Why the Coen Brothers’ second film remains a masterclass in eccentric, high-energy comedy
In short: Released in 1987, Raising Arizona was a deliberate pivot from the dark, gritty tone of the Coen Brothers' debut. This screwball kidnapping caper, featuring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter, polarized critics at its premiere but has since cemented its status as a beloved, wildly original cult classic of American cinema.
Following the release of their somber thriller Blood Simple, Joel and Ethan Coen sought to craft a film that was fundamentally more optimistic and upbeat. They spent three and a half months writing the script for Raising Arizona, drawing inspiration from the works of Preston Sturges, William Faulkner, and Flannery O'Connor. The narrative centers on H.I. McDunnough, an ex-convict, and his wife Ed, a former police officer, who kidnap one of the quintuplet sons of a local furniture magnate after discovering they cannot adopt due to Hi's criminal record.
The production was marked by a meticulous approach to a modest budget of just over five million dollars. Filmed over ten weeks in 1986 across Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe, the project reunited the Coens with key collaborators like cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld and composer Carter Burwell. Burwell’s score, which incorporates banjo, yodeling, and an excerpt from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, helped define the film's unique, cartoonish atmosphere. The Coens also developed a distinct dialect for the characters, blending local speech patterns with biblical and magazine-inspired phrasing.
While initial reviews were mixed—with some critics dismissing the film as manneristic or style-over-substance—retrospective analysis has been overwhelmingly favorable. Today, the film is frequently cited by filmmakers like Edgar Wright and Spike Lee as an essential work. It currently holds a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is ranked 31st on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 funniest American movies. Despite its enduring legacy, Ethan Coen noted in 2000 that it was the last of their films to generate significant financial returns at the time of its release.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Raising Arizona
- Also: Wikidata — Raising Arizona's Dams: Daily Life, Danger, and Discrimination in the Dam Construction Camps of Central Arizona, 1890s-1940s · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — Raising Arizona · CC0
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