The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs

The Cohens are well known for their love of the Western genre. They have made modern films with Western elements in the past. They finally created a pure genre movie in 2010 with their remake of True Grit.

Their 2018 motion picture, The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs is yet another love letter to the Old West. This anthology presents a series of stories that are written in an old book. Before each one there is an illustration which sets the tone for the upcoming tale.

Songs

Some of the stories include musical numbers. The first one focuses on the eponymous Buster who roams the West dispatching villains. He sings the tune When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings, which was later nominated for an Oscar.

The story titled All Gold Canyon follows a prospector played by veteran singer Tom Waits. Throughout his attempts to find gold he sings to himself. The final tale, Mortal Remains is set in a carriage where three people are stuck on a journey next to a pair of bounty hunters. One of these hitmen sings an Irish ballad to entertain the others.