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EspañolO_BROTHER,_WHERE_ART_THOU?
(Redirected from O Brother, Where Art Thou)
:''For the film soundtrack, see O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack). For the unrelated Simpsons episode, see Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?''
'''O Brother, Where Art Thou?''' is a dark comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, set in Mississippi during the Great Depression (specifically, 1937). It was released in 2000.
The film stars George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. The movie is loosely based on the ''Odyssey'' by Homer. The film's American roots music soundtrack (see above) won a Grammy for Album of the Year.
The hero of the film is a dapper, smooth-talking con man named Ulysses Everett McGill (Clooney). Everett (as he is referred to in the film) escapes from a chain gang and brings along the two fellow prisoners chained to him, Pete (Turturro) and Delmar (Nelson) with the promise of recovering buried treasure from a heist. In truth, this is just a lie he tells them to get them to come along with him back to his wife and their seven daughters before she marries another man.
The movie's titles acknowledge that the work is "Based upon Homer's ''Odyssey''." The movie contains numerous references to the work, from singing ''Sirens'', to full quotations and paraphrases, as well as an encounter with a one-eyed bible salesman ''Cyclops''. Everett's ultimate challenge to the "bona fide" beau of his wife Penny is reminiscent of ''Odysseus' heroic battle against the suitors of ''Penelope''. The Coens claimed to have drawn these from memory and incidental details of Homer's epic from the 1955 filmed adaptation (Ulysses).
Apart from the ''Odyssey'', another theme of the film is the connection between old-time music (Appalachian folk and Blues) and political campaigning in the southern U.S. It also makes reference to the traditions, institutions and campaign practices of Bossism and political reform that defined Southern politics in the first half of the twentieth century. Some of this ground has been covered in films such as ''Ada'' (1961).
The Ku Klux Klan, at the time a political force of white populism, is depicted in their whirling dervish ceremonial dance and cross lighting. The character of "Pappy" O'Daniel, the Governor of Mississippi and host of the radio show ''The Flour Hour'', is closely based on W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel (D), one-time Governor of Texas and later U.S. Senator from that state. The real O'Daniel was in the flour business, and used a backing band called the Light Crust Doughboys on his radio show, rather like the Soggy Bottom Boys in the film. In one campaign, O'Daniel carried a broom, an oft used campaign device in the reform era, promising to sweep patronage and corruption away in Austin. His theme song had the hook, "Please pass the biscuits, Pappy," emphasizing the wholesome flour-connection. On two of these points, the movie differs: The O'Daniel of the movie used "You Are My Sunshine", the theme song of real-life Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis (D), and O'Daniel's opponent Homer Stokes (as the challenger to O'Daniel, the incumbent) is the "reform candidate" who uses a broom as a prop.
Much of the music used is from Appalachian folk music, including that of Virginia folk/bluegrass singer Ralph Stanley. The music selection is drawn from spiritual music of this region, including that of the Primitive Baptist Church, and other popular religious music. There is a notable use of dirges and other macabre songs, a theme which often recurs in Appalachian Music ("Oh Death," "Lonesome Valley," "Angel Band") in contrast to bright or corrective songs ("Keep On the Sunnyside," "You Are My Sunshine") in other parts of the movie. These songs lend a spiritual air and deeper allegory to the comedic film.
The lead guitarist of the Soggy Bottom Boys is a direct reference to the Delta Blues artist Tommy Johnson, who is known to have claimed that he sold his soul to the devil in return for being able to play the guitar. To many viewers bluesman Robert Johnson would be a more familiar name, and a similar soul-selling story has been attached to him (though not promulgated by himself), but T-Bone Burnett has explained that the character was not meant to represent Robert Johnson.[1]
The title of the film is a reference to a plot element in a satirical 1941 film, directed by Preston Sturges, called ''Sullivan's Travels'', where the protagonist (a director) wants to direct a film on the Great Depression called ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' that will be "...a commentary on modern conditions, stark realism, the problems that confront the average man... with a little sex in it." Lacking any real experience as an average man, the director sets out on a journey to experience the human suffering of the average man but is constantly returned to his rich Hollywood environment. The director's experience and intent in ''Sullivan's Travels'' are the opposite of the disadvantaged heroes in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' who wish to return home and are constantly being diverted from it.
The Soggy Bottom Boys are the fictitious Depression era "old-timey music" trio and accompaniment from the movie ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?''. The name Soggy Bottom Boys is probably both a reference to the famous Foggy Mountain Boys bluegrass band of the 1940s with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, but also a humorous name given the two backup singers who were wet from being baptized earlier in the film. Their hit single is Dick Burnett's "Man of Constant Sorrow", a song which had already enjoyed much success in real life.
After the film's release, the fictional band became so popular that the actual talents behind the music (who were dubbed into the movie) Ralph Stanley, John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Dan Tyminski and others, performed music from ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' in a ''Down from the Mountain'' concert tour and film.
The voices behind the Soggy Bottom Boys were well-known bluegrass musicians: Union Station's Dan Tyminski (lead on "Man of Constant Sorrow"), Nashville songwriter Harley Allen, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band's Pat Enright. The three won a CMA Award for Single of the Year and a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, both for the song "Man of Constant Sorrow." Tim Blake Nelson, playing Delmar O'Donnell in the movie (one of the Soggy Bottom Boys) sang the lead vocal himself for the song "In the Jailhouse Now."
"Man of Constant Sorrow" has five variations: two are used in the movie, one in the music video and two in the soundtrack. Two of the variations feature the verses being sung back-to-back, and the other three variations feature additional music between each verse. "Man of Constant Sorrow" also received significant radio airplay, and charted at #35 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in 2002.
In 2003 musicians Skeewiff remixed "Man of Constant Sorrow." The song was so popular in Australia that it featured at number 96 in the Triple J's hottest 100 songs of 2003.
The scene in which the Soggy Bottom Boys receive a full pardon from the Governor is loosely based on true events involving the convicted musical group The Prisonaires. They recorded their hit, Just Walkin’ in the Rain, in Sun Studios chained together and under the watchful eye of an armed guard. The song was so popular that the Governor gave the group all a full pardon.
One of the notable features of the film is its groundbreaking use of digital color correction to give the film its sepia tinted look.
"''Ethan and Joel favored a dry, dusty Delta look with golden sunsets''" cinematographer Roger Deakins said. "''They wanted it to look like an old, hand-tinted picture with the intensity of colors dictated by the scene, and natural skin tones that were all shades of the rainbow.''"
It was the fifth film on which the Coen Brothers worked now slated to be shot in Mississippi at a time of year when the foliage, grass, trees and bushes would be lush green. After shooting tests, including film by-pack and bleach bypass techniques, Deakins suggested digital mastering. The cinematographer subsequently spent some eight weeks at Cinesite fine tuning the look, mainly desaturating green and timing the digital files.
It was the first feature film to be entirely color corrected by digital means, narrowly beating Nick Park's'' Chicken Run''.
For his efforts Deakins was recognized with both Oscar and ASC Outstanding Achievement Award nominations for his work on the film. [2]
★ George Clooney (Ulysses Everett McGill)
★ Tim Blake Nelson (Delmar O'Donnell)
★ John Turturro (Pete)
★ John Goodman (Big Dan Teague, the cyclops)
★ Holly Hunter (Penny McGill ''nee'' Wharvey)
★ Charles Durning (Governor Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel)
★ Chris Thomas King (Tommy Johnson)
★ Daniel von Bargen (Sheriff Cooley / "The Devil")
★ Ray McKinnon (Vernon T. Waldrip)
★ Michael Badalucco (George Nelson)
★ Stephen Root (Radio Station Man)
★ Wayne Duvall (Homer Stokes)
★ Will McSpadden (Mr. Indent)
★ Musetta Vander (Siren)
★ Christy Taylor (Siren)
★ Mia Tyler (Siren)
★ One episode of the Cartoon Network TV show Baby Looney Tunes is named, "O Brother, Warehouse Art Thou?"
1. ''Palopoli, Steve, "Joel and Ethan’s Big Adventure," ''Total Movie'', pp. 59. (cited in The Coen Brothers FAQ).
2. The Digital Domain accessed, 14 May 2007
★ Coenesque: The Films of the Coen Brothers
★ You Know, For Kids! O Brother, Where Art Thou? page
★
★
★
★ ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' at Video.com
★ Summary of ''The Odyssey'', book by book, at mythweb.com
★ Summary of ''The Odyssey'' at bookrags.com
:''For the film soundtrack, see O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack). For the unrelated Simpsons episode, see Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?''
'''O Brother, Where Art Thou?''' is a dark comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, set in Mississippi during the Great Depression (specifically, 1937). It was released in 2000.
The film stars George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. The movie is loosely based on the ''Odyssey'' by Homer. The film's American roots music soundtrack (see above) won a Grammy for Album of the Year.
| Contents |
| Plot |
| Based on Homer's the ''Odyssey'' |
| Southern music and politics |
| Title |
| Soggy Bottom Boys |
| Look of the film |
| Cast |
| References in popular culture |
| References |
| External links |
Plot
The hero of the film is a dapper, smooth-talking con man named Ulysses Everett McGill (Clooney). Everett (as he is referred to in the film) escapes from a chain gang and brings along the two fellow prisoners chained to him, Pete (Turturro) and Delmar (Nelson) with the promise of recovering buried treasure from a heist. In truth, this is just a lie he tells them to get them to come along with him back to his wife and their seven daughters before she marries another man.
Based on Homer's the ''Odyssey''
The movie's titles acknowledge that the work is "Based upon Homer's ''Odyssey''." The movie contains numerous references to the work, from singing ''Sirens'', to full quotations and paraphrases, as well as an encounter with a one-eyed bible salesman ''Cyclops''. Everett's ultimate challenge to the "bona fide" beau of his wife Penny is reminiscent of ''Odysseus' heroic battle against the suitors of ''Penelope''. The Coens claimed to have drawn these from memory and incidental details of Homer's epic from the 1955 filmed adaptation (Ulysses).
Southern music and politics
Apart from the ''Odyssey'', another theme of the film is the connection between old-time music (Appalachian folk and Blues) and political campaigning in the southern U.S. It also makes reference to the traditions, institutions and campaign practices of Bossism and political reform that defined Southern politics in the first half of the twentieth century. Some of this ground has been covered in films such as ''Ada'' (1961).
The Ku Klux Klan, at the time a political force of white populism, is depicted in their whirling dervish ceremonial dance and cross lighting. The character of "Pappy" O'Daniel, the Governor of Mississippi and host of the radio show ''The Flour Hour'', is closely based on W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel (D), one-time Governor of Texas and later U.S. Senator from that state. The real O'Daniel was in the flour business, and used a backing band called the Light Crust Doughboys on his radio show, rather like the Soggy Bottom Boys in the film. In one campaign, O'Daniel carried a broom, an oft used campaign device in the reform era, promising to sweep patronage and corruption away in Austin. His theme song had the hook, "Please pass the biscuits, Pappy," emphasizing the wholesome flour-connection. On two of these points, the movie differs: The O'Daniel of the movie used "You Are My Sunshine", the theme song of real-life Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis (D), and O'Daniel's opponent Homer Stokes (as the challenger to O'Daniel, the incumbent) is the "reform candidate" who uses a broom as a prop.
Much of the music used is from Appalachian folk music, including that of Virginia folk/bluegrass singer Ralph Stanley. The music selection is drawn from spiritual music of this region, including that of the Primitive Baptist Church, and other popular religious music. There is a notable use of dirges and other macabre songs, a theme which often recurs in Appalachian Music ("Oh Death," "Lonesome Valley," "Angel Band") in contrast to bright or corrective songs ("Keep On the Sunnyside," "You Are My Sunshine") in other parts of the movie. These songs lend a spiritual air and deeper allegory to the comedic film.
The lead guitarist of the Soggy Bottom Boys is a direct reference to the Delta Blues artist Tommy Johnson, who is known to have claimed that he sold his soul to the devil in return for being able to play the guitar. To many viewers bluesman Robert Johnson would be a more familiar name, and a similar soul-selling story has been attached to him (though not promulgated by himself), but T-Bone Burnett has explained that the character was not meant to represent Robert Johnson.[1]
Title
DVD cover for the film
The title of the film is a reference to a plot element in a satirical 1941 film, directed by Preston Sturges, called ''Sullivan's Travels'', where the protagonist (a director) wants to direct a film on the Great Depression called ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' that will be "...a commentary on modern conditions, stark realism, the problems that confront the average man... with a little sex in it." Lacking any real experience as an average man, the director sets out on a journey to experience the human suffering of the average man but is constantly returned to his rich Hollywood environment. The director's experience and intent in ''Sullivan's Travels'' are the opposite of the disadvantaged heroes in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' who wish to return home and are constantly being diverted from it.
Soggy Bottom Boys
The "Soggy Bottom Boys" singing Man of Constant Sorrow
The Soggy Bottom Boys are the fictitious Depression era "old-timey music" trio and accompaniment from the movie ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?''. The name Soggy Bottom Boys is probably both a reference to the famous Foggy Mountain Boys bluegrass band of the 1940s with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, but also a humorous name given the two backup singers who were wet from being baptized earlier in the film. Their hit single is Dick Burnett's "Man of Constant Sorrow", a song which had already enjoyed much success in real life.
After the film's release, the fictional band became so popular that the actual talents behind the music (who were dubbed into the movie) Ralph Stanley, John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Dan Tyminski and others, performed music from ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' in a ''Down from the Mountain'' concert tour and film.
The voices behind the Soggy Bottom Boys were well-known bluegrass musicians: Union Station's Dan Tyminski (lead on "Man of Constant Sorrow"), Nashville songwriter Harley Allen, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band's Pat Enright. The three won a CMA Award for Single of the Year and a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, both for the song "Man of Constant Sorrow." Tim Blake Nelson, playing Delmar O'Donnell in the movie (one of the Soggy Bottom Boys) sang the lead vocal himself for the song "In the Jailhouse Now."
"Man of Constant Sorrow" has five variations: two are used in the movie, one in the music video and two in the soundtrack. Two of the variations feature the verses being sung back-to-back, and the other three variations feature additional music between each verse. "Man of Constant Sorrow" also received significant radio airplay, and charted at #35 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in 2002.
In 2003 musicians Skeewiff remixed "Man of Constant Sorrow." The song was so popular in Australia that it featured at number 96 in the Triple J's hottest 100 songs of 2003.
The scene in which the Soggy Bottom Boys receive a full pardon from the Governor is loosely based on true events involving the convicted musical group The Prisonaires. They recorded their hit, Just Walkin’ in the Rain, in Sun Studios chained together and under the watchful eye of an armed guard. The song was so popular that the Governor gave the group all a full pardon.
Look of the film
One of the notable features of the film is its groundbreaking use of digital color correction to give the film its sepia tinted look.
"''Ethan and Joel favored a dry, dusty Delta look with golden sunsets''" cinematographer Roger Deakins said. "''They wanted it to look like an old, hand-tinted picture with the intensity of colors dictated by the scene, and natural skin tones that were all shades of the rainbow.''"
It was the fifth film on which the Coen Brothers worked now slated to be shot in Mississippi at a time of year when the foliage, grass, trees and bushes would be lush green. After shooting tests, including film by-pack and bleach bypass techniques, Deakins suggested digital mastering. The cinematographer subsequently spent some eight weeks at Cinesite fine tuning the look, mainly desaturating green and timing the digital files.
It was the first feature film to be entirely color corrected by digital means, narrowly beating Nick Park's'' Chicken Run''.
For his efforts Deakins was recognized with both Oscar and ASC Outstanding Achievement Award nominations for his work on the film. [2]
Cast
★ George Clooney (Ulysses Everett McGill)
★ Tim Blake Nelson (Delmar O'Donnell)
★ John Turturro (Pete)
★ John Goodman (Big Dan Teague, the cyclops)
★ Holly Hunter (Penny McGill ''nee'' Wharvey)
★ Charles Durning (Governor Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel)
★ Chris Thomas King (Tommy Johnson)
★ Daniel von Bargen (Sheriff Cooley / "The Devil")
★ Ray McKinnon (Vernon T. Waldrip)
★ Michael Badalucco (George Nelson)
★ Stephen Root (Radio Station Man)
★ Wayne Duvall (Homer Stokes)
★ Will McSpadden (Mr. Indent)
★ Musetta Vander (Siren)
★ Christy Taylor (Siren)
★ Mia Tyler (Siren)
References in popular culture
★ One episode of the Cartoon Network TV show Baby Looney Tunes is named, "O Brother, Warehouse Art Thou?"
References
1. ''Palopoli, Steve, "Joel and Ethan’s Big Adventure," ''Total Movie'', pp. 59. (cited in The Coen Brothers FAQ).
2. The Digital Domain accessed, 14 May 2007
External links
★ Coenesque: The Films of the Coen Brothers
★ You Know, For Kids! O Brother, Where Art Thou? page
★
★
★
★ ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' at Video.com
★ Summary of ''The Odyssey'', book by book, at mythweb.com
★ Summary of ''The Odyssey'' at bookrags.com
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