O Brother Where Art Thou
Rev. D. Thomas Ford, Jr.
Duc de Savoie
Loved it. See it and get the CD.
Bud
Wubba
Rev. D. Thomas Ford, Jr. <hag...@qni.com> wrote in message
news:3A699217...@qni.com...
Has anyone seen this movie and if so, what do you think?
I've not seen the movie, save for quick clips or "trailers", and scenes used
in a music video. It looks like a good one.
Most Old Time musician folks over at rec.music.country.old-time to be ~very~
enthusiastic concerning the bluegrass/old time music used in the movie
though!
Duc can talk more about that than I.
Wubba
Shawn Kimbro
I gotta tell you... I was concerned about "O Brother Where Art Thou." I
loved the soundtrack, bought it three times for Christmas presents. But I
knew the Coen brothers are from New York City and I was worried that this
was just going to be a couple of hours of high-brow Southern culture
bashing. (We've all seen it before.) Last weekend our band was on the way
back from a gig in Georgia, and we stopped in Atlanta to catch a late
showing of the movie. It was excellent and all my fears were unfounded.
Oh, there was plenty of culture bashing, even a few body slams off the top
ropes, but it was all across the board and, although I kept waiting for one,
no Yankee voice of reason ever showed up to set the hillbillies straight. "O
Brother" is just a good-natured romp through the depression-era Mississippi
backwoods (with plenty of Tennessee place names thrown in!) and it is indeed
one of the most entertaining movies I've seen.
My one problem comes when the grand poobah of the Klu Klux Klan is given the
voice of Ralph Stanley singing "Oh Death." Considering the reverency in
which most of us hold Dr. Stanley, it was down-right disconcerting. I think
it was a mistake, but forgivable. I didn't really expect these guys to
completely "get it" anyway. ;-). Some of my favorite parts of the flick are
when music folklore are included. A good example is when the Soggy Bottom
boys pick up a black guitar player at a crossroads, you just knew his name
was going to be Johnson and that he just sold his soul to the devil.
The music in the movie is somewhat different from that on the CD. I enjoyed
listening to the different arrangements, even liked the blues guitar on "Man
of Constant Sorrow" better. One of the tricks used is showing a character
in one scene, then playing one of their songs in the next. Gillian Welch
looked great in her cameo. (Too bad they didn't cast her as a siren! - Did
anyone else notice the resemblence between those girls and the actual
singers, or was I just projecting?) I can't wait for the DVD so I can look
for more details as I felt several bits of trivia parting my hair. Since I
don't know straight-up from crooked-down about the "Odessy," I guess I
should read the Clift Notes before I watch it again!
.---. ___________
|===|////SEE/////\ Best wishes,
| ////ROCK////[]\ Shawn "we thought you wuz a frog" Kimbro
| ////CITY////|__|\
| ^|^^^^^^^^^^| | The Mountain Soul Band
| | | | http://mountainsoul.cjb.net
|__ |___[X]____|__| http://www.mp3.com/mountainsoul
Fiddle Fiction: http://www.geocities.com/trailzzone/hog.html
Maynurd
"Rev. D. Thomas Ford, Jr." <hag...@qni.com> wrote:
> Has anyone seen this movie and if so, what do you think?
>
>
Interesting story in the Johnson City Press recently about "O'Brother" and
Jesco White, of PBS' "Dancing Outlaw" documentary fame.
According to the article the role of a crazed fiddler with torch-bearers in
tow was written specifically with Jesco in mind by the Coen bros., but, the
ol' scamp refused to do it, saying, "I'm not leaving my trailer!" They had to
cast someone else and Johnson City musician Ed Snodderly was chosen to play
the part of psycho with a bow.
Maynurd
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
Maynurd
"Shawn Kimbro" <j...@charter.net> wrote:
>
> The music in the movie is somewhat different from that on the CD. I enjoyed
> listening to the different arrangements, even liked the blues guitar on "Man
> of Constant Sorrow" better.
>
>
I can't get used to Dan Tyminski's voice coming from Clooney's mouth.
Ejucaided Redneck
<snippage>
> But I knew the Coen brothers are from New York City...
They're from Minneapolis, MN, which may be why anyone who ever spent
time on the Great American Tundra knows they got so much _right_ in
"Fargo."
> Since I don't know straight-up from crooked-down about the "Odessy," I guess
> I should read the Clift Notes before I watch it again!
I dunno... The Coens say they haven't read "The Odyssey" either.
I haven't seen the film yet: of late I only leave this little town under
protest, and they're keeping "Cast Away" at our only theater for two
full weeks. But I want to see it. There was an interesting article
about its production, from the POV of an extra, in "The Oxford American"
a few months back, and that made it a "must see" for me.
--
http://rlsloan.netbasix.com/
Stories, poetry, "Notes From the Top of the Hill,"
and some funny stuff.
Listen to MP3 "notes" at
http://www.morehead-st.edu/units/wmky/wmky_reports.htm
Audio cassettes at http://www.countrytraditions.com/
(Click on "Appalachian Stories")
Shawn Kimbro
article too, Bob. But it was the Gillian Welch cameo that caused me to seek
this treasure. Good luck finding it. It just opened this weekend, and at
only one theater in Knoxville, and I didn't see it listed at all in the
Tri-Cities. I guess it doesn't seem commercially viable enough for the
theater chains, but this is a rich film with magical appeal for fans of
roots music and Southern folklore.
.---. ___________
|===|////SEE/////\ Best wishes,
| ////ROCK////[]\ Shawn "still chasing sirens" Kimbro
Idjit BoB
>>Has anyone seen this movie and if so, what do you think?
>Loved it. See it and get the CD.
I jest don't know why, but the title "O Brother Where Art Thou" made
me think of an off beat movie called the "Brother From Another Planet"
(1984) which takes place mostly in Harlem. The movie had a strange
draw to it and made a slew full of social comments about race, and the
human condition in a unique and thought provoking way.
Anybudy seen that one?
IMDB description:
The Brother, a alien slave who has escaped to Earth, crashes in modern
New York City. While mute, strongly empathic, and able to fix things,
he looks like a human black with ugly feet. His attempts to make a
place for himself in his strange new surroundings provide the viewer
with a point of view for reflecting how peculiar our society is.
Meanwhile, two Bounty Hunters arrive and try to track down the
Brother.
Idjit BoB
I only bin on a UFO twice't!