The ice falls in to the glass, you are offered a friendly libation and you immediately get a lesson in ethics and character. Enjoy the perilous ride of who can you trust in a world run by gangsters, a whodunit murder mystery that can mean you die if you don't get it right and the courage or wisdom to speak an honest thought to men who will kill you. Miller's Crossing matches Shakespeare for plotting, dialogue, psycho-logic even philosophic insight; Beethoven for pacing and nuance=if you could translate visuals to music. Period piece accuracy seems a joy. Delight in the myth and when listening to Danny boy don't count rounds that spew from a 50 shot capacity Thompson machine gun. I've seen it 4 times and am eager to see it many more. It will make you think about your"hat".… Expand

Smoothly and skillfully paced while demonstrating impressive cinematography and sequencing. The Coen brothers do style like nobody else. But I know this is going to sound like a platitude, but there is very little underneath all of it. For a thriller, Miller's Crossing achieves very little suspense for the audience and although Albert Finney, Jon Polito and John Turturro are game, Gabriel Byrne's mock New York accent is as glaringly awkward as the screenplay implausibilities are glaringly obvious. Why in God's name would Casper's henchman the Dane allow Tom to go out into the woods alone to shoot Bernie when the whole point of accompanying him to Miller's crossing was ascertain where Tom's loyalities laid? A disappointment.… Expand

This film is one of the Coen brothers best. The film captures the 20's with captivating language and stylized set design. It takes us on a journey with Tom(Byrne), a cryptic man who has issues with boozing and gambling. His world is turned upside down and his loyalties to his boss(Finney) and lady are in conflict. Superb performances from the entire cast. The role of Tom seems to be written for Byrne and John Turturro puts on another stellar performance in another Coen brother film.… Expand

One of my favorite movies. Great dialogue filled with colorful slang of the era and probably some of it Coen brothers invention. Great story, characters, acting, and cinematography.

As a long time fan of film-noir, I wanted to enjoy this film but could not get past Gabriel Byrne's unbearable attempt at an American accent. Jon Voight's accent in Anaconda is more realistic than this. Most of what is said by every character is hard to understand even with the closed captioning on. The three stars go to Albert Finney's performance.

I guess I am missing something here. It is a skillfully made film, the cinematography is remarkable and the score is excellent. It has great style and atmosphere. But it's about a bunch of low life jerks killing each other. I could not get into any of the characters, in spite of a great cast.

A movie you can watch over and over again... such is the faultless casting... and performances by the actors in this timeless master piece. "up is down...and black is white" doesn't go for the result of this movie as some critics seem to believe... it's perfect. Many thanks to The Coen brothers, actors and the entire film crew for putting this story on the screen. Roland.

This undoubtedly one of the Coen Bros. best films. How can people prefer the stupid "Raising Arizona" over this? I don't understand. Beautifully directed, photographed, edited and written, this movie is essentially a class for how to pull of a great modern noir. Many complained that the mechanizations of the plot are too easy to see and that they don't care about character. While I certainly agree this is their most plot-driven movie, so are 90% of the great American noirs of the 40's and 50's. This film won Best Director & Palme D'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, and it was highly deserved. … Expand

the best Coen Bros. film, just edging out Blood Simple. but Vince H is unfortunately incorrect - it was actually Barton Fink that did the Cannes double in 91.

Great movie. Music, acting and language is superb. You will not find anything like it anywhere.

Miller's Crossing is an excellent movie, it carries well developed characters and puts them into messy situations. There is noting negative I can say except for the film get boring at times, but that is a petty complaint compared to all the delightfully dark content in the film. A must see for any Coen brothers or Movie fan out there!

A very good film indeed, but more realism would've been appreciated.

Clever, thoughtful, greatly acted superbly directed. As near perfection as a film can be. I enjoyed every minute.

Wow, this is an excellent example of an almost perfect movie. Camera work, story, music, acting, scenery and the dialogues were executed brilliant! A must-see and a modern masterpiece!

This movie is an entertaining beauty with real depth. As close to perfect as film gets. Acting, direction, cinematography, screenplay, and sound are all superb. Second and third viewings are even better than the first. A masterpiece.

Gangsters, right-hand man falls out with boss, sees the bosses woman, in with the Police, works for other mobs, guns, drive-bys & that. It has the quirkyness of the Coen brothers later work but I didn't think it had any charm. Albert Finney & John Turturro are excellent but I really don't get on with Gabriel Byrne at all. I just find him very bland & seems to play himself all the time. Overall a pretty average but nicely shot gangster film.… Expand

To put it simply, the plot us a muddled mess (though this is a typical staple of the gangster genre, it's especially bad here - every newspaper headline brings another headscratch). The Coen Brothers' eccentric styles don't sit well with the setting and even with the great acting, the characters are impossible to care about. The movie has enough charisma and humor to prop it up, but it just doesn't stand on its own.… Expand

A near-perfect film complete with rich dialogue, perfect directing and cinematography and acting that is expected in a Coen brothers movie. It's hard to watch Hollywood blockbusters dumbed down for the masses when one knows movies like Miller's Crossing have been made and flawlessly convey a story to the viewer in as rich a way as a novel is to a reader. It defines the art of cinema.

Yet another stylistically perfect film by the Coen brothers, with intriguing characters played by a brilliant cast. But the story line is not equally compelling making this an unevenly balanced result: beautiful to watch yet uninspiring.

Miller's Crossing is a loving tribute to the classic gangster films of old. There's a lot of excellent acting, with on real weak point in the cast. The Coen brothers always do an near-perfect job at casting their films, and Miller's Crossing is no exception. The storyline can be somewhat hard to follow at times, with a twisted maze of double-crossing that will surely confuse the most attentive of viewers. Not a masterpiece, but a really exhibits the Coen brothers' potential.… Expand