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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Play trailer 1:45 Poster for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs R 2018 2h 13m Western Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
89% Tomatometer 235 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
An anthology of six short films that take place in 19th-century post-Civil War era during the settling of the Old West.
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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

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Critics Consensus

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs avoids anthology pitfalls with a consistent collection tied together by the Coen brothers' signature blend of dark drama and black humor.

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Critics Reviews

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Ben Sachs Chicago Reader 02/24/2020
As with the Coens' oeuvre on the whole, the various stories are unified by an impressive sense of craft and a lamentable sense of smugness. Go to Full Review
Roxana Hadadi Pajiba 02/07/2019
It's disappointing that the Coens don't even try to upend any classic Western clichés in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - they apply some grim humor to various situations, but that's about it. Go to Full Review
Ryan Gilbey New Statesman 01/26/2019
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs feels like the Coen brothers' B-sides compilation... . That smugness to which the Coens are susceptible is in plentiful supply here. Go to Full Review
Calum Cooper Source (Scotland) 07/14/2024
4/5
A fun, playful homage to the Western genre that boasts laughs and excitement. Go to Full Review
Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 08/24/2022
A-
The stories that involve the least efflorescent Coen dialogue — the ones driven by stark silences or old coots talking to their mules — come off the best. Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies 08/19/2022
4.5/5
From the opening credits to the final scroll the Coens lean into their creative freedom and show off an undeniable joy of filmmaking. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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larry g 6d Excellent, until the last part, The Stagecoach, that was badly written. Couldn't really call it a story, with ridiculous character interplay. A real deflating way to end an otherwise engaging film. See more Frans B Oct 26 Brilliant Coen brothers at their best! Very well written and directed. Amazing collage of stories woven together. Stellar cast all excels in character. Lots of action, drama, intrigue, emotion, dark humor, flair, romance and solid storytelling. Very entertaining, captivating and memorable See more Obi-wan K @Gordon_Freeman Oct 2 The main dude dies in less than 20 minutes in the movie 🫩 See more thiago s @Thiagostone Sep 23 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more grain j Aug 20 A decent Coen brothers movie, although I don't really think this one had any specific overall narrative, it would have been a much better movie if they just took the first short story as it being the title of the movie and building off of it as one, rather than adding on 5 other short stories. Feels more like a compilation of scrapped ideas. Tim Blake Nelson does a great performance in this movie though See more Gage B Aug 1 Stupid movie. Rotten tomatoes has got to be the worst place to get an honest review. Great movies are graded poorly and stupid movies like this have great reviews. I took the time to make an account just in hopes that someone from rotten tomatoes can see who terrible their website is. See more Read all reviews
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

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Movie Info

Synopsis An anthology of six short films that take place in 19th-century post-Civil War era during the settling of the Old West.
Director
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Producer
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle
Screenwriter
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Distributor
Netflix
Production Co
Annapurna Pictures
Rating
R (Some Strong Violence)
Genre
Western, Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 8, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 16, 2018
Runtime
2h 13m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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