your favorite Coen movie?

[Kurt]

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Simple"]Blood Simple[/ame] ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985"]1985[/ame])
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_Arizona"]Raising Arizona[/ame] ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987"]1987[/ame])
Miller's Crossing ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990"]1990[/ame])
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_Fink"]Barton Fink[/ame] ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991"]1991[/ame])
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hudsucker_Proxy"]The Hudsucker Proxy[/ame] ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994"]1994[/ame])
Fargo ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996"]1996[/ame])
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Lebowski"]The Big Lebowski[/ame] ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998"]1998[/ame])
O Brother, Where Art Thou? ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000"]2000[/ame])
The Man Who Wasn't There ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001"]2001[/ame])
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intolerable_Cruelty"]Intolerable Cruelty[/ame] ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003"]2003[/ame])
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ladykillers"]The Ladykillers[/ame] ([ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004"]2004[/ame])

http://www.coenbrothers.net

Joel and Ethan Coen, commonly called The Coen Brothers, are Jewish-American [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directors"]film directors[/ame] best known for quirky comedies such as [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_Arizona"]Raising Arizona[/ame] and [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Lebowski"]The Big Lebowski[/ame], as well as for darker [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir"]film noir[/ame] dramas such as Fargo and [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Simple"]Blood Simple[/ame]. The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, although until recently Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing, while they alternate top billing for the screenplay. The brothers work so closely and share such a strong vision of what their films are to be that actors say that they can approach either brother with a question and get the same answer. The brothers are known in the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film"]film[/ame] business as "the two-headed director". The pair are frequently credited on their own films as editor under the name "Roderick Jaynes".

 

[John R]

man, that's a tough call. my top three are, raising arizona, hudsucker proxy, and fargo. i think hudsucker proxy wins, you know, for kids.


jr

 

[Kurt]

man, that's a tough call. my top three are, raising arizona, hudsucker proxy, and fargo. i think hudsucker proxy wins, you know, for kids.


jr

http://www.youknowforkids.co.uk

 

[Mermaid]

Definitely O Brother for me. George Clooney was soooooo funny in that movie. And the way Holly Hunter was haranguing him in the closing scene! Priceless.

 

[Ocean Lover]

Love Raisin Arizona but Oh Brother has to be my favorite.

Well, ain't it a small world, spiritually speaking. Pete and Delmar just been baptized and saved. I guess I'm the only one that remains unaffiliated.
-Ulysses Everett McGill

 

[Kurt]

Love Raisin Arizona but Oh Brother has to be my favorite.

​

Well, ain't it a small world, spiritually speaking. Pete and Delmar just been baptized and saved. I guess I'm the only one that remains unaffiliated.
-Ulysses Everett McGill

It's on TBS right now. It is a masterpiece.

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]NOTES: [/size][size=-1]During the post production of O Brother, Where Art Thou? the American Humane Society took a lot of convincing before they were convinced that the cow that Babyface Nelson's car runs down, wasn't a real cow. The final special effect was so realistic that they had to be shown every stage of the CG animation from wire-frame to finished effect before granting the movie their seal of approval. "Oh, George, not the livestock".[/size][/font][/font]​

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]George Clooney (Ulysses Everett McGill) gave the singing scenes his all. He really did sing but was, ultimately, over-dubbed by Bluegrass legend, Dan Tyminski. John Turturro (Pete Hogwallop) was also dubbed. However, Tim Blake Nelson's (Delmar O'DOnnell) voice was deemed angelic enough to remain untouched.[/size][/font][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]The entire movie had it's colour palette digitally muted, giving it it's distinctive sepia-esque hue, in post-production by cinematographer, Roger Deakins. Apparently this was a cinematic first.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]The title is taken from the Preston Sturges movie Sullivan's Travels. In it, Joel McCrae plays a movie director whose dream movie is called, O Brother, Where Art Thou?[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]Clooney signed on to star in the movie without even reading the script. He once said in an interview that "everyone wants to work with these guys [the Coen brothers]".[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]When Tommy Johnson describes what the Devil looked like he matches the description of Sheriff Cooley exaclty. Hollow eyes are the reflective lenses of his sunglasses (often reflecting fire). The "mean old hound" is his blood hound. And the booming voice is his megaphone.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]The woman who asks for the Soggy Bottom Boys record in the store was played by Gillian Welch, one of the many contributors to the award winning soundtrack.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]You can read the lyrics for the entire soundtrack (CD) by clicking here.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]Since the movie is apparenlty based on Homer's The Odyssey we should probably mention the references to it; The names of Clooney and Holly Hunter's characters are Ulysses and Penelope; Big Dan Teague is an obvious cyclops; the women doing their laundry in the river are obvious Sirens; Penelope marrying someone else when Ulysses arrives home; the old-man disguise; the metamorphosis of one of Ulysses friends into an animal; the Baptists as the Lotus Eaters; the Ku Klux Klan has a rank of Grand Cyclops; the blind prophet; the seven daughters of Ulysses are substitutes for the Seven Sisters; the Ku Klux Klan rally replaces the trip through Hell; Ulysses almost drowned but is saved by clinging to a piece of floating wood; Pappy O'Daniel's first name is Menelaus, the name of the King who declared war on Troy; the Latin equivillent of Odysseus is Ulysses; "O Muse sing in me" is the first line in The Odyssey; cattle killing; every time Ulysses sleeps something bad happens; in The Odyssey Odysseus is described a a "man who is in constant sorrow"; HOMER Stokes. There are probably more.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]All this and the Coens claim not to have read The Odyssey...[/size][/font]


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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]AWARDS: [/size][size=-1]Nominated for Best Cinematography, Academy Awards, 2001
Nominated for Adapted Screenplay, Academy Awards, 2001
Winner Golden Globe Award, Best Actor for George Clooney, 2001 [/size]
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[Rudyjohn]

Blood Simple. That's their best by far, imo.

 

[Kurt]

Blood Simple. That's their best by far, imo.

:clap_1:

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]SYNOPSIS: [/size][size=-1]This critically-acclaimed thriller set in rural Texas combines chilling suspense with offbeat humour to create an all-American version of the classic "film noir."[/size][/font]​

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]Abby (Frances McDorman) is cheating on her saloonkeeper husband, Marty (Dan Hedaya). The object of her affections is Ray (John Getz), one of Marty's bartenders. Marty hires Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), an unscrupulous detective, to kill them but Visser has other, more lucrative plans of his own. So begins a calculating round of double and triple crosses that build to a bloodcurdling, surprise-filled climax. It's an evil-minded masterpiece from the exciting filmmaking team of Joel and Ethan Coen.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]In Blood Simple, when someone's gone... it's never for good![/size][/font]


[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]

[/size][/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]NOTES: [/size][size=-1]In 2001 there was a limited cinema release of a "Director's Cut" of Blood Simple which is now available on R1 DVD.[/size][/font][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]For the re-release of the movie in 2001 George Ives played a fictional film historian from fiction film restoration company, Forever Young. He reprised this role in for the 2005 release of The Big Lebowski Collector's Edition DVD. He has also played a lawyer for the Coens in both The Man Who Wasn't There and Intolerable Cruelty.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]The Coen brothers gained the required finance for the movie by making a short "trailer" before the movie was in production, it "starred" Bruce Campell as Marty, the role later filled by Dan Hedaya.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]Holly Hunter was originally chosen for the role of Abby, but she thought her roommate, Frances McDormand, was better suited and recommended her to Joel and Ethan. She, of course, got the gig and later went on to marry Joel.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]When Marty meets Visser at the overlook to discuss the murders of Abby and Ray, Visser recounts a story about a friend of his who has two broken hands. The friend's name is, Creighton. An unusual forename for sure, yet one shared by Jon Polito's character in The Man Who Wasn't There- Creighton Tolliver, the pansy. A coincidence?[/size][/font]


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[/size][/font][/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]AWARDS: [/size][size=-1]Grand Jury Prize, United States Film Festival, 1984
Best Dramatic Feature, Sundance Film Festival, 1985
Best Director, Independent Spirit Award, Independent Film Project, 1986
Best Actor (M. Emmet Walsh), Independent Spirit Award, Independent Film Project, 1986 [/size]
[/font][/font][/font]

 

[Kurt]

man, that's a tough call. my top three are, raising arizona, hudsucker proxy, and fargo. i think hudsucker proxy wins, you know, for kids.

jr

Jennifer Jason Leigh was amazing.

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]SYNOPSIS: [/size][size=-1]Hudsucker Industries is flourishing. Profits are stupendous, and stock is at an all-time high. So when their founder, Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning- Moonstruck, Suspect) leaps to his death from the 44th floor, his board of directors is thrown into panic. Hudsucker has not left a will, and his majority shareholding in the company must therefore soon be offered for sale to the public. But scheming Vice President Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman- The Sting, Nobody's Fool) has a plan. He'll install a complete imbecile as Chairman and devalue the stock to a level where the rest of the board can acquire controlling interests for themselves. [/size][/font][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]Enter inexperienced college leaver Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins- The Player, The Shawshank Redemption), a modest mail-room worker who suddenly finds himself elevated to Company Chairman. Not surprisingly, such a tale of rags-to-riches soon attracts considerable interest from the press in the form of gorgeous star reporter Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh- Single White Female, Backdraft). [/size][/font]​

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]As stock values plummet, everything appears to be going according to plan- untill Norville actually does the unimaginable and invents a brilliant company-saving idea... something that captures the imagination of an entire nation. [/size][/font]


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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]NOTES: The Hudsucker Proxy was a massive gamble for the Coen brothers, but more of a gamble for Joel Silver who bank-rolled the movie to the tune of $40 million. It was their largest budget at the time and made less than ?3 million at the US box office. It wasn't until it's release on video that it found an audience.[/size][/font][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]The alternatives to the name Hula Hoop that the brainstormers come up with include; The Flying Donut, Dancing Dingus, Belly-go-round, The Swingerina, Uncle Midriff, The Hipser, Daddy-O, The Shazzammeter, The Wacky Circumference, The Hoopsucker and The Hudswinger.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]Buzz, the lift operator's full name is Clarence Gunderson, which can be seen by viewing this still. Gunderson is, of course, the surname of Marge's husband, Norm, in Fargo but did you know it was also Bunnie Lebowski's real name? As evidenced by DaFino's (Jon Polito's private Dick) line, "The Gundersons. It's a wandering daughter job. Bunny Lebowski, man. Her real name is Fawn Gunderson. Her parents want her back."[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]The mailroom orientation takes precisely one minute. Which was then probably docked from Noville's pay.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]Apparently, in November 1999 there was a stage production of The Hudsucker Proxy put on by the University of Pittsburgh which, judging by the photos, looked pretty darned good. Check it out HERE. Thanks to Camille for the link.[/size][/font]

 

[Rudyjohn]

We've watched it (Blood Simple) many, many times. Even my mother-in-law owns it! Fargo is almost as good. The other comedies, with the exception of Raising AZ, aren't nearly as interesting to me. But then again, we like the more bizarre, unusual movies. (I just didn't think Oh Brother was all that great. Kinda goofy.)
Oh well...