Down From the Mountain

G

Released Oct 27, 2001

1 hr. 38 min.

Documentary

List

97%

31 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When the time came for the Coen Brothers to find the music for their Southern period piece comedy, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," they asked record producer T Bone Burnett to lend a hand. The resulting "Down From The Mountain" documents the evening's concert, complete with backstage preparations and rehearsals. Co-produced by Frazer Pennebaker, the film by D A Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob captures a joyous and free-spirited celebration of a truly American musical form.

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Audience Member

Could have been better, but some terrific music.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A very enjoyable concert film and a must see for any fan of O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Excellent music, some great old-timey stuff going on here...

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The good: Absolutely beautiful, spine-tingling music, better than the studio soundtrack. Intimate close-ups with the musicians before the show. The bad: Two of the concert tracks were interrupted to cut to backstage. Bad move. And, inexplicably, the foot-stompin' classic, "Man of Constant Sorrow" is curiously absent from the performance. Overall, I almost gave this more than 4 stars. Anything that makes my spine tingle that much in the course of an hour usually deserves it. I was left wanting just a little bit more, though. The quality is somewhere between breathtaking concert and DVD featurette.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Thoroughly enjoyable, well produced. Amazing lineup. Perhaps even better than the soundtrack. Love the behind-the-scenes bits...especially Emmy Lou keeping tab on the baseball scores....and Gillian Welch needing to get dressed up. Shows the agelessness of American roots music. A must-see for every Americana music fan.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A little boring and disappointing.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

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Chris Hegedus

Director

D.A. Pennebaker

Director

Nick Doob

Director

T Bone Burnett

Self

Terry Bulger

Self

Joel Coen

Self

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

Marrit Ingman

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 3/5

Mar 10, 2003

Full Review

Susan Stark

Detroit News

Rated: 4/4

Jun 1, 2002

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 3.5/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rated: 3/5

Jan 29, 2005

Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A beautifully done record of a very unusual event - and one that inadvertently serves as a testament to John Hartford, making it a very special document of musical history.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 18, 2004

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Synopsis

When the time came for the Coen Brothers to find the music for their Southern period piece comedy, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," they asked record producer T Bone Burnett to lend a hand. The resulting "Down From The Mountain" documents the evening's concert, complete with backstage preparations and rehearsals. Co-produced by Frazer Pennebaker, the film by D A Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob captures a joyous and free-spirited celebration of a truly American musical form.

Director: Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker, Nick Doob
Executive Producer: T Bone Burnett, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Distributor: Cowboy Pictures
Rating: G
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 27, 2001, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Oct 23, 2001
Box Office (Gross USA): $301.4K
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo