In describing the Coen brothers No Country for Old Men to a friend, I said, “Misery never looked so good.” Odd maybe but it seemed a perfect description for the film. The winner of the Best Picture Oscar in 2007, the brothers have discussed how important cinematography was to creating the proper look for the film–much of the story takes place on a wide open swath of land, so it was vital that the camera be free to capture the surroundings as the violent and bloody story unfolded. Each shot is taken in a matter-of-fact way, no tricks, no fancy stuff; just an effective use of angles that evoke a certain point of view and move things along.
Adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, the screenplay was written by the Coen brothers. Tommy Lee Jones plays an aging West Texas Sherriff named Bell who launches into a monologue during the opening voiceover. He wonders where are the days when a lawman could patrol this wide expanse without even carrying a gun? Where are the days when you could keep up with the criminals? The border drug trade has made things much harder and far riskier for men like Bell and he wonders if he’s capable of going toe-to-toe with guys who find it so easy to kill to get what they want.
The story begins when Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a straight-laced welder, stumbles upon the remnants of a drug deal gone badly. Among the dead bodies and a pile of heroin, he finds a suitcase containing $2 million in cash that was meant to be the buy money and makes a quick decision to bring it home. He’s aware that the people who this will likely track him down and kill him but he believes he has a plan to avoid that fate.
Naturally, it doesn’t take long before Moss is found out and Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem, in his award-winning performance) is hot on his trail. Chigurh is an emotionless killing automaton who will murder anyone in his path to retrieve the money. Everything about this guy is chilling; right down to the oxygen tank he carries hooked to a bolt gun. On their tail are Sheriff Bell and his deputy, Wendell (Garret Dillahunt). But so is another hired gun (Woody Harrelson) who’s been assigned by another drug kingpin to apprehend the out-of-control Chigurh. While Chigurh seems totally amoral at times, he does have his own version of it. There’s the coin flip; “Heads or tails?” he asks. “What do I win?” a man responds. “Everything,” is the answer. The flip determines whether Chigurh kills or not.
Its odd touches like this that make No Country for Old Men a totally engaging crime thriller. Be aware though there are copious amounts of blood and violence. The way the relationships between the core characters are developed also adds more texture and interest to the overall story. Whether it’s a conversation between Sherriff Bell and Wendell that shows that the younger man is wiser in some areas, while the wily veteran has a few tricks up his sleeve, or surprisingly understated scenes of tenderness between Bell and his wife (Tess Harper) and Moss and the wife he sends away, trying to protect Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald) from the mess he’s gotten them into. The Coen brothers do a masterful job of moving the story along without having the characters step on each other’s contributions. Smartly, they use two unpredictable killers and a sense of randomness to maintain the tension. Javier Bardem’s chilling portrayal of Anton Chigurh is one that will undoubtedly stay with viewers for years to come.
The film’s 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio has been delivered in a pristine 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Sharpness is sublime throughout the entire film with vast brown vistas of West Texas coming through to perfection. Though some might find the skin tones on the brown side, the leathery look to the men’s features seems right given the hot, summertime setting of the movie. Elsewhere, color is richly but not overly saturated and blacks are quite solid and deep. Even in low light levels, shadow detail is excellent.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 makes excellent use of the entire soundstage. Gunfire, of course, can come from anywhere, and other sounds that capture one’s attention (car crashes, moving traffic and winds on the prairie, rushing river waters, and thunder in the distance) are intelligently placed in the proper channels. LFE is also used to good effect on occasion. It’s a very strong, very effective track and certainly the equal to the PCM 5.1 track from the film’s original Blu-ray release in 2008.
All of the bonus features are presented in 480i (standard definition). The first three featurettes are carried over from last year’s initial Blu-ray release. All of the others are new to this Collector’s Edition.
“The Making of No Country for Old Men“ is a 24½ minute EPK featurette that touches on the original book and deciding the tone for the film version, the casting decisions, the location shooting, the stunt work, and the special effects.
“Working with the Coens” uses its 8 minutes to discuss the unusual situation of having two directors on a film. Adding their opinions on the depth of talent and the well-run set of the brothers are comments from several actors, the stunt coordinator, the costume designer, the special effects coordinator, the production designer, the makeup chief, and the props master.
“Diary of a Country Sheriff” splits its 6¾ minutes detailing the working of Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem on their characters in the film.
“Josh Brolin’s Behind the Scenes” is a tongue-in-cheek look at the making of the movie with subtle potshots at his directors. It runs for 9 ¼ minutes.
A lengthy collection of sixteen video and radio interviews with various members of the No Country for Old Men production team covering the period from 10-26-2007 through 2-9-2008 are available for selection under the heading Press Timeline. Here are the contents:
“Lunch with David Poland” (26 ½ minutes) with Bardem and Brolin.
“LA WGAW Q&A Panel” (24 ¼ minutes) with the Coens, Brolin, Bardem, Jones, and Kelly Macdonald.
“Variety Q&A” (3 minutes) with Brolin, Macdonald, and Bardem.
“EW.com with Dave Karger” (13 minutes) with Bardem.
“Creative Screenwriting Magazine” (21 ½ minutes) audio interview with the Coens.
“NPR All Things Considered with Michele Norris” (4 ¾ minutes) audio interview with Brolin.
“ABC Popcorn with Peter Travers” (14 ¾ minutes) with Brolin, Bardem, Macdonald.
“In-Store Appearance” (40 ½ minutes) with Brolin and Bardem.
“The Charlie Rose Show” (22 ½ minutes) with the Coens.
“WNBC Reel Talk with Jeffrey Lyons” (10 minutes) with Brolin.
“Channel 4 News” (3 ¾ minutes) with the Coens.
“The Treatment: KCRW Radio” (28 ½ minutes) audio interview with the Coens.
“NPR Day to Day with Alex Cohen” (6 ½ minutes) audio interview with Bardem.
“Spike Jonze Q&A” (60 ¾ minutes) with the Coens and their crew
“NPR All Things Considered with Robert Siegel” (7 ¾ minutes) with producer Scott Rudin.
“NPR Weekend Edition” (5 ½ minutes) with the Coens.
The set also contains a digital copy of the film inside the case with the activation code and instructions for installation on PC and Mac devices.
The disc features previews of Lost and Doubt, among others.
The set contains a $10 rebate coupon for those who bought the original Blu-ray or DVD release of the film and who wish to purchase this new expanded edition.
