“Well isn’t that somethin’. You just sold yer soul to the Devil; Pete n’ Delmar here jes’ got saved; looks like I’m the only one who remains unaffiliated!”
I saw it in a theater–twice. And I rarely take the trouble. The images brought to mind famous photographs of the Depression–starkly beautiful. And I* loved* the music–old timey, blues & a bit of Jimmy Rodgers.
My sister saw it with friends in California; she said they wondered why she kept laughing. I don’t think they were from the South.
The real Pappy O’Daniel was a Texas governor & sponsor of Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys. The movie governor’s song–“You Are My Sunshine”–was actually written by Jimmie Davis, a governor of Louisiana.
Plus–Klansmen channeling Busby Berkeley, Triumph of the Will & the Wicked Witch of the West’s guards. Nods to Homer & Preston Sturges. And Robert Johnson at the crossroads…
They also managed to include several references to the Wizard of Oz.
It is only when the flood takes place that makes me go all “Morbo” on the film makers and scream: “Water filling a dam doesn’t work that way!”
It’s a good movie, but the soundtrack is what makes it excellent. Without the soundtrack it would have just been ho-hum.
Care for some gopher?
Pappy O’Daniel: "Well, I’m with you folks. I’m a forgive-and-forgettin’ Christian, and I say, if their rambunctiousness, and misdemeanoring, is behind them…
[turns away from the mike, towards Everett]
Pappy O’Daniel: [no-nonsense] *It is, ain’t it, boys? *"
One of my favorite films too, and my favorite by the Coen Brothers. I agree that it’s an absolutely perfect film. Every shot, every line.
It’s very quotable, but mainly only to others who have seen the film, so I love this thread.
How can you choose from all the great quotes though?
George Clooney should have been nominated for an Oscar for this, seriously. At least he got a Golden Globe for Best Comedy Performance by a male. Just saying that dialogue took a lot of skill!
And what might be my favorite out of a movie full of favorites:
Everybody has great lines though. I won’t hog them all, but…
Oh, George… not the livestock!
Talk, you reconstructed welp of a whore!
“No, thank you Delmar - a third of a gopher would only rouse my appetite without beddin’ her back down.”
Up until a few months ago I thought Delmar was a cop killer, having knocked over a piggly-wiggly. Turns out Piggly-Wiggly’s some sort of supermarket chain and not the euphemism for policeman I thought it was. As for quotes, every line is golden.
This aint no laughin matter Everett…
When we’re on the bus coming back from a particular movie theater, the “bus voice” calls out the names of the upcoming stops.
One street is called “George.”
My husband and I always say to ourselves, “Babyface” because…
the next street is “Nelson.”
We only do that because of this movie.
Couple of trivia items, out of many:
The customer who asks for the sold-out record by the Soggy Bottom Boys is Gillian Welch, one of the co-writers and singers of the Siren song, “Didn’t Leave Nobody But the Baby.”
The blind radio station owner is Stephen Root, who also played a radio station owner in NewsRadio.
One of my favorite movies, evah!
“I ain’t here to make a record, ya dumb cracka!”
Makes me giggle every time.
“We…thought…you…was…a…toad!”
We quote it, or at least refer to it fairly often in our house.
A lot of our questions start with “I suppose it would be the acme of foolishness to inquire…”
And we never miss a chance to mention “yon bureau”
We find ourselves occasionally impeded by “obstackles”
I can watch it over and over. After having seen it more than a dozen times I watched all the DVD bonus features and really enjoyed an explanation of how the color was manipulated in post production.
I love it, and own the soundtrack, along with “Down from the Mountain”. And I can’t stand country music. But that ‘old-timey’ stuff is great.
“Them syreens did this to Pete. They loved him up and turned him into a horny toad.”
Tim Blake Nelson is a gifted actor/writer/director/producer. Ebert wrote very nice things about his latest film at the Toronto festival. It takes a very smart man to play a dumb guy well.
“You ever been with a woman, Delmar?”
“Uh, I gotta get the family farm back before I start thinking about that.”
Also, the line “That don’t make no sense!” gets a lot of play in my house.
I liked the terrible ideas of Pappy’s sycophants. Faced with an opponent who travels with a midget to represent the “little guy”, their idea is to get another midget for Pappy.
I probably watched it a dozen times. It is one of my faves.
Not just another midget, though! A stumpier one!