MUSIC FROM A FILM BY JOEL COEN AND ETHAN COEN
THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE
Soundtrack Features Original Music Composed By Carter Burwell
Available October 30, 2001 On Decca/UMG Soundtracks

(October 22, 2001 New York, NY) -- The Man Who Wasn’t There is the compelling new picture from the acclaimed filmmaking team of Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou?). Starring Academy Award® winner Billy Bob Thornton, Academy Award® winner Frances McDormand and James Gandolfini of The Sopranos fame, the highly-anticipated film earned Joel Coen Best Director (Shared) honors at the 2001 Cannes International Film Festival. Featuring original music by Carter Burwell – along with new renditions of popular classical pieces by Beethoven and Mozart – the Decca soundtrack album will be available October 30, 2001.

A vocalist, accordionist and synthesist, composer Carter Burwell is the mastermind behind such diverse and memorable scores as Fargo, A Knight’s Tale, Being John Malkovich, and Gods and Monsters. With The Man Who Wasn’t There, Burwell takes a different musical approach from his past work, interlacing original music with Beethoven and Mozart standards. This technique works to marvelous and dramatic effect – particularly with the poignant performance of Beethoven’s “Pathétique” Piano Sonata that figures prominently throughout the film.

Set in the summer of 1949, The Man Who Wasn’t There has as its title character Ed Crane (Thornton), a barber in a small northern California town. Ed is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris’ (McDormand) infidelity presents Ed with an opportunity for blackmail that he thinks will help him to change it. However, Ed’s scheme unravels and lays bare even darker secrets before leading to murder. The Man Who Wasn’t There is a tale of passion, crime and punishment, all presented in glorious black-and-white.

USA Films presents a Working Title production, The Man Who Wasn’t There, opening in select theaters on November 2, 2001.

###