O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers:

Homer (epic poem "The Odyssey")
Ethan Coen (written by) ...

Release Date:

22 joulukuu 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Adventure | Crime | Music

Tagline:

Sometimes, you have to lose your way to get back home

Plot:

Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey", set in the deep south during the 1930's. In it, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.

Plot Keywords:

Chain Gang | Mississippi | Prophet | 1930s | Bank

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 29 nominations

Cast

George Clooney	...	Everett
John Turturro	...	Pete
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Delmar
John Goodman	...	Big Dan Teague
Holly Hunter	...	Penny
Chris Thomas King	...	Tommy Johnson
Charles Durning	...	Pappy O'Daniel
Del Pentecost	...	Junior O'Daniel
Michael Badalucco	...	George Nelson
J.R. Horne	...	Pappy's Staff
Brian Reddy	...	Pappy's Staff
Wayne Duvall	...	Homer Stokes
Ed Gale	...	The Little Man
Ray McKinnon	...	Vernon T. Waldrip
Daniel von Bargen	...	Sheriff Cooley (as Daniel Von Bargen)

Also Known As:

O' Brother (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence and language.

Runtime:

106 min | 107 min

Country:

UK | France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37333) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | France:U | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:12 | Sweden:11 | Norway:11 | Canada:G (Québec) | New Zealand:M | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Canton, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The film's soundtrack became an unlikely blockbuster, even surpassing the success of the film. By early 2001, it had sold five million copies, spawned a documentary film, three follow-up albums ("O Sister" and "O Sister 2"), two concert tours, and won Country Music Awards for Album of the Year and Single of the Year (for "Man of Constant Sorrow"). It also won five Grammys, including Album of the Year, and hit #1 on the Billboard album charts the week of March 15, 2002, 63 weeks after its release and over a year after the release of the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The Martin guitar played by the woman at the rally is obviously not from the era. The gold sealed gear tuning machines were first used in the '60s.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ulysses Everett McGill: Say, any of you boys smithies? Or, if not smithies per se, were you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts before straitened circumstances forced you into a life of aimless wanderin'?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Spin City: O Mother, Where Art Thou? (#6.13)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow

A Serious Comedy with wonderful characters

The Coen Brothers have truly outdone themselves in this wonderful saga of three escaped convicts. Though it is based on "The Odyssey," the ancient work of Homer, you do not have to have read "The Odyssey" to be able to follow the story. The brothers Coen have woven a tapestry of celluloid and aural delights! The soundtrack is intrinsic to the film, indeed it is as though the soundtrack is the product and the film is wrapping paper. Each character is wonderfully exploited and harkens back to the days of old when films were rich with character actors whose very appearance in the film adds richness, texture and authenticity. George Clooney is magnificent as the grease haired Everett Ulysses McGill, a honest con on the run whose pompous linguistics and vocabulary are comical and endearing. O Brother, Where Art Thou is easily the best Coen film to date as well as Clooney's best effort. Clooney is good enough to warrant a best actor nomination as is Tim Blake Nelson's portrayal of the dimwitted friend Delmar, while the film itself is deserving of a Best film nod.