Product Description
The Brothers Grim examines the inner workings of the Coens' body of work, discussing a movie in terms of its primary themes, social and political contexts, narrative techniques, influences, relationship to their other films, and the Coens' referential modus operandi that retreads cinema, literature, history, philosophy, and art to amplify their films' themes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

More than just a great read
As a long time Coen brothers fan I thought I understood their movies and their motivations. I felt very proud of myself as I sat in the dark, staring up at the screen, smiling at the subtle jokes and references in their films I was certain few others "got." I felt equally certain I understood the full depths of the Coen's writing and filmmaking.

After reading Ms. Rowell's delightful and intensively researched book, I suddenly discover I was only dipping my toe into the shallow end of the pool (and unlike the frozen lakes in Fargo), what a warm inviting pool it is.

Accessible and thoroughly researched, Ms. Rowell uncovers mysteries in the Coen's works that would make Marge Gunderson proud. Her succinct style pulls the reader along in much the same way the Coen's pull us along in their films -- with twists and turns, jabs and feignts, wit and winks. Yet always it is factual and informative.

Her insight is not just limited to each individual film. As we read through the chapters we begin to see how interconnected the Coen's works are to each other. This book, like the Coen's body of work, is more than meets the eye and far more than the sum of it's parts.

If you're a Coen Brothers fan... a film fan... a reading fan... a fan of mysteries examined and solved, take a peak. When you're finished go out to a nice party. I promise someone extremely attractive in that well-read, down-to-earth, likes both football and Faulkner kind of way will be most impressed with your insight... most impressed.

Just remember to (eventually) give credit where it's due.

Eye-opening and entertaining book for all film lovers
I didn't used to be a fan of the Coen brothers' films, but I appreciated them, as well as good film in general, a lot more after reading this book.

The amount of insight author Rowell has into the Coens' films is amazing.As I read through each chapter, I was stunned by how much in the films I had "missed."Rowell's analysis reveals the numerous layers of meaning that are embodied in the films.She covers subjects as diverse as politics, religion and philosophy, art and music, and race and class.She illuminates the context of the Coens' works in the history of film, and points out the numerous allusions to and borrowings from previous films, including their own.I was truly impressed by the scope of the analysis and the thoroughness of the research conducted.

All this is written in a lively style and well organized format that can engage anyone ranging from a casual moviegoer to a scholar of film.Rowell's clever word play throughout the text add to the delight.

I recommend viewing a film first, and then reading the relevant chapter in the book to be wowed by all the things you missed.Then watch the film again! ... Read more

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Product Description
Join award-winning author and columnist Cathleen Falsani as she explores the serious existential questions raised in the movies of the wildly popular and always irreverent Coen brothers. Coen fans and film lovers will appreciate Falsani's unique blend of contemporary insight and spiritual discernment that is both entertaining and illuminating. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (94)

Disappointing
Since I enjoy writing myself, I do not want to give a low score to any book, but without honest scores, how would reviewers guide anyone?

I have to say that I was very disappointed in this book.Basically, The Dude Abides tells you what happens in the Coen Brothers' films, and you get just a touch of commentary on how a few events in the films relate to the Bible or to a Christian point of view. The one thing that I was hoping for, and assumed I would find, in depth discussions of symbolism or metaphor, are little to none in this book.

The Dude Abides would be nice to look at in a library or friend's house, but not to buy...

Technical Quality of Book:
Quality Paperback, with good white pages, and easy to read print with nice spacing between lines.

The Dude and the Coen Brothers Abide
The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers, Cathleen Falsani, Zondervan Publishers, 240 pages, illustrations, filmography, appendix, paperback, $14.99.

In the 1980s after viewing the first two Coen Brothers films, 'Blood Simple' and 'Raising Arizona', I had my eyes wide open to fact that these two guys well understood film making, plotting, and existential ethics cast in a Judeo-Christian mold. An avid reader of works by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandlers, Ross MacDonald, and James M. Caine, I longed for Hollywood to get the noir detective genre right, again.

Chicago Sun-Times religion journalist Cathlee Falsani immerses herself in the 14 films of Joel and Ethan Coen and asks spiritual and religious questions of the films. Does the Coen brothers' dark humor, verbal slapstick comedy, grim judgments and bleak contexts offer an avenue to the deeper issues of death, betrayal, greed, loyalty in an environment in which God appears to be absent? Do the Coen brothers' film characters show the dire consequences of their choices? Are the filmakers' complex themes clearly presented so their notions of morality are apparent?

Falsani states that these films are not overtly religious, but the films do successfully convey the Coen brothers' spiritual insights into the human condition. She discusses each of the Coen brothers' films, from their debut, 'Blood Simple'(1984), through 'A Serious Man' (2009). Falsani's chapters contain a plot summary and concludes with a discussion of what lessons the film offers. These section are entitled 'The Moral of the Story'. She is adept at offering a nuanced analysis of pop culture, Judeo-Christian heritage, and the art of storytelling.

'The Dude Abides: The Gosple According to the Coen Brothers' is accessible to The book also is attractive to those who have seen all the brothers' films, twice. Ranging from iconoclastic comedies such as 'Raising Arizona' and 'The Big Lebowski' to an unblinking examination of the nature of evil in 'No Country for Old Men', the Coen brothers have created moral universe in which some of life's essential questions are asked--if not always answered.

So how do the Coen brothers understand the meaning of life, the possibility of enlightenment, the nature of truth and enduring love? Falsani examines the films, her own personal experiences, her spirituality, and the intersection of the Coen brothers media and her own journalistic profession of asking questions and getting answers.

Not that deep
If you are looking for a light analysis of the movie, then you should buy this book. But it's definitely not that in depth, so you should not expect that out of it.

Really enjoyed this one...
Well, I am a fan of the Coen brothers, and I run a movie theater, so what's not to like?This book takes an unusual look at their films, and draws some interesting conclusions.If you like their work, you will like this book.

MOVIES ARE OUR SECULAR CHURCH
Cathleen Falsani perfectly captures the theological and philosophical essence of the Coen brothers great films.

I have long sensed that there was much more going on in their films than meets the eye.That's because it's the ear the gives it away.When you listen to the spoken words -- sometimes in direct opposition to what we see on screen -- only then does a greater meaning of their films suddenly become clear.And I'm not thinking only of the obvious irony.

Falsani tapped into the -- perhaps unintentional -- heart of their films when seen as a whole.Their seems to be a consistent thread or theme."What's it all about?" is a question with which many Coen characters are obviously wrestling.

Her truncated chapter on A SERIOUS MAN needs to be revised.It was written before the film was released,It is here that some of the theological questions about God and meaning and destiny as old as Job are rekindled.And the answer is not one that generates warm fuzzies.The meaning of life is a matter or perception.Bad things happen to good people.Even worse, good things happen to bad people.The why remains as illusive as ever.

For movie buffs who like to think, this is a sly and wise little volume.

Recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
These four early works by the internationally lauded filmmaking team deal with the subject for which they are best known: corruption and crime in situations that combine the real and the surreal with the hilarious. Of the scripts included here, Barton Fink--an intense look at the psychological ruin of a New York playwright trying to make it in 1940s Hollywood--is a masterful culmination of these themes.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A collection of great scripts
What is there to say? Joel and Ethan Coen are some of the best screenwriters working in the business.This book is a collection of their first 4 scripts filmed on the big screen.Please note that the scripts dont appear to be the final shooting version of the scripts, because last night I was watching Miller's Crossing and Blood Simple back to back and I noticed how some dialogue was changed and some scenes were excluded completely.There is nothing wrong with this and is probably even better so you can see the raw ideas the Coen Brother's had of their stories before filming them.Each one of these scripts are great on their own, and its amazing that they were written by two guys consecutively. Most writers couldn't write a script as good as Barton Fink or Raising Arizona, but these two brothers wrote them one after another. Barton Fink stands alone as the best script in this collection in my opinion.It is the ONLY film to have swept all the major categories at the Cannes Film festival.In conclusion, If you are taking a film writing course in college, or aspire to be a screenwriter and need some inspiration, then this collection is truly tremendous. All four of these scripts are great.I believe there is a Volume 2 of this book, but I would only get it for Fargo and The Big Lebowski, whereas in Volume 1 all the scripts are good!

a great collection
A terrific collection of stories providing an insight into interesting story techniques, and combining dark humor with suspense. Even if you just read one or two of the screenplays, it's worth it.

It's Raising Arizona
The best movie EVER!The straight script, I had hoped to stumble onto some dialogue that wound up on the cutting room floor but to no avail.Being interested in screenplay writing I was curious how the Coen's conveyed all of the sight humor into their screen play.If your looking for screen play examples (the how to write a screenplay books are worthless) this has been very helpful to me.Too bad their aren't any story boards to go with it. ... Read more

Product Description

In 2008 No Country for Old Men won the Academy Award for Best Picture, adding to the reputation of filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, who were already known for pushing the boundaries of genre. They had already made films that redefined the gangster movie, the screwball comedy, the fable, and the film noir, among others. No Country is just one of many Coen brothers films to center on the struggles of complex characters to understand themselves and their places in the strange worlds they inhabit. To borrow a phrase from Barton Fink, all Coen films explore "the life of the mind" and show that the human condition can often be simultaneously comic and tragic, profound and absurd. In The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers, editor Mark T. Conard and other noted scholars explore the challenging moral and philosophical terrain of the Coen repertoire. Several authors connect the Coens' most widely known plots and characters to the shadowy, violent, and morally ambiguous world of classic film noir and its modern counterpart, neo-noir. As these essays reveal, Coen films often share noir's essential philosophical assumptions: power corrupts, evil is real, and human control of fate is an illusion. In Fargo, not even Minnesota's blankets of snow can hide Jerry Lundegaard's crimes or brighten his long, dark night of the soul. Coen films that stylistically depart from film noir still bear the influence of the genre's prevailing philosophical systems. The tale of love, marriage, betrayal, and divorce in Intolerable Cruelty transcends the plight of the characters to illuminate competing theories of justice. Even in lighter fare, such as Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski, the comedy emerges from characters' journeys to the brink of an amoral abyss. However, the Coens often knowingly and gleefully subvert conventions and occasionally offer symbolic rebirths and other hopeful outcomes. At the end of The Big Lebowski, the Dude abides, his laziness has become a virtue, and the human comedy is perpetuating itself with the promised arrival of a newborn Lebowski. The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers sheds new light on these cinematic visionaries and their films' stirring philosophical insights. From Blood Simple to No Country for Old Men, the Coens' films feature characters who hunger for meaning in shared human experience -- they are looking for answers. A select few of their protagonists find affirmation and redemption, but for many others, the quest for answers leads, at best, only to more questions.

Customer Reviews (2)

Rebirth of Tragedy
Friedrich Nietzsche believed for a time that the composer Richard Wagner would be able to unite all the noble impulses of art into an opera capable of sublimating European culture, just as classical tragedy ennobled the Athenians.Wagner failed, even in Nietzsche's judgement, but I am reminded of him every time I see a Coen Brothers film.Like Wagner, they have created a stage upon which the plastic/Apollonian (cinematography, lighting, set and costume) engages the musical/Dionysian (script, drama, soundtrack).But where Wagner failed,the Coens have succeeded.Their films together constitute the rebirth of tragedy here in modern America - a multimedia art of moral choice, with a philosophical vocabulary and contemporary significance.There's nothing deeper or more relevant on the American scene.

And I guess that accounts for just why this book so utterly blows the doors off any other "Philosophy of" book I've encountered.Like Woody Allen or Stanley Kubrick, the Coens produce film that is not merely philosophical, but is philosophy itself - the kind of art that drives fans to study philosophy in the first place.

But, in approaching the Coens, you do need some guidance.These are two guys who know the canon, cold, from Homer (O Brother Where Art Though) to Kant (See Walter in the Big Lebowski) to Heidegger (Barton Fink).At least part of the opacity of their films stems from the audiences unfamiliarity with these themes.And this is where this book comes in handy.This is a collection of truly thoughtful, high caliber works of scholarly criticism.It is so much better than similar titles like "The Simpsons and Philosophy" that I kinda wish it had a different title.

Oh well, bottom line: if you like either philosophy or the Coen Brothers, you'll LOVE this book.Expect to gain new insights on Barton Fink's wallpaper, the Dude's relationship with the old cowboy, and the nature of Anton Chigurgh.The authors are all philosophers, but they clearly love and understand film, and come at some of these problems from a film-studies perspective.I can only hope the same people involved in this will follow up with a "Philosophy of David Lynch."

Coen Brothers' Movies plus America equals mirror . . .
This book provides a fantastic and long overdue intertextual analysis of what the Coen Brothers have aimed to capture on screen and harness from the soul . . . what emerges most strongly is a sense of how terribly important NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN has been in terms of narrative evolution and an exchange of meta-cinema for a kind of pure storytelling - similar in structure and effect to the brutally succinct writings of William S. Burroughs. I recommend this book highly, because this is the time for more of us to look extra hard at the work of the Coen Brothers . . . their filmic America stands now as a very reliable and unrusted mirror of where we all are today . . . and may NOT be tomorrow. ... Read more

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Two gym instructors (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) accidentally stumble across and try to sell a disk containing the memoirs of CIA agent Osborne Cox (John Malkovich), who has recently resigned from the agency in a fit of pique. Their attempts at blackmail go wildly awry, gradually engulfing Osborne Cox's estranged wife (Tilda Swinton) and her lover (George Clooney), whose involvement triggers a series of tragic consequences. In "Burn After Reading" Joel and Ethan Coen take on the spy thriller genre and reinvent it in their unique voice - combining humor and violence in completely unexpected ways, and wrapping it all up with a the verbal dexterity that makes their work so distinctive. ... Read more

Product Description
Joel and Ethan Coen are among America's best-loved and most lauded independent filmmakers. With their latest work, O Brother, Where Art Though?, The Oscar-winning team returns to the period-piece films of their earlier career (Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy) and showcase once-again their pitch-perfect ear for hilarious and outrageous dialogue, as well as their penchant for the fantastic.

Based on Homer's Odyssey, the movie stars George Clooney as Ulysses Everett McGill, along with Coen-mainstay John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson as fugitives from a chain gang who embark on a mystical and musical journey through 1930s Mississippi. History and allegory are expertly entwined as, along the way, the three escapees encounter a blind prophet, are tempted by sirens, do battle with a Cyclops (in the form of a one-eyed Klansman), fall in with George "Baby Face" Nelson on a bank heist, and cut a blues record with a young guitar prodigy who bears a striking resemblance to the real-life Robert Johnson.
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Customer Reviews (2)

Coens Are Truly Learning How To Write!
This is a fun and wacky screenplay to read!It really puts images into your mind that will make you laugh and wonder.I haven't even seen the movie yet, and I still was able to "get" the jokes and laughed a lot.Just think to yourself, "This is going to be a lot like Raising Arizona" and you'll figure it out.

Ranks right up there with the Coens' Fargo script, which is also a good read.

Required reading
I've been a fan of the Coens' movies for years and I do believe I've figured out a way to enjoy them more thoroughly: READ THE SCREENPLAY. There's no writing that's better in the movies right now.I'm not a film maker, I'm not a script writer, I'm not a director, I'm not an actor, I'm not a movie critic, I'm not even the damn guy who tears the ticket and stands behind that big velvet rope sayin' "To your right" or "To your left."All that I am is a fan of the movies as well as a fan of literature.These guys know how to make words create people and they do it well time after time.

Specifically "O Brother ..." is a screenplay that mixes Homer with Bluegrass with Old Movies with (whether the Coens know it or not) Mark Twain and folks along those lines.In fact, there's a scene in Huck Finn in which Huck states he'd prefer his dinner all cooked together in one pot so that the juices swap around and make things go better.That's a pretty good metaphor for "O Brother ..." Rather than the screenplay that's about hicks or racism or a woman scorned, the Coens mix it all up and believe me things go better that way.

This is the literature of our time.You should watch AND READ these movies.

teachem2@home.com ... Read more

Product Description
With their quirky, arresting, comic, and intelligent movies, Ethan and Joel Coen have carved out their niche as America's preeminent independent filmmakers. Now, in a prose style that complements the Coens' filmic one, this book dissects the brothers' latest endeavor, "The Big Lebowski", to reveal how the movie goes from idea to reality, offering a discussion of the Coens' themes, atypical brand of humor, and artistic vision. 162 photos, 32 in color.Amazon.com Review
Since their debut with Blood Simple in 1984, Joel and Ethan Coenhave created a unique body of work that seems to project their combinedimaginations directly onto the movie screen. By concentrating on thefilming of their homage to Raymond Chandler, The Big Lebowski, thisbook provides a great deal of insight into the way that these extraordinaryfilmmakers take an idea and transform it into a movie.

Text and illustrations combine to reveal the Coens' combination ofquirkiness and craft, and the ways that the singular (or is it binary?)vision of the brothers combines with actors and crew in the group effortnecessary to produce a finished film.This book doesn't attempt a criticalanalysis of the work of Joel and Ethan Coen--the complexity of their visionresists such an approach. Instead, we're treated to a fly-on-the-wall viewof the creative process, and it's enough to get the most casual film loverto grab a notebook, rent a camera, and start making movies! --SimonLeake ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Just ok.
Book was ok. Entertaining? Eh. Informative? Maybe 1/8 of the content was interesting. There is a lot of repetitive writing about the movie. Describing scenes and what have you. Seems like a friend of the Coens' gathered some watered down memories over the years, interviewed some people, and slapped together the book. It's put together nicely, but I think if it were more concentrated with information... If the interviews and insight were like a director's bonus track on a dvd, providing insight on what was going on, problems, mistakes, improv... This seems too little to scratch the surface.

My favorite part was the preproduction storyboards and costume designs included at the end. But they were few. Select scenes and boards. This could have made a wonderful coffee table hardcover if it was more in depth. Comparing boards to actual scene stills. Including insight from the directors, actors, behind the scenes people... etc..

I made it through since I am a big fan of the movie and the Coens' work. There was nothing ground breaking here.

Lewbowski Rules!
I am glad I got this book.It proves to me how much the Big Lewboski really rocks!

Worst "book report" ever
I've never felt so intellectually abused by a book as to resort to writing a scathing review like this on Amazon. This book is mind-bogglingly aweful! It reads like an 8th grade book report. It has no pretense of a plot and does amazingly little to actually delve into the making of the Big Lebowski. Don't buy it! Half of it is literally just the author monotonously describing what *happens* in the Big Lebowski. YES, repeating what you've watched in the movie!! Page upon page reads like "and then the dude goes into...and then...and then..." Much of the rest is an incredibly egotistical author bragging about how "in" he is with the Coens and prattling on about his interactions with them and how well he knows them. The author's grasp of english is profoundly poor and his "hip" slang falls utterly flat and non-sensical as he tries to invent numerous non-words. Even the pictures have nothing to do with their placement in the text. The ONLY redeeming characteristic of the book is that the author includes many long quotes from the Coens and the people who work closely with them.

A Great Read For Filmmaking Enthusiasts
Every once and while I look for books to re-inspire my need to make films. This is one of those useful books for people interested in the real filmmaking process. This book doesn't have useless interviews about how much fun the actors had working with a director but covers every thought and decision the crew had to make in the production. If you're a Coen Brother's fan, you'll also be interested to gain some insight into how they invent and produce their signiture films.

One of the best books written about the Coens
This book was co-written by William Preston Robertson who is someone, if you've studied the end credits of the Coens' early film, who has worked on their films in various capacities. He's often provided voiceovers where needed and even offered a place for them to crash when they developed writer's block while working on the screenplay for Miller's Crossing.

So, he writes this book with an insider's perspective. At every opportunity he makes fun of them (as only a close friend can) and spends the first part of the book tracing their career up to The Big Lebowski. The rest of the book plays out as a quasi-Making Of that is quite an entertaining read. For example, he places their film in the grand tradition of bowling noir, a very rarified subgenre of the film noir. Robertson is quite funny as he pontificates about this subgenre at some length.

If I had one complaint about the book is the amount of detail that is gone into about the storyboarding process which I could have done without. But this is a minor quibble at best.

Robertson's style of writing is very casual and easy to read--it won't take you long to get through this book. If you are a hardcore fan of the Coens, then you will definitely enjoy this book and all the little, inside jokes. It will certainly deepen your appreciation for the film and acts as a great companion-piece. ... Read more

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The Brothers Coen: Unique Characters of Violence spans the career of the two-time Oscar-winning producer/director team, exploring the theme of violence that runs through a genre-spanning body of work, from the neo-noir of Blood Simple to the brutal comedy Burn After Reading (2008).

In chapters focusing on major characters, Ryan Doom looks at the chaotic cinematic universe of the Coens, where violent acts inevitably have devastating, unintended consequences. The remarkable gallery of Coen characters are all here: hardboiled gangster Tom Regan from Miller's Crossing (1990), overmatched amateur kidnapper Jerry Lundergaard from Fargo (1996), accidental private eye "The Dude" from The Big Lebowski (1998), psychopathic assassin-for-hire Anton Chigurh from the 2007 Academy Award winner No Country for Old Men, and more.

Customer Reviews (2)

fervor and fury of the Coen's character
I am a huge fan of the Coen brothers.All their films are unique in every avenue of movie making.The author, Ryan Doom, explores these characters on every level.Doom is very clear and concise on analyzing these motley characters, which I loved!I was intrigued by Doom's style of writing.If you are a fan of the Coen brothers, I would highly recommend this book. There are many filmmakers out in the world, but the Coen's are in the major leagues of movies, very eclectic and original. Doom does an excellent job of laying out the foundation and the many doors into each character and film.


Have fun kiddies in this "Theater of Pain" book!!!!! As the crypt keeper says...

A+++++

Great book for any Coen brothers fan.
I have been a huge fan of the Coen brothers' work and have seen all of their movies.I saw this book and was interested on someone else's take on their collective works.The author does a great job of touching on all of the unique (and recurring) themes of all the movies.I would highly recommend this book to other readers, either die hard fans or even casual fans.I was also pleased with the production value.Goes to show that it takes more than a broccoli stick to put together a good book.

Enjoy. ... Read more

Product Description
With landmark films such as Fargo, O Brother Where art Thou?, Blood Simple, and Raising Arizona, the Coen brothers have achieved both critical and commercial success. Proving the existence of a viable market for "small" films that are also intellectually rewarding, their work has exploded generic conventions amid rich webs of trans-textural references. In Joel and Ethan Coen, R. Barton Palmer argues that the Coen oeuvre also forms a central element in what might be called postmodernist filmmaking. Mixing high and low cultural sources and blurring genres like noir and comedy, the use of pastiche and anti-realist elements in films such as The Hudsucker Proxy and Barton Fink clearly fit the postmodernist paradigm. Palmer argues that for a full understanding of the Coen brothers unique position within film culture, it is important to see how they have developed a new type of text within general postmodernist practice that Palmer terms commercial/independent. Analyzing their substantial body of work from this "generic" framework is the central focus on this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Joel and Ethan Coen (b. 1954, 1957) started their careers in obscurity on a shoestring budget cajoled from family and friends in Minneapolis. Working entirely outside the studio system, the Coen brothers scored an unlikely first success in 1984 with their postmodern noir film Blood Simple.Two decades and nearly a dozen movies later, the Coens are now among the best-known writer/directors in Hollywood, turning out major studio releases featuring stars such as George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Tom Hanks.

The Coens’ films all share a distinctive, quirky ambience that critics have come to identify as "that Coen brothers feeling." Tricky moving camera work; frequent use of the voiceover; homages to directors and cinematic genres; a fascination with unexpected, off-kilter violence; and omnipresent black humor are all defining elements of the Coens’ cinematic world.

From such highly stylized movies as Barton Fink and The Man Who Wasn’t There to more mainstream but dark comedies such as Raising Arizona, Intolerable Cruelty, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coens are equally at home with existential despair and comic exuberance, and are known for scripts packed with an obvious love for language. This collection of their most important interviews spans twenty years and is the most comprehensive published on the brothers. ... Read more

Product Description
An analysis of the Coen oeuvre through O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).The authors, German film critics, include a previously unpublished interview with the filmmaking brothers on their off-center work in genres they both satirize and pay tribute to: film noir, horror, screwball comedy, and buddy escapade. As Ethan Coen says: 'We grew up in America, and we tell American stories in American settings within American frames of reference. Perhaps our way of reflecting our system is more comprehensible to non-Americans because they already see the system as something alien." ... Read more

Product Description
Completely revised and updated, this book collects the best interviews, articles, and film reviews of director/screenwriter Joel Coen and producer/screenwriter Ethan Coen. Together, the brothers have created such cult classics as Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and the Oscar-winning Fargo, earning themselves a reputation for brilliance at offbeat black comedy. This publication, featuring dozens of photographs, coincides with the release of the new Coen brothers film Intolerable Cruelty, starring George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Billy Bob Thorton. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Skip to the Good Parts
I am an independant film maker in LA.I am an avid Coen brothers fan.Bottom line this book has too much repetition.Which says to me the editor is the problem.Numerous reviews of the same film and the same interviewquestions with the same answers made me feel like I was taking a short termmemory test.If I read one more time how these guys "first got intofilm making" I was going to... well suffice to say by the middle ofthe book I was skipping pages on a regular basis.The best parts we'rereading their first hand commentary of the making of the films.Frominitial ideas to story lines to casting to on-set dinamics to postproduction.Overall I could have gotten the same info from reading halfthe book though, and in the end that's what I did.Just skip to theinterviews and read the highlighted questions that haven't been askedbefore.It'll save you time and aggrivation. ... Read more

Product Description
The award winning Barton Fink is a dark psychological thriller set in Hollywood in the 1940s. It concerns an aspiring writer who gradually becomes sucked into a grisly world of violence and terror. Miller's Crossing reinvents the 1930s gangster film in a complex story of love, friendship, and betrayal.

Also in this edition is an introduction by Coen brothers' sometime editor Roderick Jaynes, who offers a rare insight into their world.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Roderick Jaynes = Joel and Ethan Coen
I fully agree with everything the other reviewer has said, but I thought it should be noted that Roderick Jaynes is the psuedonym under which the Coens both jointly edit their movies

that should make the dour introduction all the more enjoyable for the Coen fans out there

Two of the Finest Screenplays of the Last Ten Years
The Coen brother's films have never failed to astonish and entertain me. From BLOOD SIMPLE to FARGO, they have shown an uncanny knack for vividcharacteriziations and photographic style.

But the question is, are thescripts as good by themselves?

Thankfully, the answer is yes.The Coen'sscripted prose is dramatically satisfying, and makes one yearn to see thefilms again, which is the highest compliment I can give them.

BARTON FINKis a bold and unusual piece, centred on a playwright who ends up sellinghis soul in Hollywood.It may sound like the usual pointless drivel, butthe Coen's take a surprisingly dark twist into the bizarre, with insaneroommates, creepy bellhops, and drunken authors.It only never fullycaptures the ominous presence of the hotel Barton stays in.On film, it isthe most foreboding motel since Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING.

MILLER'SCROSSING (my favorite film of ALL time) is a different period piece.Itcentres on Irish gangsters in the 1930's.But while the plot is aningenious homage to the gangster film's of Bogart and Cagney, it is thedialogue which makes it shine.Once again, astonishing characterizationsrule the day, as the conflicted Tom Regan plays both sides against eachother for reasons even he may not understand.

An added bonus is theintroduction, written by the Coen's sometime film editor.It is an unusualchoice, as he goes to great lengths to describe how much he does NOT likethe scripts, or film in general.It serves to heighten interest in theircontent, and does prove that the Coens are not for everyone.For those ofus you cannot wait for their next film, this is a treat. ... Read more

Product Description
It's easy to see why Raising Arizona is one of the best and most beloved films that Ethan and Joel Coen have yet to create. The cultish humor, original characters, fresh cinematography, catchy soundtrack, and zany yet well-structured plot to be found in this film are all Coen brothers trademarks. Nicholas Cage plays a veteran criminal who marries a prison guard named Edwina (Holly Hunter). Because he and his wife cannot conceive, our convict-hero kidnaps, with only the most earnest intentions, one of the famous "Arizona Quintuplets." A hellacious bounty-hunting biker and two old pals who have just escaped from the pen make it very hard for the couple to raise their child properly.

This is a movie—and a screenplay—marked by breathless chases, improbable scenes, and hilarious dialogue throughout.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Just as Funny on the Page!
This screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen reminded me of how much I liked the film shot from it.Perennial criminal Hi returns to prison again and again for robbing convenience stores but Edwinna, the police officer who takes his mug shots, softens his heart.He decides to make a new life of it by marrying her.They buy a trailer in Arizona, set up housekeeping, and try the next logical step:to start a family. Edwinna, though, learns that she cannot conceive and that's where the screenplay takes a typical Coenbrother leap into absurdity.Ed and Hi decide to become parents by kidnapping one of a set of quintuplets since "it was unfair that some have so many while others should have so few."What ensures is pure madcap, inventive, hilarious comedy with a hint of the bittersweet.

The screenplay evokes the film with such clarity and excellent visual storytelling that you'll feel as though you're watching it.While Holly Hunter and Nicholas Cage, who played Ed and Hi, excel at portraying quirky characters, this script makes it clear that they had a fantastic script to work with and were not the sole reasons for its success.This paperback contains a few black-and-white still shots of the film (certainly not worth buying the screenplay for), the full credits for the film, and a short interview/exchange between the Coen brothers and the filmmakers for Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn, a movie that was released during the same season. ... Read more

Product Description
Director Joel Coen's and producer Ethan Coen's Blood Simple (1984, River Road Prods/Circle Releasing/Palace) is a contemporary noir thriller set in Texas. A taut, convoluted plot and imaginative direction made the independent release a word-of-mouth hit and established the Coen brothers' reputation for originality. Actors John Getz, Frances McDormand, and Dan Hedaya appear in the story in which a woman commits adultery, and her enraged husband hires a killer for revenge. Blackmail, violence, and mistaken assumptions lead to an edgy, exhilarating climax.
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Customer Reviews (4)

The best Coen Bros movie
Once upon a time, two eager outcasts named Joel and Ethan Coen, strived to be accepted as serious filmmakers...
They went on to become two of the most overrated filmmakers of all time. Blood Simple is for people who like challenging clever movies. If you like pointless cake-decorating and whimsy see their other 8 movies.

The Coens first major effort: "Blood Simple"...
Once upon a time, two eager outcasts named Joel and Ethan Coen, strived to be accepted as serious filmmakers...they went on to become two of the most creative filmmakers of all time, but in this (to their own admission) immature movie, the screenplay is likewise--despite what Roger Ebert and all of his followers say. Only for the desperitly curious...its alright to miss out on this Coen experiment.

The Coens first major effort: "Blood Simple"...
Once upon a time, two eager outcasts named Joel and Ethan Coen, strived to be accepted as serious filmmakers...they went on to become two of the most creative filmmakers of all time, but in this (to their own admission) immature movie, the screenplay is likewise--despite what Roger Ebert and all of his followers say. Only for the desperitly curious...its alright to miss out on this Coen experiment.

Well done.
This script is probably their(the Coens) best, Fargo not withstanding. I see this as more of a shooting script rather than a screenplay, in the traditional sense. There several references to point of view and the camera location or angle used in a slugline form. No matter, the pace and mood of this story are beautiful and haunting. I think it's the simplicity of the action and the great detail paid to the action that enthrall the reader. If you've seen the film, it's dark and atmospheric texture are a direct result of the attention given within the script. Well done. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The best Coen Bros. book
Very smart and informative.No nonsense, clear, and straight-shootingwriting style.Many interesting insights based on facts from in and around the different productions.Levine seems to have inside information, but is not snotty about it. I have gotten a lot out of this book by reading the specific chapters after watching the specific films- reference style.There are also several interesting background-info chapters.The only problem... the book was published in 2000, so only covers through "The Big Lebowski."Nonetheless, I've found this book to be better and more useful than other books on the films of the Coen Bros. ... Read more

Product Description
The Coen brothers make a spectacular return to the black comedy of their classic films in this "hilariously vulgar . . . farce" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). With the arrival of G. H. Dorr III, PhD., unassuming residents of a sleepy delta town are in for a surprise--especially the God-fearing Marva Munson, a widow with an aversion to "hippety-hop music" and a room to let. By providing the villanous doctor with a bed and a cellar in which to practice his "church music," the landlady unwittingly provides Doctor and his motley crew of thieves with a place to plan the perfect heist. Perfect, that is, until she becomes suspicious . . .
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