Just when I read in the news that the KKK is trying to "revamp" their public image because of Westboro "Baptist" Church today, I'm reminded that the Coen's can make fun of anything and it will be funny....even the Ku Klux Klan.
George Clooney says that this movie is part of his "idiot" trilogy with the Coens (the other two being Intolerable Cruelty (2003) and Burn After Reading (2008)). Though the Coens stated that they wanted to make the mother of all "Hay-seed movies," the story is actually based on Homer's "The Odyssey." It sounds like the most unlikely of marriage of genres, but this is the Coen brothers, and it works (it had been done once before in Novella style by Howard Waldrop, there is a character in the film by the name of Waldrip. In addition to Clooney, it stars Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar and Coen favorite John Turturro as Pete. Charles Durning returns as Pappy O'Daniel in the "old man role," (and this time he survives the film). It also features Holly Hunter as the estranged wife of Evert McGill (Clooney) and talented blues musician Chris Thomas King and Tommy Johnson (a barely disguised homage to to real Tommy Johnson and to (not related) musician Robert Johnson, the real blues guitarist is was reputed to have sold his soul at a crossroads, and then died destitute).
Trivia:
The character of Pappy O'Daniel is based on a former governor of Texas (not Mississippi) W. Lee (Pappy) O'Daniel.
The gangster Lest Giles AKA George "Baby Face" Nelson was killed 3 years before the action in this film takes place. He was not executed. However, like the character in the film, he did not like being called "Baby Face."
The film official soundtrack website ran a trivia game on the site to promote the film and gave canisters of Dapper Dan pomade away as prizes.
The opening song being "sung" by the chain gang at the beginning of the film is an actual recording of a real chain gang of the period.
The character of Sheriff Cooley (Daniel von Bargen) fits Tommy's description of the Devil exactly, right down to the hound.
Runtime: 106 min
Rated: PG-13
Color (Arriflex camera with Cooke lenses)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic widescreen)
Filming Locations: various spots in Mississippi
Language: English
Sound Mix: DTS
Taglines: Sometimes you have to loose you way to get back home
 |
| "My name is George Nelson, NOT Baby Face!" |
No comments:
Post a Comment