Raising Arizona

by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

It's easy to see why Raising Arizona is one of the best and most beloved films that Ethan and Joel Coen have yet to create. The cultish humor, original characters, fresh cinematography, catchy soundtrack, and zany yet well-structured plot to be found in this film are all Coen brothers trademarks. Nicholas Cage plays a veteran criminal who marries a prison guard named Edwina (Holly Hunter). Because he and his wife cannot conceive, our convict-hero kidnaps, with only the most earnest intentions, one of the famous "Arizona Quintuplets." A hellacious bounty-hunting biker and two old pals who have just escaped from the pen make it very hard for the couple to raise their child properly.

This is a movie—and a screenplay—marked by breathless chases, improbable scenes, and hilarious dialogue throughout.

Genres: Film, Comedy, Media Tie In

160 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 1989

About the author

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are four-time Academy Award winning American filmmakers. For more than twenty years, the pair have written and directed numerous successful films, ranging from screwball comedies (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Raising Arizona, The Hudsucker Proxy) to film noir (Miller's Crossing, Blood Simple, The Man Who Wasn't There, No Country for Old Men), to movies where genres blur together (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and Barton Fink). The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, although until recently Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing film credits for editor under the alias Roderick Jaynes. They are known in the film business as "the two-headed director", as they share such a similar vision of what their films are to be that actors say that they can approach either brother with a question and get the same answer.

Reviews

[Alexa Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite screenplays! My whole family can quote practically the entire movie.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collected Screenplays: Blood Simple, Raising Arizona by Ethan and Joel Coen – seven of their magnificent films are reviewed on my blog (actually, it would be eight with this one) and here is the plug: you find hundreds of other motion pictures, books reviewed at this place where the best beano might be this one, share what you think https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...







9 out of 10



Joel and Etha Coen aka The Coen Brothers are a couple of the greatest film makers, with astounding oeuvres such as No Country For Old Men https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... but they have started with Blood Simple and this being such a wondrous movie, they have been on the rise since



When they were filming Blood Simple the budget was minuscule, and I saw an interview in which they explained how they had to be very precise, they could not get many shots, perhaps not more than one or two, and hence they would have all planned, excellent story boards, and the scene with the car and the body is mentioned

Maybe a spoiler alert would be needed here, albeit I always feel this is something of an oxymoron, or narcissism, assuming people are still with this text – Ray is trying to get rid of the body of Julian Marty, getting it out of his car, but a truck is approaching, and all this has to be filmed once, so everything was drawn and then executed



Abby is played by Frances McDormand – married to Joel Coen and winner of four Oscars, one for producing Nomadland – and she is arguably the most important character in the story, she is married to Julian Marty aka Dan Hedaya, an abusive, mean man, who owns a bar, where Ray aka John Getz works, up to a point

Ray and Abby like each other, one night, they start an affair, maybe I should say a love story here -except ever since reading Thomas Mann https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... I am skeptical, and the use of the word love must be restricted, just as it is over used now



Julian Marty had been suspicious, thought his spouse has an affair with a black man, and he hired a private detective, M. Emmet Walsh is outstanding in that role, to investigate and find the truth, the latter brings in photographs, demonstrating the infidelity, if we can call it that, however, the client is not happy with the pictures

He should have read The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... the psychology classic by John Gottman, the ultimate expert, one who has an accuracy rate in his assessments of over 90%



When the detective shows the photos, Marty is asking why he took them, and the sly, amused, cruel fellow says take them as a complimentary service, before they part, the client shows his disgust ‘I know where to find you, the rock from under which you will crawl’ or words to that effect, and the detective laughs

The tension increases, Abby moves in with Ray, and the husband is breaking in, using violence against his wife, up to the point where she manages to kick him in the groin, then he drives away, with the German shepherd (though it looked to me as if it was not pure breed) with every intention to take revenge



Ergo, he meets with the detective again, this time he wants to pay for an assassination, offers ten thousand dollars, some hundreds of thousands today, and he asks for their bodies to be disposed of in the incinerator, which is located behind his bar, they plan for him to go fishing, so that he would have an alibi when the murders are public knowledge

Nevertheless, there is a twist, well, more than one, but this one in the middle of the plot, the detective comes to the bar, claims he has killed the lovers, asks for the money, and then…he shoots Julian Marty dead – when Ray comes to the office, he thinks that Abby had killed the spouse, so he has to cover for her



Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se



There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know



As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...



Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works



‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

[Dan Bogosian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool intro, great script but I'm convinced they did stage formatting for publication instead of the movie formatting and I want THE REAL FORMATTING.

Peele's Get Out publication did the same thing, and every page when I read it I'm like: that's not the real script though.

Which is a bummer. I want the real script.

[Ali Ather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read the screenplay before watching the movie because it would be a new experience and also a learning opportunity. Like any other of Coen bros works, it is brilliantly written, has witty humour and interesting characters.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific. In the running for the funniest movie ever made. And there are a few lines here that didn't end up in the movie. The introductory conversation between the Coens and Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell is also hilarious.

[S D]

I love it, yet have mixed feeling about the narration. It adds character, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out how to exorcise it and make a more visual movie

[Aaron Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic. I usually read this every year or two. One of my favorite movies, possibly my #1.