Dan Hedaya, Deborah Neumann, Frances McDormand

A Texas bar owner hires a private detective to kill his wife and her lover, but things don't go as planned when double-crossing and betrayal abound.

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86% liked it

27,929 ratings

Critics

98% liked it

60 critics

R, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Release Date: September 1, 1984

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DVD Release Date: September 18, 2001

Stats: 1,697 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,697)


  • November 15, 2009
    The Coen formula is simple but effective. Take a misdeed, a sin if you will, and let it set off a chain of events that eventually leads to an ultimate redemption and a righting of the wrong. It's a cycle that, in the hands of the masters, never gets old and never seems cliche'.
  • October 14, 2009
    Fairly slow moving, yet the last 10 minutes completely made up for it. A young Frances McDormand clearly shows her talents for a leading role and with and with this being an early Coen Bro?s film, there are certainly hints of their promising future here.

    I like the storyline,...( read more) just thought it could have been made a little more suspenseful perhaps thoughout the first part.
  • August 9, 2009
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    Marty hires a private investigator to spy on h...( read more)is wife, who he suspects of cheating. When Marty hires the investigator to kill his wife and her lover, things get very complex. (IMDB)


    Blood Simple is the Coen Bros' first feature film from 1984. It also features Frances McDormand, wife of Joel Coean and frequent collaborator in their films. Blood Simple is quite simply brilliant and of course the beginnings of what would later become two of Hollywood?s great film directors. One of my favourite Coen bros films and perhaps one of my favourite films.

    The film also has many man similar characteristics to the Coean Bros 2007 film No Country for Old Men. It's an incredibly dark tale and contains a lot of shots that are in No Country for Old Men. What is also brilliant about this is the use of diegetic sound. That being that it's mainly in the picture that we hear music and aspects of surround sound. We also hear who would later become one of the main characters narrating at the beginning, which is what was in No Country for Old Men. This creates a far more realistic image to the audience and you really feel part of the film.

    Worth mentioning some great tracking shots following characters which are just genius and brilliant to watch. Blood Simple is obviously brilliantly directed and such the attention to detail to perfection. The tension in Blood Simple is evident in many scenes and really makes you the viewer on tender hooks itching to know what will come next. I found myself on the edge of my bed just like that. The cinematography, especially in the opening sequence is again perfection. When we are introduced to the two main characters we feel claustrophic in the scene mainly due to the brilliant lighting in this scene.

    Blood Simple contains a cleverly written script. One which incorporates humour, with a dark, twisted tale in the form of a film-noir. With all that entrenched in the film, it stars off as a predictable story but with a few twists and turns ( which is what The Coen Bros later did in their films) it becomes more of a complex and more engaging tale which I feel is perfection ( as I've stated before.) I've also got to admit that it will feel like a David Lynch film for the first 40 mins.

    Blood Simple is one of cinema's forgotten gems and one which is of course overshadowed by the Coens later and better known titles. If you?ve not got into their body of work yet start with this as it really is a masterful piece of work. Brilliant! Don't expect you?re average crime of passion when you watch this.

    Superb

    10/10

    Masterpiece.
  • June 2, 2009
    Tense, gripping thriller with shady duplicitous characters. Obvious forerunner to Fargo and No Country. The late M. Emmet Walsh is particularly good as the not-so-stupid hitman.
  • May 24, 2009
    The Coen's debut film about a murder-for-hire that goes horribly wrong. The acting is all top-notch and the film is a great example of film noir, especially coming out of the 80's and not the 40's. McDormand, Hedaya and Getz are all excellent in this and the Coen's give this movi...( read more)e a great direction with incredible camera work, which never gets it's proper credit in their films. I would be remiss, too, without saying M. EMMET WALSH IS THE FUCKING MAN!!!
  • November 12, 2009
    chilling and unpredictable,this is a great debut of coens!
  • November 7, 2009
    This is an outstanding early effort by the Coen brothers! A great low budget film noir. A great plot makes this film a must see.
  • October 31, 2009
    People don't share information and people die. Well-made, good acting. Could be called black humor if you have an arid sense of humor. I liked it and will see it again.
  • October 26, 2009
    Irmãos Coen e suas confusões.
  • October 18, 2009
    The Coen Brothers' first (and very acclaimed) movie of money, betrayal, love, and murder told in pure noir/Hitchcock fashion.

Critic Reviews


April 8, 2003
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The Coens, then as now, are alive to the possibilities of movies. So savor their technique and the sizzling performances. full review

April 8, 2003
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It tells a story in which every individual detail seems to make sense, and every individual choice seems logical, but the choices and details form a bewildering labyrinth in which there are times when... full review

View more Blood Simple reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Blood Simple Trivia


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