Raising Arizona

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Raising Arizona

PG-13

1987

1h 33m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

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66 Reviews

85%

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50,000+ Ratings

An ex-con and an ex-cop meet, marry and long for a child of their own. When it is discovered that Hi is unable to have children they decide to snatch a baby. They try to keep their crime a secret, while friends, co-workers and a bounty hunter look to use the child for their own purposes.

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Critics Consensus

A terrifically original, eccentric screwball comedy, Raising Arizona may not be the Coens' most disciplined movie, but it's one of their most purely entertaining.

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Peter Keough

Chicago Reader

05/09/2022

2/4

Coens have not achieved the maturity needed to appreciate the vision of a Capra or Sturges, and their gifts are too rich and deep for the likes of Heckle and Jeckle.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

01/14/2013

Raising Arizona is no big deal, but it has a rambunctious charm.

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Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

03/13/2009

To their old fascination with Sunbelt pathology, to their side-winding Steadicam and pristine command of screen space, the Coens have added a robust humor, a plot that keeps outwitting expectations and a...dollop of sympathy for their forlorn kidnapers.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Dec 30

This wonderful film gives the comic-strip treatment it deserves to the wacky violence that seems to have taken over in American life.

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John Ferguson

Radio Times

Aug 19

4/5

From the audacious pre-credits sequence onwards, the pace never slackens for a second.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

02/07/2024

4/5

Two features into their career, Raising Arizona shows that the Coens are as effective with comedies as they were with neo-noir.

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Rich S

@RPS1963 Nov 12

May God rest his soul, but Raising Arizona is another movie that Roger Ebert got wrong. He didn't like it. I think the line mentioned on the Siskel & Ebert episode was that Ebert thought it was a "retread of rural humor that lacked humor." On the plus side, it is definitely one of Nicolas Cage's two best movies. Valley Girl is the other. Hence, it's been a long 40-year dry spell for Nic. His downfall, in hindsight, is that he didn't cozy up with the Coen Brothers. They are loyal to the actors they like. Maybe it's not that they didn't like Cage, they just didn't write any roles with Cage in mind since 1987.

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Robin O

Oct 1

Though Raising Arizona is one of their funniest and most accessible films, it is also among their most introspective.

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Recneps .

@Recneps Sep 13

The best “Nicolas Cage plays a criminal who kidnaps a baby to raise as his own child with his police officer wife” movie I’ve ever seen. Incredibly funny, and the cast all do great jobs, even in the more serious moments. I honestly can’t wait to rewatch it, because I think I might genuinely love this film.

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Jason H

Sep 6

This was the first Coen Brothers movie I watched, way back in 1987. It certainly wasn't the last.

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Todd B

@ToddB1975 Aug 25

I feel like this is a complete movie with a little bit of everything, comedy, action (that is comedic), little bit of a scary villain, unique music, tugging at heartstrings. Somehow Nicholas Cage's and John Goodman's combined yelling during a fight scene is something that will always stay with me.

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Eric W

@RandlePMcMurphy Aug 24

Start to finish, not a dull moment in the entire movie. Thoroughly enjoyable.

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Joel Coen

Director

Nicolas Cage

H.I. McDonnough

Holly Hunter

Edwina "Ed" McDonnough

Trey Wilson

Nathan Arizona, Sr.

John Goodman

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Synopsis

An ex-con and an ex-cop meet, marry and long for a child of their own. When it is discovered that Hi is unable to have children they decide to snatch a baby. They try to keep their crime a secret, while friends, co-workers and a bounty hunter look to use the child for their own purposes.

Director: Joel Coen
Producer: Ethan Coen
Screenwriter: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Circle Films, Inc.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 1, 1987, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 2, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.1M
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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