Rating: 
Summary: !...! !...! !...!
Review: The worst characteristic of Miller's Crossing are the characters. Characters interesting as characters but little else, serving not to draw me into the movie, but to make me like the movie more. Some people find this revolting, others don't care, and others like it. Personally, I thought it was well suited to this movie, as it has been to every other Coen Bros' I've seen. Miller's Crossing is a thorougly Coen-like movie without being too Coen-like. Every aspect of this film is perfect as well as probably the best looking movie you'll ever see.Something to buy or pay any price to see at least once.
Rating:
Summary: Time/ Money well spent
Review: Top rate show for fans of prohibition era ganster films and fans of Gabriel Byrne. I've seen "Miller's Crossing" with a lot of different crowds and it's never failed to entertain and impress.
Rating:
Summary: A classic gangster film by the Coen brothers.
Review: Miller's Crossing was released in 1990. It was a modest success and was relatively well received by critics. I saw the movie when it came out and liked it but thought it was nothing special. Repeated viewings on home video have made me change my opinion; it is now one of my favorite films. Albert Finney is Leo, an Irish mob boss in an unnamed Eastern city during prohibition. Gabriel Byrne is Tom, his right hand man, a drunk and a compulsive gambler. Jon Polito is Caspar, a lesser mobster who comes to Finney to get permission to kill Bernie Birnbaum (played by John Turturro), a bookie who has been profiting from information about boxing matches fixed by Polito. Finney refuses, saying to Polito that Turturro pays him protection money just like he does. In reality, Finney doesn't want to harm Turturro because he's romantically involved with the bookmaker's sister, played by Marcia Gay Harden. The performances by the leads are excellent. Albert Finney and Gabriel Byrne are superb. Jon Polito is fantastic in every scene he appears. There is an unforgettable assassination-attempt scene where Albert Finney jumps out of a second floor window and then lets his Thompson submachine gun do his talking for him. I originally thought that Turturro's perfomance was more annoying than anything else, but even that has grown on me. It's said that an actor making you dislike his character is a sign of the excellence of the protrayal. The newly released DVD is fine and the sound quality is noticeably better than the tape. There is unfortunately no director's commentary track, a inexplicable major fault. The documentary interviewing cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld somewhat makes up for this. In this documentary Sonnenfeld says that Turturro told him that he based his performance as a whiny double-dealing homosexual Jew on his observations of Sonnenfeld on the set. The movie has a polished yet artificial look that is somehow wholly appropriate. Just like a Shakespeare play, despite the fact that you can never forget that you are watching actors emoting on a (sound)stage, the writing and the performances are so good that it doesn't matter.
Rating:
Summary: Look into your heart....
Review: Forget 'Road to Perdition', THIS is the best mob-film since 'The Godfather'. Miller's Crossing takes you into the heart of the Irish mob, and the plot twists are completely unpredictable. The cinematography is beautiful, and the script-writing is amazing. Watch it more than once! This movie's got it all.
Rating:
Summary: Men with hats.
Review: Everyone here is comparing *Miller's Crossing* to the *Godfather* films, usually unfavorably. Here's the deal: Coppola's gangster epics have the greater scope, but the Coens' movie is FAR more intelligent. Myself, I prefer the narrower scope with the greater smarts. -- Now that THAT'S out of the way. . . . *Miller's Crossing* is the movie that announced to the world that the Coen Brothers were a major force to be reckoned with in cinema. At least according to us film snobs. Professional American film critics, who aren't film snobs generally speaking (profitable blurbs to write, you understand), sniffed and complained that the film over-intellectualized the gangster picture. Well, whatever -- they hated Welles while he was alive, too. Anyway, Fox has FINALLY released the movie in DVD format, and it's like seeing the movie for the first time all over again. What a great film! The plot, which basically has to do with a Number-Two man's conflicted loyalties between his boss, his boss's girlfriend, and his own interests, amazes with its complexity. One can easily see how the Coens arrived at a creative crisis in the writing of the story. They took a break from *Crossing* mid-stream and amused themselves by dashing off the screenplay for *Barton Fink*, a movie about writer's block (well, more or less). But their hard work here paid off big-time: the plot, while labyrinthine, never feels bogged down. It UNFOLDS, at a perfect pace, like a great novel: revelations here, character development there, and everywhere seemingly throwaway bits of fun (like the surreptitious removal of a dead man's toupee). But rest assured, there's nothing truly "throwaway" in this film. Every object has a symbolic meaning; every line of dialogue is there for a reason. Remove one line, and the structure falls (to paraphrase F. Murray Abraham in another context). And all the while, the plot has been culminating toward the realization of the movie's central theme, which I won't spoil for you. The final haunting image in the movie is a sucker-punch worthy of Chaplin's *City Lights*: we finally see the protagonist revealed as he really is. This script is the work of masters who demand your active participation. In other words, don't watch this with the kids gamboling about in your living room. [The DVD has some interesting press-junket interviews with Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, and John Turturro, all of them unknown at the time. (Albert Finney -- who I've forgotten to mention in this review, but he's magnificent as Byrne's mob-boss/father-figure -- was the only name that I, at least, recognized when the movie came out back in 1990. The daring casting says a great deal about the Coens' taste in actors, as all three have since become name-stars.) Turturro, in his piece, sums up the movie's theme in one beautifully stated summation.]
Rating:
Summary: Essential DVD
Review: There are hundreds of carbon copied gangster movies of the forties, sixties and seventies. Few gangster films fall into the category of great movies. Most bore you to death within the first half hour which is not the case with Millers Crossing.
The Coen brothers are one of the elite duos in film. Millers Crossing left me wanting more. The story was hard to follow at times. I will need to watch it again to completely understand the story line. Recently I watched Road to Perdition. If you liked that film and haven't seen Millers Crossing please do immediately. Everything about this film is perfectly done. At times the gangsters take on the comic book imager not depicted in other movies. The DVD was very good. Watch the special features section interview with Barry Sonnenfeld. He has some great insight on the many films him and the Coen brothers have made. I recommend this movie and that everybody who loves films take one week and watch all the Coen Brothers films. My week has been truly enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful acheivement in filmaking.
Review: This is the 90's version of a Road to Perdition I suppose. It's about the power struggles of the Mob in city, and one man who is the puppeteer of two crime bosses. Most of the performances are great, and at the time, many of the actors were virtually unknowns. I'd rank this just behind The Godfather and Goodfellas in term of prestige in the ganster genre, and above Scarface. A welcome addition to any collection, and precusor to Quentin Tarrentino's Pulp Fiction/Reservoir dogs.
Rating:
Summary: "Nobody knows anybody... not like that."
Review: After being very disappointed with "Once Upon A Time in America" this weekend, I decided to watch another gangster movie that I had never seen before. This one gave me hope as it was done by the very brilliant Coen Brothers. And I'm happy to say that this time I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I had to watch it again the next day! "Miller's Crossing" is a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece for all the right reasons. The story gets pretty complex, as this is from the Coen Brothers. It focuses Tom, a cold and smart-aleck lieutenant who works under an Irish Mob Boss, Leo. Things get ugly when Leo gets into a disagreement with an Italian underboss who feels that he is getting a raw deal. Things also get more complicated when Tom falls in love with Leo's woman. Sooner or later Tom's going to have to decide who's side he's on and who his enemies really are. All of this leads to an uncontrollable scenario with the signature Coen twists and surprises. I loved everything about this film. From the very first minute I was hooked. Sure, it starts out kind of slow, but this is almost necessary in all of the Coen movies. There needs to be a heavy build-up so it can all come together. And once things start spinning, it doesn't stop until the ending credits. I loved how well-written the film was too. It relies heavily on dialogue, but we love hearing the conversations these characters get into. There's a lot of dark and subtle humor in it too, although it is a more serious film for the Coen Brothers. The acting is also superb. Gabriel Byrne is fantastic as the cold and heartless Tom, who always has something smart or sarcastic to say. There is no way I could see anybody else playing the role. It suits him that well. John Turturro is also wonderful in his role and really gets to show off his acting ability. One of his better roles, I think. Everybody else in it is also terrific. There's really not much to the DVD, which is a shame. I'm glad that it has finally come out on DVD and all, but it would've been nice to see a few more extras added to it. The special features included are cast interviews, trailers, a still gallery, and an interview with Barry Sonnenfeld. The Barry Sonnenfeld interview I found very interesting as he explains the look and feel of this movie as opposed to the other Coen movies he has worked on. The picture and sound quality is really good and brings out the tone of the movie. "Miller's Crossing" is a definite winner in my mind. It is now quickly becoming a new favorite of mine. If you're looking for a great crime film with a story, interesting characters, and an overwhelming plot, this is the one to see. As with some of the other Coen movies, this one tends to get graphically violent at times, but it is never gratuitous and is always appropriate to the story. An excellent Coen film that is bound to give you a new look into the Mafia world.
Rating:
Summary: It Figures!!!
Review: They finally release this great film and they don't even give it Dolby 5.1 sound. I WAS going to buy it, but now I don't know.
Rating:
Summary: Classic ala "Godfather" feel
Review: I waited and waited until this "great Coen Brothers" film came out on DVD...... it was worth the wait. Next to Godfather I and II there's no better way to spend an evening with crime. The acting is superb, the photography breathless and the total feel of the movie will satisfy all fans of this genre. And, if you never saw it or dismissed it .... here's your second chance to be enthralled. Gabriel, John and Albert will take you to another place - a place that will send a "Godfather chill" up your spine. Mark my words.
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