How the Coen Brothers Direct Comedy & Violence [Directing Styles Explained]
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
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Chapters:
00:00 Who are the Coen Brothers?
01:34 Seven Catagories that make the Coens unique
01:43 Story - from comedy to thriller
03:35 Production Design - standing out with sets and costume
06:24 Color - when to saturate and desaturate
10:06 Cinematography - having Deakins on call
13:52 Editing - exercise with 'Burn After Reading'
17:15 Sound Design - exaggerate and enhance
20:29 Music - building story with song
24:54 Summing up the Coens catalogue
The Coen Brothers are two directors with one vision. Perhaps working as a pair helps them cover such a wide range of subjects - from Looney Tunes-style comedies to bleak, fatalistic thrillers. And they seem to operate within these disparate modes with equal prowess and control. There are few filmmakers with such a definitive style and we’re here to see if we can decode the Coen Brothers cinematic DNA. Using seven areas of focus, including cinematography, sound design, and editing, we’ll work through their filmography to isolate how each piece of the puzzle fits together.
The Coen Brothers love a good idiot and they revel in watching them try to cheat the system. We can find these dimwit desperados in Coen Brothers movies like Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Ladykillers, and Burn After Reading. Coupled with their insanely tight and pitch-perfect dialogue, Joel and Ethan Coen also use production design to make each character (from the leads to the bit parts) completely unique. Think of any character in The Big Lebowski, for example - the diversity of their personalities is matched by their costume choices. In other words, the Coen Brothers populate their movies with fully realized individuals giving the overall film depth and a tone that can only be described as Coen-esque. Between their two main modes (dark comedy and thriller), the Coen Brothers use color as a way to negotiate tone. For comedies, the colors are often bright and saturated; for thrillers, the opposite - desaturated and monotone.
In their cinematography, the Coen Brothers again use lighting to direct or contrast the genre they are working in. Sometimes, and this is when it gets the most interesting, they counter our expectations altogether. In movies like The Big Lebowski and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, we might see dramatic, chiaroscuro lighting for comedic scenes and flat, even lighting for suspenseful moments. In their editing, comedies are typically edited around the rhythms created by their dialogue, but in thrillers like No Country for Old Men, it is the silent moments that are presented with Hitchcockian tension.
Sound design in the Coen Brothers’ movies also ping pongs between almost cartoonish effects to dramatic silence, dripping with suspense.
Barton Fink finds the Coen Brothers soundtracking the Hotel Earle as if it were some haunted, existential labyrinth. And in The Hudsucker Proxy, the film’s screwball-throwback mise-en-scene is complemented with light and playful sound design. Music is one of the Coen Brothers’ director trademarks and each film has a distinct world-building score. Think of the Southern bluegrass of O Brother, Where Art Thou? or the menagerie of folk music at the core of Inside Llewyn Davis. One could argue that the Coen Brothers approach their music choices with the same amount of thoughtfulness and purpose as anything else in their directing style.
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#film-theory, #video-essay, #filmmaker - Krátké a kreslené filmy
00:00 Who are the Coen Brothers?
01:34 Seven Catagories that make the Coens unique
01:43 Story - from comedy to thriller
03:35 Production Design - standing out with sets and costume
06:24 Color - when to saturate and desaturate
10:06 Cinematography - having Deakins on call
13:52 Editing - exercise with 'Burn After Reading'
17:15 Sound Design - exaggerate and enhance
20:29 Music - building story with song
24:54 Summing up the Coens catalogue
Please make a video on Steven Spielberg
Categories. But, yeah.
Since StudioBinder asked for suggestions.... and it's Halloween season....Take your pick..
Dario.Argento - John Carpenter - George Romero - Lucio Fulci - Sam Raimi - Ruggero Deodato
Wes Craven - Mario Bava - Terence Fisher - James Wan - Lamberto Bava - James Whale
StudioBinder: Wants to Talk About No Country For Old men only (Detailed) One of best Movie from Ethan and Joel..
In Coens' story, what can go wrong, does go wrong.
Well said
So... just like in real life? 😂
Murphy's law
@@FlavioDeFeo Yeah, they write accurate stories
@@FlavioDeFeo Not really. If so you and I would be dead right now
Their deep understanding of humanity comes across in their characters - that's why they resonate so clearly with the audience
Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh is the most terrifying character the Coens created plus Roger Deakins cinematography add suspense to the motives of the character.
Actually Anton chigurh is created by Cormac mccarthy who is the author of “ no country for old men” book... but of course the direction and acting was good too... but it’s not created by coen brothers... none the less coen brothers are one of the legendary directors
Agreed, he's a fantastic antagonist
I think Barry sonnefeld is greatly underapreciated as the coens first cinematographer
Peter Stormare from Fargo is just as sadistic and terrifying.
The devil cop from O' Brother is scarier to me. Not because of his mannerisms or appearance, just because he feels so justified and righteous about killing the protagonists lol
I love how in their movies criminals are insanely incompetent and how often they completely misjudge the reality. They have some kind of a 'plan' that is like a parody of itself. We know it is not going to work almost instantly. Consequently, the violence that emerges tends to be a result of a misunderstanding and therefore seems totally pointless. However, the fact that it is so graphic makes the suffering real and very serious.
I think the only exception is Anton chigurh. He is an extremely competent criminal that just loses focus when enjoying the bliss of completing his mission, leading to the car accident in the final scene.
@@seth131 Chigurh wasn't created by the Coen brothers. No Country is based on a book by Cormac McCarthy.
@@seth131 *loses
Inside Llewyn Davis is not only an underrated Coen Brothers movie, but an underrated movie altogether.
Hell yeah
One thing not mentioned is their casting. On their best films, I can't imagine any actors being able to better the performances. On the best of the best, it seems like the actor was born to play that role
Explore Something Unique
Explore SATYAJIT RAY!
Most film makers are already covered by numerous video essays to a great extent, Thus presenting this time one of the greatest-masters would be something unique and more interesting to witness.
"Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon."
-Akira Kurosawa
"In Ray, I have noticed a complete filmmaker. He has mastered the art of scriptwriting, direction, editing and scoring music - which very few in the world can equal. If he were in Hollywood, he would have proved a tough challenge for all of us."
- Elia Kazan
Martin Scorsese writes: "Satyajit Ray’s artistry, filmmaking took my breath away.
The Apu trilogy was only the beginning of one of the greatest bodies of work in the history of cinema.
We all need to see the films of Satyajit Ray and re-see them, again and again. Taken all together, they’re one of our greatest treasures."
Mr. Ray is truly a Filmmaker's Filmmaker.
And i think he really deserves at least one video on him from studio binder.
Do i need to add more ? I hope not.
Thanks for the suggestion! If we get a strong demand for him, Ray will become a priority
Yes, an essay on Ray is a necessity.
So true.. would love to watch a video on satyajit ray .
@john joseph actually Good point.
And mate unfortunately he's not "my" artist. I just love cinema. And i have been thru many MANY essays. But i noticed a peculiar thing, most of them talk about what others are already pointing out. It's like some twitter trend where you confirm to and reinforce the tag and that only leads to the next tag and soon it becomes a mechanical thing.
Cinema has completed 100 years, so it has a good history to look at and learn from. There are many things, many masters who are unjustly ignored. That's a sad picture. That's a very toxic environment for an artist to be in. It's like you call yourself a bibliophile and only know some cheap romantic plot boilers with some average contemporary books and that's it. Which is not fair. If the demesne of art remains so narrow, then it's a horrible situation for an artist or lover of art. The great masters should be acknowledged, that's what i feel. That's why we have a literary canon or classics when it comes to literature. And when it comes to cinema there too we have masterworks that gives the glimpses of the spectacular heights the art can touch. And if noticed well, there's a vast difference when it comes to video essays content ie. They present us the "legends" of whom most of us are already well aware of.
But, if we go on exploring what those legends themselves are talking about is something else. They talk about what really they think is significant to art. Listen to the way they talk about Ozu, Ray, mizoguchi, etc.
I'm a student of filmmaking. I study them. So I'm a bit aware about this stuff.
And I know I'm not gonna create my own platform for discussing cinema (online) soon. So that's why I'm trying to put suggestions so that these things might come to light and provide a new perspective, a new way of looking at cinema, which is an important step to gain a wider perspective or so i "think" (could be wrong/subjective).
@@StudioBinder please studio binder
Paul Thomas Anderson Directing style would be cool
czcams.com/video/rvPj65RKYf4/video.html Thanks! We have a vid breaking down how he blocked There Will Be Blood
You forgot to mention that they are also masters of dialect. I can't imagine Fargo without that Manitoba drawl.
Oh, you betcha, yah.
Any chance of making this 4 hours longer? Fantastic!!!
19:33 I respect the smoothness of your edit.
👌💯
Came here for this. Slick af
Raising Arizona. Our most quoted movie. I think this is the best one. All Cohen movies are Beautiful.
"Hire Roger Deakins"
Trust me, I would if I could
We all would
I don't know why but whenever I look at the Coen brothers I feel like they're a duo hosting a discovery science show for kids
Nice way to describe them haha
Criminal sciences
I like how some of their films mirror each other thematically even though they're set in very different times and places
Eg Fargo and No Country = small town sheriff struggles to keep up with senseless violence
Barton Fink and Llewyn Davis = city artist struggles with career and social relationships
Raising Arizona and O Brother = dumb deep south convicts escape prison in search for monetary gain
Agreed. Remember the video essay about how the Coens use desks? I believe the Coens used phones to attack the character with exposition, altering the narrative trajectory of the story. Forcing them into more drastic measures to achieve what they want.
Tom A
And there always seems to be a kifnapping
Themes of auteurs!
I don't think Hi was looking for monetary gain. He just wanted to raise a baby that he stole from a rich man.
Raising Arizona and No Country also share the villain as an unstoppable force character (although with very different tones) and a minor episode with a hapless drugstore owner
I am sick rn but this video made me feel better about my day, I love these videos... please make one on Christopher Nolan, PT Anderson, Spike Lee, Terrence Malick, or Robert Altman soon, maybe even Bong Joon-ho
Nolan's Director's Chair video czcams.com/video/zZJi_78XUVg/video.html, Parasite analysis czcams.com/video/D5qyna6kcGA/video.html
My favourite film makers, really hope they start working together again soon.
“The Zebra Striped Hearse”
"Hire Roger Deakins" made me smile 😊😅
you forgot to add that in No Country For Old Men, there was no music the whole film until the end credits
Good observation!
Burn After Reading literally gets funnier every single time i watch it
Please make a directing style episode of alfred Hitchcock
Thanks for the suggestion!
Please make it happen.
@@nabeelmirza6060 yes bro it should happen
Waiting for it studio binder..... thanks for your videos
"Yeah"
"Oh yeah"
"Ahah, yeah"
"Yeahhhh?"
"Yeaahhhhh!!!"
- Fargo (1996)
Masterclass dialogue 😂
Whoever is in charge of editing this videos needs a raise or something, the animations, title cards and the content all around is waaay too good.
That coin toss transition at 19:33 was pretty neat
We have an editor and motion graphics artist that work together!
@@StudioBinder top notch job, too good for youtube. Thank you for the quality content 🙇♂️
I absolutely love this series, and the channel in general. I request David Lynch please!!
Thanks for the suggestion!
and Werner Herzog
And spike lee
Yes David lynch is a very good and articulate director
Oh I meant artistic
I think you should make a video essay about Charlie Kaufman's screenwriting. He's one of the greatest screenwriter of this era. Please give it a try. Thank you.
The clip of "the Best of the Coen's to the worst" has "Fargo" then "intolerable Cruelty" linked to the "worst". I will watch that clip/video because I love Cinema but I must type here and now that "Intolerable Cruelty" in my not-so-humble opinion - is THE Best movie the Coen Brothers ever made. And I have watched/own ALL of their movies over and over again. The writing and tonal shifts re: Clooney's speech at that Vegas convention was pure creativity combined with superior talent for Dialogue. The premise of gold digging professional wives near Hollywood depicted in the movie can't be touched by those campy TV series "Housewives of...insert place here" cookie cutter factory. Love this channel!
Agreed, Intolerable Cruelty is very underrated. A biting and hilarious send-up of romantic comedies. 🤌
@@AnHonestDoubter Surprise performance by Billy Bob Thornton. He almost steals the movie!
Favorite Coen Brothers' film for me is a tough three way tie between No Country for Old Men, Fargo and A Serious Man. I'd love to see a video covering the style of Jim Jarmusch. This was a great video!
A whole section on Coen Brother music, and no mention of Carter Burwell?! He has beautifully scored everyone one of their films. The themes in Fargo and Miller's Crossing are amazing.
Also, a key Coen motif is repeated dialog, especially in the comedies. Count how many times the phrase "ok then" is used in Raising Arizona.
Yeah seriously! The term 'underrated' is thrown around far too often but Burwell's one of the most underrated composers working in Hollywood.
From a musician's perspective I was waiting to hear a filmmaker's ideas on Burwell specifically but I feel that section never came. Love these StudioBinder videos though.
That coinflip transition was satisfying
👌
I profoundly love the Coens and their work. They are not "nihilists" as some proclaim, but critics of the folly of man's attempt to order a transcendent universe. They are much more Zen than nihilistic. ❤️
Miller's crossing is my favourite movie of COEN BROTHERS.
The common theme of most of their films is regular non criminal everyday people decide to better their lives a little financially by doing something illegal but non violent where the victims are either criminals themselves or just jerks. Then their little crimes snowball into tragedy and death for all involved. Even when it’s not their own work like “No Country For Old Men”. They must have been drawn to it for that. “Fargo”, “Burn After Reading”, “and especially “The Man Who Wasn’t There” are examples. Yet the theme never gets old.
Auteurs have that ability to tell the same story throughout their films and make them all entertaining :)
Well said brother. Thanks for the comment.
Walter is the best they've created. Steals every scene and is just hilarious
Walter is hilarious 😂
You’re out of your f’n element!
Based on the Coen's friend, director and screen writer John Milius, best known for work on "Apocalyse Now" and "Red Dawn". Walter is a dead ringer in looks and attitude.
@@charlie-obrien I just searched it up and they got his look almost dead on.
Walter Sobchak does rule 🤣😂🤣
“hire Roger Deakens” that made my day.
one can dream :)
A Coen Brothers film can easily recognized by their unique cinematography and humor, and by their loving observation of underdogs.
The Coen brothers, Sean Baker, and Paul Thomas Anderson. These are the directors I can’t live without.
Realism in a fantasy, stunning tiger dealing cinematography ,frequent collab with underrated actors best casting choice they were the savior of Hollywood
What film are you referring to?
Best and simple story telling
It is really three things:
1. Classic detective murder mystery stories remixed into a surreal, close to modern, dark comedy.
2. Character's that stand out to the audience but somehow fit into their world.
3. Indie style filmmaking. Design and shoot everything like a pro film student with an eye for classic shots.
So, to summarize the video, what is says is: the Coen brothers' movies are great, because literally every aspect of filmmaking in them is great :)
I absolutely love anything the Coen's produce
The brothers have never made a bad film, seen em all worth watching twice
Still can’t believe that it took almost 30 years for Roger Deakins to get an Oscar
At least it happened while he's alive. The Academy is notorious for missing boats until they've already sunk.
Favorite protagonist: Linda Litzke from "Burn After Reading."
Favorite comedic character: The Dude from "The Big Lebowski"
Favorite serious thriller character: Anton Chigurh from "No Country for Old Men"
Also, the Safdie brothers have a large enough filmography to get a future directing style video. Their name in it could be something like "The Locals" or an appropriate adjective that describes their hometown of New York City.
Appreciate the suggestion! Personally, I think they need a few notable films before an in-depth breakdown
I wonder what adjective Edgar Wright will have when his video comes up. The Stylist?
One of the best channels on CZcams right now!
💯❤
I’ll be honest... this popped up on my feed and for whatever reasons I didn’t think it was going to be as good as a video as it turned out to be! Maybe I’ll go back now and binge watch the rest of them!
That's a good idea haha
I love these guys. Fargo, No Country For Old Men, Serious Man, O Brother Where Art Thou, and The True Grit remake are some of my favorite movies.
Great films all of them!
2 Things Coen Bros looooove language nuance. The Ladykillers really pronounces this between the 5 guys "He brought his B to the Waffle Hut!!"
also the dialects in Fargo, O Brother, True Grit and Raising Arizona are crazy thick!
Secondly they LOOOVE interesting faces! The clerk from No Country, StayouttatheWoolworths guy in O Brother, Ray McKinnon as Vernon boxing Everett, TBN and Turturro in general, etc etc
Also obviously I Love Walter and the Dude (TBL is my fave movie) but I have to give a huge shout out to Mattie Ross from True Grit
Thanks studio binder for the Corn brothers breakdown!!
Cheers!
This is a great series. The Cohen Brothers make movies I love and movies I hate, but they are all brilliant.
19:34 that was so clean.
Dear CZcams, please require this man to narrate all further videos.
Well written and edited for such a great narrator; perfect!
Probably wouldn't be popular, but I'd love to see you cover Antonioni, or maybe just the art house Italian era in general. This style was very influential for the American directors who put the Hollywood studio system out of business for good in the late 60s and early 70s.
This is so so brilliant, you have a totally different outlook towards understanding movie. Keep up the brilliant analysis work studiobinder❤
Favorite directors and favorite CZcams channel. What more could I ask for?? Especially now...
Glad you liked the video!
No country for old men is one of the best movies ever made. Top 5 IMO.
its my number one
favorite film ever..Tarantinos inglorious basterds is close second
No its not, massively overrated movie like Nolan's Batman
@@koffing2073 it's overrated for good reasons.
Favorite films of all time
Sicario, No country, 1917, inglorious bastards, The raid franchise
I can watch all these films over and over and never get bored
I have been waiting for this for so long. ITS TIME
hope it was worth the wait!
Can you do a Steven Spielberg directing style? His movies made me want to pursue filmmaking
Sure! Unlikely hero. Absent father or daddy issues. Characterswill always reflected in glass. Middle class perspective. Surprised faces held for close-ups.
They are probably gonna do it. Spielberg is such a master and can't be missing.
Brian Greene yea I watched that one, its only 5 minutes. Usually the directing style videos are 20 minutes and are way more detailed and informative
He's on the list!
Would love this!!
The dark lighting around Anton was taken from psycho. The ominous shadow of impending doom.
I enjoyed all your videos and all the visual information you show. Excellent videos. Love the narrator's voice as well.
This channel is a blessing for every cinephil
Cheers!
Keep them coming! Great analysis of a great directing team. 👍
New video every Monday!
No country for old men. These guys are geniuses. The way they blend characters is very entertaining.
That was Cormac McCarthy's doing, not theirs. Sorry.
Ah yes! the desk enthusiasts are back!
desks all day!
These are so interesting!
I hope you do Danny Boyle, Edgar Wright, Luc Besson, & Tony Scott 😍
We'll keep them in mind!
Greta Gerwig please!
Javier bardem's anton chigur (no country for old men) is my all time favourite character... not only in coen brother's.
A terrifying character for sure
I would like to see Cohens with Spanomarkou sisters music , so original and interesting combination
These are my favorite types of videos from you guys
Great to hear!
The colour saturation thing is a well known techs in video game design.
Directing Styles Explained is abolutely awesome series please make some day film about F.F. Coppola
Definitely, he's on the list. Or at least his films are going to be worth at least a couple more vids
Fantastic work and research on an awesome directing pair. Their unique voice really shines through in this video analysis.
Oh yes, and please do Alexander Payne
Excelent Video !
Thanks !
Man I'm totally in love with the Coens! I think they are great with thrillers and comedies, a little less good with dramas but still very good movies. I love their style of directing and their genius in writing, they always create a wonderful match between these two aspects. The characters and the dialogues are never trivial and always played by great actors so even the castings are always on point.
And last but not least: I had my first White Russian because of the Dude, years ago!
So thank you Ethan & Joel to exist!
Great filmmakers all around!
Very well edited video.
Great exploration, thank you :D
Just woke up and studiobinder drops a banger. 👏🏽
facts
Cheers!
The Ballard of buster scruggs was a masterpiece for sure.
Great video! Thanks.
the ending is epic. and also, my all-time favourite is the big lebowski. i love fargo as well
I clicked so fast , so my iPhone flipped 🔥
0_0
😂
Excellent breakdown. Reminded me of a film class I took.
To sum up the video, I’d pick this line; ‘the Coen’s are world builders’.
Absolutely, all the particular techniques serve that purpose.
Once that world is established, they present their mysteries and storytelling twists.
Fantastic Explanation 👍👍
Cheers!
Can you do a The Russo brothers directing style video. I love the feel and look of their movies. It would mean the world to me as they inspired me to pursue filmmaking.
We'll consider it!
I'm sure most will say Chugar from No Country is their favorite but I can't help but love the bounty hunter on Arizona. The conversation about 'simple economics' and 'whatever the market will bear' along with the hilarious 'stop' / 'shock' of his face when he's investigating the trailer only to have a stare down with the kid's scribbled word 'FART' on the wall that just interrupted everything he was doing and we were likewise into are such incredibly memorable scenes 😆
you talking about Randall “Tex” Cobb? I always loved that actor since I was little and my dad told me he fought Muhammad Ali in a real professional bout. Thats so cool to me
Always great content!
Thanks for watching!
The Coen brothers are one of my favorites !.
One of ours too!
Great breakdown - really interesting.
I want an Anton Chigurh and THE DUDE crossover.
The Jesus movie is coming up
Best crossover of the century
@@LuisSierra42 I heard it's terrible.
@@evanpeltier i imagined
Excellent job, StudioBinder !
Thanks!
This is awesome 👍 Love the Coen brothers!
My favorite directors, they're movies are awesome on so many levels, I'm sure they're among the best ever in their craft!
Definitely among the best
Pure cinema we can only say that to describe their work
Agreed
Miller's Crossing is my favorite film, period.
If Intolerable Cruelty is their worst, then they have a damn fine filmography, tbh.
I know, right? Just saw IC again recently, and I was chuckling at how many directors would have sold their souls to make a light comedy remotely as good as the Coens' least-admired product! lol
@@ikshields No, that rubbish with George Clooney playing the actor was easily their worst.
@@mikearchibald744 it may be their worst, but rubbish is far from a proper description of it at all.
Glad you brought up wardrobe early on...not mentioned by many of my film friends who are looking to emulate the Coen style. But pretty much key to making a mark...even if the signature look is as everyday as Llewlyn in no country
Yup, it all comes down to having a precise direction
The Coen brothers are still going strong. Though, I wonder how 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' would be, considering that it's just Joel this time.
Do you know why Ethan isn’t involved at all? That just seems kind of weird
We'll have to wait and see!
@@quindariousgooch4696 It seems Joel wants to make a movie but Ethan doesn't. I know it feels strange. Anyways, it has Denzel Washington and of course, Frances McDormand.
@@StudioBinder What do you guys think about them splitting up for a movie?
fullmetalpsyche yeah it’s probably gonna be fantastic
Learn a lot from your videos 👌👌👌👌👌👌Thank you so much. .and love your voice
Love from KOREA, you guys are the best!