The Coen Brothers have 1 of the well-nigh diverse filmographies of any filmmakers and O Blood brother, Where Art G? is another crowning precious stone in their vivid torso of piece of work. The film stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson equally a trio of escaped convicts searching for a hidden treasure beyond Low Era Mississippi.

The picture is a hilarious and unique adventure that borrows from many inspirations to create a perfect comedy only the Coen Brothers could conceive of. And like most of their films, O Brother Where Art Thou? is filled with hidden details.

10 Opening Quote

The film forgoes the typical narration you might commonly observe in a Coen Brothers movie simply does outset with a quote that reads, "O Muse! Sing in me, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in the means of contending, a wanderer, harried for years on end …"

The quote is the opening line from Homer'southward Odyssey, the story of a warrior'south long journey dwelling. The Coen Brothers based this film on the storyline of that epic tale. Though, in typical Coen Brothers fashion, they admitted that neither of them has really read the ballsy poem and just know it through pop culture.

9 The Title

While Homer'southward Odyssey served every bit the basis for the overall story structure of the movie, the championship was taken from another source. The 1941 film Sullivan's Travels follows a director who wants to make a movie that explores the suffering of real-life and attempts to live similar the less-fortunate to gain feel. The proper name of the film he aspires to make is called "O Blood brother, Where Art Thou?"

The Coen Brothers' film shares a few similarities with Sullivan's Travels, including a similar scene in which convicts are brought into a theater to watch a film.

8 Concatenation Gang Chant

The moving picture is filled with all kinds of brilliant music from different eras of America, which helps bring the film to life. The first song we hear over the opening credits is a chant from a chain gang every bit they work on the roads.

Remarkably, the chant heard is an bodily recording of a chain gang singing the song, "Po Lazarus" in 1959. Even more remarkably, the Coen Brothers were able to track down one fellow member of the chain gang and paid him $twenty,000 for use of the song in the moving-picture show.

7 Characters From The Odyssey

Though the Coen Brothers might be having a niggling fun by saying the film is based on Homer'south Odyssey, they do include a number of references to the original story. Those who know the epic poem well will likewise likely see some characters they recognize.

Ulysses Everett McGill manifestly stands in for Odysseus, the hero who attempts to return to his wife who is being pursued by a suitor. Other characters include Pappy O'Daniel who fills in for Zeus, the one-optics Big Dan Teague who represents the cyclops, and the iii singing girls who lure the heroes, representing the Sirens.

6 Singing Voices

O Brother Where Art Chiliad? has the rare distinction of having a soundtrack that has really go more successful than the movie itself. And the most famous song from this soundtrack is "Human of Constant Sorrow", which is sung in the film by the three lead characters.

Clooney was given the gamble to sing the lead vocals on the song and took lessons to meliorate his singing voice. In the stop, he admits he was not the human for the job and was dubbed. However, Tim Blake Nelson does really provide vocals for his song, "In the Jailhouse At present".

5 Baby Face up Nelson

1 of the colorful characters that the trio of heroes run into is George Nelson, a deranged bank robber who is depressed at non beingness taken seriously and having the nickname Baby Face Nelson.

Infant Face Nelson was indeed a bank robber from this era who is responsible for a number of daring crimes. Nevertheless, Nelson was killed in 1935, two years earlier the events of this film. Likewise, he was killed in a shootout with law rather than executed while in custody, equally is said in the picture.

4 Cows

Though a fairly simple story, the moving picture was praised for its use of visual effects and CGI. While not overly used in the film, the few cases are incorporated convincingly into the overall scene. In one instance, information technology might have been besides convincing.

The scenes in which a cop car hits a cow looked so convincing that the American Humane Association demanded proof that no real animal was harmed. This likewise led to a new disclaimer beingness added to the pic that read, "Scenes which may appear to place an animal in jeopardy were simulated."

3 Tommy Johnson

Some other memorable grapheme that the trio of escaped convicts meets up with is Tommy Johnson, played by Chris Thomas Rex. When the heroes meet Tommy, he is standing at a crossroads where he says he met the devil and traded his soul for the ability to play the guitar.

Apparently, there is some truth to the character or at least some real-life inspiration. In that location was a famed blues musician named Tommy Johnson who sold his soul to the devil to play the blues, according to folk legend.

two Klan Rally

One of the well-nigh memorable scenes in the picture show finds the iii heroes sneaking into a Ku Klux Klan rally to relieve their new friend Tommy. The sequence is an elaborate ane with a giant burning cross and hundreds of costumed extras.

The scene likewise features the Klan members performing an unusual ceremonial march of sorts. Ironically, the march is a military formation and the military troupe hired to dress as Klan members and perform the scene were largely African-American.

1 The Motel

At the stop of the flick, the iii companions finally reach Everett's motel, which is tucked abroad in the woods. Some horror fans might take recognized the cabin from an iconic film of the genre.

The Coens modeled the motel on the one featured prominently in Sam Raimi'southward The Evil Dead. This is not just a random inclusion, but rather an in-joke with their friend Raimi since Joel Coen worked on The Evil Dead with him.

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About The Author

Colin McCormick (2045 Manufactures Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Bluster and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his piece of work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a author of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the offset time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays upwards-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special flick of offense stories that are infused with a little night sense of humour much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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