NEW YORK, N -The Museum of Modern Art showcases the genre-bending films of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen from August 2 through 28, 2008, as part of Collaborations in the Collection, an initiative begun in 2007 to highlight collaborative relationships in cinema that have forged dynamic and memorable films. This ongoing exhibition, drawn from the 22,000 film titles in the Museum’s collection, samples a wide range of classic and contemporary film collaborations, both well-known and rarely noticed. Collaborations in the Collection is organized by Jenny He, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art.
Joel and Ethan Coen, whose partnership is one of the most prominent filmmaking collaborations in contemporary cinema, have produced such award-winning films as Barton Fink (1991) and the Academy Award–winning No Country for Old Men (2007). The brothers go beyond writing and directing to also share producing and editing responsibilities, although they frequently go uncredited or use pseudonyms. In addition to collaborating with each other, the Coens repeatedly work with the same actors (Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Frances McDormand, Jon Polito, John Turturro); casting directors (Donna Isaacson, John Lyons, Ellen Chenoweth); cinematographers (Barry Sonnenfeld, Roger Deakins); composer (Carter Burwell); costume designers (Richard Hornung, Mary Zophres); editor (Roderick Jaynes, a pseudonym for the duo); production designer (Dennis Gassner); and sound editor (Skip Lievsay). Collaborating with the same actors and crew allows the Coens to embark on new collective challenges.
Beginning with the dark crime feature Blood Simple (1984) and continuing through the elegant take on gangster films in Miller’s Crossing (1990) and the literary adaptation of No Country for Old Men (2007), the New York–based Coen brothers have paid homage to a host of genres while adding their own memorable characters, idiosyncratic touches, and cinematic style. Raising Arizona’s (1987) cast of oddballs—psychotic cops, escaped convicts, swingers, inept government officials, and a possible bounty hunter—are offset by Barry Sonnenfeld’s intentionally fake, storybook-inspired cinematography, while Dennis Gassner’s impeccable Art Deco sets in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) serve a script that combines the warmhearted fairy tale lessons of Frank Capra, the screwball elements of Howard Hawks’s comedies, and the verbal sparring of Preston Sturges’s films.
The Museum of Modern Art acknowledges Miramax Films for the generous donation of No Country for Old Men.
