Mike Zoss Productions
Not part of a collection.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Stories live forever. People don't.
Vignettes weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the Civil War. Following the tales of a sharp-shooting songster, a wannabe bank robber, two weary traveling performers, a lone gold prospector, a woman traveling the West to an uncertain future, and a motley crew of strangers undertaking a carriage ride.
- Original title
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Aug 27, 2026 · via TMDB
Tim Blake Nelson turns in a Wild West version of "Alan a-Dale" as he plucks his minstrel's guitar and tells us an half-dozen tales of life in the pioneering United States of the late 1800s. His is the first of these stories, and serves to give us a clue as to the quirkiness of what's to follow from these stand-alone observations of a dog-eat-dog society as it emerges from it's civil war. Along the way, there are homages paid to both the plots of films like "Stagecoach" and to just about any of the actors who rode an horse, cracked a whip or slung a rifle. My own personal favourite has to be the ageing prospector (Tom Waits) who armed with his mule, his giant pans and what appears to be the mining equivalent of a divining rod, attempts to find a lucrative seam of gold from a seemingly random stream - and, of course, there are quite a few twists in this tale of perseverance which did make me smile. On that front, there is plenty of humour for us to appreciate here too as Vaudeville meets gambling, banks get robbed and romance gets it's due comeuppance. Though light-hearted, this also manages to remind us of just how brutal and torrid life could be for those setting off into these virgin territories facing the difficulties of terrain, Indians and of the vengeful grudges that survived their recent blue v grey conflict. No expense has been spared on the production design of the film. It's constituent scenarios of the grand cinematography that combines the vast with the intimate - especially as our final story confines itself largely to the interior of the stagecoach; and the episodic nature of these stories provides us with entertaining vignettes without the need for an anchor star.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Tim Blake Nelson
Buster Scruggs (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
Willie Watson
The Kid (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
Clancy Brown
Curly Joe (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
Danny McCarthy
Curly Joe's Brother (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
David Krumholtz
Frenchman (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
Thomas Wingate
Gun Check Man (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
Tim DeZarn
Mean-Eyed Card Player (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
E.E. Bell
Piano Player (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
Alejandro Patiño
Cantina Bartender (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
Tom Proctor
Cantina Bad Man (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
Matthew Willig
Cantina Scum (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
J.J. Dashnaw
Cantina Scum (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs")
James Franco
Cowboy (segment "Near Algodones")
Stephen Root
Teller (segment "Near Algodones")
Ralph Ineson
Posse Leader (segment "Near Algodones")
Mike Watson
Posse (segment "Near Algodones")
Brian Brown
Posse (segment "Near Algodones")
Ryan Brown
Posse (segment "Near Algodones")
Jesse Luken
Drover (segment "Near Algodones")
Michael Cullen
Judge (segment "Near Algodones")
Austin Rising
Bailiff (segment "Near Algodones")
Liam Neeson
Impresario (segment "Meal Ticket")
Harry Melling
Artist (segment "Meal Ticket")
Jiji Hise
The Bawd (segment "Meal Ticket")
Paul Rae
Chicken Impresario (segment "Meal Ticket")
Tom Waits
Prospector (segment "All Gold Canyon")
Sam Dillon
Young Man (segment "All Gold Canyon")
Bill Heck
Billy Knapp (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Zoe Kazan
Alice Longabaugh (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Grainger Hines
Mr. Arthur (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Jefferson Mays
Gilbert Longabaugh (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Prudence Wright Holmes
Boarding House Landlady (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Eric Petersen
Boarder (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Doris Hargrave
Boarder (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Ethan Dubin
Matt (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Thea Lux
His Mother (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Raymond Kurshals
Puppet Dancer (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
Jonjo O'Neill
Englishman (segment "The Mortal Remains")
Brendan Gleeson
Irishman (segment "The Mortal Remains")
Saul Rubinek
Frenchman (segment "The Mortal Remains")
Tyne Daly
Lady (segment "The Mortal Remains")
Chelcie Ross
Trapper (segment "The Mortal Remains")
Martin Palmer
Blubberer (segment "Near Algodones") (uncredited)
Billy Lockwood
Father (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled") (uncredited)
Stephen R. Estler
Gambler (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs") (uncredited)
Bill Foster
Saloon Man (segment "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs") (uncredited)
Jess Gonchor
Production Design
Nancy Haigh
Set Decoration
Randall Balsmeyer
Title Designer
Bruno Delbonnel
"A" Camera Operator
Bruno Delbonnel
Director of Photography
Mary Zophres
Costume Design
Christien Tinsley
Makeup Department Head
Ethan Coen
Director
Joel Coen
Director
Ethan Coen
Editor
Joel Coen
Editor
Lucian Johnston
First Assistant Editor
Ellen Chenoweth
Casting
Ethan Coen
Producer
Joel Coen
Producer
Megan Ellison
Producer
Sue Naegle
Producer
Goro Koyama
Foley Artist
Carter Burwell
Original Music Composer
Craig Berkey
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Skip Lievsay
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Craig Berkey
Supervising Sound Editor
Skip Lievsay
Supervising Sound Editor
Josh Simmonds
Visual Effects Supervisor
Jack London
Author
Ethan Coen
Writer
Joel Coen
Writer
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