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From the creators of Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Intolerable Cruelty is the story of a fabulously successful Los Angeles divorce attorney, Miles Massey (George Clooney). Bored and restless with his success, Massey's on the lookout for new challenges when he encounters the much-divorced Marylin Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a hard-nosed beauty pursuing financial independence through serial matrimony.As the two square off both personally and professionally, what follows is the mother of all battles of the sexes.

Full of the same sharp wit, snappy dialogue, and charmingly corrupt characters that their fans have come to love, the Coen brothers' latest film is a screwball comedy for the current age.
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From the creators of Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou?

From the Coen brothers, "two of our most dependably provocative filmmakers" (Mike Clark, USA Today), comes a darkly funny thriller that harkens back to their earlier classics such as Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, and Barton Fink.
Set in 1950s California, the film stars Billy Bob Thornton as Ed, a mild-mannered barber whose wife, Doris (Frances McDormand), is having an affair with her department store boss, Big Dave. Although Ed is initially apathetic about his wife's adultery, his life is turned upside down when one of his customers tells him about "the biggest business opportunity since Henry Ford"-dry cleaning-and he decides to blackmail Big Dave for the venture capital to start a chain. From there things go horribly wrong: Dave discovers Ed's identity as the blackmailer and tries to strangle Ed, who winds up killing Dave in self-defense, yet, ironically, it's Doris who the police arrest for the murder. As Ed tries to figure out what to do next his world begins to unravel, piece by piece.
Full of the same kind of slow-burn character studies, biting humor, and pitch-perfect dialogue that their fans have come to love, the Coen brothers' latest film is sure to take a place among their finest work.
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Customer Reviews (3)

The Coen Brothers are at it again!
If you like the Coen Brothers (Barton Fink), Alfred Hitchcock, and Rod Serling then you will love this movie.Be prepared to sit back and relax.If you are already tense, this won't help you relax because you will be waiting for things to happen with a movie that shuffles as slowly as Prissy.Don't think I didn't like it because I did...laughed out loud at least 3 or 4 times, but I laughed AT the movie, not with it.If you like weird movies you will love this.I loved it even though it is a little weird.Pure Coen/Hitchcock/Serling!

The Editor Who Wasn't There
This latest tale from the Coen Brothers is a perfectly realized portrait of modern man's plight as just another gear in the hair-cutting machine.Dread and laughs abound, in equal measure.And, by the way, Roderick Jaynes, the film editor who introduces the screenplay, doesn't actually exist.Whenever the Coens edit one of their movies themselves, they use "Jaynes" as a pseudonym.

Another Solid Script
Even in their less succesful films, the Coen brothers never fail to deliver something interesting. TMWWT-their latest film, and areturn to the neo-noir territory of Blood Simple-is no exception. Even though it goes slightly off the rails in the last twenty minutes, the film is full of the entertaining oddballs one expects from them. The book is the shooting script, which upon first read doesn't appear to have any deviations from the finished film, along with a three page introduction by their film editor, Roderick Jaynes, in which he discusses the genesis of the title. Good reading for aspiring screen (and other) writers. ... Read more

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The Big Lebowski begins with a case of mistaken identity which escalates when Jeffrey Lebowski-alias The Dude-attempts to seek recompense for the despoliation of his ratty-ass little rug, and then finds himself entangled in a kidnapping caper as a bagman-a situation that goes from bad to worse due to the interference of his hapless bowling partners.

In this film the Coen brothers have taken on the preoccupations of Raymond Chandler, but have given them a postmodern spin, while at the same time leaving Philip Marlowe's ethos intact as The Dude wanders through the fractured world of nineties L.A. trying to do the right thing. Like the award winning Fargo, The Big Lebowski is suffused with a droll humor and a verbal felicity that is as delightful as it is startling.
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Customer Reviews (4)

Coen magic
The genius of thew Coens captured in this outstanding comedy. The characters, as ever, outdo the narrative, but the quotable lines come close to matching their masterpiece, Raising Arizona. Remember - nobody f#*k with the Jesus!

An awesome accompaniment for my favorite movie.
Although the words don't match exactly from the book to the movie, due to ad-libbing of the actors, this book is a must-have for any fan of The Big Lebowski. This book will make you laugh as much as the movie did.

Entertaining as scripts go...
One of the Coen Bros' best works.Their twisted world is never more hilarious as it is here.

AMust!
This scriptbook is essential to the uncompromising Lebowski fanatic. Great for neighborhood plays too! An easy way to study the simply brilliant use of dialogue found and recycled throughout the film.What's more, the coverimage is far out andwould make a great poster. ... Read more

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Filmmaker brothers Joel and Ethan Coen got their start in the independent film business in 1984 with their debut feature Blood Simple, which won the award of Best Dramatic Feature at Sundance in 1985 and was hailed as one of the best films of the year by the National Board of Review. Since their early success, the Coen Brothers have built a name for themselves and gone on to create other big-name movies such as Raising Arizona, Fargo, and The Big Lebowski. This book is a comprehensive account of these four films and Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink and The Hudsucker Proxy. Production information and in-depth analysis and critique are provided, as well as discussions on how each movie functions in the broader context of the Coens' work, and the themes, strategies, and motifs often utilized by the Coens. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

loved it
This was a wonderfully insightful book about a unique filmmaking team that Russell illuminates by making connections between film history and the early work of the Coen brothers.Readers should take special note of the chapter on "The Hudsucker Proxy" for the reference Russell makes to the various film genres alluded to in the movie, which help make the viewing so much more enjoyable.Her knowledge and perceptions as well as pithy writing style made this a fascinating read.I would highly recommend this book to anyone, film buff or otherwise!

Sheds New Light On The Coen Brothers' Films
The book is a little pricey, but that's because it's not supermarket fiction. The publisher, McFarland, specializes in cool non-fiction, with a strong emphasis on the arts and scholarly topics. As for the book itself, I loved it. Never thought about the Coen brothers movies in that way before. I wish the author would come out with a second volume and cover their more recent stuff. I give the book 5 stars.

Way overpriced little paperback
I have no idea why this book is retailing at just under $35. It's a short little paperback, and I feel completely ripped-off. It'd be a questionable buy at 7.95... I expected quite a bit more.

superlatives
this boook is wonderfully done and focuses on two very talented movie directors and their products.The author has a wonderful, sometimes whimsical and always lucid writing style.To read her work is to receive the joy we attained while in a university class where movies and books come to life, and to apreciate the artistic talent people have and are able to express.This author must be commended and i look forward to her next book.Where can she be found??? Andy Karpf Longetto Massachusetts ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

Humor, yes, but don't miss out on touching scenes
Yes, this movie was humorous. No, I don't think it was necessarily an all-out comedy. To wit: The scene where Norm is upset that he only got the "tree cent stamp" and Margie is comforting him by telling him the three-cent stamp is important.

Scenes like this, and Margie's soliloquy near the end of the movie about "a little bit of money" add a moving human undercurrent. That's what gives this film far more depth than things like Tarantino movies or other crime films.

Love it or hate it, it's a darn good script.
This screenplay started with the premise, "Wouldn't it be cool if you put a guy through a wood chipper?" and snowballed (no pun intended, honestly) from there, according to the Coens. I think that's part of the amazing originality of this script. Why start with a plot? The storyline is so bizarre and non-linear that it at first you might be inclined to believe the movie actually is based on a true story. Twists, turns, and laugh-out-loud dialogue (for an extra laugh, watch the creative dubbing on TNT sometime: "frugal," "frozen," "flipping," etc.) make this a script worth reading, and well worth its Oscar. And to the Dakotans that have issues with the stereotypical accent: get over it. I'm from North Carolina, and I'm tired of you people whining about how all people in your region don't talk the same way. We southerners don't all talk like rednecks, but neither do we get uptight over movies that tend to forget that.But I digress. This is an excellent peice of writing, as is the rest of the Coen brothers' library. "Raising Arizona" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" are also wonderful; I recommend them.

Pretty Darn Good
What a great script! I'm surprised so many locals missed out on the humor of this film. Its easy to see the Coen brothers have a great vision what their films will be while they write. To the Minnesotans and North Dakotans who were harmed as a result of the "yah" stereotype, get over it.The Coens are the best thing to come out of the area since Lawrence Welk.

Amazing Movie And Even Better Script
WOW!If you really want to read a great screenplay pick up FARGO by joeland ethan coen.I love the coen brothers and this is a perfect examplewhy.the characters are all so great and the dialouge is sharp and funny.When you read it for the first time you'll probaly think you know where thestory is headed.WRONG.It's full of twists and turns you'd neverexpect.TAKE MY WORD FOR IT READ THIS BOOK NOW, THATS AN ORDER!

A great story about greed and its consequences.
A fabulous screenplay and an even better movie.Anyone who enjoyed Pulp Fiction or Jacky Brown will like FARGO.Frances McDormand plays a bright policewoman trying to maintain a normal and quiet life with husband Norm. GREAT bad guys you will love to hate.A must see!!!! ... Read more

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The most commercially and critically successful film of Ethan and Joel Coen, Fargo was nominated for five Academy Awards and received two, an exceptional achievement for a low budget, independently produced film. This volume explores Fargo from a variety of perspectives. Providing a detailed account of the film's production, reception and place within the career of the Coen brothers, it covers issues and themes significant to current film discourse, including genre, gender and sexuality, race, history, culture and myth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great companion to the film "Fargo" by the Coen brothers.
This is a great companion to the film "Fargo" by the Coen brothers. Although the story is virtually the same in both formats, reading the written word is not the same as viewing a video. When you can have both, the enjoyment of the story is greater than the sum of its formats.

The biggest complaint I have with all the Kindle books I've purchased so far (since December 2009) is that the line breaks and other document formatting is just plain goofy. If anyone picked up a physical copy of a book and saw similar errors, there is very little chance the person would buy the book. They would think it was defective in printing. But with Kindle books, you pay a slightly lower price and "takes yer chances." Very sad. It's as if someone just cut the pages out of a physical copy and fed them through a scanner, creating a PDF, without bothering to check the output.

This isn't supposed to be a review of the Kindle, however, so I'll leave my comments about that and say that "Fargo" is one of the Coen brothers' best movies, full of both nuance and suspense. The pathetic character played by William Macy comes across in the written form as an even sadder, more desperate man. The description and actions of the two bad guys are all the more ominous and gruesome when read word for word. When I watch "Fargo" on TV and then pick up the Kindle, the experience is fantastic, as if I were immersed in the lives of the characters on a deeper level than could be possible by just watching or reading the story.

I recommend "Fargo" in the Kindle edition for anyone who enjoys the Coen brothers' work, anyone who likes to see how a written plot or screenplay is translated into visual form, and, alas, for anyone who has the patience to put up with the cheap production that is the biggest flaw in all the Kindle e-books I have purchased.

Four stars for an incredible story, but I must withhold the fifth star for the crummy formatting of the book; for the cost of the Kindle version of "Fargo" I should get more than weird line breaks and words running together like snow in Dakota. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on October 10, 2008. The length of the article is 1217 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: CNI: a la Americana: los hermanos Coen regresan con la comedia 'Quemar despuês de leer': Joel y Ethan Coen vuelven a la sâtira con una comedia esperpêntica, interpretada por George Clooney, John Malkovich y Brad Pitt, en la que se rîen de los servicios secretos 37, de paso, de l os tics mâs ridîculos de la posmodernidad.
Author: Alfonso Basallo
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 10, 2008
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Issue: 1215Page: 64(3)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

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Les achats comprennent une adhésion à l'essai gratuite au club de livres de l'éditeur, dans lequel vous pouvez choisir parmi plus d'un million d'ouvrages, sans frais. Le livre consiste d'articles Wikipedia sur : No Country for Old Men, a Serious Man, the Big Lebowski, O'brother, Burn After Reading, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, le Grand Saut, Fargo, Intolérable Cruauté, the Barber, Sang Pour Sang, Ladykillers, True Grit (Film, 2010), Arizona Junior. Non illustré. Mises à jour gratuites en ligne. Extrait : No Country for Old Men (titre français complet : No Country for Old Men - Non, ce pays n'est pas pour le vieil homme) est un polar américain sorti en 2007 et réalisé par Ethan et Joel Coen d'après le roman du même nom de Cormac McCarthy. C'est le 12 film des Frères Coen. Grand succès international et grand succès critique, le film a été quatre fois oscarisé : meilleur film, meilleur réalisateur, meilleur acteur dans un second rôle pour Javier Bardem, et meilleur scénario adapté. Texas, 1980. Alors qu'il chasse près de la frontière du Mexique, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) découvre par hasard les cadavres d'une bande de trafiquants de drogue et une mallette contenant deux millions de dollars dont il s'empare. Il se retrouve poursuivi par Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), un tueur psychopathe engagé initialement pour récupérer l'argent, et le shérif Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), un homme vieillissant et désabusé... Les frères Coen reviennent avec No Country for Old Men au cinéma de leurs débuts et au film de genre revisité, mélange de western et de film noir. Ainsi No Country peut être considéré comme une version « West Texas » et caniculaire de Fargo, qui fut leur premier grand succès international. Les mêmes repères sont en effet présents dans les deux films : l'extrême violence, un tueur psychopathe, un shérif en traque, une dénonciation de la perversité de l'argent sur l'homme, l'écrasement du paysage et du climat. Cependant, avec ...http://booksllc.net/?l=fr ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on May 3, 2002. The length of the article is 579 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Joel Coen: platicando con el director de cine.(TT: Joel Coen: interview with the filmmaker.)(Entrevista)
Author: José María Aresté
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 3, 2002
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Page: 105(1)

Article Type: Entrevista

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This digital document, covering the life and work of Joel Coen, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 5798 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

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This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Edicional Siempre on April 18, 2001. The length of the article is 1082 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Joel y Ethan Coen: Aventuras de un falso Gable en Louisiana.(TT: Joel and Ethan Coen: adventures of a present-day Gable in Louisiana.)(Reseña)
Author: Tomás Pérez Turrent
Publication: Siempre! (Refereed)
Date: April 18, 2001
Publisher: Edicional Siempre
Volume: 47Issue: 2496Page: 58

Article Type: Reseña

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When the head of Hudsucker Industries jumps to his death, the Board of Directors devises a devilish scheme to keep control of the company - appoint as the new President someone who they can push around. Their choice is Norville Barnes - but Norville has a dream of power.Amazon.com Review
Cinematically dazzling, maniacally paced and extraordinarilywitty, The Hudsucker Proxy is in many respects the mostaccomplished of the Cohen brothers' movies. The film is so quicklypaced that it is a real treat to have a copy of the finishedscreenplay. This book will allow you to savor every nuance of thisextraordinarily detailed and tremendously entertaining movie. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wonderful Background for a Great Movie
I'm biased.

This was one of the best movies of the last century, largely because of the Coen brothers' brilliant use of visual imagery.So, if the visuals are the essence of the film's greatness, why would anybody want to spend time reading the screenplay?

Well, as you'll see from this wonderful book, the writing is also brilliant.The Coens refashioned a lot of the screenplay to fit their vision of the film, so what we see here is literally what is on the screen.I say this to spare those looking for "deleted scenes" any disappointment...despite what's written below.

But it's just wonderful stuff.Strong, spare, funny writing.

Say - what gives??

Great reading, includes "deleted sccenes"
The wonderful words from The Hudsucker Proxy are all here, in a draft of the script that must have been close to final.

Here you can see how the Coen's scripted the unique talking patterns of its characters, complete with the slang or other verbal maulings the characters use in the movie.

There are also stage directions and other things you would only find in a script which helps you see how much they had visualized before the got the actors together.

Finally, there are a couple scenes that were not in the movie, including a very bizzare ending scene with the two taxi drivers from the cafe ("Bromo..."). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Wasted Writing Effort and a Waste of Your Time
The author of this book obviously feels he's as witty as the Coens.I hate to break it to him, but he's not.To make up for underachievement in this area, he fills the book with unneeded "editorial" comments on the films themselves.Why does the author feel he needs to criticize Jon Polito's performance in Miller's Crossing, and why does he think we'd care?It simply feels the author is stretching for lack of material, since he probably didn't get much cooperation from the filmmakers themselves.I attempted to make it through the entire book but kept putting it down out of frustration with the author.Don't waste your time with this one.

What can one say?
This book is supposed to be the first authorized biography about the Coens, but to be completely honest it's not much of a biography. The book reads more like a review of the Coens and each of their films. Much of the biographical information is interesting just for the simple fact that the brothers are so elusive that anything regarding their past and how they first funded their films is a gem not to be discarded. However, most of the book is divided into chapters that review and critique each of the Coen's films. Now, I didn't mind this, but a biography is not a collection of film reviews. It seems to me that the author (though possibly a fan) just didn't feel like writing this book especially since the brothers seemed so reluctant that he was writing it. Or true to Coen style, maybe that's how they intended the book to turn out (either knowingly or unknowingly to the author). Overall, an interesting, but slow read worth the time if your a film buff.

a real "shove in the bottom drawer" book
It's hard to add much to Josh's review, and perhaps I shouldn't, as I put this book down after page 114.I too found myself skipping long (slow) passages and growing tired at the never-ending parrallels drawn between the Coen's work and that of other film-makers.I would have preferred to hear more of what the brothers had to say, rather than the theories and beliefs of their biographer.

If you're after an in-depth study at how the Coen Brothers go about making a movie, buy William Preston Robertson's "The Making of Joel & Ethan Coen's The Big Lebowski".It's a better read by far.

If you LOVE the Coens, you'll LIKE this book
Ronald Bergan, biographer of such film legends as Jean Renoir and Sergei Eisentsein, has been commissioned to write the first offical biography of the brilliant, yet elusive American filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen.Anyone who loves the brothers' work will enjoy this book simply because info on the bros is so hard to come by: they rarely do interviews and stay just far enough outside of the mainstream to avoid tabloid headlines.The book on the whole, unfortunatley, seems to have been rushed.Even the physical look-- from the type face to the occastional type-- seems a bit unporfessional.There were sections about the Coen youth where I, the ultimate admirer/fan, got bored and skipped ahead-- that is almost impressive.Once the author settles into his format, he simply goes through each of the Coens' eight films in order.That gets pretty dull and uninformative, especially if you've read The Making of the Big Lebowski by William Preston Robertson (and if you haven't, do it).The other major problem with Bergan's book is that he too often jumps the line from biographer to critic.While discussing their work, he will 'factually' point out flaws in performances, filming techniques, even script-writing.Aside from this being out of his jurisdiction, his opinions--which are just that-- come off as shallow and unsupported.If you're gonna tell me that the brilliant last line of Raizing Arizona ruins the whole ending, you better have good reasons why!Bergan doesn't.There are few of his critiques that i agreed with, but the point is that he shouldn't be making these judgements at all.But because the Coens have stayed to private, it's great to get your hands on anything that discusses their behind-the-screen struggles and triumphs.Learning how they got funding for Blood Simple was fascinating and inspiring for any film student or independant filmmaker.The brilliance of the Coen brothers is not quite reflected in this somewhat shallow biography, which seems to have been written partly against the will of not only the author, but the subjects as well.The true fan, however, should be able to find enough gems to be worth the price of admission.Ciao. ... Read more