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Click above to purchase "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" at
amazon.com
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Studio: Disney
Running Time: 103 minutes
Starring George Clooney, John , Tim Blake Nelson,
Michael Badalucco, John Goodman and Holly Hunter
Screenplay by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Based upon Homer's "The Odyssey"
Directed by Joel Coen
Retail Price: $29.99
Features: Production Featurette, Painting With Pixels
featurette, Storyboard To Scene Comparisons, "I Am A Man Of
Constant Sorrow" Music Video, Sneak Peeks, Theatrical
Trailer
Specs: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1, English Closed Captions,
English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Chapter Search (24
Chapters)
The way I see it, you either like the Coen Brothers or
you don't. I know some people who hated "Barton Fink" while
others who simply loved it. Same thing for... all their
other films. I guess you could say I am a fan of their work,
but there are some films from them which I couldn't stand
with a passion, while others I loved. To me, it seems they
make a great film, then a so-so one, and then another great
one. "Fargo" is an all time favorite by many, but "The Big
Lebowski" got scorned. And now there's "O Brother, Where Art
Thou?", a very (and I mean very) loose take on Homer's "The
Odyssey". Why you don't need to know it to understand the
movie, but if you do know all about it, there are certainly
some bonus treats and references throughout the film to make
it work on an additional level for you.
Ulysses Everett McGill is a prison escapee who's chained
to two of his friends (I guess that's appropriate to say),
Pete and Delmar in Mississippi during the 1930s. While they
do eventually get unchained toward the start of the movie,
McGill got them on the run to escape by telling him of his
plan to find a hidden treasure he buried and wants to find
again (this is not true as it is learned later on, and if
you saw the trailer you know what the real deal is, but I
won't spoil it for you here). This leads them hitchhiking
and on a series of misadventures with an oddball cast of
characters only the Coens could create. They meet up with a
musician and end up recording a catchy hit record (they're
known as the "Soggy Bottom Boys"), they cross paths with a
gangster by the name of George Nelson, they also find three
seductresses, meet up with religious folk and a bible
salesman known as Big Dan (the Cyclops!) all while trying to
avoid being caught by the notorious sheriff. With all this
brings a whole load of musical numbers to boot.
This movie, like all Coen Brothers films for me, was not
what I was expecting. Again, the Coens quirkiness and
appealing weirdness is shown here. I do enjoy what they
bring usually, but I'm sure people out there won't simply
understand it and will be turned off by it.
The problem for me were some parts of the story arc I
suppose. Don't get me wrong, I think the characters are
developed quite nicely here and I really liked how things
were interwoven throughout the film, but I found some parts
(toward the beginning mostly) slow and not everything on
screen advances the story. Like I said, this is another Coen
Brothers film that surprised me and gave me a story that I
did not totally expect. I guess you could I say I wanted
what I expected to make the movie better as a whole and seem
more full, and if I were them, I would have developed and
done a few things differently. But that's me, and I don't
want to trample their vision at all. The Coens make good use
of their story and it flows fairly well, but if they added
some more interesting things, got rid of and changed some
parts, I felt it could have been absolutely perfect. I just
expected certain things which I really would have liked to
see, but what I wanted was not included and the Coens pave
it their way, which I do respect. The thing I enjoyed most
about the storyline is that how everything seems to meet up
and intertwine, and the loads of funny and inspired moments
the film has. As far as everything else the film offers, I
thought the rest was perfect.
The acting in this film is phenomenal. George Clooney
(who won a Golden Globe for his performance) as Ulysses
Everett McGill as a man who wants to reclaim what he once
had is somber, sorta touching and downright hilarious. He
cares about his hair, but his performance brought a grin to
my face and brings so much to the role. Tim Blake Nelson is
quite charming here as fellow escapee Delmar, who's sort of
dimwitted but has a good heart. He's also pretty funny and a
joy to watch. Frequent Coen stars John Turturro and John
Goodman are also great. Turturro as Pete is also pretty
funny and performs his part well, but Goodman as bible
salesman and Ku Klux Klan member brought the biggest laughs
to me in his all-too-brief role. I wish there was Goodman,
because his performance was my favorite and his character
was amazing. Charles Durning and Michael Badalucco (from
TV's "The Practice") were also a lot of fun and amazing, and
Holly Hunter in a smaller role was pretty good too. This is
a great cast and each performance is electrifying. I can't
recall a movie before this when I loved each performance so
much as the ones in this film.
The music in this film has quite a nice range. Yes, this
movie is a musical (though the Coens do not consider it one,
more that it has a lot of musical elements throughout the
film), and it's somewhat crazy. A lot of it is country and
bluegrass, but some of it is pretty catchy, especially "I Am
A Man Of Constant Sorrow" (which I can't stop listening to
ever since I first heard it), which is actually a folk song
that has had a lot of variations in the past from many
artists and groups. There's also some older, classic songs
("You Are My Sunshine"), but who performs the numbers is
actually the funny part about it. There's a Ku Klux Klan
musical number, as well as one with the religious folk and
the seductresses. If you live a good old movie musical and
aren't easily offended, you're sure to get a kick out of the
songs here.
On a more technical side of the movie, the Coens show
their skills. We all know Ethan produces and Joel directs,
but I hear they usually direct together and give Joel the
directing credit. Anyhow, the editing in this movie is
really nice with some nice tight shots, but the
cinematography of the southern locations can be jawdropping
and beautiful. There's some really nice scenery and lighting
techniques throughout the film, and it gives the film a
deeper edge and makes you a bit more amazed. My favorite
shot has to be the final one, with the railroad guy going
down the railroad track (that scene also gives the movie a
great sense of being complete, because there's a part toward
the start with the guy and the escapees - you'll see). I
also liked how they made it seem like an old time movie with
their circle fades and the opening titles. A very nice
touch.
I did mention the Ku Klux Klan during parts of this
review, and I will say that if you are easily offended,
there's a good change you may be disgusted with certain
portions of the film. Yes, it's in the south during the
1930s, and that's the way things were like. So I have to say
if you can't handle the racism the film portrays at points,
then don't check it out. If you don't mind it and realize
this is just a movie, not actual events and not the Coen's
true thoughts, then you'll be okay.
Again, some people are going to hate this film with a
passion while others are simply going to be awestruck by it.
Part of me loves this film a whole bunch, while another part
thinks it's just okay due to some slow parts and flaws.
Still, there's no denying that Coen Brothers can still
create a very original movie (even when using other
material) and that their films have had a big impact on
Hollywood during the past 16 years.
Disney has provided one of their best transfers ever with
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?". The film is presented in
glorious 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and the results are
jaw-dropping. This film has a really interesting use of
colors that creates a wonderful effect that really makes the
sense of sight come alive. From the black and white opening
to the golden crops of the south, the dusty and bleak colors
really create a mood that is reflected throughout the film
to really give you a good sense of the depression era. The
colors do reflect many moods and give off a wonderful
atmosphere to behold. Things for the characters are
constantly changing and the look of the film really
represents that with the variety of settings and situations.
With the colors there's a compressed look of sorts to really
give off what the Coens were looking for (for more on the
visual process, be sure to check out the "Painting With
Pixels" featurette on the DVD). The DVD truly shows off the
Oscar®-nominated cinematography from Roger Deakins
beautifully. There are so many illustrious exterior shots
that are simply breathtaking. The fields, the forrests... a
lot of great, wide shots that look really stunning. I'm glad
the transfer really captures the visual style of the film.
As far as things with the transfer goes, I didn't notice any
artifacting, noise or shimmering and I only saw a piece of
dirt here and there, nothing distracting at all. The level
of detail is amazing and the black levels are rock solid. No
complaints here... enjoy.
Disney has provided an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track
and an English DTS 5.1 track for the film. No matter which
one you choose, you're sound system and your ears are in for
a real treat. Still, once again, DTS wins the battle but
only by a hair. Each track features rich sounds and some
constant as well as excellent mixed surrounds. This movie is
strong on music, and the various country and bluegrass tunes
sound wonderful through the channels and use all the
channels appropriatly. .1 LFE extension is good, and there
are many scenes with many active surrounds (the Ku Klux Klan
scene, the fire sequence and the opening to name a few).
Each track really gets you into the film and really brings
it to life, you may feel like you're there. On the whole, I
felt that the DTS was better because sounds were a lot more
tighter and had more of this layerish quality that made key
scenes sound a bit better. There was more enveloping to them
and packed stronger punches. Still, the Dolby Digital is
really nice too and either one will give you great sounds to
really give he experience of the film. However, I was
disappointed with some of the channel use though. While the
film does feature good mixes and good surround use, places
where I expected to hear surrounds (with some of the songs)
I didn't hear them... the back channels didn't kick in. Oh
well... they're still good mixes for a film like this.
English closed captions, English captions and Spanish
subtitles are included.
While it's not feature packed, Disney has provided a lot
more extras than I expected to see. I hear the Coens are not
a big fan of supplements (though I believe they are
contributing a commentary track to the region one release of
"Blood Simple"), but what's here is a very nice package.
The Production Featurette is not your usual
assortment of studio fluff. It doesn't have an announcer, it
doesn't have a division of elements and it doesn't even have
a title card. It just starts out with the Coens talking and
goes off from there (you won't even find copyright info at
the end). This your above-average featurette. The Coens do
talk about the actors, the story, Homer's poem and the
musical elements. What seems to be on-set interviews with
actors John Turturro, Holly Hunter, George Clooney and Tim
Blake Nelson has them discussing the film and their praise
for the Coens. Their is some pretty interesting stuff said
that I found satisfying. Clips from the film and
behind-the-scenes footage is shown as well. This is a well
done featurette.
Another featurette is presented on the disc and deals
with the process of the "digitalization" of the film.
Painting With Pixels is the name of the featurette
and is really insightful and interesting to watch if you're
into the technical portions of the movie. As anyone who's
seen the movie can tell you, there is quite a unique look to
it. The way the colors are transfigured into the film is
amazing as well as the various palettes to represent things
and give it a really nice look. The featurette shows that
once the final cut is completed it's made digital, and then
a company works on creating the overall look for the scenes
by changing around colors, saturating elements and the like.
The focus is on the movie and what it features, but there's
also a good focus on the exact process. There's also a nice
backdrop of how it can be a key thing in movies. Again, if
you're technical, don't miss it. It has some examples
showing the power of the machines with clips not from the
movie, but there are clips that have "before and after"
laced in. There are also interviews with the technicians and
director of photography Roger Deakins. Nicely done.
Disney's makes Storyboard To Scene Comparison
makes an appearance on this DVD. Two scenes ("The Flood" and
"The Klan") are compared from storyboard to final film using
the angle button. One of the angles has the top with the
storyboards and bottom with the film clip. Nice.
Finally, to round the disc out is the Music Video
for "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow" in non-anamorphic
widescreen. It's played throughout the film and is quite a
catchy song. The music video is essentially clips from the
film. You also have the Theatrical Trailer that is
improperly framed when compared to the movie's 2.35:1 ratio
and finally, three Sneak Peeks for "The Crew",
"Bounce" and "Unbreakable".
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is yet another delightful
film from the Coens that some of you are sure to enjoy and
some of you are sure going to be disappointed with. The DVD
release presents the film the way it was meant to be
experienced while adding some very good supplements to
sweeten the deal.
 (4/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
(4.5/5)
 (2.5/5)
(4/5,
NOT an average)
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