Table Of Content

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