The Cinema of the Coen Brothers: Hard-Boiled EntertainmentsThe films of the Coen brothers have become a contemporary cultural phenomenon. Highly acclaimed and commercially successful, over the years their movies have attracted increasingly larger audiences and spawned a subculture of dedicated fans. Shunning fame and celebrity, Ethan and Joel Coen remain maverick filmmakers, producing and directing independent films outside the Hollywood mainstream in a unique style combining classic genres like film noir with black comedy to tell off-beat stories about America and the American Dream. This study surveys Oscar-winning films, such as Fargo (1996) and No Country for Old Men (2007), as well as cult favorites, including O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and The Big Lebowski (1998). Beginning with Blood Simple (1984), it examines major themes and generic constructs and offers diverse approaches to the Coens' enigmatic films. Pointing to the pulp fiction of Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, and Raymond Chandler, the study appreciates the postmodern aesthetics of the Coens' intertextual creativity. |
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Contents
Its the Same Old Song | |
A State of Mind | |
A Handsome Movie about Men in Hats | |
For the Common Man | |
A Comedy of Reinvention | |
In the Land of Tall Tales | |
The Hayseed Epic | |
Recreating Classic Film Noir | |
Darkness in the New West | |
Parable and Paradox | |
The Ends of the Auteur Drawing Conclusions About Coen Brothers Movies | |
Filmography | |
Bibliography | |
Other editions - View all
The Cinema of the Coen Brothers: Hard-boiled Entertainments Jeffrey Todd Adams No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
adaptation Allen American appears artistic asks attempt Barton Fink become Bell Best Big Lebowski Blood Simple body Cain Cain’s called characters Chigurh cinema classic Coen brothers comedy comic common considered contemporary Country create crime critics cultural dark death describes Director dream Dude Fargo fiction figure film noir filmmakers final genre gives Hammett historical Hollywood human humour identity important interest Joel jokes kind Larry later literary lives look masculine meaning Miller’s Crossing models moral movie murder narrative Norville novel offers original parody pastiche perhaps picture play political postmodern producer question Raising Arizona reading reality reference represents says scene screenplay seems sense Serious social sources story studio Sturges style success suggested tells texts themes things thought turns understand visual West writing
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Cinema of the Coen Brothers: Hard-Boiled Entertainments Directors' Cuts |
| Author | Jeffrey Adams |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Columbia University Press, 2015 |
| ISBN | 0231850816, 9780231850810 |
| Length | 240 pages |
| Subjects | › › Art / Film & Video Performing Arts / Film / General Performing Arts / Film / History & Criticism |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |