DVD
Upcoming Release Calendar
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade
Recent DVD/Video Releases
68
$9.99
49
2012
56
Adam
37
Amelia
50
Armored
53
Astro Boy
35
Babysitters, The
66
Bandslam
86
Beaches of Agnes, The
19
Bitch Slap
65
Black Dynamite
71
Bliss
24
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
47
Box, The
51
Breakfast with Scot
44
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
76
Broken Embraces
71
Bronson
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
57
Chelsea on the Rocks
43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
23
Couples Retreat
75
Crude
81
Damned United, The
54
Dare
61
Dead Snow
27
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
68
End of the Line, The
55
Endgame
47
Everybody's Fine
64
Examined Life
xx
Falling for Grace
31
Fix
74
Flame & Citron
xx
From Mexico with Love
28
Gentlemen Broncos
64
Gigante
58
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
72
Good Hair
73
House of the Devil, The
82
Hunger
17
I Hate Valentine's Day
66
Informant!, The
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Love Happens
59
More Than a Game
34
Motherhood
49
New York, I Love You
34
Ninja Assassin
19
Old Dogs
47
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
68
Paris
44
Peter and Vandy
39
Planet 51
86
Ponyo
79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
Princess & the Frog, The
49
Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The
84
Revanche
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
36
Serious Moonlight
70
Shall We Kiss?
24
Sorority Row
40
Spiral
41
Splinterheads
33
Stepfather, The
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
47
Time Traveler's Wife
44
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
83
Up in the Air
65
Vicious Kind, The
69
We Live in Public
65
Wedding Song, The
71
Where the Wild Things Are
43
Women in Trouble
48
Wonderful World
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Miller's Crossing
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 16 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen
Directed by:
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 5, 1990
Running Time: 115 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R
Starring Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J.E. Freeman, Albert Finney, and Steve Buscemi
In an unnamed Eastern city in 1929, the friendship between the local political boss (Finney) and Tom (Byrne), the man behind the man, is severed when they fall for same woman. Tom joins ranks with Johnny Caspar, Leo's enemy and rival, in a race for political power, resulting in a bloody, citywide gang war.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Barton Fink Blood Simple: The Director's Cut Burn After Reading Fargo Intolerable Cruelty No Country for Old Men O Brother, Where Art Thou? Raising Arizona The Big Lebowski The Hudsucker Proxy The Ladykillers The Man Who Wasn't There
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
USA Today Mike Clark
Cold and cut to the bone, the film is a primer in screen virtuosity. Standard action film clichés, like a face getting hit with a chair, get turned inside out; both film and actors somehow manage to seem realistic and stylized at the same time. [21 Sept 1990, Life, p.6D]
Washington Post Rita Kempley
As disturbing and densely beautiful as its opening image, a lofty forest that dwarfs the gangsters as they laugh over their kill.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott
A masterpiece, but of a unique kind... A gorgeously filmed, supremely well-acted, intricately written film noir about now.
Read Full Review >Variety Staff (Not Credited)
Substance is here in spades, along with the twisted, brilliantly controlled style on which filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen made a name.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Barry Sonnenfeld's stunning cinematography and the sharply etched characterizations make this film one for the ages.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The movie is artful to a fault, with too many characters sitting in perfectly arranged, immaculately lighted rooms and talking a lot. It contains near-classic sequences, though, and splendid performances. [28 Sept 1990]
Entertainment Weekly Lawrence O'Toole
If, however, you're looking for compelling characters, all the lights are blazing here but nobody's at home.
Read Full Review >Empire Staff (Not Credited)
A very clever, stylish story of friendship, loyalty and betrayal.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Crossing should be watched not because it's their finest achievement (that's still to come), but because the brothers are keeping things refreshingly different and building a career, their minds still very much fixed on originality.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
The Coens are artists too, and their cool dazzler is an elegy to a day when Hollywood could locate moral gravity in a genre film for grownups. [24 Sept 1990, p.83]
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
What it doesn't have is a narrative magnet to pull us through - a story line that makes us really care what happens, aside from the elegant but mechanical manipulations of the plot.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Dave Kehr
The Coens have technique and they have taste; what they do not yet have is the ability to move beyond their handsome imagery to the human center of their material. [5 Oct 1990, Friday, p.C]
TV Guide Staff (Non Credited)
It takes place in an artificial world constructed largely from the mythology of other movies, and, though it's both seamless and stylish, some find it a little too self-conscious for its own good.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Sheila Benson
Heart may be what the movie needs most, but a bit of clarity wouldn't hurt either. Even here in gangsterland, where random characters are cherished and non sequiturs are considered wisecracks, there is a difference between complications and impenetrability, and this plot is a bloody thicket.. [5 Oct 1990, Calendar, p.F-10]
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
An elegant-looking picture, carefully made and beautifully put together, but when the gloss wears off, you're left with an experience that doesn’t quite satisfy. [5 Oct 1990, Daily Datebook, E10]
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The double crosses are so intricate and the cynicism so enveloping that it becomes increasingly difficult to care about the characters
Read Full Review >The New York Times Vincent Canby
Weightless. It is also, unfortunately, without much point at all... A movie of random effects and little accumulative impact.
Read Full Review >The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
A lifeless, tedious picture... A complete dud. [29 Oct 1990, p.26]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Nerijus D. gave it a9:
A very good film indeed, but more realism would've been appreciated.
Dirk D. gave it a10:
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!
Jay H. gave it a6:
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.
Andew P. gave it a10:
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!
Bill S gave it a10:
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.
Chris P. gave it a9:
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.
J H gave it a10:
Great movie. Music, acting and language is superb. You will not find anything like it anywhere.
