The Coen brothers' THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE is a brilliantly photographed black-and-white absurdist noir set in Santa Rosa, California, in 1949. Ed Crane (the outstanding Billy Bob Thornton) is a slow-moving, barely talking barber who doesn't seem to want much out of life. He has virtually no relationship with his wife, Doris (Frances McDormand), who has more fun with her boss, Big Dave (James Gandolfini). But when a strange character (Jon Polito) lets it be known that he's looking for a silent partner to finance his dream business (something he calls dry cleaning), Ed sees a possible way out of his doldrums. Just like any good James M. Cain novel (which the Coens cited as a major influence on the story), blackmail, deceit, violence, murder, and double crossing ensue, all with the magic Coen twists and turns.

THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE looks simply magnificent; the cinematography, the outfits, and the set designs perfectly capture this intriguing post-WWII paranoid world embodied by misfits, cheats, simpletons, con men, and other ne'er-do-wells. Thornton, who also supplies the wonderfully droll narration, gives a bravura performance as Ed, the everyman who has never strayed from the straight and narrow--until now. Always with a Chesterfield in his mouth, he wanders from scene to scene almost as if he's a spectator--even though he's at the center of everything that goes on. The supporting cast, as usual in a Coen brothers film, is outstanding, including McDormand, Gandolfini, Polito, Tony Shalhoub, Richard Jenkins, and Scarlett Johansson as a young potential piano prodigy.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Single Side - Dual Layer
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Letterbox - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Deleted Shots
Audio Commentary: Joel Coen - Director 2. Ethan Coen - Director 3. Billy Bob Thornton - Star
Featurette: MAKING OF MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
Trailers: Original Theatrical Trailer
Interviews: Roger Deakins - Cinematographer
Text/Photo Galleries:
Photo Galleries
Filmographies:
1. Cast
2. Crew

Billy Bob Thornton: Screenwriter/Actor
Frances McDormand: American Actress
James Gandolfini: American actor, THE SOPRANOS
Michael Badalucco: American Actor/"Mac"
Katherine Borowitz: American Actress
Jon Polito: Actor
Scarlett Johansson: Actress, THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, THE BLACK DAHLIA (2006)
Richard Jenkins: American actor
Tony Shalhoub: Actor, MONK
Adam Alexi-Malle: Actor; THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (2001)
Christopher McDonald: American Actor

Joel Coen: American director/screenwriter/producer

Ethan Coen: American producer/screenwriter/director

Joel Coen: American director/screenwriter/producer
Ethan Coen: American producer/screenwriter/director

Carter Burwell: American composer, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Roderick Jaynes: Coen brothers pseudonym: created this fake editor as a prank
Tricia Cooke: 

"...A fully realized, cohesive, and -- the real surprise -- completely 'serious' homage to the Hollywood genre, perhaps the best neo-noir since THE TWO JAKES..."
"...One of [the Coen brothers's] most haunting and rewarding works..."
"...The remarkable Thornton never hits a false note..."
"...It's probable that most filmmakers love making movies, but few of them express this love with such voracious, crazy ardor....THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE moves with the stately grace of the Beethoven that decorates the soundtrack..."
"...So assured and perceptive in it's style, it's like a voluptuous feast..."
"...Succulently retro, vintage-Hollywood-goes-bizarro film noir..."
"...It's shot in clean, crisp black and white, it's elegant compositions masterfully framed and lit....The Coens are masters of the offbeat and bizarre..."