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Dom Robinson reviews
Momentum Pictures
- Cert:
- Cat.no: MP014D
- Running time: 103 minutes
- Year: 2000
- Pressing: 2001
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 18 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing
- Widescreen: 2.35:1
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Interviews, Trailer, TV Spots
Director:
- Joel Coen
(Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple, Fargo, Hudsucker Proxy, Miller’s Crossing, O Brother Where Art Thou?)
Producer:
- Ethan Coen
Screenplay:
- Joel and Ethan Coen
Music:
- Carter Burwell
Cast:
- Ulysees Everett McGill: George Clooney
Pete: John Tuturro
Delmar: Tim Blake Nelson
Big Dan Teague: John Goodman
Penny Wharvey: Holly Hunter
Tommy Johnson: Chris Thomas King
Pappy O’Daniel: Charles Durning
George “Babyface” Nelson: Michael Badalucco
Vernon T. Waldrip: Ray McKinnon
George Clooney and Holly Hunter Working on a chain gang is not the way to live your life. It won’t make you a millionaire and certainly doesn’t have much in the way of prospects. It’s no wonder that Everett (George Clooney) hatches a plan to escape with fellow convicts Pete (John Tuturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson, looking like a stoned version of the Fast Show‘s Mark Williams) to break away and search for $1.2million worth of buried treasure in the next four days before the entire region is swamped by the bursting banks of the dam. They’ll also become unlikely popstars along the way with a bigger following than Hear’Say 🙂
George has one main aim while on the run – to win back the hand of ex-wife Penny (Holly Hunter) and save her from marrying Vernon T. Waldrip (Ray McKinnon) who has his own agenda. They also cross paths with the over-bearing Big Dan Teague (John Goodman), the over-eating Pappy O’Daniel (Charles Durning) and the over-confident George “Babyface” Nelson (Michael Badalucco), another criminal on the run but one not averse to letting off the tommy gun.
Well, it must be me. My other half couldn’t stop laughing as the film progressed, particularly when Clooney and co. attempt to board a train early on in the film – giving it 9/10 – and a colleague at work said he couldn’t wait to see the film again after having seen it at the cinema. Me? Although I could see what moments should be funny and why, it just didn’t make me laugh at all, plodded on way too long and actually sent me on the way to snoozeland.
Nelson, Clooney and Tuturro on song The anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen ratio picture looks very good, with an intentional bleached effect to bring about the tone of it being a period piece. The average bitrate is a steady 7.32Mb/s.
With dialogue in English only, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack has a number of of moments of aural pleasure such as any time our three heroes are being shot at and also when the dam bursts its banks.
John Goodman does Gabrielle There are 21 minutes of Interviews broken up into raw answers to preset questions from all the usual suspects, expect for John Goodman. The trailer lasts just over two minutes and is in non-anamorphic 2.35:1, while the four TV spots total a minute and are all in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen.
The disc contains 18 chapters, English subtitles for the hard of hearing and silent menus containing subtle animation in keeping with the spirit of the film.
O Brother Where Art Thou? is due for release on April 9th, 2001. Tune back then for a chance to win it on VHS or DVD, at your request.
The original film poster PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL 
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.