Joel and Ethan Coen are filmmaking auteurs who have their own unique style and sense of humor when it comes to writing, directing, and producing their movies. The Coen brothers are famed for their genre bending and oddly humorous movies. Furthermore, how they make their films and their interactions with one another and their crew reflects their presence as celebrated indie darlings. For a better understanding of what exactly goes on in their films, it is helpful to examine their early lives, their first feature film, Blood Simple, and the creativity they used to first start out making films.
First some biographical information aids in better understanding a Coen brothers’ movie. Joel was born on November 29, 1954 and Ethan a few years later on September 21, 1957. They had an older sister, Deborah Ruth, who later became a psychiatrist. Both of their parents were intellectuals and of the Jewish faith. Edward Coen taught economics at University of Minnesota. Similarly, Rena was a professor of art history at St. Cloud University (Bergan 42). Their mother made sure they were brought up traditionally Jewish, but their father did not care so much; the brothers are not actively religious. (Bergan 42). Ethan and Joel Coen were brought up in St. Louis Park Minnesota, a middle class suburb of Minneapolis, which is a very boring and dull city. (Bergan 39). Furthermore, it was a substantial Jewish community. These two aspects are said to have influenced the way that they speak. A friend stated, “The Coens exhibit that region’s economy of speech and resistance to overt displays of emotion,” therefore restraining their “natural Jewish volubility” (Bergan 40). Therefore, there upbringing greatly shaped their personalities and due to the dullness in Minnesota pushed them toward something more creative and inventive, films. The Coens are labeled as film geeks by many critics and friends; however the films they enjoy are different from the highbrow movies filmmakers tend to adore. As children, they mowed lawns in order to make money to buy home movie camera equipment to make their first films (Bergan 54). They used Super 8 movies, home movies; they were very cheesy made with their childhood friends, mostly renditions of Hollywood classics, like Lassie (Bergan 54).
Ethan and Joel’s education also influences their films. As teens, around 16, both boys attended Simon’s Rock College in a small community in Massachusetts (Bergan 58). Joel stayed for almost two years and Ethan for a year. Afterwards, Joel attended the Tisch School of Arts at NYU in 1974, then graduated and “chased a woman” to the Texas graduate film school in Austin, Texas. He married her and quite school after a semester; they moved back to New York. (Bergan 58). Ethan, on the other hand, went to Princeton to study Philosophy; he submitted a 39 page senior thesis in partial fulfillment of the degree of Bachelor of Arts on May 7, 1979 (Bergan 59). After their education, each of the Coen did some interesting work both outside and inside of the filmmaking world; these jobs also have shaped the way the boys work together and their vision.
After film school, Joel worked in the film industry as an assistant editor and production assistant on a few films, including Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead as an assistant editor (Allon 90). Ethan worked for a temp agency as a statistical typist, and also wrote for the TV cop show Cagney and Lacey (Bergan 68). Ethan also has written many short stories. Ethan is considered the more literary brother, who does all the typing of the scripts, while Joel the more visual because of his editing work. Furthermore, the Coens began writing their own films after writing with Raimi for some time.
After working several odd jobs and writing with Sam Raimi for a while, they boys decided to make their first film, Blood Simple. In order to finance the film, they shot the trailer first then asked folks for money (Bergan 70). They started with murder story/thriller set in Texas and moved from that premise on a 1.5 million budget and 8 week shooting schedule (Bergan 75). They didn’t want to make an art film, but instead an entertaining B-movie. (Bergan 79). Because of little money and time, they decided to use storyboarding and planned out every scene. Ethan, Joel, and cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld along with assistant director Deborah Reinisch would go to Denny’s to eat breakfast, discuss the day’s shots, and talk about lighting. (Bergan 78). Today they continue to storyboard; there is not a lot of improvisation in their films because of this. (Bergan 77).
The way the Coens shot Blood Simple has shaped the way the rest of their films are made and is also very interesting. In name, Joel directs and Ethan produces, but they really co-direct their films. “We got in the habit with Blood Simple, just to stake out two areas, to say, ‘look, he produces. Don’t give us a producer.’” They considered changing it later to written, directed and produced by the two of them, but they didn’t want to be asked why they did it. The credits don’t reflect the extent of the collaboration (Bergan 12). On the set, Barry wouldn’t allow smoking so only one of them would usually be working at a time, but they are so in sync with each other that it did not really matter anyways (Bergan 78).
After shooting Blood Simple, they tried for quite some time to sell it to a distributor. While trying to sell the film, Ethan and Joel along Frances McDormand moved into Raimi’s apartment. Joel, who had divorced his wife, and Frances, who he married a few years after the release of Blood Simple got the bedroom, while Ethan and Sam slept on the floor. Later in life, they adopted a son from Paraguay, named Pedro McDormand Coen (“Joel Coen”). Ethan would later marry film editor Tricia Cooke and have daughter Dusty and son Buster Jacob (“Ethan Coen”). Finally at the Toronto Film Festival distributors saw the film and they signed for four films with Circle Films. Blood Simple grossed 1.5 million in six months and was a success (Bergan 89). The film paved the way for countless other cult classic films, commercial successes, and award-winning films.
After Blood Simple, the Coen Brothers have experienced a great amount of success. They have directed produced, and wrote the following films: Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), The Hudsucker Proxy (1993), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1997), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), No Country for Old Men (2007), Burn After Reading (2008), A Serious Man (2009), and True Grit (2010) (“Joel Coen”). Also, coming in theatres shortly is Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).
This filmmaking duo has achieved great success due to their films, which are unlike any other. It is helpful to look at their influences to gain a better understanding of their work, and to examine some common jokes they employ. First, Ethan and Joel were mostly influenced by American crime writers: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain (Bergan 27). Also Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel, comedians greatly shaped them (Bergan 10). As far as films, they enjoyed Doris Day, bad Bob Hope movies, and bad Jerry Lewis films, as well as films like Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (Bergan 51). Their friendship and past experiences with Sam Raimi also affected their work in multiple ways (Bergan 70). First, they use ground level, high-velocity tracking shots, odd angles, and Hitchcock-on-speed POV shots (Bergan 66). They also follow his recipe for films: “The innocent must suffer, the guilty must be punished, you must drink blood to be a man.” (Bergan 27).
Some common elements in their films “spark recognition. underscore thematic threads, and acknowledge their influences” (Rowell 345). These in-jokes include: (Rowell 345-346)
Furthermore in Blood Simple several are used:
Since Blood Simple Ethan and Joel have created quite a name for themselves in the filmmaking community. First and not surprisingly, the Coen brothers founded their own film production company, called Mike Zoss Productions, located in New York City, which has been credited on their films from O Brother, Where Art Thou onwards (“Joel Coen”). Also, both Ethan and Joel have been nominated for thirteen Academy Awards (twice under their alias Roderick Jaynes) and have won four, including: two Oscars for screen-writing (original screenplay for Fargo and adapted screenplay for No Country for Old Men), one for Best Director(s) (No Country for Old Men); and one for Best Picture (No Country for Old Men) (“Ethan Coen”).
Works Cited
Allon, Yoram, Del Cullen, and Hannah Patterson. "Joel Coen." Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide. London: Wallflower, 2002. 90-92. Print.
Bergan, Ronald. The Coen Brothers. New York, NY: Thunder's Mouth, 2000. Print.
"Ethan Coen." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
"Joel Coen." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 June 2013
Rowell, Erica. The Brothers Grim: The Films of Ethan and Joel Coen. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2007. Print.
First some biographical information aids in better understanding a Coen brothers’ movie. Joel was born on November 29, 1954 and Ethan a few years later on September 21, 1957. They had an older sister, Deborah Ruth, who later became a psychiatrist. Both of their parents were intellectuals and of the Jewish faith. Edward Coen taught economics at University of Minnesota. Similarly, Rena was a professor of art history at St. Cloud University (Bergan 42). Their mother made sure they were brought up traditionally Jewish, but their father did not care so much; the brothers are not actively religious. (Bergan 42). Ethan and Joel Coen were brought up in St. Louis Park Minnesota, a middle class suburb of Minneapolis, which is a very boring and dull city. (Bergan 39). Furthermore, it was a substantial Jewish community. These two aspects are said to have influenced the way that they speak. A friend stated, “The Coens exhibit that region’s economy of speech and resistance to overt displays of emotion,” therefore restraining their “natural Jewish volubility” (Bergan 40). Therefore, there upbringing greatly shaped their personalities and due to the dullness in Minnesota pushed them toward something more creative and inventive, films. The Coens are labeled as film geeks by many critics and friends; however the films they enjoy are different from the highbrow movies filmmakers tend to adore. As children, they mowed lawns in order to make money to buy home movie camera equipment to make their first films (Bergan 54). They used Super 8 movies, home movies; they were very cheesy made with their childhood friends, mostly renditions of Hollywood classics, like Lassie (Bergan 54).
Ethan and Joel’s education also influences their films. As teens, around 16, both boys attended Simon’s Rock College in a small community in Massachusetts (Bergan 58). Joel stayed for almost two years and Ethan for a year. Afterwards, Joel attended the Tisch School of Arts at NYU in 1974, then graduated and “chased a woman” to the Texas graduate film school in Austin, Texas. He married her and quite school after a semester; they moved back to New York. (Bergan 58). Ethan, on the other hand, went to Princeton to study Philosophy; he submitted a 39 page senior thesis in partial fulfillment of the degree of Bachelor of Arts on May 7, 1979 (Bergan 59). After their education, each of the Coen did some interesting work both outside and inside of the filmmaking world; these jobs also have shaped the way the boys work together and their vision.
After film school, Joel worked in the film industry as an assistant editor and production assistant on a few films, including Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead as an assistant editor (Allon 90). Ethan worked for a temp agency as a statistical typist, and also wrote for the TV cop show Cagney and Lacey (Bergan 68). Ethan also has written many short stories. Ethan is considered the more literary brother, who does all the typing of the scripts, while Joel the more visual because of his editing work. Furthermore, the Coens began writing their own films after writing with Raimi for some time.
After working several odd jobs and writing with Sam Raimi for a while, they boys decided to make their first film, Blood Simple. In order to finance the film, they shot the trailer first then asked folks for money (Bergan 70). They started with murder story/thriller set in Texas and moved from that premise on a 1.5 million budget and 8 week shooting schedule (Bergan 75). They didn’t want to make an art film, but instead an entertaining B-movie. (Bergan 79). Because of little money and time, they decided to use storyboarding and planned out every scene. Ethan, Joel, and cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld along with assistant director Deborah Reinisch would go to Denny’s to eat breakfast, discuss the day’s shots, and talk about lighting. (Bergan 78). Today they continue to storyboard; there is not a lot of improvisation in their films because of this. (Bergan 77).
The way the Coens shot Blood Simple has shaped the way the rest of their films are made and is also very interesting. In name, Joel directs and Ethan produces, but they really co-direct their films. “We got in the habit with Blood Simple, just to stake out two areas, to say, ‘look, he produces. Don’t give us a producer.’” They considered changing it later to written, directed and produced by the two of them, but they didn’t want to be asked why they did it. The credits don’t reflect the extent of the collaboration (Bergan 12). On the set, Barry wouldn’t allow smoking so only one of them would usually be working at a time, but they are so in sync with each other that it did not really matter anyways (Bergan 78).
After shooting Blood Simple, they tried for quite some time to sell it to a distributor. While trying to sell the film, Ethan and Joel along Frances McDormand moved into Raimi’s apartment. Joel, who had divorced his wife, and Frances, who he married a few years after the release of Blood Simple got the bedroom, while Ethan and Sam slept on the floor. Later in life, they adopted a son from Paraguay, named Pedro McDormand Coen (“Joel Coen”). Ethan would later marry film editor Tricia Cooke and have daughter Dusty and son Buster Jacob (“Ethan Coen”). Finally at the Toronto Film Festival distributors saw the film and they signed for four films with Circle Films. Blood Simple grossed 1.5 million in six months and was a success (Bergan 89). The film paved the way for countless other cult classic films, commercial successes, and award-winning films.
After Blood Simple, the Coen Brothers have experienced a great amount of success. They have directed produced, and wrote the following films: Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), The Hudsucker Proxy (1993), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1997), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), No Country for Old Men (2007), Burn After Reading (2008), A Serious Man (2009), and True Grit (2010) (“Joel Coen”). Also, coming in theatres shortly is Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).
This filmmaking duo has achieved great success due to their films, which are unlike any other. It is helpful to look at their influences to gain a better understanding of their work, and to examine some common jokes they employ. First, Ethan and Joel were mostly influenced by American crime writers: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain (Bergan 27). Also Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel, comedians greatly shaped them (Bergan 10). As far as films, they enjoyed Doris Day, bad Bob Hope movies, and bad Jerry Lewis films, as well as films like Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (Bergan 51). Their friendship and past experiences with Sam Raimi also affected their work in multiple ways (Bergan 70). First, they use ground level, high-velocity tracking shots, odd angles, and Hitchcock-on-speed POV shots (Bergan 66). They also follow his recipe for films: “The innocent must suffer, the guilty must be punished, you must drink blood to be a man.” (Bergan 27).
Some common elements in their films “spark recognition. underscore thematic threads, and acknowledge their influences” (Rowell 345). These in-jokes include: (Rowell 345-346)
- Circles: often symbolic of rebirth and cultural continuity
- Dreams: pointing to character’s psychologies and extending thematic discourse
- Names: often allegorical
- Russia: representing a covert threat
- Animals: often emblematic of a character’s wild nature
- regurgitation: simple body function of vomiting
- endomorphic men screaming
- rugs: implying cover-ups
- Gender twists, especially as incursions into “what makes a man” territory
- Nods to books, authors, films, and maverick filmmakers of all types (Rowell 346)
Furthermore in Blood Simple several are used:
- Russia: Visser’s opening voice-over invokes Russia to color Texas as a place for loners. Also, he mentions Russia to countenance his “money simple” decision
- The name ‘Ray’: In the film’s dark universe, Ray means stream of light, which leads to his fate
- Vomit: is everywhere
- Gender Twists: Marty to Visser: “This is an illicit romance… for richer, for poorer.”
- Texas Horror: Opening scene possible nod to Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
- Hitchcock nod: Theatrical print’s title card quotes Hitchcock.
- Hammett Nod: “Blood Simple” is a phrase out of Hammett’s novel Red Harvest, referring to the craziness a murderer experiences after killing.
- Dreams: Abby’s dream world is sometimes mistaken for film’s “reality”
- Animals: a moose and a dead fish (Rowell 346).
Since Blood Simple Ethan and Joel have created quite a name for themselves in the filmmaking community. First and not surprisingly, the Coen brothers founded their own film production company, called Mike Zoss Productions, located in New York City, which has been credited on their films from O Brother, Where Art Thou onwards (“Joel Coen”). Also, both Ethan and Joel have been nominated for thirteen Academy Awards (twice under their alias Roderick Jaynes) and have won four, including: two Oscars for screen-writing (original screenplay for Fargo and adapted screenplay for No Country for Old Men), one for Best Director(s) (No Country for Old Men); and one for Best Picture (No Country for Old Men) (“Ethan Coen”).
Works Cited
Allon, Yoram, Del Cullen, and Hannah Patterson. "Joel Coen." Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide. London: Wallflower, 2002. 90-92. Print.
Bergan, Ronald. The Coen Brothers. New York, NY: Thunder's Mouth, 2000. Print.
"Ethan Coen." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
"Joel Coen." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 June 2013
Rowell, Erica. The Brothers Grim: The Films of Ethan and Joel Coen. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2007. Print.
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