[Past Event] Comedies of the Coen Brothers | Livestream Zoom

Course Description:

Holding the likely distinction of Hollywood’s most iconoclastic producer/writer/director duos of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the Coen Brothers are truly a “cine” qua non for film lovers of all stripes. For nearly four decades, their films have embraced, subverted and lampooned classical genres, from Westerns, B-movies, musicals—even horror flicks—sometimes all folded into the batter of one single film. Known for their inimitable scriptwriting talents and the creation of characters who have slipped so seamlessly into the fabric of American popular culture it’s as if they’ve always been there (e.g., Jeff Bridges as The Dude, Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson), Joel and Ethan Coen have built an irresistibly imaginative empire of images and sounds well worthy of exploration or revisitation. We'll explore "The Hudsucker Proxy"(1994), "Fargo" (1996), "The Big Lebowski" (1998), and "Hail Caesar!" (2016).

(Participants will view these films on their own prior to class.)