The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
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A collection of six tales set on the American frontier explores the lives of outlaws, pioneers, and seekers in the post-Civil War era.
The story
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is an anthology film consisting of six vignettes set in the post-Civil War American frontier. The stories follow a diverse cast of characters, including a singing cowboy named Buster Scruggs, a man seeking gold in a mountain valley, and a woman traveling toward Oregon. Each segment explores different facets of life on the frontier, blending the Coen brothers' signature style of dark drama and black humor. The narrative structure allows for a collection of distinct tales tied together by a consistent atmosphere of the American West.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film is an anthology of six stories. 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' follows a singing cowboy who survives a series of gunfights, including one against a man named Joe and another against a younger, faster cowboy who eventually kills him. 'Near Algodones' follows a cowboy who survives a bank robbery and a subsequent execution by a posse, only to be freed by a rustler. 'Meal Ticket' follows an aging impresary and his mute, limb-less artist performing classics in a wagon. 'All Gold Canyon' depicts a prospector who finds a gold vein and kills a young man who tries to steal it. 'The Gal Who Got Rattled' follows Alice Longabaugh on a wagon train to Oregon after her brother's death, where she eventually takes her own life after a confrontation. 'The Mortal Remains' follows a group of travelers in a stagecoach who encounter two 'reapers' (bounty hunters) who are transporting a corpse.
- Original title
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Other Tales of the American Frontier
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 133
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Joel Coen; Ethan Coen
- Writers
- Joel Coen · writer; Ethan Coen · writer
- Cast and characters
- Tim Blake Nelson · Buster Scruggs; Tyne Daly; James Franco; Brendan Gleeson; Bill Heck; Grainger Hines; Zoe Kazan; Harry Melling; Liam Neeson; Jonjo O'Neill; Chelcie Ross; Saul Rubinek
- Genres
- Western; black comedy
- Themes
- Death; Frontier life
- Tone and mood
- dark drama; black humor
- Premise and plot tags
- anthology; Western
- Source material / true-story basis
- Western-themed short stories
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews and was named one of the National Board of Review's top ten films of 2018.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 79 · scale: 100 · review count: 48
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Osella Award · Best Screenplay · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the Coen brothers' first to be shot digitally.; Fourteen wagons were built from scratch in a New Mexico blacksmith shop.; The film was based on stories some of which were written by the Coens over 20 to 25 years.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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