O Brother, Where Art Thou?

This article is about the film. For other uses, see O Brother, Where Art Thou? (disambiguation).

O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoel Coen
Written by
Based onThe Odyssey
by Homer
Produced byEthan Coen
Starring
CinematographyRoger Deakins
Edited by
Music byT Bone Burnett
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • May 13, 2000 (2000-05-13) (Cannes)[9]
  • September 15, 2000 (2000-09-15) (United Kingdom)
  • December 22, 2000 (2000-12-22) (United States)
Running time
107 minutes
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$26 million[10]
Box office$71.9 million[8]

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2000 satirical comedy-drama musical film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning in supporting roles.

The film is set in rural Mississippi in 1937, and it follows three escaped convicts searching for hidden treasure while a sheriff relentlessly pursues them. Its story is a modern satire which, while incorporating social features of the American South, is loosely based on Homer's epic Greek poem The Odyssey.[11] Some examples of this include Sirens, a Cyclops, and the main character's name, "Ulysses", which is the Roman name for "Odysseus".[12] The title of the film is a reference to the 1941 Preston Sturges 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.[13]

Much of the music used in the film is period folk music.[14] The movie was one of the first to extensively use digital color correction to give the film an autumnal sepia-tinted look.[15] It was released by Buena Vista Pictures in North America, while Universal Pictures, through United International Pictures, 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 in 2002.[16] The country and folk musicians who were dubbed into the film include John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Emmylou Harris, 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.[14][17]


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  1. ^ a b c "O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)". www.the-numbers.com. The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  2. ^ Listed as a 20th Century Studios film on Disney+ via Hulu.
  3. ^ a b c d e "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)". British Film Institute. www.bfi.org. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d "Film #15267: O Brother, Where Art Thou?". Lumiere. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Minns, Adam (May 10, 2000). "Momentum confirms Brother, Rocky acquisitions". Screen International. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  7. ^ "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". BBFC. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference festival-cannes.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Box Office Data:O Brother Where Art Thou". The Numbers.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  11. ^ Gray, Richard J.; Robinson, Owen (April 15, 2008). A companion to the literature and culture of the American south. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0470756690. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  12. ^ Garner, Bianca (May 25, 2018). "O' Brother, Where Art Thou? A Coen Brothers Odyssey". Filmotomy. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference FAQ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Menaker, Daniel (November 30, 2000). "A Film Score Odyssey Down a Quirky Country Road". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference CGS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "The 2002 Grammy Winners". San Francisco Chronicle. February 28, 2002. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  17. ^ "Pioneering Bluegrass Musician Ralph Stanley". Fresh Air. December 27, 1992. NPR. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.