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O Brother, Where Art Thou? Customer Reviews (43 - 45 of 87 Reviews)

Possibly the Coens' best, but a poor DVD
First - the movie. Three convicts escape from a chain-gang and set of on a quest, supposedly based on the Odyssey, although the Coens later claimed to have never read it. However, we have Sirens who abduct one of the escapees, a Cyclops (played by John Goodman), and a Penny (Penelope). In addition, we have less obvious characters, such as a manic-depressive bank robber, a KKK-belonging gubernatorial candidate, and his populist encumbant opponent. All of these characters provide some big laughs, little chuckles, and a healthy dose of bluegrass music. It's all presented in a washed-out colour that lends a beautiful visual style to the piece.

The film has most of the hallmarks of the Coen brothers. This depression-era Mississippi didn't ever exist, but we wish it did. It's filled with caricature characters with amusing quirks and one-track minds. Missing is the occasional brutal violence that has a tendency to crop up in some of their work. As such, this is one of the most good-hearted of the Coens' films, and I enjoyed it more than, say, Fargo. However, it's probably more forgettable than their other work. In addition, the film is almost a musical with its profusion of tunes. However, I'm not much of a bluegrass fan, so found that the musical parts, though well-done, could have been shortened. It moved just a little too slowly and lingered just a little too long in these passages.

Secondly - the DVD version. Obviously, the sound and picture is very good, but the DVD left me disappointed. Who could be more interesting in a commentary track than the Coen brothers? Alas, there is no commentary - the best we get is a making of featurette that is only 20 minutes or so. It's okay in itself, but too short to compensate. Of equal length is a piece on the digitisation of the film to achieve the desired look (which could have been told in 1/2 the time) and a storyboard-to-film comparison, which was not particularly interesting.

The film might rate a 4, but this DVD edition is disappointing, and drops the rating to a 3. I would certainly recommend it as a renter, but not worth the cost of buying the DVD.

Uproariously funny! Watch this movie or you'll miss out.
Homer's Oddysey set during the Great Depression, with a trio of chain gang fugitives as the protagonists. Who woulda thunk? I don't know either, but give him credit for a fabulously enjoyable movie.

George Clooney is magnificent as Ulysses (that's really his name), an extremely witty and articulate convict who is obsessed with two things. The first is finding a hidden treasure from one of his earlier "jobs," and second is his hair. The contrast between his brilliant and often incisive repartee, and the dull witted utterances of his oafish companions, is truly a sight to behold (can I say that about the spoken word?).

The "Odyssey" theme is well developed, complete with Sirens and the Cyclops (played by none other than John Goodman, of course), and the movie loosely follows its plot line. There are some interesting allusions to the supernatural, and some blatant allegorizing of several characters, such as the ubiquitous "boss" sheriff with the fires of hell reflecting from his sunglasses. Several scenes are downright surreal, while others will have you holding your gut with laughter. Oh, and by the way, the good guys manage to "get religion" and turn the popular music world on its head as they go on about their merry way.

Literary references aside, though, you'll enjoy this movie immensely even if you've never read Homer. The language is generally unobjectionable, there's no nudity, and minimal non-gory violence, in other words, a family friendly affair. Watch this flick. You'll be glad you did.

DO Seek This Treasure
If you're as big a Coen fan as I am, then you will definitely not want to miss this movie. Joel and Ethan have really outdone themselves this time. Loosely based on Homer's Odyssey, O Brother, Where Art Thou? retains most of the Coens' signature quirkiness, while introducing a few fresh faces to their ragtag bunch (George Clooney and Tim Blake Nelson). But fear not, lifelong fans - the film also contains our much-loved actors John Goodman, John Turturro, Holly Hunter and Charles Durning (who we last saw confined to a wheelchair in The Big Lebowski).

Set in 1930s rural Mississippi, the movie opens with Clooney, Nelson and Turturro escaping from a chain gang to seek their fortune. The action (and laughs) begin right away, with the boys trying to hop a freight train while still chained together - and it only gets funnier from there. From sirens to sheriffs, the boys go through heaven and hell...but they sure have a great time doing it.

As I said before, anyone who is a Coen fan needs to see this movie. However, those whose movie tastes run toward big-budget blockbusters in the tradition of Titanic will probably not enjoy O Brother, Where Art Thou? as much. Still, no matter who you are, the movie is a pretty entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. Do yourself a favor and go rent this movie. Odds are, you'll be back here buying it before too long.

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