From the liner notes

Barton Fink:The Coen brothers have manufactured a mesmerizing parable on the death of innocence and the perversion of artistic integrity in the face of gross crudity and greed. Turturro is terrific as the title character, Barton Fink, an acclaimed, socially conscious New York playwright (styled after Clifford Odets) who is lured by Hollywood's false hope. While being reduced to another cog in the studio machine, he develops a strained camaraderie with Goodman, the next-door neighbor in his steam-bath hotel - it's a relationship which comes to define his California experience. Turturro and Goodman bring total credibility to otherwise fantastical characters in an exaggerated, surreal world of peeling wallpaper and oddly threatening drainpipes.

Blood Simple: This extremely well-crafted first feature from the Coen Brothers pays tribute to classic film noir. The story revolves around a crazy, jealous husband who hires a shady hit man to take out his wife. Although the film was done on a shoestring budget, the Coen Brothers manage to create a technically dazzling film which boasts a gleefully ghoulish sense of humor, dazzling camera acrobatics and a plot with more loops than the L.A. Freeway. Corruption and distrust ooze from every frame of this torrid tale of tangled passions in a dusty Texas town.

Fargo: The peculiarly heightened reality that is a trademark of Coen Brothers' films is well suited to this bizarre tale of a seemingly solid, middle-class man (Macy) whose proximity to financial ruin precipitates a hare-brained scheme for quick monetary reward. His plan -- to arrange his wife's kidnapping and split with the hired kidnappers the ransom to be paid by his wealthy father-in-law -- is conceived in gnawing greed and blind stupidity, and culminates in horrific tragedy imbued with macabre humor. All of the performances are remarkable, overtly broad yet cunningly subtle. Macy is an accomplished journeyman actor, and he renders an authentic and pathetic character. But the absolute delight is Oscar-winning McDormand as Marge the pregnant police chief, offhandedly battling morning sickness as she examines a triple-homicide crime scene. Minnesota's vast frozen expanses endow physicality to the desperate isolation that underlies this winter's tale. An unnerving study of human fraility and deception.

Miller's Crossing: This thoroughly engrossing and brilliantly produced gangland sendup overflows with sardonic wit, bristling dialogue and operatic violence. Byrne heads an excellent cast as Tom, a mob insider whose endless scheming provides the plot with an abundance of unexpected twists, double-crosses and red herrings. The story follows a fight for control of City Hall between Tom's boss, Leo (confidently portrayed by Finney), and an arch-rival. In the midst of the fray is Bernie Bernbaum, a weasely small-time hood who's trying to muscle in on both men's numbers racket. As Bernie, Turturro delivers a tantalizingly over-the-top performance. In her cinematic debut, Harden is superb as the hard-as-nails Verna, who is both Bernie's sister and Leo's girlfriend.

Raising Arizona: The Coen Brothers unleash a veritable grab bag of tricks and surprises as they unspool the hilarious tale of H.I. and Ed McDonough, would-be-parents who baby-nap a youngster from a recent batch of quintuplets in order to fulfill their parental urges. This truly offbeat, supremely comic film is loaded with crazy characters, wild chase scenes and inexhaustible energy. Cage and Hunter give antic yet touching performances as the barren but determined couple.