O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey", set in the deep south during the 1930's. In it, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers:

Homer (epic poem "The Odyssey"), Ethan Coen,

Stars:

George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Clooney	...	Everett McGill
John Turturro	...	Pete Hogwallop
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Delmar O'Donnell
John Goodman	...	Big Dan Teague
Holly Hunter	...	Penny
Chris Thomas King	...	Tommy Johnson
Charles Durning	...	Pappy O'Daniel
Del Pentecost	...	Junior O'Daniel
Michael Badalucco	...	George Nelson
J.R. Horne	...	Pappy's Staff
Brian Reddy	...	Pappy's Staff
Wayne Duvall	...	Homer Stokes
Ed Gale	...	The Little Man
Ray McKinnon	...	Vernon T. Waldrip
Daniel von Bargen	...	Sheriff Cooley (as Daniel Von Bargen)

Storyline

Loosely based on Homer's 'Odyssey' the movie deals with the picaresque adventures of Everett Ulysses McGill and his companions Delmar and Pete in 1930s Mississipi. Sprung from a chain gang and trying to reach Everetts home to recover the buried loot of a bank heist they are confronted by a series of strange characters. Among them sirens, a cyclops, bank robber George 'Babyface' Nelson (very annoyed by that nickname), a campaigning Governor, his opponent, a KKK lynch mob, and a blind prophet, who warns the trio that "the treasure you seek shall not be the treasure you find."

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Plot Keywords:

bank | siren | 1930s | prophet | chain gang | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes, you have to lose your way to get back home

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Genres:

Comedy | Adventure | Crime | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Mercury Records: Soundtrack information.

Country:

UK France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dónde estás, hermano?

Filming Locations:

Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$195,104 (USA) (29 December 2000)

Gross:

$45,506,619 (USA) (3 August 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Universal Pictures, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character, Pappy O'Daniel, was a direct reference to Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel who was sales manager for Burrus Flour Mills in Ft. Worth TX around 1925. He hired Light Crust Doughboys as the band to advertise Burrus' Light Crust Flour on a radio show that he served as announcer for, and ultimately hired Bob Wills to front the band. He started W Lee O'Daniels Hillbilly Brand Flour in 1935. Bob Wills took the majority of the Light Crust Doughboys with him when he and Pappy parted ways, bitterly, to form Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys. The replacement band was known as W. Lee O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys and used his power to buy advertising to promote Western Swing music, religion, his flour and himself. He used his notoriety as a radio host to successfully run for Governor of Texas, twice. He also served as Senator from Texas for two terms, once beating Lyndon B. Johnson in 1942, then a Houston school teacher.

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Goofs

The song "You Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis was not written until 1939 and not recorded and released until 1940. The calendar at the radio station puts the year at 1937, three years too early. The filmmakers knew this.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ulysses Everett McGill: Say, any of you boys smithies? Or, if not smithies per se, were you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts before straitened circumstances forced you into a life of aimless wanderin'?

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Crazy Credits

Title Design and Other Cool Stuff Balsmeyer & Everett, Inc.

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Connections

Referenced in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Lost in Translation (2006)

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Soundtracks

"In the Jailhouse Now"
(1928)
Written by Jimmie Rodgers
Performed by Tim Blake Nelson and Pat Enright

User Reviews

A Serious Comedy with wonderful characters

The Coen Brothers have truly outdone themselves in this wonderful saga of three escaped convicts. Though it is based on "The Odyssey," the ancient work of Homer, you do not have to have read "The Odyssey" to be able to follow the story. The brothers Coen have woven a tapestry of celluloid and aural delights! The soundtrack is intrinsic to the film, indeed it is as though the soundtrack is the product and the film is wrapping paper. Each character is wonderfully exploited and harkens back to the days of old when films were rich with character actors whose very appearance in the film adds richness, texture and authenticity. George Clooney is magnificent as the grease haired Everett Ulysses McGill, a honest con on the run whose pompous linguistics and vocabulary are comical and endearing. O Brother, Where Art Thou is easily the best Coen film to date as well as Clooney's best effort. Clooney is good enough to warrant a best actor nomination as is Tim Blake Nelson's portrayal of the dimwitted friend Delmar, while the film itself is deserving of a Best film nod.