O Brother, Where Art Thou? poster & wallpaper
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George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Charles Durning, John Goodman ... see more see more... , Michael Badalucco , Holly Hunter , Stephen Root , Chris Thomas King , Wayne Duvall , Daniel von Bargen , J.R. Horne , Brian Reddy , Frank Collison , Ray McKinnon , Del Pentecost , Musetta Vander , Royce D. Applegate , Ed Gale

The writing, directing, and producing team of Joel Coen and Ethan Coen created this picaresque comedy (inspired in part by Homer's The Odyssey) set in the Deep South during the Depression. Suave and f... read more read more...ancy-talking Everett Ulysses McGill (George Clooney), dim-witted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson), and easily-excitable Pete (John Turturro) are serving time together on a prison chain gang. Everett knows where $1.2 million is hidden that's theirs for the taking, and the three manage to escape; however, a stranger soon warns them that they'll find treasure, but not the sort they're looking for. As Everett and his partners hit the road, they happen upon a gluttonous bible salesman, Big Dan Teague (John Goodman); meet up with Baby Face Nelson (Michael Badalucco) as he robs a bank; encounter three Sirens doing their washing; run into Everett's estranged wife Penny (Holly Hunter), who has told everyone her husband was killed in a train wreck; find themselves in the middle of a heated campaign between political boss Pappy O'Daniel (Charles Durning), and reformist candidate Homer Stokes (Wayne Duvall); and even find time to make a hit record as The Soggy Bottom Boys. Noted songwriter T-Bone Burnett helped compile the songs (combining vintage country blues tunes with originals in the same style), while Carter Burwell composed the background score. Incidentally, the title O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a reference to the classic Preston Sturges comedy Sullivan's Travels, in which a director plans to make a serious "message picture" with that name. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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87% liked it

226,019 ratings

Critics

77% liked it

149 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Release Date: December 22, 2000

Keywords: funny, brothers, road

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DVD Release Date: June 12, 2001

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Stats: 13,986 reviews

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Wayne Duvall The Color Guard is colored... The Soggy Bottom Boys singing in the can... Oh...my hair! Gopher, Everett? O Brother Movie poster for O Brother Where Art thou Damn! We're in a tight spot... Meeting the Sirens... O Brother, Where Art Thou? O Brother, Where Art Thou? O Brother, Where Art Thou?
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Flixster Reviews (13,986)

  • fb1664868775
    March 25, 2012
    fb1664868775
    In my opinion, this film is criminally underrated. This may be the best use of music in film I've seen (though I admit I am partial to old time blues and country music). The dialogue, especially delivered by Clooney is hilarious. Most of all the imagination behind this Homer insp... read moreired, musical journey through Mississippi is irresistible.
  • paulkoh110
    February 11, 2012
    paulkoh110
    Not a classic or coen brothers top 5 but its still goofy with its strange jokes and references. Clooney is great with his slick backed hair as he goes on a journey based off The Odyssey.
  • spielberg00
    February 5, 2012
    spielberg00
    What's relieving about O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? is the fact that it relies on its over-the-top bizarreness to stimulate an audience with laughter. This is set in the 1930s, mind you, and the characters are far enough off the wall to drive US insane with laughter. One character,... read more George ("not Babyface!") Nelson, has both a violent side and a psychotic side. We see them meld into one personality in scenes such as the one in which he tips his head out of the roof of a car, begins cackling and recklessly firing an automatic weapon.

    What's excruciating about this film is that the film goes far enough on a bizarre tangent that it often relies singularly on being an offbeat, wacky comedy, rather than building up a noticeable plot. That is to say, half the time, such as during the scene in which our trio disguises themselves as members of the Ku Klux Klan, we REALLY don't know what on Earth is going on. (And in in the most honest sense, we'd rather be left in lacking of that knowledge.)
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    July 8, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    They have a plan, but not a clue.

    Another good movie by the Coen Brothers. The movie I had to admit was better than what I expected, it was an adventure more or less for those 3 escaped convicts. This movie was good but it's one of those movies for me that I would only watch thi... read mores one time and that's it. 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. If you're a Coen or Clooney fan this is the film for you.

    Everrett Ullysus McGill, sick of breaking rocks in the heat of a Mississippi summer, escapes with his two dim accomplices, Delmar and Pete. Trying to reclaim a buried treasure before its lost forever underneath a lake, the three make their way to Everett's homestead. Along the way, they meet a conniving one-eyed Bible salesman, a blind prophet, a trio of sexy sirens, and a man who sold his soul to the devil. In their race to reach the treasure before it's flooded, they end up crashing a Ku Klux Klan lynch mob, help a sensitive Baby-Face Nelson rob three banks in two hours, and even have enough time to put out a best selling record as "The Soggy Bottom Boys."
  • blkbomb
    June 24, 2011
    blkbomb
    Everett: What'd the devil give you for your soul, Tommy?
    Tommy Johnson: Well, he taught me to play this here guitar real good.
    Delmar: Oh son, for that you sold your everlasting soul?
    Tommy Johnson: Well, I wasn't usin' it.

    O Brother, Where Art Thou? is, for me, one of those... read more movies that you can watch over and over and it will never get old. It was my first taste of the genius of the Coen brothers and I see it as one of their top 3 films and their best comedy. The story follows 3 men who have recently broken out of prison, Ullyses Everett McGill(George Clooney), Pete(John Turturro), and Delmar(Tim Blake Nelson). They are out to dig up a bunch of treasure that Everett had stolen and hidden(or so they think). Along the way the run into a black guitar player who sold his soul to the devil, Tommy Johnson(Chris Thomas King), who embodies the legend of Robert Johnson. They also run into George "Don't call me Babyface" Nelson(Michael Badalucco), a one eyed bible salesman(John Goodman), and the Ku Klux Klan. The film is beautifully shot and contains some very good music including the famous, " Man of Constant Sarrow." Definately a favorite for me.
  • DreamExtractor
    June 16, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    The Coens bring out some of their best work when trying to make a movie based on the Great Depression and Homers Odyssey. The movie is funny, cool, and a great movie all around. Acting was fun and you could tell they had a fun time doing this
  • fb100001048934982
    March 27, 2011
    fb100001048934982
    I can see where the Coen Brothers were going with it, but I never caught on. I laughed maybe twice, and much else wasn't too hilarious. A good try, but failed in my opinion. Only because I know the Coen Brothers are so much more talented than this.
  • LoughnerWasLucid
    February 1, 2011
    LoughnerWasLucid
    i dont want no FOP #*%dammit i want DAPPER DAN!
  • fb732260458
    January 5, 2011
    fb732260458
    George Clooney makes this film his. (As he does with most movies). It's irreverent, humorous, and insanely loopy. LOVE IT!
  • danperry17
    December 4, 2010
    danperry17
    In their Deep-South, Depression-era take on The Odyssey, the Coen brothers give us a truly unique and original film. I found myself focussing more on trying to remember The Odyssey during the first part, but as the story went on it became more charming, and (like its source mater... read moreial), it really made its money in the final act. Quirky, interesting film-making, and though it's not without its flaws - Clooney's accent is pretty inconsistent, and the songs are so obiviously not sung by the cast that it hurts - it's a film with a thoroughly thought-out aesthetic that I know could watch again.

View All O Brother, Where Art Thou? Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
November 7, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

After making what are still probably their two best features, the Coen brothers came up with their worst, a piece of pop nihilism. Full Review

Peter Rainer
September 26, 2002
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

The Coens' usual arch deliberateness isn't quite as deliberate, and there's an appealing shagginess to some of the episodes and performances. Full Review

Joe Baltake
August 6, 2001
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

The film is a mélange of so many clashing ideas, as well as a reference-tribute to so many moments in movie history. Full Review

Peter Travers
February 6, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

It's a wild, whacked-out wonder.

Susan Stark
January 12, 2001
Susan Stark, Detroit News

Leaves a sour taste. Full Review

Jay Boyar
January 12, 2001
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel

A roller-coaster ride with a goofy fun-house spirit, it's full of clever pranks.

Steven Rosen
January 12, 2001
Steven Rosen, Denver Post

You have to admire how deep and irreverently O Brother goes into our culture to find its material. Full Review

Eric Harrison
January 12, 2001
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

This is the funniest Coen brothers movie since 1996's Fargo. Full Review

Terry Lawson
January 12, 2001
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

O Brother itself is just frustrating, mostly because we know what the Coens are capable of when truly inspired.

Steven Rea
January 12, 2001
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Devilishly delightful.

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Facts

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    • Wash Hogwallop: I slaughtered this horse last Tuesday. I'm afraid she's startin' to turn.
    • Pete: Do not seek the treasure.
    • Delmar: I'm with you fellas.
    • Pete: I seen it first!
    • George Nelson: What are you looking at Grandpa?
    • Wash Hogwallop: R-U-N-N-O-F-T.
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O Brother, Where Art Thou? Trivia

  • What movie does George Clooney's character only use Dapper Dan hair products.  Answer »
  • In which Coen Brothers film does George Clooney repeat the line "We're in a tight spot"?   Answer »
  • What are the names of the 3 characters in O Brother Where Art Thou?  Answer »
  • Which actor starred in all of the following:- - The Flinstones - The Big Lebowski - Raising Arizona - O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Barton Fink  Answer »
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