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Movies / On DVD / O Brother, Where Art Thou?
O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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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.

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Comedies

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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

I settled in for something eccentrically referential and amusing. What I got was a boring mess.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

All in all, a thoroughly eclectic and always entertaining mix.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ben Falk
Ben Falk
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Great dialogue, superb 'Scope camerawork from Roger Deakins, and a genuinely wondrous deus ex machina are among the delights.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Simply, O Brother, Where Art Thou? has one of the richest and most satisfying soundtracks I've heard in years.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
04/13/01
Kevin Jackson
Kevin Jackson
Sight and Sound

Confidently cinematic in classical and modern terms, layered with subtleties but also a straight-ahead, crowd-pleasing comedy.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Yes, it's very stylised and mannered, it tries far too hard to be funny, and it's still rather beguiling. It's also just a bit to odd to really work.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

The Coens' usual arch deliberateness isn't quite as deliberate, and there's an appealing shagginess to some of the episodes and performances.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
09/26/02
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine

A wildly ambitious but ultimately unsatisfying goof on The Odyssey.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
07/27/02
Hollywood.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Coens' dark edges inevitably creep in and make the film just unpleasant enough to dislike.

Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
12/14/00
Chuck Rudolph
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine

A loose, sloppy affair that feels like it was written in one day before lunch.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
12/21/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Citysearch

Oh, brother!

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

It was amusing but could never get over its limitation -- a weak storyline.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Limps along like a classics professor shot in the kneecap by his tenure committee.

Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
01/12/01
Donald Munro
Donald Munro
Fresno Bee

Are the Coens just being smart alecks here, or are they saying something sourly profound about American popular culture?

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
09/04/01
Glenn Kenny
Glenn Kenny
Premiere Magazine

The whole comes out less than the sum of its parts.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
12/08/00
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

The art direction is impeccable, but this is a pop-up book that I was impatient to slam.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
12/21/00
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

The filmmakers' trademark quirkiness is in evidence, but it often feels forced and the comedic elements are inconsistent.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
12/18/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

As a big-budget film from two of our great contemporary social satirists, it falls short.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Jim Shelby
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly

The Coen's tale of three escaped convicts has more to do with Homer the Simpson than Homer the poet.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
all

Latest News for O Brother, Where Art Thou?

November 07, 2007: Total Recall: Welcome to Coen Brothers Country
Before expanding wide on November 21, No Country for Old Men (90 percent) will play in select cities this Friday riding a wave of huge expectations. The Cormac McCarthy-based... More...

July 27, 2007: Cool New Cast Member for The Incredible Hulk
And the casts for the new Marvel movies just keep getting better and better. This time around? The multi-talented Tim Blake Nelson has been cast as a pivotal villain in Louis... More...

February 02, 2006: Coens Aim to Tackle New "Country"
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joel & Ethan Coen's next film will be an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men." Word is that Tommy Lee... More...

September 07, 2005: Clooney & Coens to Reunite for "Hail Caesar"
Apparently the latest issue of Vogue Magazine is being credited with the scoop, but fansite CoenBrothers.net broke the news about two months ago: George Clooney plans to reunite... More...

See All

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