Joel and Ethan Coen

160 Pages·2004·1.306 MB·English

by  Ellen Cheshire, John Ashbrook

Coen 31/10/05 10:33 am Page 2
Also in this series by Ellen Cheshire
Jane Campion
Ang Lee
Audrey Hepburn
Also in this series by John Ashbrook
Brian de Palma
Terry Gilliam
Coen 31/10/05 10:33 am Page 3
Joel and Ethan Coen
Ellen Cheshire
and John Ashbrook
www.pocketessentials.com
Coen 31/10/05 10:33 am Page 4
This edition published in 2005 by Pocket Essentials
P.O.Box 394,Harpenden,Herts,AL5 1XJ
www.pocketessentials.com
Distributed in the USA by Trafalgar Square Publishing,
P.O.Box 257,Howe Hill Road,North Pomfret,Vermont 05053,
© Ellen Cheshire and John Ashbrook 2005
The right of Ellen Cheshire and John Ashbrook to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced,stored
in or introduced into a retrieval system,or transmitted,in any form
or by any means (electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording or
otherwise) without the written permission of the publishers.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 1 904048 39 0
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Typeset by Avocet Typeset,Chilton,Aylesbury,Bucks
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman,Reading
Coen 31/10/05 10:33 am Page 5
Dedications
Whenever I read a book of any kind,I am always intrigued
by the author’s dedication and acknowledgements.I wonder,
who are these people,and what importance do they play in
the author’s work or life? Well,in the four Pocket Essential
books I’ve written I’ve managed to dedicate a book to all my
close family – so this revised Third Edition I’m going to
dedicate to the memory of my grandma ‘Danny’who sadly
passed away last year.– Ellen
Well,if we’re being all maudlin about it – I’ll dedicate my bits
to my grandparents as well.My granny died when I was still
at college,before I’d done any of the interesting things I’ve
spent my adulthood doing in lieu of work.She never heard
me on the radio. Never saw my name on the cover of a
book.Thing is,she was enormously proud of me anyway.I
guess families are like that.– John
‘He told them to look not at the facts but at the meaning of
the facts,and then he said the facts had no meaning.’
Coen 31/10/05 10:33 am Page 6
Coen 31/10/05 10:33 am Page 7
Contents
Preface to the Third Edition:Now That the
Marriage is Winding Down 9
Brothers Coen:You’re Exposed 11
Blood Simple (1983):‘The world is full of
complainers.’ 14
Blood Simple:Forever Young (1998) 24
Crimewave (1985) 26
Raising Arizona (1986):‘Sometimes it’s a hard world
for the little things.’ 30
Miller’s Crossing (1989):‘Look in your heart.’ 39
Barton Fink (1991):‘I’ll show you the life of the
mind.’ 49
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994):‘The future is now.’ 66
Fargo (1996):‘And for what? For a little bit of
money!’ 77
Coen 31/10/05 10:33 am Page 8
CONTENTS
The Big Lebowski (1998):‘That rug really tied the
room together,did it not?’ 88
O Brother,Where Art Thou? (2000):‘Well,ain’t this
place a geographical oddity – two weeks from
everywhere!’ 99
Down From the Mountain (2001):‘Never follow
animal acts or kids.’ 109
The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001):‘The more you
look,the less you really know.’ 112
Intolerable Cruelty (2003):‘Obscene wealth becomes
you!’ 121
Bad Santa (2003):‘He doesn’t care if you’re naughty
or nice.’ 132
The Ladykillers (2004):‘I smite,you smite,he smites
… We done smote!’ 134
Theater of the New Ear (2005) 141
Reference Materials 147
Index 155
Coen 31/10/05 10:33 am Page 9
Preface to the Third Edition:Now That
the Marriage is Winding Down.
When we first wrote this book, we found that half of the
battle was not deciding what to put in,but what to leave out.
To decide what is,and is not,‘essential.’When we came to
this revised edition,although we had more pages,thanks to a
larger typeface (well, we’re all getting older… the eyesight
isn’t what it was) we had no more words,yet four more films
and a few odds and ends to fit in.Easiest thing in the world.
We just had to decide what to take out.
The preface was the first thing to go. So, without
further…
Coen 31/10/05 10:33 am Page 10