11.17.2006

O Brother, Where Art Thou?: A (Not So) Complete History of Sibling Filmmakers

To qualify for our list (and believe you me, it is a mighty prestigious list!), our sibling filmmakers had to have worked together on the bulk of their filmography. This immediately disqualified brothers like Ridley and Tony Scott since they tend to work on their own projects rather than collaborating. Ditto Sophia and Roman Coppola, who have worked together on films, but not so much in actual collaboration. It also DQs Jake and Jon Kasdan, which is too bad since they are actual FOY’s — friends of YuppiePunk.org. Christopher and Jonathan Nolan (“Memento,” “The Prestige”) come close, but since Christopher has directed as many films not written by his brother as he has films written by him, we didn’t count them either. But that still leaves plenty. Oh brother!

Bros: Joel and Ethan Coen
Division of labor: Though credited separately (Joel for directing, Ethan for producing, alternating top-billing for writing), the Coens essentially tackle all tasks together.
Pros: “Miller’s Crossing,” “Fargo”
Cons: “Intolerable Cruelty”
Blood brothers: John Turturro, John Goodman
Blow-by-blow: Perhaps the most beloved sibling filmmakers of our time, the Coens succeed more than they fail, but even their failures are quirky and unique.

Bros: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Division of labor: Write, direct and produce together
Pros: “L’enfant,” “Rosetta”
Cons: None really
Blood brother: Jérémie Renier
Blow-by-blow: Belgian brothers have twice won the Palm D’Ore at Cannes, the festival’s top prize, making them two of the world’s most renowned directors.

Bros: Jay and Mark Duplass
Division of labor: Mark writes and produces, Jay directs
Pros: “The Puffy Chair”
Cons: “The Puffy Chair”
Blood brother: Mark
Blow-by-blow: We haven’t seen the film, but it was good enough to land them a deal with Universal for their next one.

Bros: Peter and Bobby Farrelly
Division of labor: The brothers co-write and co-direct all of their films together.
Pros: “Kingpin”
Cons: “Fever Pitch”
Blood brothers: Jim Carrey, people with disabilities
Blow-by-blow: Despite their fascination with potty humor, the Farrelly’s films have a lot of heart.

Bros: Allen and Albert Hughes
Division of labor: The twins direct and produce their films together as the Hughes Brothers.
Pros: “Menace II Society,” “From Hell”
Cons: “Dead Presidents”
Blood brothers: Larenz Tate, Johnny Depp
Blow-by-blow: The Hughes’ make stylized pictures with dark and violent overtones. They’ve also tackled documentary filmmaking with “American Pimp.”

Bros: Albert and David Maysles
Division of labor: With a keen eye, they shot and directed films together.
Pros: “Grey Gardens,” “Gimme Shelter”
Cons: David died in 1987.
Blood brothers: Christo and Jean-Claude
Blow-by-blow: There are few documentarians as gifted as these two. They have a true knack for capturing beautiful non-manufactured moments on film, needing little more than the moments themselves to create an amazing film.

Bros: Mark and Michael Polish
Division of labor: Mark and Michael write together, Mark directs.
Pros: “Twin Falls Idaho”
Cons: “Northfork”
Blood brothers: Themselves
Blow-by-blow: The Polish brothers’ films are dreamlike meditations, drifting between the surreal and the sublime.

Bros: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Division of labor: Write and direct together as the Wachowski Brothers.
Pros: “The Matrix,” “Bound”
Cons: “The Matrix Revolutions”
Blood brothers: Keanu Reeves, CGI
Blow-by-blow: “The Matrix” trilogy was uneven at best, but their legion of loyal fans will be anxiously awaiting their live-action version of “Speed Racer,” currently slated for release in 2008.

Bros: Chris and Paul Weitz
Division of labor: Chris produces, Paul directs — except for “About a Boy” which was written and directed by both.
Pros: “About a Boy”
Cons: “American Pie”
Blood brothers: Dennis Quaid, Hugh Grant
Blow-by-blow: Though “American Pie” put them on the map, their subsequent films have been far brainier (and far better).

Bros: David and Jerry Zucker
Division of labor: The Zucker brothers work on most projects together, usually writing and directing, though over the last decade, David has helmed a few projects of his own.
Pros: “Airplane,”
Cons: “Ruthless People”
Blood brother: Leslie Nielsen
Blow-by-blow: Along with Jerry Abrams, the Zucker brothers pioneered a unique brand of a thousand jokes-a-minute slapstick. Their heyday was brief, but their films from that era hold up as classics.

Related posts: A (Not So) Complete History of Band Tattoos | A (Not So) Complete History of Onstage Altercations | A (Not So) Complete History of ‘Boy’ Bands

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