Fed
up with crushing rocks on a prison farm in Mississippi, the dapper,
silver-tongued Ulysses Everett McGill (Clooney) busts loose…except that
he’s still shackled to two misfits from his chain gang: bad tempered
Pete (Turturro) and sweet, dimwitted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelsen). With
nothing to lose and buried loot to regain, the three embark on a riotous
odyssey filled with chases, close calls, near misses and betrayal.
Experience every unpredictable moment as it plays out in the
crystal-clear sound and breathtaking picture quality of Blu-ray.
Populated with strange characters, including a blind prophet, sexy
sirens and a one-eyed Bible salesman (John Goodman), O Brother, Where Art Thou is a very original and funny movie that you’ve got to see!

Film (5 out of 5 stars)
The Coen brothers have described this
movie as The Three Stooges meet Ma and Pa Kettle and also as the
Lawrence of Arabia of hayseed movies. Any way you look at it, this
retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, is a very original and very funny movie
that is filled with some fantastic actors and one of my favorite George
Clooney performances that he’s done. Coen brother regulars John
Turturro and John Goodman also return to have some fun. This is the
least violent movie that Coens have done but it still contains the
trademark humor that worked to great effect in The Big Lebowski.
If anything, this is the silliest movie they’ve done and I don’t mean
that in a disparaging way at all. It is simply as fun to watch as it
probably was to make it.
George Clooney is Ulysses Everett
McGill, a convict that spends a good portion of his day worrying about
his hair. He is a supporter of the Dapper Dan hair pomade and
hairnets. Ulysses is chained to the ill-tempered Pete (John Turturro)
and the not too bright Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and they work to pound
rocks with hammers as part of a chain gang. Ulysses convinces Pete and
Delmar to make a run for it so they can recover some stolen money that
Ulysses says he buried.
Their initial attempt to escape involves
jumping on a moving train which is hilarious due to the three of them
being chained together. In one of funniest parts of the film, when one
goes they all go which kills me every time I see it. The three men
eventually make it to Pet’s cousin’s farm but the law soon catches up
with them as Pete’s cousin turns them in for the reward money. They are
saved by Pete’s nephew and they are soon back on the run where they
navigate through modern day sirens, a bible salesman who looks like a
cyclops, the Ku Klux Klan, a boy who sold his sold to the devil, and
the law which is never too far behind them as they are following the
scent of Ulysses’ Dapper Dan hair gel.
I really wish that the Coen brothers
would make more films like this one as they have a deft touch for
comedy. They are helped quite a bit by this amazing cast that were
perfect for their roles. At this point, not a lot of people could have
imagined George Clooney for this type of role, but I can’t imagine
anyone else doing it as well as he did. I honestly think he should have
earned an Oscar nomination for it since he’s so good as the fast
talking man with the gift of gab who is both smart and dumb all at the
same time. John Turturro does another memorable role for the Coens
complete with some fake teeth and a bad attitude that’s very funny to
see. Tim Blake Nelson is so good as the dimwitted Delmar that the role
probably still haunts him today. The film’s supporting cast is just as
good with Charles Durning as a desperate politician, Holly Hunter as
Ulysses’ long suffering wife, and the great John Goodman is very funny
as a slick bible salesman. This is an extremely fun movie filled with
great music by T-Bone Burnett and I highly recommend it if you’ve never
seen it!

Video (5 out of 5 stars)
This 1080p (2.35:1) transfer looks
amazingly detailed and surpasses the video quality of my previous DVD
release by quite a bit. The picture is sharp enough that you can see
the individual hairs in Clooney’s mustache and the texture from their
prison uniforms. Some people might complain that the picture looks
washed out but I disagree since the Coens were deliberately going for a
specific sepia tinted depression-era look. As cinematographer Roger
Deakins said, “Ethan and Joel favored a dry, dusty Delta look with
golden sunsets. They wanted it to look like an old hand-tinted picture,
with the intensity of colors dictated by the scene and natural skin
tones that were all shades of the rainbow.” In fact, the film opens
and ends in black and white with the rest of the movie in color. Black
levels are superb, with a rich darkness that looks fantastic. Flesh
tones look realistic and remain even throughout the movie. This is an
impressive transfer that makes upgrading to Blu-ray a compelling choice.

Audio (4 1/2 out 5 stars)
The film’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix
is also very good which is important since music plays such a large role
in the film. The songs supplied by T-Bone Burnett play throughout most
of the movie’s running time and they all sound great. The soundtrack
for this movie was a massive hit as it was certified eight times
platinum and won two Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best
Country Collaboration with Vocals. The biggest hit was the song, “A Man
of Constant Sorrow” which plays an integral part in the movie with the
vocals being done supplied by Dan Tyminski. The dialogue is clear and
while this is a front channel centric mix, there are some instances like
the mass baptism scene that uses the rest of the channels which makes
it more immersive.

Special Features (2 out of 5 stars)
I would have liked more special features
because this is pretty disappointing as these are short and lacking in
depth extras. What makes it even worse is that they are all in standard
definition.
- Exclusive Behind The Scenes Featurette – A Traditional EPK featurette that includes comments from the cast and crew which is better than nothing but I would have liked to have a more in depth look at the making of the film.
- Two Storyboard to Scene Comparison – An option to see two sequences which are “The Flood” and “The Klan” which allows you to compare the finished product with the original storyboards.
- “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” Music Video – A music video for the hit song featuring footage from the movie.
- Theatrical Trailer

Final Thoughts (4 out of 5 stars)
If you are looking for a fun movie
filled with great music and an original premise, this is the movie for
you. The movie sports an amazing cast and toe tapping songs from T-Bone
Burnett and it’s never looked or sounded better than this Blu-ray
release. If you have the DVD already, the upgrade in both the video and
audio quality makes it well worth getting the Blu-ray even though it’s
just a shame that the final score was lowered because of the weak
extras. This is highly recommended!
Order your copy today!
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