O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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O Brother, Where Art Thou?

PG-13

Released Dec 22, 2000

1h 46m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

79%

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159 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) is having difficulty adjusting to his hard-labor sentence in Mississippi. He scams his way off the chain gang with simple Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and maladjusted Pete (John Turturro), then the trio sets out to pursue freedom and the promise of a fortune in buried treasure. With nothing to lose and still in shackles, their hasty run takes them on an incredible journey of awesome experiences and colorful characters.

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Critics Consensus

Though not as good as Coen brothers' classics, the delightfully loopy O Brother, Where Art Thou? is still a lot of fun.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Teens might enjoy this offbeat Odyssey adaptation.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 26, 2010

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

After making what are still probably their two best features, the Coen brothers came up with their worst, a piece of pop nihilism.

Nov 7, 2007

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Great dialogue, superb 'Scope camerawork from Roger Deakins, and a genuinely wondrous deus ex machina are among the delights.

Jan 26, 2006

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Conor Bryce

Film Ireland Magazine

This eccentric, moonshine-soaked ode to old-timey joy feels like home to me.

Mar 24, 2025

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Cory Woodroof

For the Win (USA Today)

O Brother, Where Art Thou? might be a perfect move.

Feb 22, 2024

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is probably not the first film that one thinks of when it comes to George Clooney or the Coen brothers but it's still a pretty fun satire and masterpiece over 23 years later.

Rated: 5/5

Dec 24, 2023

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Jonathan N

Classic Cohen Brothers film. This one definitely fits with their less serious work; it's basically an adventure-comedy-musical in a similar vein as The Ballad of Buster Scruggs first act. It also reminds me of The Ladykillers, or rather The Ladykillers reminds me of it. It was more slapstick than I care for, but that is personal taste and only a few scenes were really over the top for me. The Klan scene is more for shock value than actual humor and I didn't find it funny. I think this could have been a cartoon. Not my favorite of their films, but you can't argue with the star power or the masterful cinematography. I found the plot to be kind of all over the place...it's more or less just a bunch of random stuff happening, similar to the Big Lebowski. They are constantly "on-the-run" for much of the film, which I guess is a fairly novel plot device. Finally, to comment on the music, some of the numbers seemed forced and out of place, but I guess this is supposed to be a musical? It's not really a full-on musical, and if you don't like musicals that shouldn't be a reason not to watch it. Anyway, the Soggy Bottom Boys songs are charming in their own right and their singing voices are truly great. With the Cohen Bros., even their least impressive works are fantastically done. Mandatory viewing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/19/25

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Diana H

Found the film just daft and easy viewing. Laughed through most of the film. Some parts could be quite factorial to american history but with a pinch of salt.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/18/25

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Mark C

Amazing movie. Great satire. Very entertaining. One of the best!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/09/25

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Garrett B

O Brother, Where Art Thou? has a great premise and some solid moral values.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/25

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Mark J

Love these sort of adaptions taking such old source material and bringing it up to date (almost). All the cast are amazing in this and love the direction and music.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/25

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Tom F

Another strong Coen Bros outing. The rewatch reveals some clunkiness, but still very enjoyable.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/25

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Joel Coen

Director

George Clooney

Everett Ulysses McGill

John Turturro

Pete Hogwallop

Tim Blake Nelson

Delmar O'Donnel

John Goodman

Big Dan Teague

Holly Hunter

Penny

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Synopsis

Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) is having difficulty adjusting to his hard-labor sentence in Mississippi. He scams his way off the chain gang with simple Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and maladjusted Pete (John Turturro), then the trio sets out to pursue freedom and the promise of a fortune in buried treasure. With nothing to lose and still in shackles, their hasty run takes them on an incredible journey of awesome experiences and colorful characters.

Director: Joel Coen
Producer: Ethan Coen
Screenwriter: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures, Universal Pictures, Touchstone Pictures
Production Co: Mike Zoss Productions, Working Title Films, Touchstone Pictures, Le Studio Canal +, Universal Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Violence|Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 22, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 13, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $45.5M
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, DTS, SDDS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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