The Coen Brothers accept ane of the most diverse filmographies of whatsoever filmmakers and O Brother, Where Art Thou? is another crowning jewel in their brilliant trunk of piece of work. The film stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson as a trio of escaped convicts searching for a hidden treasure across Depression Era Mississippi.

The film is a hilarious and unique adventure that borrows from many inspirations to create a perfect comedy just the Coen Brothers could conceive of. And like most of their films, O Brother Where Art Thou? is filled with hidden details.

10 Opening Quote

The film forgoes the typical narration you might commonly find in a Coen Brothers flick just does start with a quote that reads, "O Muse! Sing in me, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in the ways of contending, a wanderer, harried for years on terminate …"

The quote is the opening line from Homer's Odyssey, the story of a warrior'south long journey abode. The Coen Brothers based this film on the storyline of that ballsy tale. Though, in typical Coen Brothers way, they admitted that neither of them has actually read the epic verse form and just know information technology through pop civilisation.

9 The Title

While Homer'due south Odyssey served as the basis for the overall story structure of the moving-picture show, the title was taken from some other source. The 1941 film Sullivan's Travels follows a director who wants to make a film that explores the suffering of existent-life and attempts to live like the less-fortunate to gain experience. The name of the film he aspires to make is called "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

The Coen Brothers' moving picture shares a few similarities with Sullivan's Travels, including a similar scene in which convicts are brought into a theater to lookout a film.

eight Chain Gang Chant

The film is filled with all kinds of brilliant music from different eras of America, which helps bring the motion-picture show to life. The first song we hear over the opening credits is a dirge from a chain gang every bit they work on the roads.

Remarkably, the chant heard is an actual recording of a chain gang singing the song, "Po Lazarus" in 1959. Even more than remarkably, the Coen Brothers were able to rails down one member of the chain gang and paid him $20,000 for use of the song in the movie.

7 Characters From The Odyssey

Though the Coen Brothers might be having a little fun by saying the film is based on Homer'southward Odyssey, they exercise include a number of references to the original story. Those who know the epic poem well volition also probable meet some characters they recognize.

Ulysses Everett McGill obviously stands in for Odysseus, the hero who attempts to return to his wife who is being pursued by a suitor. Other characters include Pappy O'Daniel who fills in for Zeus, the 1-eyes Big Dan Teague who represents the cyclops, and the 3 singing girls who lure the heroes, representing the Sirens.

six Singing Voices

O Brother Where Art Grand? has the rare stardom of having a soundtrack that has actually become more successful than the picture itself. And the most famous song from this soundtrack is "Man of Constant Sorrow", which is sung in the film by the three lead characters.

Clooney was given the take a chance to sing the pb vocals on the song and took lessons to improve his singing voice. In the stop, he admits he was not the man for the job and was dubbed. Notwithstanding, Tim Blake Nelson does really provide vocals for his song, "In the Jailhouse At present".

5 Babe Face Nelson

1 of the colorful characters that the trio of heroes see is George Nelson, a deranged bank robber who is depressed at not existence taken seriously and having the nickname Babe Face up Nelson.

Infant Face Nelson was indeed a bank robber from this era who is responsible for a number of daring crimes. However, Nelson was killed in 1935, two years before the events of this moving-picture show. Besides, he was killed in a shootout with constabulary rather than executed while in custody, every bit is said in the film.

4 Cows

Though a adequately unproblematic story, the film was praised for its use of visual effects and CGI. While not overly used in the moving picture, the few cases are incorporated convincingly into the overall scene. In one example, it might have been too disarming.

The scenes in which a cop auto hits a moo-cow looked so disarming that the American Humane Clan demanded proof that no real brute was harmed. This besides led to a new disclaimer being added to the film that read, "Scenes which may announced to identify an animal in jeopardy were simulated."

3 Tommy Johnson

Another memorable character that the trio of escaped convicts meets upward with is Tommy Johnson, played by Chris Thomas King. When the heroes meet Tommy, he is standing at a crossroads where he says he met the devil and traded his soul for the power to play the guitar.

Apparently, there is some truth to the character or at least some existent-life inspiration. At that place was a famed blues musician named Tommy Johnson who sold his soul to the devil to play the dejection, according to folk legend.

2 Klan Rally

I of the most memorable scenes in the film finds the iii heroes sneaking into a Ku Klux Klan rally to save their new friend Tommy. The sequence is an elaborate 1 with a giant burning cross and hundreds of costumed extras.

The scene also features the Klan members performing an unusual formalism march of sorts. Ironically, the march is a military formation and the military troupe hired to dress every bit Klan members and perform the scene were largely African-American.

one The Cabin

At the end of the film, the three companions finally reach Everett's cabin, which is tucked abroad in the woods. Some horror fans might have recognized the motel from an iconic moving-picture show of the genre.

The Coens modeled the motel on the one featured prominently in Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead. This is not just a random inclusion, just rather an in-joke with their friend Raimi since Joel Coen worked on The Evil Dead with him.

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About The Author

Colin McCormick (2045 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Bluster and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his piece of work as Screen Rant, Colin is likewise a author of News, Characteristic and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays upwards-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in whatever kind of genre, he has a special pic of crime stories that are infused with a little dark sense of humor much similar the piece of work of his favorite writer, Elmore Leonard.

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