General: Books/Journal Articles/Videos

Andrew, Geoff.

"The Coen Brothers." In: Stranger than paradise : maverick film-makers in recent American cinema / Geoff Andrew. New York : Limelight Editions, 1999.

Main (Gardner) Stacks PN1998.2 .A65 1999

Astruc, Frederic.

Le cinema des freres Coen Paris : Editions du Cerf, 2001.

MAIN: PN1998.3.C6635 A88 2001

Bergan, Ronald.

The Coen brothers Published: New York : Thunder's Mouth Press ; [Berkeley, Calif.] : Distributed by Publishers Group West, c2000.

MAIN: PN1998.3.C6635 B47 2000

The Coen brothers: interviews

Edited by William Rodney Allen. 1st ed. Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2006.

Main Stack PN1998.3.C6635.C64 2006

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip064/2005034188.html

"Coen, Joel; Coen, Ethan." (filmmakers) Current Biography Sept 1994 v55 n9 p10(5)

Joel and Ethan Coen established a reputation as original filmmakers with their first movie, 'Blood Simple,' and their subsequent films have continued to earn critical acclaim. Their lives and careers are profiled, and critical reaction to their work is discussed.

Coughlin, Paul

"Language Aesthetics in Three Films by Joel and Ethan Coen." Film Journal, vol. 1, no. 12, pp. [no pagination], Spring 2005.

The Edge of Hollywood (American cinema ; 10) [videorecording]

Examines alternative cinema and takes a look at the new breed of outlaw directors, a diverse group of independent filmmakers many of whom are from minority communities, who play their own game on the fringes of traditional Hollywood. Interviews with: Sam Raimi, Jim Stark, Julie Dash, Ira Deutchman, Joel Silver, John Pierson, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, Joel Coen, Steven Soderbergh, Nancy Savoca, Quentin Tarantino. 55 min. Media Resources Center Video/C 3718

Harkness, John

"The sphinx without a riddle." Sight & Sound Vol IV nr 8 (Aug 1994); p 6-9

"An assessment of the work of Ethan and Joel Coen. The Coens' originality lies in the sheer aplomb they bring to the filmmaking process, the relentless darkness of their humor, and the ironic twists that they give to familiar tales. Their fondness for extreme stylization often works, as in Blood Simple and Miller's Crossing, where their reduction of characters to trademark gestures and phrases is well suited to the hermetically sealed universe of film noir, but in The Hudsucker Proxy, their latest film, they try to jam together two items that do not mix: a 1930s story and characters with a 1950s setting." [Art Index]

Hinson, H.

"Bloodlines" [interview with J. Coen, E. Coen and B. Sonnenfeld]. Film Comment v. 21 (March/April 1985) p. 14-19

"Joel and Ethan Coen, brothers from Minnesota who grew up watching and learning from the movies of the forties and fifties, have created an evocative and lively film noir, with a generous dollop of B-movie gore, that has garnered raves from critics across the country. The brothers shared the producing, directing, and writing chores for Blood Simple, a low-budget film that tells the seamy story of a love triangle gone awry. Dan Hedaya's Julian Marty is a creepy outsider in a sleepy Texas town whose wife Abby (Frances McDormand) grows bored and takes up with bartender Ray (John Getz). They are watched by M. Emmet Walsh as Visser, one of the most virulent, sleazy private eyes to ever grace the screen. There is a sly, knowing style at work in the film's comedic elements, and hints of James M. Cain, Hitchcock, and Brian De Palma in its chills and thrills. In an interview, the Coens and cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld discuss their work and their future plans." [Art Index]

Horowitz, Mark

"Coen brothers A-Z: the big two-headed picture." Film Comment v. 27 (September/October 1991) p. 27-8+

A guide to visual and thematic motifs in, cinematic and literary influences on, and other aspects of the films of Joel and Ethan Coen.

Joel & Ethan Coen

Edited by Peter Korte and Georg Seesslen ; translated by Rory Mulholland ; with additional material by Michael Kane. New York : Limelight Editions, 2001.

MAIN: PN1998.3.C6635 J6413 2001

Joel & Ethan Coen : blood siblings

Edited by Paul A. Woods. 2nd ed. London : Plexus, c2003.

PFA : PN1998.3.C635 J634 2003

Jones, Kent.

"Airtight." Film Comment. Nov/Dec 2000. Vol. 36, Iss. 6; p. 44 (5 pages)

UC users only

Katsahnias, Iannis

"Freres de sang." Cahiers du Cinema no. 441 (March 1991) p. 39

Lavery, David.

""Secret Shit": The Uncertainty Principle, Lying, Deviations, and the Movie Creativity of The Coen Brothers." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p141-153, 13p

UC users only

"The article discusses the works of filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen. While critics find their movies empty and hollow, the author states that they leave their signature as auteurs all over their films. Critical response to the films of the Coen brothers, including "Barton Fink," "The Man Who Wasn't There," and "The Big Lebowski," is examined. The author suggests that the Coens parody films and other forms of a media with a zest that belies their media personas as unassuming, anti-intellectual filmmakers." [EBSCO]

Levine, Joshua S.

The Coen brothers : the story of two American filmmakers Toronto : ECW Press, c2000.

MAIN: PN1998.3.C6635 L48 2000;Levine, Joshua S.

Marineo, Franco.

Il cinema dei Coen Alessandria : Falsopiano, 1999.

MAIN: PN1998.3.C6635 M37 1999

Mottram, James.

The Coen Brothers : the life of the mind Dulles, VA : Brassey's Inc., 2000.

MAIN: PN1998.3.C6635 M68 2000

Natoli, Joseph.

"Ethan and Joel Coen."

In: Postmodernism : the key figures / edited by Hans Bertens and Joseph Natoli. Malden, Mass. : Blackwell Publishers, 2002.

Main Stack B831.2.P683 2002

Palmer, R. Barton

Joel and Ethan Coen Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c2004.

MAIN: PN1998.3.C6635 P35 2004; View current status of this item

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0412/2003026970.html

Pooley, Eric

"Warped in America: the dark vision of moviemakers Joel and Ethan Coen." New York March 23, 1987 v20 p44(5)

Robson, Eddie.

Coen brothers London : Virgin, 2003.

Main Stack PN1998.3.C6635.R63 2003

Rowell, Erica

The brothers Grim : the films of Ethan and Joel Coen Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2007.

MAIN: PN1998.3.C6635 R69 2007

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip076/2006100168.html

Russell, Carolyn R.

The films of Joel and Ethan Coen Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, c2001.

MAIN: PN1998.3.C6635 R87 2001

Sickels, Robert C.

"We're in a tight spot!": The Coen Brothers' Screwy Romantic Comedies." Journal of Popular Film & Television, Fall2008, Vol. 36 Issue 3, p114-122, 9p

UC users only

Silverman, Jonathan.

"Up Close and Distant: The Coen Brothers' Sense of Place." Journal of the American Studies Association of Texas, Nov2007, Vol. 38, p31-38, 8p

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Snee, Brian J.

"Soft-Boiled Cinema: Joel and Ethan Coens' Neo-Classical Neo-Noirs." Literature Film Quarterly; 2009, Vol. 37 Issue 3, p212-223, 12p, 10 bw

UC users only

Tirard, Laurent

"Joel and Ethan Coen." In: Moviemakers' master class : private lessons from the world's foremost directors 1st ed. New York : Faber and Faber, 2002.

Main Stack PN1995.9.P7.T495 2002

Moffitt PN1995.9.P7.T495 2002

Walker, Joseph S., Perry, Keith

"Introduction: "If You Think We're Alive, You Ought To Speak"." Post Script; Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p3-7, 5p

UC users only

The article discusses the films of Joel and Ethan Coen, including "Blood Simple," "Raising Arizona," and "No Country for Old Men." The author says that the films of the Coen brothers create their own fantastic and idiosyncratic worlds, where none of the usual rules apply. Essays present in this issue of "Post Script" examine all of the films of the Coen brothers, which represent serious critical writing that was slow to appear. This slowness was due to what the author calls active discouragement of analysis and secrecy on the part of the Coens.

Articles and Books on Individual films

Barton Fink

Alleva, Richard.

"Get the Guy with Glasses: The Coens' 'Barton Fink' -- Barton Fink directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen." Commonweal. Sep 27, 1991. Vol. 118, Iss. 16; p. 550 (2 pages)

UC users only

Baecque, Antoine de

"Meurtre a l'Hotel Earle." Cahiers du Cinema no. 448 (October 1991) p. 36-7

Canby, Vincent

"Barton Fink."(Living Arts Pages) The New York Times August 21, 1991 v140 pB1(N) pC13(L) col 1 (22 col in)

Dickerson, S.

"Hollywood Babylon." Modern Review Vol I nr 2 (Winter 1991-92); p 12

Dunne, Michael

"Barton Fink': intertextuality, and the (almost) unbearable richness of viewing." (directors Joel and Ethan Coen)(Critical Essay)Literature-Film Quarterly Oct 2000 v28 i4 p303(9)

UC users only

"This article aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an intertextual reading of motion pictures, focusing on the intertextual qualities of Joel and Ethan Coen's film, 'Barton Fink.' Topics addressed include the portrayal of reality, the relationship between audience and author, and postmodernist satire." [Expanded Academic Index]

Giavarini, L.

"L'Accouchement du cinema: Barton Fink." [and other films by the Coen brothers]. Cahiers du Cinema no. 448 (October 1991) p. 41-4

Grenier, Richard

"Barton Fink." Commentary Nov 1991 v92 n5 p51(3)

UC users only

Hainge, Greg.

"The Unbearable Blandness of Being: the Everyday and Muzak in Barton Fink and Fargo." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p38-47, 10p

UC users only

Jameson, Richard T.; Horowitz, M.

"What's in the box." Film Comment Vol XXVII nr 5 (Sept-Oct 1991); p 26-28,30,32

UC users only

"Barton Fink, Joel and Ethan Coen's new film, deals with a socially conscious New York playwright brought to Hollywood to write genre scripts in 1941. The film is mesmerizingly authoritative as long as it concentrates on the imaginative projection of interior life. The Coens' sense of film history and lore is careless and inaccurate, however, and their attempt at historical allegory, including a reference to Hitler and a figurative Holocaust, is silly." [Art Index]

Jenkins, Steve.

"Barton Fink." (movie reviews) Sight and Sound Feb 1992 v1 n10 p39(2)

Jousse, Thierry

"Barton Fink." Cahiers du Cinema no. 448 (October 1991) p. 30-3

Kauffmann, Stanley

"Barton Fink." (movie reviews) The New Republic Sept 30, 1991 v205 n14 p26(2) (1110 words)

UC users only

Klawans, Stuart.

"Barton Fink." (movie reviews) The Nation Sept 23, 1991 v253 n9 p350(2) (2451 words)

UC users only

Lyons, Donald

"Lubricating the muse." Film Comment Vol XXVIII nr 1 (Jan-Feb 1992); p 14-16

UC users only

Examines the treatment of the literary milieu in "Barton Fink", "Kafka" and "Naked lunch".

Moss, Andrew.

"Schizophrenia and Postmodernism: Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, and "The Coen Brothers". Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p23-37, 15p

UC users only

Murch, Walter.

"How do You Like Your Room? Thoughts on the Use of Sound in Barton Fink." Soundtrack, Nov2008, Vol. 1 Issue 3, p211-215, 5p

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Powers, John

"Finking it." Sight & Sound Vol I nr 5 (Sept 1991); p 4

Comment on the Coen brothers' style and critical, if not commercial, success with "Barton Fink".

Rafferty, Terrence

"Barton Fink." (movie reviews) The New Yorker Sept 9, 1991 v67 n29 p76(3)

Robertson, William Preston.

"What's the goopus? " (Joel, Ethan Coen making motion picture Barton Fink; includes related article on dominant motifs in Coen films) American Film August 1991 v16 n8 p28(7)

"Barton Fink, an absurd comedy about writer's block, is Joel and Ethan Coen's most poignantly intimate film yet. Winner of the best film, best director, and best actor awards at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the film stars John Turturro, John Goodman, Michael Lerner, John Mahoney, and Jon Polito. The making of Barton Fink is discussed, and a sidebar describes some dominant motifs in the Coen oeuvre." [Art Index]

Rosenbaum, Jonathan

"Crass consciousness: Barton Fink." In: Placing movies: the practice of film criticism / Jonathan Rosenbaum Berkeley : University of California Press, c1995

UC users only

Saada, Nicolas

"Barton Fink." Cahiers du Cinema no. 445 (June 1991) p. 29

Saada, Nicolas; Jousse, Thierry

"Ethan et Joel Coen: interview about Barton Fink." Cahiers du Cinema no. 448 (October 1991) p. 34-5

Schickel, Richard

"A three-espresso hallucination." (Joel and Ethan Coen, film makers, and their latest movie 'Barton Fink') Time August 26, 1991 v138 n8 p58(2) (1373 words)

UC users only

Stefon, Matt.

"That "Barton Fink Feeling" and the Fiery Furnace: The Book of Daniel and Joel and Ethan Coen's Barton Fink." Journal of Religion & Film, Apr2008, Vol. 12 Issue 1, p36-36, 1p

UC users only

Sutherland, Katherine.

"Beauty and the Beast, Basic Instinct and Barton Fink: The Pursuit of Textual Satisfaction." Textual Studies in Canada/Etudes Textuelles au Canada. 4: 81-91. 1994.

Yarbrough, Scott.

"Faulkner and water imagery in Bartn Fink." The Faulkner Journal. Fall 2000/2001. Vol. 16, Iss. 1/2; p. 95 (11 pages)

UC users only

The Big Lebowski

Alleva, Richard

"The Big Lebowski." (movie reviews) Commonweal April 10, 1998 v125 n7 p22(2) (1322 words)

UC users only

Comer, Todd A.

"This Aggression Will Not Stand": Myth, War, and Ethics in The Big Lebowski." Substance: A Review of Theory & Literary Criticism, 2005, Vol. 34 Issue 2, p98-117, 20p;

UC users only

Coughlin, Paul.

"Language Aesthetics in Three Films by Joel and Ethan Coen." Film Journal 1.12 (2005).

UC users only

Hoefer, Anthony

""Like tumbleweed drifting across a vacant lot": The Mythic Landscape of Los Angeles in Chandler's The Big Sleep and the Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski." Clues. Spring 2008. Vol. 26, Iss. 3; p. 42 (14 pages)

Kauffmann, Stanley.

"The Big Lebowski." (movie reviews) The New Republic April 6, 1998 v218 n14 p26(2) (1201 words)

UC users only

Kazecki, Jakub.

""What Makes A Man, Mr. Lebowski?": Masculinity Under (Friendly) Fire In Ethan And Joel Coen's The Big Lebowski." Atenea, Jun2008, Vol. 28 Issue 1, P147-159, 13p;

UC users only

"The article discusses the role of masculinity in the motion picture "The Big Lebowski," directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. The author takes a look at the negative criticism received by the film upon its release. The author also examines how the film breaks the boundaries of genre and traditional masculine roles." [Ebsco]

Klawans, Stuart.

"The Big Lebowski." (movie reviews) The Nation March 30, 1998 v266 n11 p35(2) (518 words)

UC users only

Lattek, Michael

"Abduction and Adoption: Tracing the Western in 'The Big Lebowski'." In: Picturing America : trauma, realism, politics, and identity in American visual culture / Antje Dallmann, Reinhard Isensee, Philipp Kneis (eds.). Frankfurt am Main ; New York : Lang, 2007.

Main (Gardner) Stacks PN1992.6 .P556 2007

Martin, Paul; Renegar, Valerie R.

""The Man for His Time" The Big Lebowski as Carnivalesque Social Critique." Communication Studies. Sep 2007. Vol. 58, Iss. 3; p. 299

Martin-Jones, David.

"No Literal Connection: Images of Mass Commodification, U.S. Militarism, and the Oil Industry in The Big Lebowski." Sociological Review 54.1 (2006): 131-49.

UC users only

Maslin, Janet.

"The Big Lebowski." (movie reviews) The New York Times March 6, 1998 v147 pB25(N) pE31(L) col 1 (21 col in)

Merkin, Daphne

"The Big Lebowski." (movie reviews)The New Yorker March 23, 1998 v74 n5 p98(2)

Ostria, Vincent

"The Big Lebowski." Cahiers du Cinema no. 523 (April 1998) p. 76-7

"A review of The Big Lebowski, a film by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film presents a new race of antihero in the form of an ageing hippy, Jeffrey Lebowski (the Dude) and his sidekick, Walter Sobchak. The Coen brothers claim that their aim was to make a vague remake of Howard Hawks's The Big Sleep, but instead they caricature the genre and push it to the point where the humor weakens or even negates it. Although several parts of the film (notably the dialogue) are full of silly and nasty humor, it is really a somewhat condescending study of human stupidity." [Art Index]

Peachment, Chris.

"The Big Lebowski." (movie reviews) New Statesman (1996) April 24, 1998 v127 n4382 p45(1) (730 words)

UC users only

Robertson, William Preston.

The Big Lebowski : the making of a Coen brothers film New York : W.W. Norton, c1998.

MAIN: PN1997.B444 R63 1998

Contents via Google books

Romney, Jonathan

"In praise of goofing off" The Big Lebowski." (movie reviews) Sight and Sound May 1998 v8 i5 p38(2)

Singer, Marc.

"Trapped by Their Pasts": Noir and Nostalgia in The Big Lebowski." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p84-96, 13p, 3 bw;

UC users only

Blood Simple

Corliss, Richard

"Blood simple." (movie reviews)Time Jan 28, 1985 v125 p90(2) (586 words)

Coughlin, Paul.

"The Mark of Cain: Blood Simple and The Man Who Wasn't There." Scope: An Online Journal of Film & TV Studies 3 (2005).

Ferncase, Richard K.

"Neon noir: Blood simple (1984)" In: Outsider features: American independent films of the 1980s / Richard K. Ferncase. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1996.

Main PN1993.5.U6 F44

Grimes, Larry E.

"Shall These Bones Live? The Problem of Bodies in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Joel Coen's Blood Simple." In: Screening the sacred: religion, myth, and ideology in popular American film / edited by Joel W. Martin, Conrad E. Ostwalt, Jr. pp: 19-29 Boulder: Westview Press, 1995.

Main Stack PN1995.5.S36 1995

Hinson, Hal

"Bloodlines." (The Coens of "Blood Simple") Film Comment March-April 1985 v21 p14(5)

On the stylistic qualities of "Blood simple". Writer-director Joel Coen, writer-producer Ethan Coen and cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld on their background and production of the movie.

Joseph, Tiffany

""A Real Imaginary Place": Reality and Fantasy From Blood Simple To The Man Who Wasn't There." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p107-116, 10p

UC users only

Kael, Pauline

"Blood simple." (movie reviews) The New Yorker Feb 25, 1985 v61 p81(3)

Kauffmann, Stanley

"Blood simple." (movie reviews) The New Republic Feb 25, 1985 v192 p24(2) (1437 words)

Lidz, Franz

"Brothers who practice the art of the put-on." (re-release of director's cut of 'Blood Simple' by Ethan and Joel Coen) The New York Times July 2, 2000 pAR9(N) pAR9(L) col 1 (25 col in)

O'Brien, Tom

"Blood simple." (movie reviews) Commonweal April 5, 1985 v112 p213(1)

O'Toole, Lawrence

"Blood simple." (movie reviews) Maclean's April 15, 1985 v98 p58(1)

Orr, Stanley

"Razing Cain: Excess Signification In Blood Simple and the Man Who Wasn't There." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p8-22, 15p, 7 bw; (AN 34397441)

UC users only

Musto. Michael

"Blood simple." (movie reviews) Saturday Review April 1985 v11 p75(1)

Simon, John

"Blood simple." National Review March 22, 1985 v37 p55(2) (695 words)

Snee, Brian J.

"Soft-Boiled Cinema: Joel and Ethan Coens' Neo-Classical Neo-Noirs." Literature Film Quarterly; 2009, Vol. 37 Issue 3, p212-223, 12p, 10 bw

UC users only

Burn After Reading

Rapold, N.

"Burn after Reading." Sight & Sound v. ns18 no. 11 (November 2008) p. 52-3

UC users only

Tyree, J. M.; Walters, Ben

"League of Morons." Sight & Sound v. ns18 no. 11 (November 2008) p. 36-8

UC users only

Fargo

Beavis, Mary Ann

"Fargo: A Biblical Morality Play." The Journal of Religion and Film Vol. 4, No. 2, October 2000

Blake, Richard A.

"Fargo" (review) America April 20, 1996 v174 n13 p26(2) (1116 words)

UC users only

Burdeau, Emmanuel; Saada, Nicolas

"Les forces de l'ordre./ Entretien avec Ethan et Joel Coen."Cahiers du Cinéma; nr.505 (Sept 1996); p.40-47,49

The Coen brothers express their surprise at the success of "Fargo", coming after the box-office flop of"The Hudsucker proxy", and comment on the nature of independent cinema.

Carriere, Jeanne L.

"Cold Comfort: Law and Community in Ethan and Joel Coen's Fargo." Utah Law Review 2003.2 (2003): 563-86.

UC users only

Carter, Steven

"'Flare to white': Fargo and the postmodern turn." Literature/Film Quarterly; Vol.XXVII nr.4 (1999); p.238-244

UC users only

Suggests that "Fargo" documents the common inability of ordinary people to feel passionately about anything.

Castle, Robert.

"Kubrick and the Coen Brothers Again: The Shining and Fargo." Bright Lights Film Journal. 42: (no pagination). 2003 Nov.

Chaloupka, William.

"Praising Minnesota: The Coens' Fargo and the Pressures of Stoic Community." Theory & Event 1.2 (1997).

Coe, Jonathan

"Fargo" (review) New Statesman & Society June 7, 1996 v9 n406 p36(1) (797 words)

UC users only

The Coen brothers' Fargo

Edited by William G. Luhr. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2004.

MAIN: PN1997.F3456 C64 2004

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/cam031/2003043847.html

Coughlin, Paul.

"Acting for Real: Performing Characters in Miller's Crossing and Fargo." Journal of Popular Culture, Apr2008, Vol. 41 Issue 2, p224-244, 21p

UC users only

Coughlin, Paul.

"Language Aesthetics in Three Films by Joel and Ethan Coen." Film Journal 1.12 (2005).

UC users only

Cramer, Barbara

"Fargo." (movie reviews)Films in Review May-June 1996 v47 n5-6 p61(1)

Coursodon, Jean-Pierre Positif;nr.423 (May 1996); p.12-15

"Fargo. Le génie du lieu."

Dahan, Yannick; Coen, Ethan

"Du rêve à la réalité./ Introduction à "Fargo"." Positif;nr.447 (May 1998); p.12-15

Analyses the themes in the Coen brothers' films, focusing on an inherent criticism of US society in the'90's and the values and power of Hollywood. Incl. "Introduction to Fargo" written by Ethan Coen, where hereminisces about his grandmother and gives his reasons for making "Fargo".

Denby, David

"Fargo." (movie reviews) New York March 18, 1996 v29 n11 p50(2)

Doherty, Thomas

"Fargo" (review) Cineaste Spring 1996 v22 n2 p47(2) (1558 words)

UC users only

Francke, Lizzie

"Hell freezes over." Sight & Sound Vol VI nr 5 (May 1996); p 24-27

"With their latest film, Fargo, the Minnesota-born brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen, return to the icy wastelands of the American northern Midwest, with its Scandinavian influence. This vast landscape is the bleak backdrop to a story of a faked but unsuccessful kidnapping, which is apparently based on fact. The Coens show a wry, teasing affection for the community in which they grew up, and the film is almost warm in its depiction of this Siberian-looking patch of the United States. A number of photographic stills from the film are reproduced alongside commentary from the directors." [Art Index]

Hainge, Greg.

"The Unbearable Blandness of Being: the Everyday and Muzak in Barton Fink and Fargo." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p38-47, 10p

UC users only

Holt, Linda

"Fargo" (review) TLS. Times Literary Supplement June 14, 1996 n4863 p20(1)

Kauffmann, Stanley

"Fargo" (review) The New Republic March 25, 1996 v214 n13 p30(2) (820 words)

UC users only

Klady, Leonard

"Coens commit near-perfect crime." Variety; Vol.CCCLXII nr.2 (Feb 12 1996); p.78

Kroeber, Karl

"Magnifying Criminality: Fargo, Film Noir, and A Perfect World." In: Make believe in film and fiction : visual vs. verbal storytelling / Karl Kroeber. 1st ed. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

Main Stack PN1995.3.K76 2006

Krohn, Bill

"Fargo, situation des frères Coen." Cahiers du Cinéma; nr.502 (May 1996); p.32-35

"A review of Fargo, Joel and Ethan Coen's latest film. Set in the frozen landscape of Minnesota, this film is based on the true story of a kidnapping that goes very wrong and has a bloody end. It centers on Jerry Lundergaard, a car salesman who needs to find a lot of money very quickly and who decides to stage the kidnapping of his wife by two crooks. The result is a reign of terror that is finally stopped by the heavily pregnant chief of police, Marge Gunderson. Showing the Coen brothers at their best, this Hitchcock-like tragedy ultimately demonstrates that ours is an absurd world where good actions lead to disaster as much as bad ones." [Art Index]

Lane, Anthony

"Fargo." (movie reviews)The New Yorker March 25, 1996 v72 n5 p97(3)

Lee, Scott.

"Fargo: Struggle for the Vehicle." Canadian Journal of Film Studies/Revue Canadienne D'Etudes Cinematographiques. 11 (1): 60-77. 2002 Spring.

Leitch, Thomas M.

"Fargo and the Crime Comedy." In: Crime films Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Full-text of this book available online via ebrary [UC Berkeley users only]

UCB Main PN1995.9.D4 L45 2002

Table of contents

Maslin, Janet

"Fargo" (review) The New York Times March 8, 1996 v145 pB1(N) pC1(L) col 3 (23 col in)

Masson, Alain; others

"Joel et Ethan Coen." Positif;nr.427 (Sept 1996); p.4-17

Incl. a review of "Fargo", a look at the film within the overall career of the Coen brothers, and aninterview in which they speak of the film's setting, production, and basis in fact.

McKinney, Devin

"Fargo." (movie reviews)Film Quarterly Fall 1996 v50 n1 p31(4)

UC users only

"Coming from Joel and Ethan Coen, Fargo is a betrayal of themselves, their audience, and a human milieu. As with their five previous features, Fargo examines the commonplace horrors visited upon those who dare to live out lives they envision in their personal master narratives. Although the film is linked to their better work in thematic and visual aesthetic terms, Fargo is an unfortunate departure in every other sense, trading dark humor for dim slapstick and a provocatively distanced form of observation for a feckless pose of fake objectivity. The film achieves nothing more striking than to unite its characters in the torpor of a shared idiocy." [Art Index]

Newman, Kim

"Fargo" (review)Sight and Sound June 1996 v6 n6 p40(2)

Palmer, R. B.

"[The Coen Brothers' Fargo]." Film Quarterly v. 58 no. 4 (Summer 2005) p. 57-8

Excerpt: "As William Luhr suggests, . . . Fargo usefully typifies the kind of slick, marketable 'independent' filmmaking that, emerging in the 1980s, has continued to be an important element in the American industry ever since; Fargo provides insight 'into significant recent trends in both the film industry and American culture.' There is no disputing that conclusion. Most would agree as well that the film is 'a haunting and delightful one that explores middle-American themes and settings from an original and unsettling perspective, that challenges traditional cinematic genre structures, and that comments on American racial, gender, and cultural traditions.' The texts collected here explore that thematic richness from a variety of critical and methodological perspectives, although, somewhat disappointingly, the book offers less engagement with how the film, and the work of the Coens in general, relates to 'recent trends' in the film industry." [Art Index]

Probst, Christopher

"Cold-blooded scheming." American Cinematographer; Vol.LXXVII nr.3 (Mar 1996); p.28-30,32,34

"Cinematographer Roger Deakins's work on Fargo, his third collaboration with the filmmaking duo Joel and Ethan Coen, is discussed. A dark comedy, the film is a tale of a kidnapping gone awry in the dead of winter in Minneapolis. The Coens and Deakins met during preproduction to discuss and determine the film's visual style, while the dynamics of a given scene were worked out on set. On Fargo, the Coens shot on 40mm and 32mm, longer lenses than they have ever shot before. As before, Deakins employed his favorite camera, an Arriflex BL-4, fitted out with Zeiss prime lenses, and exposed on his favorite film stock, Eastman's 200 ASA EXR 5293."

Radner, Hillary.

"New Hollywood's New Women--Sarah and Margie." In: Contemporary Hollywood cinema / edited by Steve Neale and Murray Smith. London ; New York : Routledge, 1998.

Main (Gardner) Stacks PN1993.5.U65 C66 1998

Robson, Eddie.

"From The Hudsucker Proxy to Fargo: "A Different Concept, A Different Kind of Film"." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p73-83, 11p

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Rosenbaum, Jonathan.

"The human touch: Decalogue and Fargo." In: Essential cinema : on the necessity of film canons / Jonathan Rosenbaum. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.

Main Stack PN1994.R5684 2004

Moffitt PN1994.R5684 2004

PFA PN1994.R63 2004

Saada, N.

"Entretien avec Ethan et Joel Coen" [on their film Fargo]. Cahiers du Cinema no. 505 (September 1996) p. 43-7+

"An interview with Ethan and Joel Coen on the release of their film Fargo (1996). Among a range of topics, they discuss their respective roles in the making of the film, their previous film The Hudsucker Proxy, the independent cinema movement, the inspiration for the film, its style and actors, and Hitchcock's influence on their work." [Art Index]

Simon, John

"Fargo" (review) National Review April 22, 1996 v48 n7 p60(3) (1540 words)

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Sterritt, David.

"Fargo: the middle of nowhere?" In: Guiltless pleasures : a David Sterritt film reader. 1st ed. Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, c2005.

Main Stack PN1994.S816 2005

PFA PN1994.S816 2005

Travers, Peter

"Fargo." (movie reviews) Rolling Stone March 21, 1996 n730 p104(1)

Intolerable Cruelty

Hansen-Love, Mia

"Savoir plaire." Cahiers du Cinema no. 584 (November 2003) p. 34-5

"A review of Intolerable Cruelty, a film by Joel and Ethan Coen. This romantic comedy pits glamorous divorce lawyer Miles Massey against glacial arriviste Marylin Rexroth, with whom he falls in love. This wonderful and very funny film plays with the conventions of the genre but avoids falling into sentimentality." [Art Index]

Klawans, Stuart

"The Avengers." (Movie Review) The Nation Nov 10, 2003 v277 i15 p32 (1664 words)

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Lange, Pedro.

""The Purloined Letter and the Massey Prenup: of Ethics, the Lacanian Real, and Nuptial Bliss in Intolerable Cruelty." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p117-126, 10p

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Mitchell, Elvis

"A Lawyer's Good Teeth Help in Court and Love." (Movies, Performing Arts/Weekend Desk)(movie 'Intolerable Cruelty')(Movie Review) The New York Times Oct 10, 2003 pE13 col 01 (23 col in)

Rooney, David

"Love among sharks delivers comic bite." (Intolerable Cruelty)(Movie Review) Variety Sept 8, 2003 v392 i4 p25(2) (1031 words)

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Silberg, Jon

"Divorce American Style." American Cinematographer v. 84 no. 10 (October 2003) p. 48-50, 52, 54-9

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The work of cinematographer Roger Deakins on Joel and Ethan Coen's Intolerable Cruelty is discussed. The film tells the story of a conniving woman who vows to gain revenge on an equally conniving divorce attorney who has managed to do her out of any claim to her husband's fortune. Deakins shot the film with an Arri 535 mounted with Cooke S4 lenses, using fairly conventional focal lengths: 40mm and 50mm for closer shots and 32mm for wider ones.

Tatum, Chuck

"Cruel romance: Clooney & Zeta-Jones wage divorce wars for the Coen Bros." (Movie Review) Film Journal International Oct 2003 v106 i10 p10(2) (777 words)

Walters, Ben

"Intolerable Cruelty." Sight and Sound Nov 2003 v13 i11 p49(3)

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"In this film, the Coen brothers deliver a mainstream romantic comedy with the potential to earn more than the rest of their oeuvre combined. The problem, however, is not that they have chosen to produce a straight genre piece but that they have not pulled it off--a failing all the more surprising given the sophisticated play with genre tropes in many of their movies. That said, the film is never less than enjoyable, and, importantly for a comedy, it is often hilarious." [Art Index]

The Lady Killers

Arnold, David L. G.

"On Ladies, Killing, and the Ethics Of The Remake: the Coen Brothers Do The Ladykillers." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p127-140, 14p

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Kemp, Philip; Walters, Ben

"Satire with tweezers." Sight & Sound Vol XIV nr 7 (July 2004); p 22-26,54

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"Alexander Mackendrick's The Ladykillers, which has been remade by the Cohen brothers, is "obviously a parody of Britain in its subsidence." All the film's imagery conjures up a postimperial Britain hopelessly resistant to change, inextricably mired in the faded detritus of the Victorian era. Although reviewers failed to sense the film's allegorical level, or to see it for what it is--an ironic portrait of a country slipping into postimperial desuetude, clinging to outworn conventions and dreaming of past glories--it is this satirical element and the dark tinge of the comedy that have kept The Ladykillers fresh when so many of its Ealing Studios stablemates have faded into a faintly musty period charm." [Art Index]

Lane, Anthony

"Heists." ("The Lady killers")(Movie Review) The New Yorker April 5, 2004 v80 i7 p089 (1626 words)

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Malausa, V.

"Ladykillers." Cahiers du Cinema no. 591 (June 2004) p. 41

"A review of The Ladykillers, a film by Joel and Ethan Coen. This is a remake set in the American South of the classic British comedy of the same name in which a gang of criminals rent a cellar in an attempt to break into the safe of a neighboring casino. This is the driest Coen brothers film yet, relying, out of laziness and fear, almost exclusively on Tom Hanks's performance and on a blase playfulness." [Art Index]

McCarthy, Todd

"Pic can't conjure up that old Ealing." (Movie Review) Variety March 22, 2004 v394 i6 p38(2) (1156 words)

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Miranda Sawyer

"Bit of a steal: the Coen brothers' remake of an Ealing classic lacks the genius of the original." (Film)(The Ladykillers)(Movie Review) New Statesman (1996) June 28, 2004 v133 i4694 p45(1) (790 words)

Walters, Ben.

"Stealing the Scene." Sight and Sound. 14 (7): 24-26. 2004 July.

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"The Coen brother's new version of The Ladykillers returns to the source of the original film, with added stupidity. The dialogue is predictably a treat, especially the highfalutin' Latinate verbiage of Tom Hanks's would-be evil genius. Some half-hearted gross-out moments are less than effective, and those dispirited by Intolerable Cruelty's generically conservative approach might still feel deprived of the more outre expressions of the Coens' sensibility. However, their comic touch is as deft as ever, even if it is played in a more conventional key." [Art Index]

Interview with J. Todd Anderson concerning his work on storyboarding the Coen Brothers "The ladykillers"

The Man Who Wasn't There

Arthur, Paul

"The Man Who Wasn't There: Joel Coen, USA, 2001." (movie review) Film Comment Sept-Oct 2001 v37 i5 p75(1) (856 words)

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"Joel and Ethan Coen's The Man Who Wasn't There is a fully realized, cohesive, and completely "serious" homage to film noir. The shadow of noir casts an equivocal pall over the Coens' entire output, but with this movie they finally get it right. Set in 1949 amidst a revitalized cold war economy rife with xenophobia and the lasting horrors of World War II, the film is the sleazy tale of the descent into criminality of meek barber Ed Crane, who is played by Billy Bob Thornton. As in earlier Coen Brothers movies, there are more reversals and plot twists than in George W. Bush's foreign policy." [Art Index]

Brook, Vincent and Campbell, Allan

"'Pansies Don't Float': Gay Representability, Film Noir, and The Man Who Wasn't There." Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media 2003, No. 46

Fuller, Graham

"Dead man walking." Sight & Sound v. ns11 no. 10 (October 2001) p. 12-15

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"The new film by the Coen Brothers, The Man Who Wasn't There,0 looks like vintage film noir and offers tribute to the genre's literary godfather, James Cain. However, although there are a number of connections in the film to Cain's novels, in making the protagonist passive and asexual, the Coens' have moved away from typical Cain adaptations. There is in fact a case to be made that their film, which is languid to the point of sluggishness, is anti-noir and is a puritanical revision of Cain as well. While Cain's paradigmatic noir stories were about the desire to make a wish come true and the price paid when it does, the protagonist in the Coens' new film is notable for his absence of ego and for the overriding sense that he wants nothing." [Art Index]

Hohenadel, Kristin

"The ghosts who infest the living; no longer simple wraiths clad in sheets, a new species of spirit is either dead acting as if it's alive or alive acting as if it's dead." The New York Times Oct 28, 2001 pAR13(N) pAR13(L) col 1 (35 col in)

Johnson, Brain

"A knack for noir: David Mamet and the Coen brothers prove their mastery of the genre." (films The Man Who Wasn't There and Heist)(Review) Maclean's Nov 12, 2001 p53 (1336 words)

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Joseph, Tiffany

""A Real Imaginary Place": Reality and Fantasy From Blood Simple To The Man Who Wasn't There." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p107-116, 10p

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Kemp, Philip

"Dead man walking." Sight & Sound Vol XI nr 10 (Oct 2001); p 12-15

Analysis of how the Coen brothers' new film, "The man who wasn't there", upsets and plays with the conventions of film noir. Incl. interview with DOP Roger Deakins who comments on the camera techniques and lighting in the film.

Kemp, Philip

"The Man Who Wasn't There." (movie review) Sight and Sound Nov 2001 v11 i11 p50(2)

Kerr, Philip

"A Coen-trick." (The Man Who Wasn't There)(Review) New Statesman (1996) Oct 22, 2001 v130 i4560 p46 (884 words)

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Mars-Jones, Adam

"In a cool mood." (The Man Who Wasn't There) (movie review) TLS. Times Literary Supplement Nov 2, 2001 i5144 p26(1)

O'brien, Geoffrey

"O Brothers, Where Art Thou?" (The Man Who Wasn't There)(Review) Artforum International Oct 2001 v40 i2 p35 (1293 words)

"A review of The Man Who Wasn't There, a film by Joel and Ethan Coen. This ostensible homage to film noir doubles as homage to noir et blanc, the only appropriate medium for evoking late 1940s small-town California. Elaborate period trappings have been enlisted in the service of a story about terminal emptiness: the immovable center of the movie, the barber Ed Crane, is a systematically unrelieved study in blank-faced motiveless isolation. In the end, however, he proves less interesting than the world whose surfaces the viewer is permitted to explore underneath the mad barber's ruminations; these surfaces and the perfectionist intensity with which they are teased out give the movie its share of pulp poetry." [Art Index]

Orr, Stanley

"Razing Cain: Excess Signification In Blood Simple and the Man Who Wasn't There." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p8-22, 15p, 7 bw; (AN 34397441)

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Scott, A.O.

"First passive and invisible, then ruinous and glowing." (The Man Who Wasn't There)(Living Arts Pages)(Review) The New York Times Oct 31, 2001 s0 pE1(N) pE1(L) col 4 (20 col in)

Shiloh, Ilana.

"A Vision of Complex Symmetry: The Labyrinth in The Man Who Wasn't There." M/C Journal 10.3 (2007).

Travers, Peter

"The Man Who Wasn't There." (movie review) Rolling Stone Nov 22, 2001 i882 p95(1)

Miller's Crossing

Alleva, Richard

"Miller's Crossing." Commonweal Dec 7, 1990 v117 n21 p720(1)

Ansen, David.

"Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews) Newsweek v116, n12 (Sept 17, 1990):54 (3 pages).

Canby, Vincent

"Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews) The New York Times Sept 21, 1990 v140 pB1(N) pC1(L) col 1 (15 col in)

Corliss, Richard.

"Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews) Time v136, n13 (Sept 24, 1990):83 (2 pages).

Coughlin, Paul.

"Miller's Crossing, The Glass Key and Dashiell Hammett."Senses of Cinema: An Online Film Journal Devoted to the Serious and Eclectic Discussion of Cinema. 19: (no pagination). 2002 Mar-Apr., Book Publication Date: 2002.

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Coughlin, Paul.

"Acting for Real: Performing Characters in Miller's Crossing and Fargo." Journal of Popular Culture, Apr2008, Vol. 41 Issue 2, p224-244, 21p

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Denby, David.

"Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews)New York v23, n39 (Oct 8, 1990):59 (2 pages)

Jameson, Richard T.; Glicksman, M.

"Chasing the hat. Getting down to the bone." Film Comment Sept-Oct 1990 v26 n5 p 32-38,40,43,45

US actor John Turturro discusses his career, his background, his role in "Miller's Crossing", and directors he has worked with.

Johnson, Brian D.

"Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews) Maclean's Oct 1, 1990 v103 n40 p55(2) (1192 words)

Katsahnias, Iannis

"Miller's Crossing." Cahiers du Cinema no. 441 (March 1991) p. 36-8

Kauffmann, Stanley

"Body Count: Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews) The New Republic Oct 29, 1990 v203 n18 p26(2) (360 words)

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Klawans, Stuart

"Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews) The Nation Nov 5, 1990 v251 n15 p538(1) (412 words)

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Krohn, Bill

"Joel & Ethan Coen et Barry Sonnenfeld." Cahiers du Cinema no. 441 (March 1991) p. 40-3

Lenzner, Steven J.

"A Cinematic Call for Self-Knowledge: An Interpretation of Miller's Crossing." Perspectives on Political Science, Spring2001, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p85, 8p

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McKim, R.

"Miller's Crossing." Cineaste Vol XVIII nr 2 (1991); p 45-47

Nolan, William.

"Miller's Crossing's Tom Reagan: "Straight as a Corkscrew, Mr. Inside-Outsky"." Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p48-61, 14p, 4 bw; (AN 34397444)

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Pulleine, Tim

"Neo-classic Hammett: Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews) Sight and Sound Winter 1990 v60 n1 p64(2)

Restaino, Katherine M.

"Miller's Crossing: The Poetics of Dashiell Hammett." In: The Detective in American Fiction, Film, and Television / edited by Jerome H. Delamater and Ruth Prigozy. pp: 103-10. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. Contributions to the study of popular culture; no. 63

Main Stack PS374.D4.D48 1998

Seidenberg, Robert.

"Miller's Crossing: John Turturro meets the Coen brothers." (actor John Turturro in the new film "Miller's Crossing" by Joel and Ethan Coen) American Film v15, n6 (March, 1990):60 (2 pages).

"Miller's Crossing is an intense, character-driven gangland tale created by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. The serious, intense film represents somewhat of a change for the Coens, who earned a reputation for quirky humor and snappy visuals in Blood Simple and Raising Arizona. It also reveals a new side of actor John Turturro, who is best known for his portrayals of tough, intimidating men of action in Five Corners and Do the Right Thing. In Miller's Crossing, Turturro plays Bernie the Shmatta, a man of wit and words who unwittingly sets off a gang war." [Art Index]

Simon, John

"Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews) National Review Dec 3, 1990 v42 n23 p54(2) (847 words)

UC users only

Tesson, Charles

"L'aventure intérieure." Cahiers du Cinéma; nr.462 (Dec 1992); p.56-61

A genre reading of "Miller's Crossing" and "Unforgiven" (relating to the gangster film and westernrespectively).

Thompson, Frank, Katzman, Lisa, Horton, Robert.

"Miller's Crossing." Film Comment v. 26 (September/October 1990) p. 32-3

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"Joel and Ethan Coen's gangster movie Miller's Crossing captures the enigmatic look of the 1920s. Jon Polito, J. E. Freeman, Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, John Turturro, and Marcia Gay Harden play characters who are intertwined in crime and love triangles. Finney is particularly poignant, and he looms large in the movie even though the screenplay obliges him to disappear for most of its last two-thirds." [Art Index]

Travers, Peter

"Miller's Crossing." (movie reviews) Rolling Stone Oct 4, 1990 n588 p50(1)

No Country for Old Men

Alleva, Richard

"The Haunting." Commonweal; 12/21/2007, Vol. 134 Issue 22, p14-15, 2p

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Bell, James

"It's the Way He Walks." Sight and Sound, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 49, February 2008

Braudy, Leo

"Whose Country?" Film Quarterly, Summer2008, Vol. 61 Issue 4, p10-11, 2p; (AN 36387352)

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Devine, Frank

"The Bad Guy Gets Booed. Understood?" Quadrant Magazine; May2008, Vol. 52 Issue 5, p64-66, 3p

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Doll, Kevin.

"No Country For Old Men." Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 2008, Vol. 20 Issue 3, p269-270, 2p; (AN 34718901)

Farley, Frank

"Humanizing an inhumane world: Not here, not now." PsycCRITIQUES, 2008, Vol 53 (32). No Pagination Specified.

UC users only

Mellen, Joan .

"Spiraling Downward: America In Days Of Heaven, In The Valley Of Elah, and No Country For Old Men." Film Quarterly. Spring 2008. Vol. 61, Iss. 3; p. 24 (8 pages)

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O'Brien, Geoffrey

"Gone Tomorrow: The Echoing Spaces of Joel & Ethan Coen's "No Country for Old Men"." Film Comment 43:6 (November-December 2007) Issue p. 28-31

UC users only

Sharrett, Christopher.

"Comic Dread in the Modern Frontier." Cineaste. Summer 2008. Vol. 33, Iss. 3; p. 11 (3 pages)

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O Brother Where Art Thou?

Bjerre, Thomas Aervold.

"Southern Pop Culture and the Literary Tradition in 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'" American Studies in Scandinavia 2006 38(2): 55-65 11p

Blake, Richard A.

"Wily Brothers." (movie review) America Feb 5, 2001 v184 i3 p30 (1509 words)

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Cant, John.

"Homer In Tishomingo: Eclecticism And Cultural Transformation In The Coen Brothers' 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'" Comparative American Studies 2007 5(1): 63-79 17p.

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Chadwell, Sean.

"Inventing That 'Old-Timey' Style: Southern Authenticity in O Brother Where Art Thou?." Journal of Popular Film and Television. 32 (1): 2-9. 2004 Spring.

UC users only

"Inventing that "old-timey" style: Southern authenticity in O brother, where art thou? Abstract: On notions of 'cultural authenticity' and how the representation of the music in "O bother, were art thou?" as 'old-timey' blurs the distinction between African American and white American Southern cultures." [FIAF]

Cohen, Michael

"O Brother Where Art Thou?" Senses of Cinema: An Online Film Journal Devoted to the Serious and Eclectic Discussion of Cinema, vol. 11, pp. (no pagination), December 2000.

Content, Rob; Tim Kreider, Boyd White.

"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (Reviews). Film Quarterly Fall 2001 v55 i1 p41(8)

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"Joel and Ethan Coen's masterpiece, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, is a bleak epic filmed as a sequence of comic adventures and escapes performed by cartoonish characters. It features three happy endings, a big musical number, a pardon from the governor, a wedding, and a miracle; but the film's disquieting moments of genuine cruelty are made unforgettable by abrupt reversals of fortune, contrived escapes, and improbably happy endings. Its purportedly lighthearted tone is also betrayed by the bleached tones of its arid fields and dirt roads, and by a knowing selection of dirge-like old songs about unemployment, hunger, prison, and death. The film's ending and so many of its songs remind one that the only relief from strife and tribulation is death." [Art Index]

Cormier, Michelle.

"Black Song, White Song: Salvation through the Radio in The Apostle and Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?." Journal of Religion and Film. 6 (2): 13 paragraphs. 2002 Oct.

Filene, Benjamin.

"O Brother, What Next? Making Sense Of The Folk Fad." Southern Cultures 2004 10(2): 50-69.

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"Reviews the Joel and Ethan Coen film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) as an imagined version of the 1930's South. The film sparked an interest in old-time Southern music, but the author finds that it is a commercial film lacking in authenticity. Modern folk artists receive fame, fortune, and awards but tend to hold the music as a relic from another world and time rather than experiencing tradition as a living, changing thing. The danger is that folk culture becomes a fad, thus diluting Southern distinctiveness." [America: History and Life]

Fisher, B.

"Escaping from chains." American Cinematographer v. 81 no. 10 (October 2000) p. 36-42, 46-9

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"The work of cinematographer Roger Deakins on O Brother, Where Art Thou? a film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, is discussed. Set in rural Mississippi in the 1930s, the film follows three convicts who escape from a chain gang and embark on an odyssey packed with misadventures. Deakins, who opted to shoot in a wide-screen format on Super 35mm film, worked mainly with a single Arri 535 camera and new Cooke S4 prime lenses, filming on Kodak Vision 500T 5279 for night interior and exterior scenes, Eastman's EXR 5248 100-speed film for most daylight exteriors, and 200-speed Eastman EXR 5293 for daylight sequences in shadowy forest locations and for recording blue-screen elements of composite shots. In what may be seen as the start of a change in the cinematographer's role, Deakins later retooled the film's color palette in a digital suite after the negative was locked down and converted to digital format, in order to give the film the feeling of old, hand-tinted postcards." [Art Index]

Flensted-Jensen, Pernille.

"Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed: The Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Classica et Mediaevalia 53 (2002): 13-30.

Fox, Aaron A.

"'Alternative to What?': O Brother, September 11, and the Politics of Country Music." In: Country music goes to war / edited by Charles K. Wolfe and James E. Akenson. Lexington, Ky. : University Press of Kentucky, c2005.

Music ML3524 .C695 2005

Goldhill, Simon.

"Naked and O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Politics and Poetics of Epic Cinema." In: Homer in the twentieth century : between world literature and the western canon / edited by Barbara Graziosi and Emily Greenwood. New York : Oxford University Press, 2007.

Main Stack PA4037.H7775 2007

Goldmark, Daniel.

"O Brother, Where Art Thou? A Musical Appreciation." Xavier Review. 23 (2): 31-41. 2003 Fall.

Gonzales, Eric

"In and along the mississippi: The motif of music in Joel and Ethan Coen's O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Jim Jarmusch's mystery train." Revue française d'études américaines 2003, no98, pp. 99-110 [12 page(s)

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In O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Mystery Train the Coen brothers and Jim Jarmusch choose the state of Mississippi and the city of Memphis, Tennessee as the settings of their heroes' peregrinations. Music permeates Joel Coen's and Jim Jarmusch's cinematic spaces, so much that it influences their narrative and stylistic perspectives and structures their works. The aim of this paper is to examine how the Coen brothers' and Jarmusch's choice of the musical field as a territory for their reconstructions of the South enables them to collate distinct artistic domains and genres in their representations of "border incidents" between stories, legends and history.

Hoffman, Adina

"Cockeye Caravan." (Review) The American Prospect, Jan 1, 2001 v12 i1 p36

Jackson, Kevin

"Unchained melodies." Sight & Sound Vol X nr 10 (Oct 2000); p 38-39,54

UC users only

"The Coen brothers' new film is a finely wrought entertainment film, an encyclopedic rag-bag of curiosities, stuffed to bursting point with the minutiae of American popular culture and folk memory. It has one of the richest and most satisfying soundtracks in recent years and provides a loving treatment of American music, as well as demonstrating a true affection for the bric-a-brac of America's half-forgotten folk ways." [Art Index]

Jones, Kent.

"Airtight." Film Comment. 36 (6): 44-49. 2000 Nov-Dec.

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"O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a partially successful endeavor by Joel and Ethan Coen to move in a fresh direction. The film is a depression-era tall tale concerning three escaped convicts (George Clooney, John Tuturro, and Tim Blake Nelson) making their way home through rural Mississippi. It is a more successful slice of phantasmagoric Americana than the brothers' previous work and much dreamier and more free-form than the Coens usually allow. The Coens have never made a film so keen to embrace mysteries and marvels, and the enthusiasm is poignant even if it only succeeds 50 percent of the time. Nonetheless, the brothers must release the reins a whole lot more before they can achieve the type of lyrical, ballad-like feel that they are aiming for here." [Art Index]

Kakutani, Michiko

"In the Coen Brothers' off-kilter world, the only certainty is uncertainty." The New York Times Nov 5, 2000 pMT29(N) pMT29(L) col 1 (35 col in)

Kellman, Steven G.

"Where Art? " (movie review) Southern Quarterly Spring 2001 v39 i3 p189(2)

Kerns, Susan.

"O Homer, Where Art Thou? A Greek Classic Becomes an American Original." Xchanges 1 (2): [no pagination]. 2002 Mar.

Middleton, Richard.

"O brother, let's go down home: loss, nostalgia and the blues." Popular Music, Jan2007, Vol. 26 Issue 1, p47-64, 18p

Oxoby, Marc

"O brother, where art thou?" Film & History Vol XXXI nr 2 (2001); p 70-72

UC users only

Ruppersburg, Hugh.

""Oh, So Many Startlements . . .": History, Race, and Myth in O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Southern Cultures 2003 9(4): 5-26.

UC users only

"The title quotation, "oh, so many startlements," is from a Delphic prophecy uttered in an early scene of Joel and Ethan Coen's 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and provides an exploration of mythology as the film comments on Homer's The Odyssey, Southern music and culture, race, and US politics. The author compares the film to other Southern chain-gang films, such as Mervyn LeRoy's 1932 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Preston Sturges's 1941 Sullivan's Travels, Stuart Rosenberg's 1967 Cool Hand Luke, and Jim Jarmusch's 1986 Down by Law. These films weave depression-era stories and Southern tall tales to portray racial prejudices, economic injustices, judicial inequalities, and spiritual quests." [America: History and Life]

Rushforth, Brett.

"O brother, where art thou?" Reviews in American History, Jun2004, Vol. 32 Issue 2, p151-158, 8p

Schirato, Tony; Webb, Jenn

"Technology, Reason and Globalisation?-O, Brother!" Social Semiotics, 2004, 14, 3, Dec, 273-287

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"The Coen Brothers' movie O Brother Where Art Thou is a ragbag of intertexts & gags that also pays very serious attention to questions of community & culture, class & race. In tracing the path of the protagonists through Depression-era Mississippi, it takes its audiences through the experience of social transformation, from superstition & local concerns to a supposedly brave new (global & technological) world. Although the film is set in a distant time & place, it is informed by a very contemporary issue - the politics of technology, & its relation to the forces of globalization. It is also a film that exemplifies what Certeau describes as the "cleavage which organizes modernity", a cleavage designated by the terms "science" (which is predicated on a law of rationality, & an imperative to explain, control & order) & "culture". We analyze the work of the film by drawing on the writings of Manuel Castells, Arjun Appadurai & Armand Mattelart to trace its explication of the questions of progress & communication in a world increasingly dominated by neo-liberal values." [Sociological Abstracts]

Scott, A.O.

"Hail, Ulysses, escaped convict." (Review) The New York Times Dec 22, 2000 pB1(N) pE1(L) col 1 (35 col in)

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Scovill, Ruth

"Newfangled filmmaking" Animation Magazine v. 14 no. 7 (July/August 2000) p. 112

"The use of digital-intermediate and digital-mastering technology on O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a film by Joel and Ethan Coen, is discussed. Cinematographer Roger Deakins advised the Coens to use digital intermediate technology to achieve a faded-photograph look they envisioned for the film's background, without altering natural skin tones. The writer argues that this sort of technology is the way of the future and predicts that it will some day be common practice for directors and cinematographers to finish their films in an interactive digital environment." [Art Index]

Seeley, Tracy

"O Brother, What Art Thou?: Postmodern Pranksterism, or Parody with a Purpose?" Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p97-106, 10p

UC users only

Spiro, John-Paul.

"You're Very Beautiful…Are You in Pictures?": Barton Fink, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Purposes of Art. Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p62-72, 11p

UC users only

Weinlich, Barbara P.

"Odyssey, Where Art Thou?': Myth and Mythmaking in the Twenty-First Century." Classical and Modern Literature: A Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 89-108, Fall 2005.

Raising Arizona

Barth, Jack

"Praising "Arizona." ("Raising Arizona") Film Comment March-April 1987 v23 p18(6)

Castle, Robert.

"Recalling the Dream of Parenthood in Raising Arizona." Bright Lights Film Journal. 37: (no pagination). 2002 Aug.

Corliss, Richard

"Raising Arizona." (Review)Time March 23, 1987 v129 p86(1) (737 words)

Coughlin, Paul.

"Language Aesthetics in Three Films by Joel and Ethan Coen." Film Journal 1.12 (2005).

UC users only

Edelstein, David.

"Invasion of the baby snatchers." (Joel and Ethan Coen's Raising Arizona) American Film April 1987 v1 p26(6)

Evans, Jeff.

"Comic Rhetoric in Raising Arizona." Studies in American Humor 1996 3(3): 39-53.

"In Joel and Ethan Coen's film comedy Raising Arizona (1987), the characters' manipulation and misunderstanding of language provide a running commentary on the American dream and the misguided efforts of the two leading characters to achieve it." [America: History and Life]

Handelman, David

"The brothers from another planet; the spacey saga of the two-headed director who raised 'Arizona.'" (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen) Rolling Stone May 21, 1987 p59(4)

Hill, R.

"Small things considered: Raising Arizona and Of mice and men." Post Script Vol VIII nr 3 (Summer 1989); p 18-27

Discusses "Raising Arizona" as a retelling of Steinbeck's novel 'Of mice and men'

Kael, Pauline

"Raising Arizona." (Review) The New Yorker April 20, 1987 v63 p81(2)

Kauffmann, Stanley

"Raising Arizona." (Review) The New Republic April 13, 1987 v196 p24(1)

Mazur, Eric Michael.

"'I'd Rather Light a Candle Than Curse Your Darkness': Bringing Religion to Light in Raising Arizona." Bucknell Review: A Scholarly Journal of Letters, Arts and Sciences. 46 (1): 104-24. 2002.

Mcentee, Joy.

"'Especially Hard on the Little Things': Fathers and Children on the Road in American Film." AUMLA: Journal of the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association. 96: 154-72. 2001 Nov.

Milne, Tom

"Raising Arizona." (Review) Sight and Sound Summer 1987 v56 n3 p218(2)

Moss, Andrew.

"Schizophrenia and Postmodernism: Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, and "The Coen Brothers". Post Script, Winter2008, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p23-37, 15p

UC users only

"Raising Arizona" Cahiers du Cinema no. 395-396 (May 1987) p. 76-8

Simon, John

"Raising Arizona." (Review) National Review May 8, 1987 v39 p52(3)