The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Cigarettes & Coffee
Drama · Crime · 1993
At a desert diner, the lives of five strangers become linked through a single twenty-dollar bill. Shot for $20,000 and starring Philip Baker Hall, the short premiered at Sundance and later inspired Anderson’s debut feature Hard Eight (1996).
Movie details
Cigarettes & Coffee
1993 Drama · Crime 24m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
At a desert diner, the lives of five strangers become linked through a single twenty-dollar bill. Shot for $20,000 and starring Philip Baker Hall, the short premiered at Sundance and later inspired Anderson’s debut feature Hard Eight (1996).
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Cigarettes & Coffee?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
Johnny O'Clock
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Kid Galahad
Drama · 1962
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The Set-Up
Drama · 1949
Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
House of Bamboo
Crime · 1955
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The Asphalt Jungle
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True Grit
Western · 1969
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.
Each Dawn I Die
Crime · 1939
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Time Without Pity
Crime · 1957
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by
Paul Thomas Anderson
Kirk Baltz
Douglas Walker
Philip Baker Hall
Sydney
Scott Coffey
Cast
Kim Gillingham
Cast
Miguel Ferrer
Bill
Michael Harris
Steve
J
Jennifer Kaplan
Cast
Court is in session
Put Cigarettes & Coffee on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.