Product Details

• Actors: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter
• Directors: Joel Coen, Roger Deakins
• Writers: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Touchstone
• DVD Release Date: June 12, 2001
• Run Time: 107 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (919 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CXRM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,104 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #62 in Movies & TV > DVD > Action & Adventure
  • #68 in Movies & TV > DVD > Comedy
• Learn more about "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Only Joel and Ethan Coen, the fraternal director and producer team behind art-house hits such as The Big Lebowski and Fargo and masters of quirky and ultra-stylish genre subversion, would dare nick the plot line of Homer's Odyssey for a comic picaresque saga about three cons on the run in 1930s Mississippi. Our wandering hero in this case is one Ulysses Everett McGill, a slick-tongued wise guy with a thing about hair pomade (George Clooney, blithely sending up his own dapper image) who talks his chain-gang buddies (Coen-movie regular John Turturro and newcomer Tim Blake Nelson) into lighting out after some buried loot he claims to know of. En route they come up against a prophetic blind man on a railroad truck, a burly, one-eyed baddie (the ever-magnificent John Goodman), a trio of sexy singing ladies, a blues guitarist who's sold his soul to the devil, a brace of crooked politicos on the stump, a manic-depressive bank robber, and--well, you get the idea. Into this, their most relaxed film yet, the Coens have tossed a beguiling ragbag of inconsequential situations, a wealth of looping, left-field dialogue, and a whole stash of gags both verbal and visual. O Brother (the title's lifted from Preston Sturges's classic 1941 comedy Sullivan's Travels) is furthermore graced with glowing, burnished photography from Roger Deakins and a masterly soundtrack from T-Bone Burnett that pays loving homage to American '30s folk styles--blues, gospel, bluegrass, jazz, and more. And just to prove that the brothers haven't lost their knack for bad-taste humor, we get a Ku Klux Klan rally choreographed like a cross between a Nuremberg rally and a Busby Berkeley musical. --Philip Kemp

Product Description

Disenchanted with the daily drudge of crushing rocks on a prison farm in Mississippi, the dapper, silver-tongued Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney, THE PERFECT STORM) busts loose. Except he's still shackled to his own chain-mates from the chain gang -- bad-tempered Pete (John Turturro, SUMMER OF SAM), and sweet, dimwitted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson, HAMLET). With nothing to lose and buried loot to regain -- before it's lost forever in a flood -- the three embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this hilarious offbeat road picture. Populated with strange characters, including a blind prophet, sexy sirens, and a one-eyed Bible salesman (John Goodman, COYOTE UGLY), it's an odyssey filled with chases, close calls, near misses, and betrayal that will leave you laughing at every outrageous and surprising twist and turn.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

126 of 132 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Disregard this Film! December 28, 2001

By "silevine28"

Format:DVD

I watch a lot of movies and have seen all of the "classics" and O' Brother Where Art Thou rates among the best of them - no kidding! Twenty years from now, they'll be airing this film on AMC and TCM alongside the likes of North by Northwest, The Wild Bunch and How Green Was My Valley.

The story is completely engrossing and the cinematography is stunning. Realize that filming took place in June/July when the Southern countryside was a lush, verdant green. That bone dry, depression-era dust bowl aesthetic is a wonder of digital editing.

The Coen brothers have done two things that are all too rare in Hollywood these days. First, their screenplay is original (yes, it's loosely based on Homer's Odyssey but to evaluate the film solely on this narrative framework is to overlook the other aspects of the film). Second, they've produced a film that captivates not with multi-million dollar action sequences and the latest Moby track but with great dialogue and an authentic blues/bluegrass soundtrack (well worth buying) that is as much a character in the movie as the three principals - Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), Delmar O'Donnell (Tim Blake Nelson) and Pete Hogwallop (John Turturro). The eclectic cast (that also includes Charles Durning, Holly Hunter, Stephen Root and John Goodman) turns in superbly acted performances across the board. Clooney, who all too often plays 2 dimensional characters, gives an award-worthy performance in what is unquestionably his best role to date. Those not familiar with Nelson or Turturro will be impressed by these wonderfully skilled actors.

I will say that a lot of people have told me that they didn't care for this film, which I find incomprehensible. I'm not sure what more you could ask for in a movie.

84 of 88 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Come on in, Boys, the Water is Fine... January 28, 2006

By Anthony Toohey

Format:DVD

I'm a big fan of the Coen Bros., including Raising Arizona, and esp. Fargo, so I was expecting to enjoy this.

What I was not expecting was that I would be absolutely enraptured by it. I was so enveloped by the sense of place, the razor sharp acting, the constant self-inflicted misfortune, and especially the music. The music! What a stunning, skillfully rendered and executed soundtrack. I didn't realize what I was missing all these years, ignoring bluegrass the way I did.

Well, back to the movie.

I don't have to repeat all about the movie being based on Homer's Odyssey... oops, just did. Well, that aside, I spent some time thinking about what touched me and made this so enjoyable, more than nearly every other movie I've ever seen. I found many things.

Of course, the casting is delightful. Where do you find people who can pull off Clooney's sidekicks the way they did. If I met John Turturro or Tim Blake Nelson on the street, I would probably be just shocked to find they aren't doltish hillbillies! John Goodman is a perfect cyclops, in a goofy, ominous, hulkish way, and Christ Thomas King, who I believe is really known for his guitar playing, still plays the understated Tommy Johnson beautifully, as if it makes perfect sense to meet the devil at a crossroads in the middle of nowhere and sell your soul to him for a good dose of guitar skill. I could go on and on about the cast, but you won't find a sour note in there. You'll be convinced that none of these people could live anywhere but the Depression ear South.... Before I move on from the cast, something that goes unmentioned a lot, is the brilliant performances by some of the bit players, such as Frank Collison as Wash Hogwallop, Stephen Root as the Radio Station guy, and Millford Fortenberry as the Geographical Oddity storekeeper. It may seem easy to do a small part for a little time, but this really underscores the Coen Bros. talent for getting a pitch perfect performance from every actor, no matter how small the part.

Much has been made of the music... and rightly so! I suppose it was less than surprising to learn that the music was actually a large part of the genesis of this movie. You could almost say that this is a musical of sorts, not of the broadway style, but some sort of hybrid, as only the Coen Bros. can do. My favorite musical moments are probably nearly the same as everyone else's, such as Man of Constant Sorrow. How can you not just love that song? The Sirens singing Didnt' Leave Nobody But the Baby with the way they used those rags for their loose-boned and sultry rhythm would certainly be tough to resist :) O Death at a KKK rally, what a sendup that was! The horrifying ridiculousness of that strangely choreographed scene was reminiscent of everything from the Nazi's Nuremberg rally to the Wicked Witch's guards from the Wizard of Oz (tell me you don't hear an echo of their "Oh we love--Noooo one" at the beginning of that scene.) But I have to admit I was strangely moved and affected by my favorite scene, Down in the River to Pray, the baptism scene. There was something beautiful, serene, and noble about those people in white, moving toward a turning point of purity and devotion down to be immersed in their new life. I loved it, utterly.

You may have noticed by this time that I haven't really mentioned Clooney but in passing. There's a reason for that. Probably the one thing that most deeply moved me was the character of Ulysses Everett McGill. Though it's not obvious at first, I think Everett is a beautifully developed, complex character. As the movie went on, I began to see him as insecure, loaded with good intentions, but without the inner strength to carry them out, full of regrets, yet a slave to his own passions and his desire to be admired. When we begin to realize that what Everett's looking for is to get his wife back, the whole situation seems just delightfully silly at first. But underneath, Clooney manages to display McGill's sensitive and wounded heart. He's terribly insecure and masks his insecurity with too much talk and a know-it-all attitude, as well as his addiction to Dapper Dan and his own appearance. A very telling scene is in the Geographical Oddity shop, when he obviously wants to tell off the shopkeeper who can't get his car part or his Dapper Dan for two weeks. He's mad and looks to storm out, but instead he crumbles and buys the pomade and hair nets. I think a lot of people miss that one. Everett is lost in a mess of his own making and is desperate to find that one rope strong enough to pull him out of the hole he's in. I think we all know people, or have one time *been* people who have become mired in their poor decisions and are further derailed by their attempts to circumvent the consequences. When people like this get that one opportunity to escape their pattern of failure they often miss it, but once in a while they grab hold and make it. I'll let you see what really happens in the movie, but George Clooney and the Coen Bros. have wrought a beautiful, tragically flawed, yet good and loving at heart protagonist and should be long recognized for it.

I cannot recommend this movie enough, aside from what I've mentioned, it is loaded with fun and frolic, good and evil and the strange, enormous grey area in between, tragedy and triumph. Some of the lines and gags in this movie are priceless and the sort of thing you find yourself saying to friends at odd times just to crack things up (Do - Not - Seek - the Treasssure!) It bears multiple watchings well, as there are so many little details to pick up on, and its fun to find the direct Odyssey references within, some of them less obvious than others.

I'm not sure it's ever been so easy to give a movie five stars. Read more ›

101 of 116 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A triumph of a movie, thoroughly enjoyable June 4, 2001

By yarden

The Coen brothers have a cult following, but until I saw this movie, I didn't count myself among the masses that love the Coens. However, with this movie, this brother team has cemented their reputation as serious and skilled filmmakers with a lot to say and a stylish way of saying it.

This movie is a loose retelling of "The Odyssey" by Homer, set in the Depression-era Deep South. George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson make an unlikely team of escaped convicts who embark on a journey of the weird and wonderful. Watch for the appearance of many famous Odyssey allusions, such as the Sirens and the Cyclops (among others). The Coens' quirky take on this classic tale is delightful and perfectly executed, and the script is beautifully and humorously written. The sets and filming are artistic and a bit mythical, and the casting choices are just great. The film is peopled with interesting characters, in classic Coen brothers fashion. Look for great supporting characters played by John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Charles Durning, and others.

And that's not all! Interwoven in this film are great depression-era songs and some original songs, with excellent music direction by T-bone Burnett. Who says Moulin Rouge is the first movie in a long while to take the musical format? This movie is just as much a musical as Baz Luhrmann's much-hyped movie.

I really believe that this movie reaches heights that previous Coen brothers movies (even Fargo) haven't reached. In addition, I believe this movie was slighted by the Academy during Oscar time. This movie was one of the best films of the year, and excelled in every aspect a film can be awarded for.