%

27%

The Squeeze

Watchlist

Hiding Out

38%

70%

Hiding Out

Watchlist

In the Mood

67%

68%

In the Mood

Watchlist

Three Men and a Cradle

72%

56%

Three Men and a Cradle

Watchlist

We're No Angels

48%

41%

We're No Angels

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Ed Helms’ Five Favorite Films

John Goodman’s 10 Best Movies

Definitive Coen Brothers Movies

Top 5 Nic Cage Movies

1:32

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

An ex-con and an ex-cop meet, marry and long for a child of their own. When it is discovered that Hi is unable to have children they decide to snatch a baby. They try to keep their crime a secret, while friends, co-workers and a bounty hunter look to use the child for their own purposes.

Director: Joel Coen
Producer: Ethan Coen
Screenwriter: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Circle Films, Inc.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 1, 1987, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 2, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.1M
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)