not only did they do o brother, but in the ladykillers there is a painting that changes expressions just like in sullivan's travels. i wonder if there are similarities in other coen films...
"Wallace Beery. Wrestling picture. What do you need, a road map?"
I'm sure there are. I haven't seen Fargo, but in Raising Arizona, the action/chase scenes were shot in a very similar way to those of Sullivan's Travels, for example, the beginning when the director's crew is trying to catch up with the kid in the car. The slightly-fast-forward way it was shot, the silliness, physical slapstick, etc. I think it's safe to say that the Coen Brothers admired the work of Preston Sturges.
shareA painting that changes expressions would have come from "The Picture of Dorian Grey."
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Barton Fink is definitely influenced by Sullivan. It covers many of the main themes of the film as well as taking place in the same era. Although the Coens do more than enough with the screen time on Barton to ensure it's very much their own film.
-It's envy you know. Dudley is consumed with envy.
-That's one of the seven Dudley sins.
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Dear Gethin-1,
I have to say that "Barton Fink" is also very similar to the life story of Preston Sturges himself. A playwright that has quick success and then is thrust into the Hollywood system. He struggles to fit in and adapt to the current system, and wants to be a maverick, and make deeper, more meaningful pictures.
By the way, I can't even begin to imagine why I am just seeing "Sullivan's Travels" for the first time. A terrific picture, made me cry, laugh and think. Plus, Veronica Lake isn't too hard on the eyes none neither!
"The dishes are done, man!"
The Coen brother's are extremely familiar with preston sturges and cite him as an influence for many of their films. I'm suprised it hasn't been said that the name O' Brother Where Art Thou is taken directly from Sullivans Travels. It is the name of the movie that Sullivan wishes to direct. Also as far as the changing expressions of the paintings, the statue in Fargo also follows this trend. There are many references to Sturges' body of workthroughout the Coen films. Look even deeper, i.e. racial role reversals white face for black character in Sullivans travels and black face on white characters in O' Brother.
shareAre you sure that the statue in Fargo changes expressions? I've seen that movie several times and I've never noticed that...it seems like it would be a bit broadly comedic for the tone of that movie.
http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?id=joshacid37share
One that stands out and is very powerful in both pictures, the theater scene when the prisoners are lead in single file in chains.
shareI feel so stupid, but until I saw Sullivan's Travels tonight, I had no idea O Brother Where Art Thou? came from this movie. Now I think I need to rewatch both movies to see what similarities I see. O Brother has always been one of my favorite films.
Mildred! He's at it again. http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=8093247
I think O Brother takes a lot of scenes from Sullivan's Travels and changes them a bit-
- theater scene
-black face/white face
but also
- kid driving a car
- jumping on a freight train
any others?
I could never stand any of the coen brother's so-called "movies". Their debacle of "The Ladykillers" was quite possibly the WORST one. They took a great movie and utterly destroyed it.
shareI agree with you. But I loved the soundtrack! As I loved the soundtrack from 'O, Brother, Where Art Thou?' The Coen Brothers seem to like gospel music.
shareThe Coen brothers have been mining Preston Sturges' work for decades. Once I discovered the work of PS I'll admit my admiration for them sank somewhat. But what the hell - at least they're are honest about it.
If you're going to rip off a master at least do it well, which they do.
The Man Who Wasn't There was b&w like Sullivan's Travels.
sharethey sure took a lot form this movie for theirs When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...
I think it's respectful homage. O Brother is Sturges-esque from top to bottom, but with other weird references - from The Wizard of Oz to Cool Hand Luke. There's a pastiche of Americana in that one, imbued fully with their sensibility, which is unique enough given their many reference points.
They took the same kind of approach to Raymond Chandler with The Big Lebowski, and James M. Cain with The Man Who Wasn't There, and Preston Sturges again with Intolerable Cruelty. Almost every supporting character in Intolerable Cruelty could have easily pulled double duty in a Sturges film. Same goes for The Hudsucker Proxy. Norville Barnes could have easily been played by Eddie Bracken, and even their framing on many of their films harkens right back to Sturges. The Coens are the only filmmakers who can truly do screwball well these days, since Peter Bogdanovich is pretty inactive - although David O. Russell is interesting in his contributions to the genre (GenX angst screwball). But some of the Coen entries rank right alongside the classics.
Right, O Brother does lean on Travels in tone but for me stands on its own. I'm not always a fan of updating classics but Brother has a life matching its times.
There isn't much with that human sensibility being done in these tough days that just seem to be getting tougher. Nice to be reminded that others survived their tough periods and dealt deeper than surface fluff.
Not against escapism done well, just don't need constant diet it. Cute may pay the bills (Guardians, Lucy, Apes, etc.) but support needed for the critical contemporary slice too.
"It's so hard to keep a man."
Right, O Brother does lean on Travels in tone but for me stands on its own. I'm not always a fan of updating classics but Brother has a life matching its times.
There isn't much with that human sensibility being done in these tough days that just seem to be getting tougher. Nice to be reminded that others survived their tough periods and dealt deeper than surface fluff.
Not against escapism done well, just don't need constant diet it. Cute may pay the bills (Guardians, Lucy, Apes, etc.) but support needed for the critical contemporary slice too.
Like the way PS works in mentioning Lubitsch couple times. Shows the European influence he wanted to acknowledge.
"It's so hard to keep a man." and "I just paid my income tax." Some things never change. Lake still my gold standard for golden girls. As he says, "There's always a girl in movies."
As he says, "There's always a girl in movies."
Not an expert on Sullivan's Travels, but the film is "Coen Brothers like" in its extremes. Fargo, for example, had a pregnant police chief and death via wood chipper. Obviously, Sullivan's Travels has extremes as well. Rich film director temporarily ends up as a jailbird.
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