The Coen brothers - latest news.

July 2008 - Fresh from the multi-oscar winning success of No Country For Old Men comes the latest Coen brothers movie Burn After Reading. Information about the film that is to be released later in the year (19 September in the US and 17 October in the UK) is finally slipping out, and the Burn After Reading trailer has finally been released on select sites on the net. From the trailer it strikes us as having a Fargo vibe about it, and with perhaps the Coen's greatest cast (Bradd Pitt, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand - obviously, Tilda Swinton and David Huddlestone) since The Big Lebowski , we already can't wait to see it.

Joel and Ethan Coen - A biography part 1: Early years to 1997. (part 2 ).

Joel Coen was born on 29th November 1954 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Ethan Coen was born on 21st September 1957 also in Minneapolis. After studying at university Joel made the leap into the film world working first as an assistant editor on the genuinely strange horror Fear No Evil (1981) and then as assistant film editor on the notorious Sam Raimi cult horror The Evil Dead.

In 1984 the brothers wrote and directed their first film together Blood Simple. Set in Texas, the film tells the tale of a shifty sleazy bar owner who hires a private detective to kill his wife and her lover. Within this film there are considerable elements that would point towards their future direction - i.e. their own subverted homages to genre movies (in this case noir and horror), the clever plot twists layered over a simplistic story, their darkly inventive and twisted sense of humour, and their mastery of atmosphere. Also it would star Frances McDormand who would go on to feature in many of the Coen brothers films (plus she would also marry Joel Coen). Upon release the film received much praise especially amongst the more left field audience, and winning awards for Joel's direction* at both the Sundance and Independent Spirit awards. (*Despite the credits on the Coen brothers movies that state Joel is the director and Ethan is the producer, to all intents and purposes they direct and produce jointly).

The next Coen Brothers project to hit the big screen was 1985's Crimewave directed by Sam Raimi. The film was written by the brothers together with Sam Raimi with whom Joel had worked with on The Evil Dead.

In 1987 the next film written and directed by the brothers was released with the title Raising Arizona. The film is the story of an unlikely married couple Hi and Ed (an ex-convict and an ex-cop) who long for a baby but unfortunately are unable to conceive. "Fortune" smiles on them when a local furniture tycoon appears on television with his five newly born quins that he jokes "is more than we he can handle". Seeing this as a sign from god and an opportunity to redress the natural balance they steal one of the quins and start to bring up the child as their own. Raising Arizona was much more accessible to the mass market with its innocence and wacky slapstick easing the action along amongst some dark humour. With a genuinely innovative and twisting script, the film was also a favourite amongst more left of centre tastes.

1990 saw the release of Miller's Crossing a straight ahead homage to the gangster movie genre. Starring Albert Finney, Gabriel Byrne and future Coen brothers staple John Turturro, the film is set during the prohibition era of the thirties and tells the tale of feuding mobs and gangster capers. What really sets this film apart is the terrific dialogue, the depth of the characters involved, which all benefit from the touches of dark humour and plot twists that were already becoming synonymous with the brothers work.

The Coen Brothers reputation was seemingly enhanced with every subsequent release, but this took a massive leap forward with their next movie, the visually stunning Barton Fink (1991). Barton Fink is set in 1941 and tells the story of a New York playwright (the eponymous Barton Fink) who moves to LA to write a B-movie. He settles down in his hotel apartment to commence the writing but all too soon he gets writers block and allows himself to get some inspiration by the amiable man in the room next door together with some industry associates. Inspiration comes from the most unusual places and the hotel is definitely unusual and a magnet for the strange and downright bizarre. Barton Fink was a commercial success, but also more significantly a critical success (garnering Oscar nominations plus winning three major awards at Cannes). With this film the brothers added a stunning visual aesthetic (employing the services of Roger Deakins as director of photography for the first time) to their mastery of the subverted genre, which alongside the performances of Coen stalwarts John Turturro and John Goodman help produce a hugely impressive (and enjoyable) classic.

In 1994, with their stock at an all time high, the brothers were able to attempt their first big budget feature film The Hudsucker Proxy (co-written with Sam Raimi). The story revolves around a little man, who by chance is made the head of a massive corporation with the expectation that he will ruin the company (so that the board can buy it for next to nothing), instead he ends up inventing the hula hoop and becomes both a success and a personality over night. The critics were for once luke warm about the film, whilst Roger Deakins was universally praised for his skill as Director of Photography, the film was generally criticised for being a pastiche too far. Most critics viewed the film as having nothing new to say due its constant references and homages to classic movies of the 30's and 40's, and many were disappointed by the Coen's first attempt at the big league.

1996 saw the release of arguably the Coen Bothers finest movie so far - Fargo. The film is set in the snow in Fargo in the Coen Brothers home state of Minneapolis. The movie surrounds the tale of Jerry, a man with a young family, who works in his father in law's car showroom. Jerry is anxious to get hold of some money to move up in the world, but when all other avenues are blocked he hatches a plan to have his wife kidnapped so that his wealthy father in law will pay the ransom that he can split with the Kidnappers. Unfortunately his best laid plans go wrong when the bungling kidnappers deviate from the agreed non-violent plan and so local cop Marge is sent in to investigate the whole affair. With its terrifically hilarious dialogue and superb story Fargo proved to be a big commercial and critical success (even earning The Coen Brothers an Oscar for their screenplay, and an Oscar for Joel's wife Frances McDormand for Best Actress).

continued on the Coen brothers profile part 2