Film Stills

O Brother Where Art Thou?

Similarly to Blood Simple there are a lot of memorable moments. Here are a few that really interest me. 

Film Stills

Blood Simple 

Four of my favourite scenes from Blood Simple, more so due to the visual aesthetics than the content. Two i would consider location settings and the other two set creation.

Coen Brothers Book

Here are a few page scans of information that i feel is very valuable. I felt that it would be very naive of me to not look into the background of how some scenes were created. 

These two scans show two of the many pages i have scanned in and related to film stills within my sketchbook. 

 These two pages outline the difficulties that the Coen's faced went through finding a location for O Brother. One very specific problem was the colour of the foliage. They were going for a desaturated dry and dusty Texas but unfortunately had to shoot in the lush green surroundings of Mississippi 

Contemplation

Initial Research

After pushing myself to pick a specific Coen Brothers film i found myself swaying between 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' and 'Blood Simple'. So instead of making an irrational decision i decided to undertake more research into both films, fully aware that this would cause more work for myself. I bought a book simply titled 'Coen Brothers' by Eddie Robson, which i found very useful. It evaluates every possible aspect of each film from where the initial concept came from too who created the soundtrack. 

After reading this book it's become apparent that the close family relationship doesn't stop with the brothers. A lot of the actors are featured in more than one film. Furthermore Carter Burwell first worked with the Coen's as a soundtrack producer and as a result has worked on every film they have created since then. The Coens' seem to be very faithful to their employes. 

Lives and Work of the Coen Brothers

Ethan and Joel Coen (From left to right)

After researching into the lives of the Coen brothers, i was interested to find that their passion for film making had not been influenced by their parents. Their father studied in London to achieve a qualification in economics and their mother became a professor of art history and even then Joel mentions that he never once remembers his mother taking them to an art museum.
Joel and Ethan were not always as close as they are today. Joel has said that the three years difference in age was really what initially pushed them apart, however it was only after leaving school that they really got to know each other. They began mowing lawns for pocket money after Joel had suggest they bought a Super-8 camera to experiment with their own reproduction of old movies.
Evidently Joel went to study film at the New York University in 1977 where as Ethan went to Princeton University to study Philosophy however he has described his attitude to the course as 'casual' as he never really knew what he wanted to do. While Joel had graduated and began looking for work, Ethan had moved to New York working as a typist which taught him key skills for his writing career.
During this time, the brothers re-ignited their creative partnership and began writing scripts for other people which implanted the possibility of creating their own movies. The first being 'Blood Simple' in 1984.

In terms of their work, its endless and ongoing, therefore it would be very difficult to discuss everything they have done.
In general terms the Coen brothers are known for growing up around filmmaking by soaking up all the information they possibly could, generally from the television right from the early stages of their career. On a whole Eddie Robson, Author of 'Coen Brothers' has said that 'they appear puzzled by the existence of critics and bemused by any attempt at an intellectual reading of their work.' They feel that journalists do nothing other than create a certain amount of words to fill a space.
There are also a few correlations that i have picked up after watching a variety of their films. Firstly many of their films tend to include the same actors, i feel this puts across a close and personal relationship within their career, reinforcing the aspect of a family project.
Secondly Eddie Robson has also mentioned that the original music of all their movies, up to 2003, are all written by Carter Burwell, 'whether on his own or in collaboration with others'.
Lastly Ethan Coen has said that they 'tend to do period stuff' which is why their first 9 films have been set in the twentieth century and of course situated in their home country, America. Again reinforcing my above statement of a close family nit community.

No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men, written and directed by both Joel and Ethan Coen in 2007 is a film about violence and mayhem set in 1980 rural Texas. The story grabs you right from the start as one of the main characters Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is standing within a barren landscape watching the thick clouds cover the ground like a blanket while he hunts for deer. He then stumbles across a murder scene where by many Mexican men had been shot. As Llewelyn explores further he realised one of the men are still alive, however he coldly shrugs it off leaving with only his gun. As he explored the area further he comes across a lone man, again murdered, but this time with a briefcase full of money. At ease he takes the money and makes he way home.

From this point forward things become a bit difficult for him. He sleeps restlessly and decided to return to help the wounded man but gets chassed off and shot by what i can only assume are poachers. He decides that he should send his wife away to safety while he runs away with the stolen money.

Meanwhile we are introduced to another main character, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) who’s main attribute is murdering innocent civilians on the hunt for Llwewlyn and the money.

We as the audience become confused when Anton always manages to find Llewelyn until it comes to light that there is a tracker in the case of money. When they finally meet there is a 'shoot off' where both become injured then going off to seek medical attention. Shortly after they share a phone conversation when Anton threatens to kill Llewelyn's wife if he fails to bring him the money. Not long after this we are shown Llewelyn murdered on the floor around others which i find very disappointing after such a long chase as we are not shown the point in which they meet or how he was killed. 

At this point in the film i feel that the story line takes a nose dive. The suspense that we have felt throughout the whole film for Llewelyn is just ruined. Anton visits Llewelyn's wife but we are not shown what happens to her. Anton drives off and gets dramatically hit by a car and manages to walk off almost unharmed and the film ends with one of the sherifs who has been chasing Anton retiring. I found this very disappointing as the whole film builds up to what you expect will be a spectacular ending but instead your just left with loads of lose ends. 

Although i didn't think much of the storyline, there were part in the film that inspired me for this project. 

5 minutes in there was a beautiful scene where the main character stands at a great hight looking over the landscape which is being sculpted by the clouds. 

56 minutes in Llewelyn is sitting in an old hotel room lit by only one light. This scene really reminds me of the work by Francoise Laroix and i would love to recreate this scene.

141 minutes though there is a dramatic scene where the sherif enters a house and his shadow is projected on the the wall. 

And lastly 148 minutes through, Anton is sat in Llewelyn's wife's house right back in the corner with only window light over his knees emphasising his power and mystery.  

The Man Who Wasn't There

This black and white film directed by Joel Coen in 2001, set in 1949 is a film with a very similar story line to that of the film i previously watched, 'Blood Simple'. Again this film is filled with murder and adultery right from the outset which directs the rest of the film. The main character, Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) works as a barber in his brother in laws barber shop with aspirations to go into business with a client setting up a dry cleaning business. He suspects his wife, Doris Crane (Frances McDorman) is having an affair with their friend Big Dave (James Gandolfini). He then cunningly decides to get revenge by blackmailing him for ten thousand dollars. He gets his money and puts it straight into the dry cleaning business only to never hear from Creighton again as he was suspected to be the blackmailer. When Big Dave finally works out the blackmailer was actually Ed they begin fighting when Ed murders Dave. Accusations fly again when Dorris is arrested with the murder of Big Dave forcing Ed again to raise as much money as possible to hire the best solicitor to get her out. However it seems that she become slightly mentally insane and just before her hearing she commits suicide. While this is happening Ed also spends a lot of time at a friends house listing to a young talented girl play the piano. He becomes attached to this girl and decides she deserves the best chance at being able to play the piano professionally. The young girl, Birdy (Scarlett Johansson) gets the wrong impression from Ed and decides to repay him with sexual favours causing a rather comical car accident. This surprised me as the Coen Brothers have never been shy of creating dramatic and brutal scenes and this scene reminded me of something from a cartoon with spinning camera angles and a single hub cap rolling across the floor. The film ends when Ed is accused of murdering Creighton and faces the electric chair. I guess it could be considered unjust as he didn't actually commit the crime, but he did murder Dave therefore receiving the same punishment.

Similarly to many of their other films, this one is exploding with creative lighting techniques highlighting many formal elements making it inspiring. As for the film itself i did find it difficult to withhold my concentration as i felt it was very slow going throughout. The main character Ed said very little and when he spoke, he spoke very slowly whereas all the other male characters spoke extremely quickly making it hard to follow. I cant see my self wanting to watch the film again however there were parts that influenced me throughout.
13m- Ed is silhuetted to his wife who is in the bath making him seem less significant.
18.20m- Doris is sat in front of her vanity mirror being lit from the side by a window.
24m- Birdy playing the piano being lit by a lap by her side.
54m- Blindes move creating shadows over the face.
1:05m- The solicitor stands in some light within the prison and switches between being silhouetted and in the light beams.
1:18m- Completely alone of the sofa, creates a ghostly atmosphere.

Blood Simple

'Blood Simple', written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen in 1984 sets the scene for many of there other films which have been released since this one. As with many of their films, this one is based around murder and adultery. The story begins with the two main characters, Frances McDormand, Abby and Dan Hedaya, Marty, having an affair and being captured doing so by a private investigator, Michael Emmet Walsh, which Abby's husband, John Getz, Ray, has hired. Once informed of his wife's' affair, Ray asks the Private investigator to kill both Abby and Marty for ten thousand dollars. The PI tricks Ray into thinking that the job is done by producing a realistic looking image of them shot many times whilst in bed, little does Ray know that this image has been created by darkroom manipulation. The PI then shoots Ray and leaves him almost dead in his office taking the money and running. Ray is then found by Marty who assumes Abby has shot him after a recent disputes and tried to protect her by cleaning up the mess and getting rid of the body. After many complications the body is dismissed only for the PI to come back to kill Abby and Marty after suspicion that they have figured out that he was the murder all along. After a long dramatic scene the PI kills Marty only to be killed by Abby.

This ending to the film follows a similar role to that of other films by the Coen brothers where by the adulteress survives. Although this film isn't one i would probably watch again i think it is successful as a thriller as it constantly keeps the view guessing. 

As for Influence, the lighting within the film was something that i found myself constantly picking up on. There were many dramatic scenes were the light was used scarcely but effectively for example:

20 minutes in light crosses Abby's body adding intensity to the scene. 

Just after this when Ray and the PI are in the car, rembrandt lighting is used across both of their faces however it is difficult to distinguish exactly where it is coming from, making it more interesting. 

There an episode where light is forces through some shutter blinds, again creating intensity.

And lastly right at the end of the film when the PI produces bullet holes in the stud wall allowing light to leak through it creates amazing light beams which would be easy to recreate. 

All of these points i will take into consideration for my scene creation. 

O Brother, Where Art Thou

'O Brother, Where Art Thou' is the first film written and directed by the Coen Brothers that i have ever seen. I decided to watch this film as it seemed to be the title that came up most frequently when i mentioned Coen Brother films, making me think it must be one of the most successful. Although the story line didn't have the most depth, it was an entertaining film with obscure looking actors and comedic areas which kept me watching.
There were a handful of scenes that were either set by lakes or referenced water which instantly inspired me. Also these scenes were set in idyllic places. Both of these things instantly made me think of a specific location back home which i would love to revisit.
Another inspirational scene was when the characters lay around a camp fire creating harsh and impacting shadows on there faces creating a great atmosphere.
Lastly, briefly Woolworth's was mentioned. Even if this doesn't relate to the company that has recently closed down, it did stem ideas of how i could incorporate the derelict site photographically. However after thought it wouldn't fit this project as it was a very broad statement and would be specific enough to the film.

The 13 Coen Brother Films to Choose From...

Today i have watched a trailer for each of the films listed below and have created a brief document outlining when each film was released, the storyline and the overall rating.
All information from the IMDB website: http://www.imdb.com/

Blood Simple (1984)

A bar-owner in Texas is certain that his wife is cheating on him and hires a private detective to spy on her. This is just the beginning of a complex plot which is full of misunderstandings and deceit. Ethan and Joel Cohen's first feature film.

Rating: 7.8/10

Raising Arizona (1987)

Recidivist hold-up man H.I. McDonnough and police woman Edwina marry, only to discover they are unable to conceive a child. Desperate for a baby, the pair decide to kidnap one of the quintuplets of furniture tycoon Nathan Arizona. The McDonnoughs try to keep their crime secret, while friends, co-workers and a feral bounty hunter look to use Nathan Jr. for their own purposes.

Rating: 7.5/10

Miller’s Crossing (1990)

A highly styled 'genre' film which can perhaps be seen as a pastiche of all gangster movies. Tom Reagan is the laconic anti-hero of this amoral tale which is also, paradoxically, a look at morals within the criminal underworld of the 1930s. Two rival gangs vie for control of a city where the police are pawns, and the periodic busts of illicit drinking establishments are no more than a way for one gang to get back at the other. Black humour and shocking violence compete for screen time as we question whether or not Tom, right-hand man of the Irish mob leader, really has a heart.

Rating: 8.0/10

Barton Fink (1991)

In 1941, New York intellectual playwright Barton Fink comes to Hollywood to write a Wallace Beery wrestling picture. Staying in the eerie Hotel Earle, Barton develops severe writer's block. His neighbor, jovial insurance salesman Charlie Meadows, tries to help, but Barton continues to struggle as a bizarre sequence of events distracts him even further from his task.

Rated: 7.8/10

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

When Waring Hudsucker, head of hugely successful Hudsucker Industries, commits suicide, his board of directors, led by Sidney Mussberger, comes up with a brilliant plan to make a lot of money: appoint a moron to run the company. When the stock falls low enough, Sidney and friends can buy it up for pennies on the dollar, take over the company, and restore its fortunes. They choose idealistic Norville Barnes, who just started in the mail room. Norville is whacky enough to drive any company to ruin, but soon, tough reporter Amy Archer smells a rat and begins an undercover investigation of Hudsucker Industries.

Rating: 7.4/10

Fargo (1996)

Jerry works in his father-in-law's car dealership and has gotten himself in financial problems. He tries various schemes to come up with money needed for a reason that is never really explained. It has to be assumed that his huge embezzlement of money from the dealership is about to be discovered by father-in-law. When all else falls through, plans he set in motion earlier for two men to kidnap his wife for ransom to be paid by her wealthy father (who doesn't seem to have the time of day for son-in-law). From the moment of the kidnapping, things go wrong and what was supposed to be a non-violent affair turns bloody with more blood added by the minute. Jerry is upset at the bloodshed, which turns loose a pregnant sheriff from Brainerd, MN who is tenacious in attempting to solve the three murders in her jurisdiction.

Rated: 8.3/10

The Big Lebowski (1998)

When "The Dude" Lebowski is mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, two thugs urinate on his rug to coerce him into paying a debt he knows nothing about. While attempting to gain recompense for the ruined rug from his wealthy counterpart, he accepts a one-time job with high pay-off. He enlists the help of his bowling buddy, Walter, a gun-toting Jewish-convert with anger issues. Deception leads to more trouble, and it soon seems that everyone from porn empire tycoons to nihilists want something from The Dude.

Rated: 8.2/10

O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000)

Loosely based on Homer's 'Odyssey' the movie deals with the picaresque adventures of Everett Ulysses McGill and his companions Delmar and Pete in 1930s Mississipi. Sprung from a chain gang and trying to reach Everetts home to recover the buried loot of a bank heist they are confronted by a series of strange characters. Among them sirens, a cyclops, bank robber George 'Babyface' Nelson (very annoyed by that nickname), a campaigning Governor, his opponent, a KKK lynch mob, and a blind prophet, who warns the trio that "the treasure you seek shall not be the treasure you find."

Rating: 7.8/10

The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)

1949, Santa Rosa, California. A laconic, chain-smoking barber with fallen arches tells a story of a man trying to escape a humdrum life. It's a tale of suspected adultery, blackmail, foul play, death, Sacramento city slickers, racial slurs, invented war heroics, shaved legs, a gamine piano player, aliens, and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Ed Crane cuts hair in his in-law's shop; his wife drinks and may be having an affair with her boss, Big Dave, who has $10,000 to invest in a second department store. Ed gets wind of a chance to make money in dry cleaning. Blackmail and investment are his opportunity to be more than a man no one notices. Settle in the chair and listen.

Rating: 7.7/10

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

Divorce attorney Miles Massey has everything, a jet, a jet washer, three gardeners (or "those little lawn people" as he puts it), and even a marriage contract (The Massey Prenup) named after him. He seems to be unstoppable and completely invincible. That is, until he meets the beautiful, dangerous Marylin Rexroth. After being completely destroyed in court, Marylin formulates a plan that puts Miles in a position where he doesn't know what to do. For the first time in his life, he doesn't have what he wants the most.

Rating: 6.4/10

No Country For Old Men (2007)

In rural Texas, welder and hunter Llewelyn Moss discovers the remains of several drug runners who have all killed each other in an exchange gone violently wrong. Rather than report the discovery to the police, Moss decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself. This puts the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in. Meanwhile, the laconic Sherrif Ed Tom Bell blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart.

Rating: 8.3/10

Burn After Reading (2008)

Osbourne Cox, a Balkan expert, is fired at the CIA, so he begins a memoir. His wife wants a divorce and expects her lover, Harry, a philandering State Department marshal, to leave his wife. A diskette falls out of a gym bag at a Georgetown fitness center. Two employees there try to turn it into cash: Linda, who wants money for elective surgery, and Chad, an amiable goof. Information on the disc leads them to Osbourne who rejects their sales pitch; then they visit the Russian embassy. To sweeten the pot, they decide they need more of Osbourne's secrets. Meanwhile, Linda's boss likes her, and Harry's wife leaves for a book tour. All roads lead to Osbourne's house.

Rating: 7.2/10

A Serious Man (2009)

Bloomington, Minnesota, 1967: Jewish physics lecturer Larry Gopnik is a serious and a very put-upon man. His daughter is stealing from him to save up for a nose job,his pot-head son,who gets stoned at his own bar-mitzvah,only wants him round to fix the T.V. aerial and his useless brother Arthur is an unwelcome house guest. But both Arthur and Larry get turfed out into a motel when Larry's wife Judy,who wants a divorce, moves her lover,Sy, into the house and even after Sy's death in a car crash they are still there. With lawyers' bills mounting for his divorce, Arthur's criminal court appearances and a land feud with a neighbour Larry is tempted to take the bribe offered by a Korean student to give him an illegal exam pass mark. And the rabbis he visits for advice only dole out platitudes.Still God moves in mysterious - and not always pleasant - ways, as Larry and his family will find out.

Rated: 7.1/10

From this research i have decided to watch,

'No Country for Old Men',

'The Man Who Wasn't There' and

'Blood Simple' 

I have already watched 'O Brother Where Art Thou?'

First Step

FDPH201 is the first step into my second year of photography. This blog will be continually updated with research and ideas into the life and work of the Coen Brothers and will also demonstrate my own progress within this assignment from the beginning to the final outcome.
At this point my current plan is to begin watching a selection of the films they have created to launch a thought process to kick-start this project.