Rating: 
Summary: The Coens missed the mark on this one.
Review: This is one of their dark, noirish efforts, and as much as I love the Coens, this movie made me want to take a nap. If you're a fan of "Big Lebowski", "Raising Arizona", "Fargo" and "O Brother", skip this one.Contrary to the film's title, Billy Bob Thornton IS there, and sure makes you wish he wasn't.
Rating: 
Summary: please fix this DVD
Review: This film is one of the Coen brothers' best, if not one of the best films ever made. The same cannot be said of the DVD. The audio commentary is near impossible to turn off, requiring super genius troubleshooting to view the film. The widescreen format was impossible to access - it was a vertically compressed nightmare. I have been unable to watch the DVD, and will search for a hopefully better version in the future - the copy that I own is unwatchable.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Professional, Wonderfully acted but the story was weak
Review: I'm not a movie afficiando. I rent DVDs and if I like them or they move me, I buy them. Maybe this movie is too sophisticated for me, I don't know. I will say that everything about this movie was very professionally executed save for the story. The cinema-photography; rendered in black and white, rivaled anything that I have ever seen from films shot in the 1940's such as "The Maltese Falcon" or "The Big Sleep". The performances are really crisp as well; you really believed they were the characters they were playing. Even the secondary or minor characters performed beautifully. Did any get nominated? The story at times really grabbed me but then it would change directions quite often and I felt like I would have to start all over again with it. Was this film a satire about our the justice machine? Was it a quantum theory exercise circa 1950? A morality tale where all of the guilty pay the piper? And what about the UFO? Most likely, it was all of the above and all at the same time. This made it difficult for me appreciate but for you it may just be a wild ride. Subsequently, I found the story to be rambling and melancholy. Also I felt there were few if any likable characters throughout. I give this film 3 stars for being so well made and preformed even though the story development was chaotic.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Highly Stylized Film By The Coen Brothers
Review: Once again, the Coen Brothers have crafted an exquisite period story on film. Following up on the sepia tone of "O Brother..." the look of this film is darker with more a distinct range of black and white hard edges and shadows, rather than simply a grey patina. It fits the mood, which centers around a simple barber (Billy Bob Thronton) in 1940's Santa Rosa, California, his somewhat antsy wife (Frances McDormand) and a local merchant who may be a crook (James Gandolfini). Simply put (and it's not), it tells the tale of a man who just wants a little bit more out of life and the price he has to pay. Thornton is good as the man with little to say and McDormand is brilliant as the unhappy wife who bites off a little more than she can chew. The Coen Brothers always throw in valuable side characters to intensify the drama and give a wilder spin to the story. I won't reveal any more of the plot, but suffice it to say, it's full of twists and surprises. Brilliant performances are had by every actor (check out the sleazy little salesman who barters with Thorton - "wink"). Besides being a fun story, paced just right, the look is fantastic, as usual. It seems the Coen's frame each shot as if it were meant to be an 8 X 10.
Rating: 
Summary: Lay back, Relax, Let this Movie Flow into Your Brain...
Review: The first time I saw the Coen brother's Film Noir homage, "The Man Who Wasn't There" in the movie theatre, I really didn't like it that much. "A well made and pretty picture" I thought to myself, "but way to slow".I was disapointed because usually I'm a huuuuge Coen Brothers fan.But then something bizarre happened. I saw the film again on DVD and I absolutely loved everything about it!! Why the change? I think it's because the second time around I had a better ideal of what kind of expectations to come to this movie with.This is not a film with fast paced action or story.Instead this is a passive movie which you just have to let unfold and slowly just flow into your brain. In other words this is the perfect movie to 'space out' too. The closest thing I can compare it to is Stanley Kubrick's "2001:A Space Odssey". It's just a beautiful movie that sort of washes over you and later gives the viewer a lot to think about. This Film Noir plot takes place in a late 1940's, small town in Northern California.It is narrated by it's main character, Ed Crane, a barber who spends day afer day doing nothing but cutting hair and chain smoking cigerettes.He is a dreary man who seems to have just let life happen to him (marrige, job etc.). He might as well be wall paper or a potted plant. That is until he takes a chance and attempts extortion and blackmail in order to get in on the new business venture of the future... dry cleaning! From there Ed's life seems to spin indescribably out of control.The Coen brothers have created a weird but wonderful film. It is an homage to Film Noir classics like "Double Indemnity" and "The Postman Rings Twice" in it's smart script and it's look, but at the same time does not play like those movies. Instead it unfolds like a slowly paced, bizarre dream. Billy Bob Thorton gives a great performance as the laconic barber (I love his narration!). Coen brothers regular, Frances McDormand also does a remarkable job as the Barber's unloving wife.Kudos should also be given for some very funny, supporting roles from actors James Gandolfini and Tony Shalhoub. Finally a special mention should be made about Cinematographer, Roger Deakin's brilliant, black & white photography.Deakins has given this movie not only the look of a classic old 1940's Film Noir, but he has created something that I can only describe as moving art!The different shades of black & white he has created are so amazingly beautiful, that they almost become distracting.The DVD for this movie is quite well done. Both the picture and sound are crystal clear. The DVD extras include commentary, trailers and some short interviews with the actors.This is a strange but great film that you definitely have to be in the mood for. I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Best film I have seen in a long time
Review: Well, leave it to the Coen brothers to turn a story about a barber who wants to become a dry cleaner into a little masterpiece. Everything about this film is superb. You could watch it frame by frame and never find a glitch. The cinematography is brilliant, and the film is in black and white. It could not be in colour, which would distract from its focus. The acting, the casting, are impeccable. Billy Bob is so absolutely the man who wasn't there that I can't remember his name in the film. This film is the same kind of tragedy as Fargo: you can see exactly what the tragic flaw is, exactly where everything goes wrong, and everything follows absolutely. It is quite beautiful in this logical progression of results to actions. But the focus is on our anti-hero, Billy Bob, who is one of the best developed and most believable characters I have ever seen on screen. Why he didn't get one of those heavy gold statues for this performance is beyond me.
The DVD has a great commentary with the Coen brothers and Billy Bob, quite a funny and interesting commentary. One of the better ones. There are also interviews with the various actors in the film and with the infamous brothers themselves. All in all, I could not recommend any film more highly than this one. There is nothing that simple here. This is a film about life, about fear, about fears of inadequacy, about not being recognized, about everything good you ever tried to do turning to [bad stuff].It is the tragedy of a failure who simply could not be anything other than what he was, and it is utterly brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: An Terrific Film.
Review: In a small California town, a seemingly simple barber (Oscar-Winner:Billy Bob Thornton) discover that his Wife (Oscar-Winner:Francis McDormand) has been cheated on him, then he decides to black-mail the man (James Gandolfini). Then when he kills him in self-defense, the barber is now changed life is for the Better or Worse. Directed by Oscar-Winner:Joel Coen (The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Raising Arizona), which he did wrote it with his Brother-Ethan Coen (Who also has an Oscar). There's expectional performance by Thronton. Excellent Black & White Cinematography by Roger Deakins (O Brother, Where Art Thou?). There's also fine performances by McDormand, Micheal Budalucco, Tony Shalhoub, Scarlett Johansson, Jon Polito, Gandolfini and Richard Jenkins. DVD has an great anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. There's a commentary track by the Coen Brothers and Thornton. a Deleted Scene, Outtakes and More. Do not miss this fabulous film. Grade:A.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Coen Brother's Movie to date...
Review: If you love old Hollywood movies and really great acting then check out this one. Billy Bob Thorton gives an awesome performance as the put-upon lead character with equally well performed characters by Tony Shaloub, Frances McDormand, James Fandolfini, and others. But be warned, if you don't or can't enjoy dark comedies, then do yourself a favor and skip this one. It isn't an idiotic summer blow-up movie, there isn't any women running around topless, and best of all though is this movie has great dialogue. If you enjoy old film noirs like anything by Hitchcock, then buy this one.
Rating:
Summary: Previous reviewer is a Jackass.
Review: I am typically too lazy to write, however the previous reviewer stirred me enough to demand a response. If you're interested in fast moving color films with stereotyped performances whose sole purpose is entertainment, then stick with Spielberg. I find it amazing that someone with such a poor understanding of film dares comment on it.
If you have an interest in film as an expressive medium and as a reflection of an individual's (or brothers') creative aspirations, you will perhaps at least appreciate the film. Furthermore, the cinematography is absolutely phenomenal, among the best I have ever seen (I dare rank it along side 'Last Year At Marienbad' in this respect).
This is the best Coen Bros. and among the best releases in the past several years.
Rating:
Summary: Billy Bob is bad
Review: This movie [stunk]. I didn't enjoy any of the performances and except for Billy Bob, the main character, I like all the other actors. This was not an interesting movie. It was not a funny movie. It didn't go by fast, which movies should, because they are for entertainment purposes. It's in black and white, which, although super progressive, just doesn't cut it and I understand why it was purposely done that way. At least I believe they purposely made the movie that way for a reason, but you'll have to waste an hour and fifty minutes to understand. Anyways, their is nothing good about the movie except Billy Bob Thorton may have developed emphysema.
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