O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)

Disenchanted with the daily drudge of crushing rocks on a prison farm in Mississippi, the dapper, silver-tongued Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) busts loose. Except he's still shackled to his two chain-mates from the chain gang -- bad-tempered Pete (John Turturro) and sweet, dimwitted Delmar ( Tim Blake Nelson). With nothing to lose and buried loot to regain -- before it's lost forever in a flood -- the three embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this hilarious offbeat road picture. Populated with strange characters, including a blind prophet, sexy sirens and a one-eyed Bible salesman (John Goodman), and ensuing hilarity, it's an odyssey filled with chases, close calls, near misses and betrayal that will leave you laughing at every outrageous and surprising twist and turn.

Trivia: George Clooney agreed to do this film without having read the script. The whole film was graded digitally on computer. The negative was scanned in with a Spirit Datacine at 2K resolution and then colors were digitally fine-tuned. The process took several weeks. The resulting digital master was output on film again with a Kodak laser recorder to create a print master. It was the first time this had been done for a whole film in Hollywood (but not in other countries). The American Humane Association, an organization that protects animal rights, mistook a computer-generated cow in the movie for a real animal and demanded proof before they would allow the use of their famous disclaimer, "No animals were harmed in the making of this motion picture." After seeing a demonstration at Digital Domain of how the cow was created, the Humane Association added the now-familiar (but then much rarer) "Scenes which may appear to place an animal in jeopardy were simulated."

References to Homer's Odyssey: The names of George Clooney and Holly Hunter's characters (Ulysses and Penelope). One-eyed Big Dan as the Cyclops (blinded with a burning pole). The three girls by the river as the Sirens. Ulysses' wife marrying someone else when he comes home. The old-man disguise. The changing of one of Ulysses' companions into an animal. The Baptists as the Lotus-eaters. The Ku Klux Klan has a rank of Grand (or Exalted) Cyclops. They catch a ride on a hand-pumped railcar that is being operated by a blind prophet, who tells them that they will not find the treasure they seek. The prophet character in the Odyssey was Teiresias, whom Odysseus consulted in the underworld when he needed information on how to get home again. The movie theater scene as the trip through the Underworld. Odysseus and Everett both nearly drowned, but Odysseus clings to a piece of wood and Everett clings to a coffin. Odysseus and Everett both reveal themselves by performing an act no one else could: Odysseus strings a special bow and fires it through seven rings; Everett sings "Man of Constant Sorrow" as only the leader of the Soggy Bottom Boys can. "Pappy's" given name, Menelaus, is the same as the king who declared war on Troy in the first place. The Latin equivalent of the Greek name Odysseus is Ulysses. "Sing in me O Muse... ", the line at the beginning of the film, is the first line of the Odyssey. The killing of the cattle of Helios by the "fools" in the Odyssey is mirrored by Baby Face Nelson shooting the cows. Every time Ulysses falls asleep something bad happens. The song which plays throughout the movie is called "Man of Constant Sorrow", Odysseus means "man who is in constant pain and sorrow". Pappy's opposition for Governor's has the first name Homer. When Ulysses first meets Big Dan in the restaurant there is a statue of Homer in the background. There is a "Blind Bard" who pays the boys to "sing into his can". Homer was often (and probably erroneously) thought to be a blind bard who told his stories verbally to his students. Despite all of this the Coen Brothers claim never to have read The Odyssey.

Okay, what can I say about this movie. It is great, it is fun, it is entertaining, the music was awesome. George Clooney was great as the siver tongued con man. He really looked like he was having a lot of fun. The dynamics of the three travellers, Everett, Pete, and Delmar, really works great. The back ground characters were interesting and compelling. The story is a classic, and so is the humor. I heard a very apropos description of the movie...Homer's Odyssey meets the Three Stooges. The color of the movie, all yellows and light browns, really give it an old timey feel and then the deep blue of the flood contrasts it very well. And then there is the music. The songs were wonderful. The sirens song was enchanting. "Man of Constant Sorrow" is still one of my favorite songs. Thanks to Amanda for getting me to watch this movie again. It is still great.