A rambunctious and inspired ride.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
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Reviews Counted:140
Fresh:108
Rotten:32
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Though not as good as Coen brothers' classics such as Blood Simple, the delightfully loopy O Brother, Where Art Thou? is still a lot of fun.
Theatrical Release:Dec 22, 2000 Limited
Box Office: $45,150,731
Synopsis: Joel and Ethan Coen transport Homer's ODYSSEY to the depression-era South in the silly, fun comedy O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson star as three... Joel and Ethan Coen transport Homer's ODYSSEY to the depression-era South in the silly, fun comedy O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson star as three escaped fugitives on the run in Mississippi. Their adventures through the barren landscape includes run-ins with a soothsayer, a trio of Sirens, a Bible-salesman Cyclops, as well as other archetypes from Southern folklore and pop-culture including a young blues musician, the Klan, and bank robber Baby Face Nelson. Soon they are caught up in a vicious gubernatorial campaign that would make Huey Long proud. The Coen brothers mix in a host of cinematic references in O BROTHER, including SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, COOL HAND LUKE, I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG, and even dashes of the Three Stooges. The soundtrack of folk ballads, yodeling traditionals, Delta blues, and prison work songs is outstanding, playing in the background (or foreground) of nearly every scene. Clooney, as the ringleader, displays an effervescent smile that is as intoxicating as the Coens' script is outrageous. The cast, including Holly Hunter, Charles Durning, John Goodman, Chris Thomas King, and Michael Badalucco, is charmingly bewildering in a way that only a Coen brothers' cast can be. Joel and Ethan have done it again, crafting this time a unique film steeped in the traditions of the South--and of Hollywood itself. [More]
Starring: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman
Starring: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Michael Badalucco, Chris Thomas King, Charles Durning, Daniel Von Bargen, Stephen Root, John McConnell, Musetta Vander, Mia Tate, Christy Taylor, Wayne Duvall, J. R. Horne, Brian Reddy, Frank Collison
Director: Joel Coen
Director: Joel Coen
Screenwriter: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Producer: Ethan Coen
Composer: T-Bone Burnett
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
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Reviews for O Brother, Where Art Thou?
O Brother's music is more than pleasant background; it is a living presence, and with apologies to an excellent cast, just about the star of the picture.
From Gilgamesh to Griffith, O Brother, Where Art Thou? mixes up our myths with insouciant intelligence and sheer wacky bravado.
The latest misanthropic flimflam from the Coen brothers, is like an extended Three Stooges episode featuring an even stupider version of the cast of Hee Haw.
The art direction is impeccable, but this is a pop-up book that I was impatient to slam.
For all its originality, O Brother doesn't seem to have a point, or enough spark to distract us from the lack thereof.
A loose, sloppy affair that feels like it was written in one day before lunch.
Sneaks up on you, revealing its myriad delights and revelations long after it ends.
This particular excursion into screwball madness is often heavenly, and frankly leaves critical explication somewhat unnecessary.
It makes you want to lift your voice and sing along, for the Coen Brothers have put it all together.
A handsome film, joyfully feting the movie fantasies of a bygone era.
The high points outweigh the low ... with particular praise for the wonderful selection of period and traditional music.
The movie has taken us for such a joyful wild goose chase that we're inclined to believe anything it tells us.
The filmmakers' trademark quirkiness is in evidence, but it often feels forced and the comedic elements are inconsistent.
Beautifully filmed with carefully scripted dialogue, the production almost breaks out into cinema greatness.
Lighthearted and amiable, it may be a cinematic trifle, but it's a trifle that has been flawlessly fashioned and polished to a brilliant sheen.
This is a lighter story than many of the Coens' previous movies, which makes it easy to forgive the parts that don't work very well.
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