Director Spotlight: The Cohen Brothers

The title of this post is a little misleading. The Cohen Brothers are not directors, they are a film making team. They co-write and produce their own films, then Joel Cohen directs them. I am sure that Ethan has some say in the look of the movie, though.


The Cohen Brothers have been making movies since 1984 with "Blood Simple". A thriller made in the film noir style; a style they have revisited on many occasions. It went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.


Their success continued, and even improved on their notoriety, in 1987 with "Raising Arizona". This was a critical and box office success and may be their best known piece of work. It is funny, touching and beautiful. It, like most of their work, has gone on to become a cult favorite on DVD.


They went on to film a variety of well received movies including:
"Miller's Crossing" 1990
"Barton Fink" 1991
"Hudsucker Proxy" 1994


In 1996, they struck hard again with "Fargo". This film was a crime thriller, but with the signature quirkiness that all Cohen Brothers films have. William H. Macy was perfect as the dweebish husband who hired some thugs to murder his wife. Frances McDormand was equally perfect as the pregnant sheriff. This film was their biggest success thus far and was nominated for 7 Academy Awards and went on to win 2 of them; Best Supporting Actress for Frances McDormand, and Best Original Screenplay.


The brothers followed this with "The Big Lebowski"in 1998. While it wasn't the best received film of their career, I believe that it had been overlooked mainly because it followed the highly successful "Fargo".

They struck gold again in 2000 with O Brother, Where Art Thou?" A hilarious retelling of Homer's Odyssey. Told from the perspective of depression era Mississippi, it is by far one of the most beautifully filmed movies ever. It also won 2 Academy Awards; Best Cinematography and Best Adapted Screenplay.


Over the next few years, they continued to create wonderfully strange films including:

"The Man Who Wasn't There" 2001
"The Ladykillers" 2004


This fall, they are returning to their roots with a crime drama/thriller that is getting a lot of attention; "No Country for Old Men" This is an all star movie that has already won over most critics and was nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes. Every fan of the Cohen Brothers is anticipating this to be one of their best. Check out the trailer in my archive.




The Cohen Brothers are 2 of the brightest stars in Hollywood. They continue to follow their passion to make films that are true to their vision, not what executives expect of them. I can hardly wait to see what they dream up next.



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