''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is a 2000
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
comedy-drama
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by
Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...
,
John Turturro, and
Tim Blake Nelson
Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor, writer, and director. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in ''Minority Report (film), Minori ...
, with
Charles Durning,
Michael Badalucco,
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...
and
Holly Hunter in supporting roles.
The film is set in rural
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
in 1937, and it follows three escaped convicts searching for hidden treasure while a sheriff relentlessly pursues them. Its story is a modern
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
which, while incorporating social features of the
American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...
, is loosely based on
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
's epic
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
poem ''
The Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
''. Some examples of this include
Sirens, a
Cyclops
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...
, and the main character's name, "Ulysses", which is the Roman name for "
Odysseus
In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...
". The title of the film is a reference to the 1941
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director.
He is credited as being the first screenwriter to find success as a director. Prior to Sturges, other ...
film ''
Sullivan's Travels'', in which the protagonist is a director who wants to film ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'', a fictitious book about the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
.
Much of the music used in the film is period
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
.
The movie was one of the first to extensively use digital
color correction
Color correction is a process used in stage lighting, photography, television, cinematography, and other disciplines, which uses color gels, or filters, to alter the overall color of the light. Typically the light color is measured on a scale k ...
to give the film an autumnal
sepia-tinted look.
It was released by
Buena Vista Pictures in North America, while
Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
, through
United International Pictures
United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M ...
, released it in other countries. The film was met with a positive critical reception, and the soundtrack won a
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the The Recording Academy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the r ...
in 2002.
The country and folk musicians who were
dubbed into the film include
John Hartford,
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...
,
Dan Tyminski,
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...
,
Gillian Welch,
Ralph Stanley,
Chris Sharp, and
Patty Loveless. They joined to perform the music from the film on the ''
Down from the Mountain'' concert tour. One of the performances was filmed and released as a documentary.
Plot
Three convicts, Pete, Delmar and leader Ulysses Everett McGill, escape from a
chain gang to retrieve a buried treasure before the area is flooded to make a lake. The three get a lift from a blind man driving a
handcar
A handcar (also known as a pump trolley, pump car, rail push trolley, push-trolley, jigger, Kalamazoo, velocipede, gandy dancer cart, platelayers' cart, draisine, or railbike) is a railroad car powered by its passengers or by people pushing t ...
on a railway. He tells them they will find a fortune, but not the one they seek. The trio make their way to the house of Wash, Pete's cousin, who breaks off their shackles and feeds them. They sleep in the barn, but Wash reports them to Sheriff Cooley, who, along with his men, torches the barn. Wash's son helps them escape. The next day, Pete and Delmar get baptized in a river, but Everett refuses to join them.
They pick up Tommy Johnson, a young black man who claims he
sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the ability to play guitar. In need of money, the four stop at a radio station where they record a song as the Soggy Bottom Boys. That night, the trio part ways with Tommy after their car is discovered by the police, and they briefly fall in with outlaw
Baby Face Nelson. Unbeknownst to them, the recording becomes a major hit.
Near a river, the group hears singing. They see three women washing clothes and singing. The women give them
corn whiskey and they lose consciousness. Upon waking, Delmar finds Pete's clothes lying next to him, empty except for a toad. Delmar is convinced the women were
Sirens who transformed Pete into the toad. Later, one-eyed Bible salesman Big Dan invites them for a picnic lunch, then mugs them and kills the toad.
On their way to Everett's hometown, Everett and Delmar see Pete working on a chain gang. Upon arriving Everett confronts his wife Penny, who has changed her last name and told his daughters he was dead. He gets into a fight with Vernon, her new "suitor". Later that night, they sneak into Pete's holding cell and free him. As it turns out, the women had dragged Pete away and turned him in to the authorities. Under torture, Pete gave away the treasure's location to the police. Everett then confesses that there is no treasure. He made it up to persuade the men with whom he was chained to escape with him in order to stop his wife from getting remarried. Pete is enraged at Everett, because he had two weeks left on his original sentence, and will likely face fifty more years for the escape.
The trio stumble upon a
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
rally, who are planning to lynch Tommy. The trio disguise themselves as Klansmen and move to rescue Tommy. However, Big Dan, a Klan member, reveals their identities. Chaos ensues, and the
Grand Wizard
The grand wizard (sometimes called the imperial wizard or national director) is the national leader of several different Ku Klux Klan organizations in the United States and abroad.
The title "Grand Wizard" was used by the first Klan which was fo ...
reveals himself as Homer Stokes, a candidate in the upcoming gubernatorial election. The trio rush Tommy away and cut the supports of a large burning cross, immolating Big Dan.
Everett persuades Pete, Delmar and Tommy to help him win his wife back. They sneak into a Stokes campaign gala dinner she is attending, disguised as
hillbilly
''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...
musicians. The group begins a performance of their radio hit. The crowd recognizes the song and goes wild. Homer recognizes them as the group who humiliated his mob. When he demands the group be arrested and reveals his white supremacist views, the crowd
runs him out of town on a rail. Pappy O'Daniel, the incumbent candidate, seizes the opportunity, endorses the Soggy Bottom Boys and grants them full pardons. Penny agrees to remarry Everett with the condition that he find her original ring.
The next morning, the group sets out to retrieve the ring, which is at a cabin in the valley which Everett had earlier claimed was the location of his treasure. The police, having learned of the place from Pete, arrest the group. Dismissing their claims of having received pardons, Sheriff Cooley orders them hanged. As Everett prays to God, the valley is flooded and they are saved. Tommy finds the ring in a desk that floats by, and they return to town. However, when Everett presents the ring to Penny, it turns out it was her aunt's ring. She declares that she will not marry him with that ring, but only her wedding ring, which is still lost. As the film ends, the blind man on the handcar is seen once more.
Cast
*
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...
as Ulysses Everett McGill. He corresponds to
Odysseus
In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...
(Ulysses) in the ''Odyssey''.
His singing voice is dubbed by
Dan Tyminski.
*
John Turturro as Pete Hogwallop. Along with Delmar, Pete represents Odysseus' soldiers who travel with him from Troy to Ithaca, seeking to return home. His singing is dubbed by
Harley Allen.
*
Tim Blake Nelson
Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor, writer, and director. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in ''Minority Report (film), Minori ...
as Delmar O'Donnell. Nelson does his own singing on "
In the Jailhouse Now", but otherwise his singing is dubbed by
Pat Enright.
*
Chris Thomas King as Tommy Johnson, a skilled blues musician. He shares his name and story with
Tommy Johnson, a blues musician who is said to have sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads (also attributed to
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...
).
*
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...
as Daniel "Big Dan" Teague, a one-eyed mugger and Ku Klux Klan member who masquerades as a Bible salesman. He corresponds to the cyclops
Polyphemus in the ''Odyssey''.
*
Holly Hunter as Penny Wharvey-McGill, Everett's ex-wife. She corresponds to
Penelope
Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...
in the ''Odyssey''.
*
Charles Durning as Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel, the grumpy governor of Mississippi. The character is based on Texas governor
W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel. He shares a name with
Menelaus
In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; ) was a Greek king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', the Trojan war began as a result of Menelaus's wife, Helen, fleeing to Troy with the Trojan prince Paris. Menelaus was a central ...
, an ''Odyssey'' character, but corresponds with
Zeus
Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus.
Zeus is the child ...
from the narrative.
*
Daniel von Bargen as Sheriff Cooley, a ruthless rural sheriff who pursues the trio for the duration of the film. He corresponds to both
Poseidon
Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...
in the ''Odyssey'' and also possibly
the devil.
He has been compared to Boss Godfrey in ''
Cool Hand Luke
''Cool Hand Luke'' is a 1967 American Prison film, prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Paul Newman and featuring George Kennedy in an Academy Awards, Oscar-winning performance. Newman stars in the title role as Luke, a pri ...
''.
*
Wayne Duvall as Homer Stokes, a candidate for governor and the leader of a Ku Klux Klan chapter. His singing is dubbed by
Ralph Stanley.
*
Ray McKinnon as Vernon T. Waldrip. He corresponds to the
Suitors of Penelope
In Greek mythology, the suitors of Penelope (also known in Latin as the ) are one of the main subjects of Homer's ''Odyssey''.
Role in the ''Odyssey''
In the ''Odyssey,'' Homer describes Odysseus' journey home from Troy. Prior to the Trojan War ...
in the ''Odyssey''.
*
Frank Collison as Washington Bartholomew "Wash" Hogwallop, Pete's cousin.
*
Michael Badalucco as
Baby Face Nelson.
*
Stephen Root
Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the NBC sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and voiced Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland on the a ...
as Mr. Lund, a blind radio station manager. He corresponds to
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
.
*
Lee Weaver as the Blind Seer, who accurately predicts the outcome of the trio's adventure. He corresponds to
Tiresias
In Greek mythology, Tiresias (; ) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, Greece, Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes (mythology), Everes and the nymph ...
in the ''Odyssey''.
* Mia Tate,
Musetta Vander, and Christy Taylor as the three "sirens". Their singing voices are dubbed by
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...
,
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...
, and
Gillian Welch.
Gillian Welch and Dan Tyminski also appear as a record store customer and a mandolinist respectively. Del Pentacost, JR Horne, and Brian Reddy appear as members of Pappy O’Daniel's staff.
Ed Gale appears as Homer Stokes' ceremonial "little man". Three members of
the Fairfield Four (Isaac Freeman, Wilson Waters Jr, and Robert Hamlett) cameo as gravediggers.
The Cox Family and
The Whites appear as fictionalized versions of themselves.
Production
The idea of ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' arose spontaneously. Work on the script began in December 1997, long before the start of production, and it was at least half-written by May 1998. Despite the fact that Ethan Coen described the ''Odyssey'' as "one of my favorite storyline schemes", neither of the brothers had read the epic, and they were only familiar with its content through adaptations and numerous references to the ''Odyssey'' in popular culture.
According to the brothers, Tim Blake Nelson (who has a degree in classics from
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
) was the only person on the set who had read the ''Odyssey''.
The title of the film is a reference to the 1941
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director.
He is credited as being the first screenwriter to find success as a director. Prior to Sturges, other ...
film ''
Sullivan's Travels'', in which the protagonist (a director) wants to direct a film about the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
called ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?''
that will be a "commentary on modern conditions, stark realism, and the problems that confront the average man". Lacking any experience in this area, the director sets out on a journey to experience the human suffering of the average man but is sabotaged by his anxious studio. The film has some similarity in tone to Sturges's film, including scenes with prison gangs and a black church choir. The prisoners at the picture show scene is also a direct homage to a nearly identical scene in Sturges's film.
Joel Coen revealed in a 2000 interview that he traveled to
Phoenix to offer the lead role to Clooney. Clooney agreed to do the role immediately, without reading the script. He stated that he liked even the Coens' least successful films. Clooney did not immediately understand his character and sent the script to his uncle Jack, who lived in Kentucky, asking him to read the entire script into a tape recorder.
Unknown to Clooney, in his recording, Jack, a devout
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
, omitted all instances of the words "damn" and "hell" from the Coens' script, which only became known to Clooney after the directors pointed this out to him during shooting.
[
This was the fourth film of the brothers in which John Turturro has starred. Other actors in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' who had worked previously with the Coens include ]John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...
(three films), Holly Hunter (two), Charles Durning (two) and Michael Badalucco (one).
The Coens used digital color correction
Color correction is a process used in stage lighting, photography, television, cinematography, and other disciplines, which uses color gels, or filters, to alter the overall color of the light. Typically the light color is measured on a scale k ...
to give the film a sepia-tinted look.[ It was filmed near locations in Canton, Mississippi; Vicksburg, Mississippi and Wardville, Louisiana.] Joel stated this was because the actual set was "greener than Ireland".[ ]Cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
Roger Deakins
Sir Roger Alexander Deakins , (born 24 May 1949) is an English cinematographer. He is the recipient of five BAFTA Awards for Best Cinematography, and two Academy Awards for Best Cinematography from sixteen nominations. He has collaborated m ...
said, "Ethan and Joel favored a dry, dusty Delta look with golden sunsets. 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." Initially the crew tried to perform the color correction using a physical process, but after several tries with various chemical processes proved unsatisfactory the process was performed digitally.[
This was the fifth film collaboration between the Coen Brothers and Deakins, and it was slated to be shot in Mississippi at a time of year when the foliage, grass, trees, and bushes would be a lush green.] It was filmed near locations in Canton, Mississippi
The city of Canton is the county seat of Madison County, Mississippi, United States, and is situated in the northern part of the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area, metropolitan area surrounding the state capital, Jackson, Mississippi, Jackso ...
, and Florence, South Carolina
Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropol ...
, in the summer of 1999. After shooting tests, including film bipack and bleach bypass techniques, Deakins suggested digital mastering be used. Deakins spent 11 weeks fine-tuning the look, mainly targeting the greens, making them a burnt yellow and desaturating the overall image in the digital files. This made it the first feature film to be entirely color corrected by digital means, narrowly beating Nick Park
Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is an English filmmaker and animator who created '' Wallace & Gromit'', '' Creature Comforts'', '' Chicken Run'', '' Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy ...
's ''Chicken Run
''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 animated adventure comedy film directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park and written by Karey Kirkpatrick from an original story by Lord and Park. Produced by Pathé and Aardman Features in partnership with DreamWork ...
''. ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' was the first time a digital intermediate
Digital intermediate (DI) is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics.
Definition and overview
A digital intermediate often replaces or a ...
was used on the entirety of a first-run Hollywood film that otherwise had very few visual effects. The work was done in Los Angeles by Cinesite
Cinesite (also known as The Cinesite Group) is an independent, multinational business which provides services to the media and entertainment industries. Its head office in London opened for business in 1994, initially offering services in visu ...
using a Spirit DataCine
Spirit DataCine is a telecine and a motion picture film scanner. This device is able to transfer 16 mm film, 16mm and 35mm movie film, 35mm Color motion picture film, motion picture film to NTSC or PAL television standards or one of many High-def ...
for scanning at 2K resolution, a Pandora MegaDef to adjust the color, and a Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
Lightning II recorder to put out to film.
A major theme of the film is the connection between old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, contra dance, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering ...
and political campaigning in the American South. It makes reference to the traditions, institutions, and campaign practices of bossism and political reform
Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
that defined Southern politics in the first half of the 20th century.
The Ku Klux Klan, at the time a political force of white populism
Populism is a essentially contested concept, contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the "common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently a ...
, is depicted burning crosses and engaging in ceremonial dance. The character Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel, the governor of Mississippi and host of the radio show ''The Flour Hour'', is similar in name and demeanor to W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, one-time Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of state of the U.S. state of Texas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Texas and is the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces.
Established in the Constit ...
and later U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
from that state. O'Daniel was in the flour business and used a backing band called the Light Crust Doughboys on his radio show. In one campaign, O'Daniel carried a broom, an oft-used campaign device in the reform era, promising to sweep away patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
and corruption. His theme song had the hook, "Please pass the biscuits, Pappy", emphasizing his connection with flour.
While the film borrows from historical politics, there are clear differences between the characters in the film and historical political figures. The O'Daniel of the movie used "You Are My Sunshine
"You Are My Sunshine" is an American standard of old-time and country music and the state song of Louisiana. Its original writer is disputed. According to the performance rights organization BMI, by the year 2000 the song had been recorded by ...
" as his theme song (which was originally recorded by singer and Governor of Louisiana James Houston "Jimmie" Davis), and Homer Stokes, as the challenger to the incumbent O'Daniel, portrays himself as the "reform candidate", using a broom as a prop.
Music
The music was originally conceived as a major component of the film, not merely as a background or a support. Producer and musician T Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. Burnett has won several Grammy Awards for his work on film sou ...
worked with the Coens while the script was still in its working phases and the soundtrack was recorded before filming commenced.
Much of the music used in the film is period-specific folk music. The selection also includes religious music such Primitive Baptist and traditional African American gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
, most notably the Fairfield Four, an ''a cappella
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
'' quartet with a career extending back to 1921. The quartet appears in the soundtrack and as gravediggers towards the film's end. Selected songs in the film reflect the possible spectrum of musical styles typical of the old culture of the American South: gospel, delta blues
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
, country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
, swing, and bluegrass.
The use of dirges and other macabre songs is a theme that often recurs in Appalachian music ("O Death", "Lonesome Valley", " Angel Band", "I Am Weary") in contrast to bright and cheerful songs ("Keep On the Sunny Side", "In the Highways") in other parts of the film.
The voices of the Soggy Bottom Boys were provided by Dan Tyminski (lead vocal on "Man of Constant Sorrow"), Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
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 sang the lead vocal on " In the Jailhouse Now". During a cast reunion at the 2020 Nashville Film Festival, George Clooney recalled being called into the recording studio and singing despite his lack of talent. It was assumed that he could sing because he was the nephew of Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...
. Despite the relation, he could not.
"Man of Constant Sorrow" has five variations: two are used in the film, one in the music video, and two in the soundtrack album. Two of the variations feature the verses being sung back-to-back, and the other three variations feature additional music between each verse. Though the song received little significant radio airplay, it reached #35 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart in 2002. The version of "I'll Fly Away" heard in the film is performed not by Krauss and Welch (as it is on the CD and concert tour), but by the Kossoy Sisters with Erik Darling accompanying on long-neck five-string banjo, recorded in 1956 for the album ''Bowling Green'' on Tradition Records
Tradition Records was an American record label from 1955 to 1966 that specialized in folk music. The label was founded and financed by Guggenheim heiress Diane Hamilton (the pseudonym of Diane Guggenheim) in 1956. Its president and director was ...
.
Release
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
on May 13, 2000, the United Kingdom on September 15, 2000 and the United States on December 22, 2000.[ It grossed $71,868,327 worldwide on a $26 million budget.]
Critical reception
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
reports that 78% of reviews critics are positive based on 158 reviews with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though not as good as Coen brothers' classics, the delightfully loopy ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is still a lot of fun." Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a weighted average, gave it a score of 69 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave two and a half out of four stars to the film, saying all the scenes in the film were "wonderful in their different ways, and yet I left the movie uncertain and unsatisfied".
Accolades
The film was selected to be part of the main competition of the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.
Soggy Bottom Boys
The Soggy Bottom Boys are the fictional musical group that the main characters form as part of the plot; their songs also serve as accompaniment for the film. It has been suggested that the name is in homage to the Foggy Mountain Boys, a bluegrass band led by Lester Flatt
Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979) was an American bluegrass (music), bluegrass guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in the duo Flatt and Scruggs.
Flatt's career spanned ...
and Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...
. In the film, the actors lip-synched the songs credited to the band, except for Tim Blake Nelson
Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor, writer, and director. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in ''Minority Report (film), Minori ...
's own voice on " In the Jailhouse Now".
The band's hit single is Dick Burnett's " Man of Constant Sorrow", a song that had enjoyed much success prior to the movie's release. After the film's release, the fictitious band became so popular that the country and folk musicians whose performances are heard on the film got together for a concert tour called Down from the Mountain, which was filmed for TV and DVD. They included Ralph Stanley, John Hartford, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...
, Gillian Welch, Chris Sharp, Stun Seymour, Dan Tyminski and others.
Notes
References
External links
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* American Studies at the University of Virginia
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2000 black comedy films
2000 films
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Cultural depictions of Baby Face Nelson
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Films directed by the Coen brothers
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