Coen Brothers
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“This Was Like Designing for Six Different Leads and Six Different Backgrounds”: Costume Designer Mary Zophres on The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Joel and Ethan Coen have been making films for over 30 years now and, since the mid-1990s, costume designer Mary Zophres has been a key part of creating their distinct aesthetic worlds. Working consistently with the fraternal directing team, Zophres has provided some iconic looks, among them the puffy jackets of Fargo (1996), The Dude’s sweater and bathrobe in The Big Lebowski (1997), and the prison garb of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), to name just a few. The designer’s resume also includes the delightfully quirky and punkish costumes of Ghost World (2001), which have inspired countless young women, […]
by Abbey Bender on Jan 15, 2019 -
Watch: Critic Adam Nayman Discusses the Circularity of the Coen Brothers’ Films
The critic Adam Nayman has a new book out, with the self-explanatory title The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties the Films Together. It’s one of those large Abrams doorstops, like Matt Zoller Seitz’s books on Wes Anderson and Oliver Stone — filled with glossy, well-chosen pictures as well as thoughtful, eloquent analysis that more than justifies their literal heavy-osity. Nayman has now taken part in a new video for TIFF, where he focuses in on one of the themes running throughout his film-by-film essays: the notion of circularity in the films of Joel and Ethan Coen. Nayman starts with […]
by Matt Prigge on Nov 19, 2018 -
Watch: “Joel & Ethan Coen – A Tribute”
Alexandre Gasulla pays tribute to the Coen brothers with this supercut connecting motifs and visuals from across their body of work.
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 9, 2017 -
Watch: How the Coen Brothers Storyboarded Blood Simple
In advance of the release of Criterion’s 4K restoration of Blood Simple, photographer Grant Delin created a video essay which compares scenes from the finished film to the original storyboards. With commentary by the Coens, cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, and actor Frances McDormand, this glimpse into their creative process highlights the meticulous planning and elaborate storyboards behind the film’s signature aesthetic. The restored version of the Coens’ 1984 debut feature will be available in both Blu-ray and DVD editions beginning on September 20. Find out more here. You can also watch the Coen Brothers’ pitch trailer for the low-budget classic here.
by Paula Bernstein on Sep 19, 2016 -
Watch: “The Coen Brothers: Green”
In his latest video essay, Jacob T. Swinney goes the extra mile to highlight the Coen brothers’ use of green in their films by desaturating everything that isn’t green to black and white (or at least as close as possible).
by Filmmaker Staff on Jul 20, 2016 -
Watch: The Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple Pitch Trailer
Blood Simple, the Coen brothers’ first film, is being released on DVD and Blu-Ray in September through the Criterion Collection. The teaser trailer that the two made to sell to investors has now surfaced online for the first time with the impending release of the restored 4k digital transfer. Joel and Ethan ultimately raised $550,000 towards the film that sparked their careers. Starting July 1 Blood Simple will also play in select theaters in collaboration with Janus Films in advance of the physical release.
by Marc Nemcik on Jun 27, 2016 -
Watch: Tony Zhou on the Coen Brothers’ Use of Shot/Reverse Shot
Tony Zhou covers a lot of ground in his latest video essay, which examines the Coen brothers’ use of shot/reverse shot. Noting that they prefer to film conversations from the middle rather than over the shoulder with a long lens, he finds an appropriate video interview with Roger Deakins that discusses his lens preference. Then it’s on to framing, how the characters are defined by their environments, and the emotional effect of these shot choices: both uncomfortable and funny, Zhou concludes.
by Vadim Rizov on Feb 25, 2016 -
Storyboard Artist J. Todd Anderson on Working with the Coen Brothers and Hail, Caesar!
J. Todd Anderson likes to say that he’s the first person to see a new Coen brothers movie. As the Coens’ storyboard artist, Anderson is the conduit between the film in Joel and Ethan’s imagination and its first physical manifestation. “My job is to put down on paper what they see in their heads,” Anderson says. “I’m just an interpretive artist. Joel and Ethan come up with the shots. I just draw them.” Anderson has been “just drawing them” for every Coen brothers feature since 1987’s Raising Arizona. The Coens’ latest, Hail, Caesar!, follows a ’50s Hollywood fixer (Josh Brolin) as […]
by Matt Mulcahey on Feb 18, 2016 -
Watch: POV Shots in the Coen Brothers’ Films
Here’s another nifty video from Jacob T. Swinney, this time bookending an assembly of the Coen brothers’ numerous POV with montages of their many dashboard-driving shots.
by Filmmaker Staff on Sep 1, 2015 -
“I Just Like Doing My Job”: DP Roger Deakins on Working with the Coens, Digital vs. Film and His Most Difficult Shots
It was fitting that, in the year that the Coen Brothers presided over the Cannes jury, lens makers Angénieux chose Roger Deakins as the subject of their tribute at the festival. Born in Torquay, England, Deakins is best known for his collaborations with the Coen Brothers, having shot most of their movies since Palme d’Or winner Barton Fink. He’s also shot three films for Sam Mendes, including the blockbuster Skyfall. At Cannes, he also had a film in competition, Sicario, his second collaboration with Denis Villeneuve, and at the festival it was announced that they would team up again for […]
by Kaleem Aftab on Jul 30, 2015
