Rating: 
Summary: Decent, but expect more from Joel and Ethan
Review: It sounds cool, right? The Coen Brothers ("Fargo," "The Big Lebowski") doing a retelling of Homer's The Odyssey, set in depression-era Mississippi, filled with a stellar soundtrack, the usual Coen cast plus George Clooney, and an homage to Preston Sturges. And it is pretty cool, but it's not great, and perhaps doesn't live up to its expectations. Undeniably, the music in the film is fantastic, and the soundtrack album is well worth buying. Clooney turns in a great performance in his first outing with the Brothers, and John Turturro, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman are great as well. Any fan of Homer or Sturges would be proud. However, the movie seems to fall short of what the viewer wants. It lacks the humor and the precise attention to complex and fascinating characters that we found in previous Coen Brothers films. The three bumbling escapees (Clooney, Turturro, and Tim Clarke Duncan) are the expected dim-witted good-hearted Southerners, and in the course of their odyssey to uncover the $1.2 million that Clooney stole and buried, meet a fanciful enough cast of weirdos. There's no laugh-out-loud oddballisms, no endearingly pathetic losers, no poorly thought out crime capers, to keep us really engaged. If it weren't for the music, I'd have checked out. In short, the film's worth seeing, but not keeping. Hey, we can't expect the best of these guys all the time.
Rating:
Summary: Homer Meets Homer Simpson
Review: Overall a good movie. The references to the Odyssey were too glaring in spots and absent in others. I wish the movie would have been more consistent in drawing the parallels.Clooney wasn't too bad- he has a tendency to be a little spastic and overact- he stayed fairly toned down. I was disappointed that the sound track for the film is not taken from the film itself, but oh, well.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful movie
Review: I don't really consider this a comedy. It has funny moments, but most are very clever and very well acted, It has a unique story {have never read The Odessy} with wonderful photography. I really fell in love with most of the characters. The part I truly LOVED most was the music. It enveloped the movie and really created the many moods. The CD soundtrack is truly great, Another thing I really appreciated was the lack of gratuitous sex that most movies just have to include. There was some violence, but it fit the story so well. Some of my family have seen it several times and I'm just waiting for the VHS to add to our collection. I would classify this an art film.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't anybody notice?
Review: Didn't anybody notice the salute to the "Wizard of Oz"? Check out the KKK cross burning scene- Then check out "Oz"- the scene where the 3 characters get to the witches castle. Beautiful, eh? Great film, memorable memorable memorable
Rating: 
Summary: Major disappointment!
Review: I tried hard to get through this movie. I found it lacking in humor. Frankly I found it lacking in everything. This the worst movie I have bought on DVD. It would not even make a good Frisbee.
Rating:
Summary: DIFFERENT, BUT FUNNY
Review: I have to admit, I love movies by the Coen Brothers. They're responsible for great movies like "Fargo", "Raising Arizona", and "Big Lebowski". I just watched this movie a couple of days ago, and well... It was interesting. Don't get me wrong, I thought this was a pretty clever comedy for the most part. Clooney and two other prisoners have escaped and are looking for buried treasure. Along the way, they run into some very interesting characters and unpredictable situations at every corner. This movie is based on "Oddesy" by Homer, except it all takes place in a different time. A good example is John Goodman who plays a one-eyed Bible salesman, who of course resembles the Cyclops. (Even though he was only in the movie for a small portion, I thought he had one of the best parts.) George Clooney also does a superb job, and in fact, we even get to hear him sing. This was a clever comedy, but I felt that some parts were a little slow and hard to understand. Some parts were more confusing than funny. It's just not your typical Coen film, and maybe I expected a little more. Maybe this is one of those movies you have to see a second time to fully appreciate it for what it stands for. There is some outstanding acting and twists along the way, and there are plenty of laughs for everyone to enjoy. You may want to get familar with some of the "Oddesy" before you see this movie. My advice, rent it first before buying it. It's an odd comedy that isn't for everyone. There's more intelligent humor than toilet humor in this movie. All in all, I thought "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" was a good movie, but I still think that "The Big Lebowski" is by far the best Coen movie out there.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, great music, a life journey, adventure..
Review: This movie is best on DVD. The extra material on the single DVD includes the trailer, the music video of "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow," a "making of.." featuring directors/writers/producers Ethan and Joel Coen and "Painting with Pixels," an intriguing look at the use of computers in making this feature. While most of the colateral material is the standard stuff, the Painting with Pixels is an interesting foray into the use of computers to create effects on screen and the treatment of the film when completed. Cinematographer Rodger Deakins explains his job creating the final cut, then the computer artists take over, working with him to get a unique look and feel for the entire film. I was amazed at the information in this piece. The Coen Brothers generously credit Homer with the top writing credit. Homer, a Greek poet, wrote The Odessy, upon which the film is loosely base. Joel and Ethan added the Three Stooges and the Depression-era South, swirled in some instantly likable bluegrass music and came up with a winner of movie. The film begins with the escape of our heros from a chain gang in the backwoods of Mississippi. Our adventurers are supposedly in pursuit of 1.2 million dollars buried at the home of this Ulysess (George Clooney). Clooney plays a wonderful Moe Howard, always willing to throw in an esoteric word or two to liven the conversation. His buddies John Turturro (Larry) and Tim Blake Nelson (Curley) and he try to escape the movie's antagonist, beautifully underplayed by Daniel von Bargen (seemingly straight out of Cool Hand Luke). During their escapades our trio mixes it up with three "sirens" (singing the most alluring version of the old black lullaby "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby" that I have ever heard), a church choir, a "cyclops" (John Goodman with a eye-patch, stealing his scenes with panache) and the Ku Klux Klan. Don't look for historical accuracy in this film. The Klan was never noted as either good dancers or good chanters and "Baby Face" Nelson dies in a hail of bullets not the electric chair. But the Coen Brothers aren't reaching out for accuracy. They are looking for pure entertainment and they achieve this goal. An important note: My wife is not a Three Stooges fan but she loved the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Just a lot of fun
Review: Enjoyed just the sheer fun of it all. The movie did not get too deep, which was just what I was in the mood for when I saw the theater version. Bought the DVD, could not get my 14 year old daughter too interested. No Backstreet Boys in the movie, so what was the point for her?? Great for anyone who enjoys Bluegrass, and the joy of days gone by.
Rating:
Summary: "The 'Lawrence of Arabia' of hayseed movies"
Review: I think this movie will definitely go down as the best Coen Brothers movie. If they ever top this movie, it is going to have to be the greatest movie ever made. The concept of the movie ("the Odyssey" set in 1930s Mississippi with convicts playing Odysseus and his men) was one that only the Coens could pull off. This is their funniest movie since "Raising Arizona" and it is probably their best movie since then as well. Along with the movie, the DVD has great extras. The documentary about how they made the colors in the movie was completely entertaining as was the documentary with the cast and the Coens talking about production. If you have not seen it, you must. If you don't own it, you're really missing out.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, Well Done
Review: Very Interesting and entering. Taking the Odeyssey and making it into a depression type film. Excellent camera work, direction, and acting. The use of computers in this film was interesting as well, which is on the dvd, the making of the movie. I really enjoy watching this film and I am not one to watch movies over again but I have this one.
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