New Ballad of Buster Scruggs trailer offers best look at Coens’ anthology

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Film fans know that when you put your faith in the Coen Brothers you’re likely to never be disappointed, and that looks like it will prove true once again with THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS. Their anthology film comprising of six stories set in the Old West will be hitting limited theaters this week before going on Netflix November 16, and a new trailer is here to give us the best look yet at the beautifully shot, sharp-tongued tales starring the likes of James Franco, Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan, Tim Blake Nelson, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Waits and more.

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While 2010’s TRUE GRIT may have been a straighter Western than this venture, SCRUGGS looks to both play with and pay tribute to the well-worn genre with a variety of tales starring a fantastic ensemble. Even if some of their efforts are stronger than others the Coens' movies always manage to be entertaining thanks to their smart scripts and fleshed-out characters, and SCRUGGS looks like it should easily live up to those standards. Netflix has high hopes the movie could be an Oscar contender, and like Alfonso Cuaron’s ROMA they are breaking from the pattern and releasing it in theaters before having it hit their streaming service. Only time will tell if the movie can break into the race, but – oh what am I saying – it’s the Coens; they’re practically reserved a spot somewhere for something already.

Here’s the synopsis:

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a six-part Western anthology film, a series of tales about the American frontier told through the unique and incomparable voice of Joel and Ethan Coen. Each chapter tells a distinct story about the American West.

THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS gets a limited theatrical release on November 8 and then hits Netflix on November 16.