O Brother, Where Art Thou? |  | Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Actors: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter
Studio: Touchstone
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.99
Buy Used: $3.79
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Seller: river-city-books
Rating:  648 reviews
Sales Rank: 340
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 2165400
ISBN: 0788826883
UPC: 786936144758
EAN: 9780788826887
ASIN: B00003CXRM
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Release Date: June 12, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) escapes the chain gang with two fellow convicts, the simple and somewhat slow Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and ill-tempered Pete (John Turturro), to pursue the promise of hidden loot stashed in his house that is about to be swept away in a flood. On the way, the trio experience a journey filled with hilarious adventure and cast of strange characters starting wi |
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Product Description
Disenchanted with the daily drudge of crushing rocks on a prison farm in Mississippi, the dopper, silver-tongued Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney, The Perfect Storm) busts loose. Except he's still shackled to his two chain-mates from the chain gang -- bad-tempered Pete (John Turturro, Summer of Sam) and sweet, dimwitted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson, Hamlet). With nothing to lose and buried loot to regain -- before it's lost forever in a flood -- the three embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this hilarious offbeat road picture. Populated with strange characters, including a blind prophet, sexy sirens and a one-eyed Bible salesman (John Goodman, Coyote Ugly), it's an odyssey filled with chases, close calls, near misses and betrayal that will leave you laughing at every outrageous and surprising twist and turn.
Amazon.com
Only Joel and Ethan Coen, the fraternal director and producer team behind art-house hits such as The Big Lebowski and Fargo and masters of quirky and ultra-stylish genre subversion, would dare nick the plot line of Homer's Odyssey for a comic picaresque saga about three cons on the run in 1930s Mississippi. Our wandering hero in this case is one Ulysses Everett McGill, a slick-tongued wise guy with a thing about hair pomade (George Clooney, blithely sending up his own dapper image) who talks his chain-gang buddies (Coen-movie regular John Turturro and newcomer Tim Blake Nelson) into lighting out after some buried loot he claims to know of. En route they come up against a prophetic blind man on a railroad truck, a burly, one-eyed baddie (the ever-magnificent John Goodman), a trio of sexy singing ladies, a blues guitarist who's sold his soul to the devil, a brace of crooked politicos on the stump, a manic-depressive bank robber, and--well, you get the idea. Into this, their most relaxed film yet, the Coens have tossed a beguiling ragbag of inconsequential situations, a wealth of looping, left-field dialogue, and a whole stash of gags both verbal and visual. O Brother (the title's lifted from Preston Sturges's classic 1941 comedy Sullivan's Travels) is furthermore graced with glowing, burnished photography from Roger Deakins and a masterly soundtrack from T-Bone Burnett that pays loving homage to American '30s folk styles--blues, gospel, bluegrass, jazz, and more. And just to prove that the brothers haven't lost their knack for bad-taste humor, we get a Ku Klux Klan rally choreographed like a cross between a Nuremberg rally and a Busby Berkeley musical. --Philip Kemp
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 648
 Couldn't be happier! February 6, 2010
Terri Streater (Hamilton, TX, US)
I can always count on good service and prompt shipping through Amazon! I can track my products all the way to the door step, or I can have them notify me when it has been delivered!! Just great all-around customer service. This movie is a favorite of my husbands, and we had no problems playing the CD, or any problems with the quality. Even after seeing this several times, I still laugh at George Clooney's chicken dance!! Just a good, enjoyable movie.
Quest & Questioning January 30, 2010
Ronald L. Levao (Princeton, NJ)
This is a wonderfully silly, smart (if maybe smarty-pants) film, weaving together several "quest" narratives, the oldest of plots--mostly the Odyssey, but with many nods to Sullivan's Travels (including the in-joke title) and the Wizard of Oz (especially the KKK-rescue scene). Lots of Americana in it (besides the great music). It's not necessary to "get" the allusions, but I think those who hated the plot misunderstood it. One criticism, however, does seem valid. O Brother relies on a lot of rural/Southern stereotypes. The Coens are often smug in their character-mockery. But the use of grotesque, cartoon-exaggeration is their way into surrealistic farce, and they make brilliant use of it as they do in all their films, taken as a whole: from suicidal CEO's and personal trainers to rabbinical wisemen. In their defense here, one might note that the Southern crowd turns against the hypocritical candidate when he begins spewing race-hatred. They want to hear the music. Joy and absurdist hope are as prominent as cruelty and corruption. A great film.
The Coen Brothers sure know how to make a film. January 28, 2010
Kat1979 (California)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This entry includes John Turturro (as Pete), the stressed pessimist; Tim Blake Nelson (Delmar), as child-like and the optimist; George Clooney (as Everett), the realist intellectual-- all bumbling idiots.
In a vibrant sepia tone 1930's Mississippi, Everette dupes his friends into breaking out of prison to seek a fortune, but the fortune they find is not what they sought. Along the way, they get themselves into mishap after mishap, learn something about themselves and about life, and run across a bunch of similarly caricature-like characters.
O Brother blends some stunning cinematography, brilliant direction, quotable dialog, a very catchy soundtrack, great cast, interesting characters, memorable performances, excellent sets, and a thoroughly entertaining story.
Due to language and the social climate of the time, I recommend parental supervision or a slightly older audience (although it's carried out satisfactorily). Story based on Homer's "The Odyssey."
Another Coen Brothers hit - 8.4/10
O brother! January 10, 2010
Cindy S. Turner (Mountain View, CA)
I can enjoy it more now that I have the CD... really funny and love the music!
The Odyssey January 7, 2010
John Smith
I never buy a movie without seeing it first. I first saw this movie years ago, and while I did not get all the subtle humor of the Coen brothers, time has made this movie better. This movie is suited to all, even if classics aren't your thing. If you are wary, rent it first and then see how you feel about it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 648
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