The Coen Brothers, Second EditionSimon and Schuster, 2016 M01 5 - 360 pages Brought completely up to date, this insightful biography remains "a must for any self-respecting Coen fan" (Screentrade). This fully updated edition of the first biography of the Coen Brothers includes their complete work so far, from Blood Simple to Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), with a reassessment of their remarkable career as a whole. Joel and Ethan Coen have pulled off the ultimate balancing act. Despite having their movies financed and distributed by major studios, they have managed to remain true independents, rejecting commercial clichés and never giving up on their own fiercely idiosyncratic vision. While doing so, they have established themselves among the world's leading filmmakers. From their startling debut, Blood Simple (1984), all of their movies reveal a distinctive stamp: a flamboyant visual style, richly conceived characters, crisp dialogue, and brilliant casting. They have revitalized old Hollywood genres such as noir, screwball, and the western, giving them a contemporary sensibility. In this biography, Ronald Bergan traces the brothers' Jewish roots, their beginnings as film geeks in suburban Minneapolis, their battle to get their first feature made and released, through their early features and the movies of their maturity. He gives blow-by-blow accounts of the making of each movie. New chapters cover all those released since O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), with which the first edition of this book ended. |
From inside the book
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... Joel, he was just about to embark on the screenplay of O Brother, Where Art Thou? with Ethan. He told me he would ... Joel's. He seemed to act as the Coen brothers' factotum. A sort of Figaro, which is an anagram of Fargo without the ...
... Joel, he was just about to embark on the screenplay of O Brother, Where Art Thou? with Ethan. He told me he would ... Joel's. He seemed to act as the Coen brothers' factotum. A sort of Figaro, which is an anagram of Fargo without the ...
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... Joel, with his unkempt, long hair, resembles a nutty professor, while Ethan, his hair and beard more neatly trimmed, could ... Joel's beard is often an attempt at a Van Dyke, and he likes to tie his straight black hair back in a ponytail ...
... Joel, with his unkempt, long hair, resembles a nutty professor, while Ethan, his hair and beard more neatly trimmed, could ... Joel's beard is often an attempt at a Van Dyke, and he likes to tie his straight black hair back in a ponytail ...
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... Joel's idea and another is Ethan's. It's a smooth, rolling process. Ethan is literary. He's published short stories outside of their work together. Because of Joel's earlier work as an editor, he's much more visual.” Nevertheless, the ...
... Joel's idea and another is Ethan's. It's a smooth, rolling process. Ethan is literary. He's published short stories outside of their work together. Because of Joel's earlier work as an editor, he's much more visual.” Nevertheless, the ...
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... Joel's reaction was, “When it comes to elder statesmen, I think Robert Altman still holds that position. Personally, I don't want to be an elder statesman of anything. I don't even want to be a statesman.” But Independents' Day was ...
... Joel's reaction was, “When it comes to elder statesmen, I think Robert Altman still holds that position. Personally, I don't want to be an elder statesman of anything. I don't even want to be a statesman.” But Independents' Day was ...
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... Joel's pretty happy about that. People have always mistaken Joel for Joey Ramone. I've always been treated like a rock star. Nobody mistakes me for the other Ramone.” In Ethan's short story, “Have You Ever Been to Electric Ladyland ...
... Joel's pretty happy about that. People have always mistaken Joel for Joey Ramone. I've always been treated like a rock star. Nobody mistakes me for the other Ramone.” In Ethan's short story, “Have You Ever Been to Electric Ladyland ...
Contents
The Brothers Geek | |
First Blood | |
Hi Stakes VI Double Crossing | |
Hollywood Nuts | |
Yah Yah | |
Cool Dudes | |
Odd Odyssey | |
James M Coen | |
Intolerable Hollywood Bowel Syndrome | |
Blood Complex | |
A Comedy of Errors | |
A Good | |
CapraCoen | |
Common terms and phrases
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