O Brother Where Art Thou

Started by modage, May 07, 2003, 12:00:32 PM

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modage

i have never met another person (besides my girlfriend) who hates O Brother Where Art Thou, and was just curious if there is anyone else like me out there.  first of all i am a huge Coen Bros. fan, i have seen ALL of their movies and loved them ever since my dad first showed me Raising Arizona when i was younger.  i was eagerly awaiting o brother and thought the previews looked great, and being the coen bros, i went on opening night.  but to my shock and horror, i missed out on the joke.  though it had its moments, i thought the music was so terrible and the story lagged so much i wanted to walk out.  i have maybe 2 times in my life wanted to leave a movie.  i just thought that this could have been compressed into a really interesting short film 20-25 min and i would have loved it, but i really hated this.  (i only saw it that once, and have not seen it since, so maybe my opinion would change upon second viewing), but imagine my surprise when it went on to become their most successful movie and the soundtrack was on the billboard charts for over a year.  just curious if anyone else had problems with this movie.  or could help explain what i missed.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

SHAFTR

I didn't like O Brother Where Art Thou either.  I watched it on a movie channel a year ago and I couldn't sit through the entire thing.  It is rare that I get 70 + mins into a movie and still don't feel like finishing the rest.  People really like it though, but not me.
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cachilders

So it wasn't your style. What's the big deal?
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Wesabeck

I liked O Brother Where Art Thou? John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Goodman all played excellent supporting roles and George Clooney actually did well in the lead.  The Coen Bros' writing was right on target and I thought that it was a faithful yet humorous adaptation of Homer's Oddesey. I don't know what you're talking about, but the soundtrack friggin rocked! I also find this film to be the Coen Bros second most quotable flick, the first obviously being the big lebowski.  

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modage

"so it wasnt your style, whats the big deal?"  there is no big deal, i was just curious as to how some of my favorite filmmakers LEAST favorite movie of mine connected with so many people.  just interesting.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

cowboykurtis

Quote from: themodernage02i have never met another person (besides my girlfriend) who hates O Brother Where Art Thou.

HATE is a strong word -- i thought the movie was fascinating, i just couldn't get into it -- i thought the slapstick element was a little much -- i have to watch it again -- i can't disregard it from one viewing -- i could've been pissed off that day or hungry or tired or bitter or horny...
...your excuses are your own...

Pedro

I really enjoyed the colors and music....Somehow the slapstick worked with me.  Really one of my favorite Coen Brothers movies.  And the Babyface Nelson cows bit was great too.

ShanghaiOrange

Oh brother!  :roll:

I like this movie. :)
Last five films (theater)
-The Da Vinci Code: *
-Thank You For Smoking: ***
-Silent Hill: ***1/2 (high)
-Happy Together: ***1/2
-Slither: **

Last five films (video)
-Solaris: ***1/2
-Cobra Verde: ***1/2
-My Best Fiend: **1/2
-Days of Heaven: ****
-The Thin Red Line: ***

©brad

Quote from: ShanghaiOrangeOh brother!  :roll:

I like this movie. :)

i'm happy to see you smiling for once.  :)

i loved o'brother! great music (love the siren scene), beautifully shot by roger deakins as usual.

i'm happy.

godardian

I didn't take to the film the first time I saw it, but when I watched it again recently on DVD, I appreciated it a lot more. I felt the same way about Big Lebowski, though. In both instances, I re-learned what I've known all along: The Coens are slipping in little things all over the place, little references and jokes, which really enliven the film if you can spot them/get them. You really need to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate these films. They're always pinpointing a time/place by exaggerating the most obvious qualities... so if you can see O Brother as a sort of playful homage/send-up of Depression films/music, media and consumerism (i.e. radio play as career-boosting publicity and the amusing signifier of Dapper Dan) and Homer, it becomes a lot more fun.
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modage

yeah.  i really have to give this film another shot.  i think i was just so upset at my initial disappointment that ive harbored an unfair prejudice against it, but seeing as how i do love the coens, i will have to give this another shot someday soon.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

dksg

I'm a brand-new member, but really had to jump in on this... I loved O, Brother-- It was one of my favorite Coens!

What I liked most about it, I think, was how beautifully they told the story of Homer's Odyssey in such a funny, but still totally faithful, way. They somehow managed to incorporate the Cyclops, the Sirens, the Blind Prophet in a story set in the Dust Bowl! Maybe because I had classical literature pushed on me in high school (in Latin, no less), I really enjoyed seeing the story from a new perspective.

If you go here here, http://us.imdb.com/Trivia?0190590, you'll see the Trivia page for O, Brother in IMDB. They go over the parallels point-by-point. I guess it's a kind of inside joke. I also loved the soundtrack even though I'm not, by nature, a bluegrass fan. It just all meshed so well.

Hope you give it another chance!

sexterossa

well i hated RAISING ARIZONA. too slapstick.
I dream of birds and sometimes they land and burst into flames. And I dream my teeth are rotting. And when I am awake, I dream of you.

modage

aww, now you're just tryin to rile me up. :x
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage

FINALLY just re-visited o brother for the first time tonite since opening nite in the theatres.  hmm...i didnt HATE it, (hate is a strong word).  but the elements that bothereed me, still boethered me. i thought the first hour was great, but i think they got bogged down in being a slave to the story and it got less funny towards the end. i loved the slapstick elements and didnt remember it being as funny as it was.  i thought george clooney was great and had some great lines.  (as was tbn and jt).  i dont mind MOST of the music, but some of it, is terrible and seems to be unneccesarily squeezed in where it doesnt need to be and for TOO LONG.  had a few sequences been scored differently i wouldve enjoyed it a lot better.  it being the coen brothers, i will probably have to buy this eventually, and give it another shot.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.