One of the most surprising announcements to come from the deluge of fall festival information is the fact that the Coen Brothers took their supposed 6-part miniseries “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and turned it into a 2+ hour film. The series was meant to be an anthology, told in 6 separate stories, about the character known as Buster Scruggs, played by Tim Blake Nelson. And likewise, the revamped film is retaining its anthology structure, with the same 6 stories about the American West intersecting around the titular character.
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And now, on the eve of the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, we have word on what each section of the film will be titled, and who stars in each. Of course, the incomparable Joel and Ethan Cohen have handled the writing and directing duties on each.
Here’s what each six parts are called and who stars in them:
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
Tim Blake Nelson (Buster Scruggs)
Willie Watson (The Kid)
“Near Algodones”
James Franco (Cowboy)
“Meal Ticket”
Liam Neeson (Impresario)
Harry Melling (Artist)
“All Gold Canyon”
Tom Waits (Prospector
“The Gal Who Got Rattled”
Bill Heck (Billy Knapp)
Zoe Kazan (Alice Longabaugh)
Grainger Hines (Mr. Arthur)
“The Mortal Remains”
Brendan Gleeson (Irishman)
Tyne Daly (Lady)
Jonjo O’Neill (Englishman)
Saul Rubinek (Frenchman)
Chelcie Ross (Trapper)
Here’s the BFI London Film Festival’s synopsis which gives more details:
If you want to fathom the bottomless well that is the Coens’ imagination, look no further. As storytelling goes, this is wildly idiosyncratic, undeniably hilarious and often touchingly melancholic – a cinema-brio study of the American West. Every delectable chapter presents a different story from the wild frontier, with tone and style perfectly calibrated for each tale. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs finds Tim Blake Nelson playing a sharp-shooting songster. In Near Algodones, James Franco’s wannabe bank robber gets his due and then some. And just a little bit more for good measure. Lugubrious dark humour pervades the Liam Neeson starrer Meal Ticket, a gothic tale about two weary travelling performers. Tom Waits mines a rich seam of humour in All Gold Canyon, while Zoe Kazan finds an unexpected promise of love, along with a dose of life’s cruel irony, on a wagon train across the prairies in The Gal Who Got Rattled. Finally, ghostly laughs haunt The Mortal Remains as Tyne Daly rains judgment upon a motley crew of strangers undertaking a final carriage ride. Exquisitely shot by Bruno Delbonnel and intricately designed by Jess Gonchor (with art department contributing stunning colour plate intertitles that introduce each sequence), this is one for true connoisseurs. Bedtime stories for cinema lovers.
As you might expect from a Coen Brothers project, ‘Buster Scruggs’ looks jam-packed with great actors, such as James Franco, Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan, and Brendan Gleeson. Perhaps the most exciting addition to the cast is Tom Waits, who has quite the slate of upcoming films, including ‘Buster Scruggs,’ ‘The Old Man & The Gun,’ and the Jim Jarmusch film “The Dead Don’t Die.”
‘The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs” is currently scheduled for a November 16 release. It is assumed the release date is for the Netflix premiere, as well as the limited theatrical run the streaming service is giving the film to qualify for awards season.