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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 source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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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

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

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

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

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

O Brother, Where Art Thou?" I'm glad that I found him.

Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kamal  'The Diva' Larsuel
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
3BlackChicks Review

A joyous and humanistic slapstick throwback, anchored by George Clooney's goddamn bona fide performance in his Ulyssean role.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
02/07/01
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

...like life itself, the destination matters much less than the shared journey. And, in this case, the gorgeous yellow-toned cinematography and the music.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
07/31/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A Coen brothers' also-ran is better than some filmmakers' best.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
12/29/00
Matt Wolf
Matt Wolf
Associated Press

Mixing dark humor with high spirits, the brothers take some wild risks that pay off surprisingly well.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/11/01
Steve Murray
Steve Murray
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It's a sprawling film and the comic tone matches Joel and Ethan's broad, comic brushstrokes to a T.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
02/07/01
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

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

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
03/09/02
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

Before it's all over, the real siren songs of time and place turn the visual kitsch into a distilled Americana that's unexpectedly stirring.

comment Comment
12/29/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe

This is an epic dreamed up and set in Coenland, where familiar film genres get twisted into balloon animals, and where anything might happen to the characters because, hey, why not?

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/24/02
Gary Susman
Gary Susman
Boston Phoenix

Peppered with enough personal idiosyncrasy to appease [the Coen brothers'] fans.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Lael Loewenstein
Lael Loewenstein
Boxoffice Magazine

A whimsical, lyrical journey through a national heritage suggested and fulfilled by the songs that hold it together.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
03/27/01
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Until now, the Coen brothers' movies have been condescending but clever, smirky but clever, heartless but clever, vague but at least vaguely clever. O Brother, Where Art Thou? has all of those ingredients except cleverness.

comment Comment
01/12/01
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

After making what are still probably their two best features, the Coen brothers came up with their worst, a piece of pop nihilism.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
11/07/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; 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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