Recent Reviews for Blood Simple
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MCT:July 24, 2008After watching this film, I can't believe that anyone that saw it back then couldn't appreciate the talent in front of the lenses and especially behind them. The Coen Bros. use these really intricate plots that are masked as very simple premises that I like a lot. Most of the times you are promised a complicated premise and only get a simple or generic execution. Not so with the Coen's. They go from simplicity to crossings and double crossings and triple crossings. Astounding stuff.
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MCT:July 17, 2008
The one that got the Coen Bros. started and man what a way to start up. A true film noir about a man that wants his wife and her lover killed, but nothing is what it seems in this crime thriller.
Stars Dan Hedaya Frances MacDormand and M. Emmett Walsh as the would be hitman. Walsh is excellent here in a very creepy, yet interesting way. Highly recommended -
MCT:July 8, 2008This is the first movie from the Coen brothers and it hit the jackpot i must say. Its a thriller drama with some very good scenes with a great story in Texas along with some twists. Coen makes every movie unique in its way whenever its a comedy or thriller. Enjoy
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MCT:July 3, 2008Blood Simple is excellent and probably raised the bar considerably for crime movies. If you like movies about murders, double crossings, passionate affairs, and hi jinx of that nature then Blood Simple is right up your alley. My biggest complaint about it is that it lacks the best qualities of the Coen Brothers' other movies. I really missed the absurd humor, the superfocused style, and the cathartic sequences that make so many of their later movies so great.
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MCT:June 25, 2008
The first Coen Bros. film still stands as one of thier best in my opinion. Barry Sonenfeld should have just stayed a DP, because his work in this film is great. And it's always nice to see M. Emmett Walsh.
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MCT:June 15, 2008I would say this is one of the top three films the Coen brothers have made...takes many unexpected turns and is suspenseful throughout.
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MCT:June 12, 2008
The Coen brothers twin masterpiece along with "Raising Arizona"(1987). They were (and still are) the most exciting of the filmmakers to emerge from the American independent movement of the late 80's. Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, and Gus Van Sant follow closely behind.
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MCT:June 6, 2008The one Coen Bros movie that I haven't seen yet. None of my friends have seen it either. Ha, and David Lew says he is not interested. I doubt he looked at the movie carefully.
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MCT:May 26, 2008A very suspenseful movie that plays off of major misunderstandings, something that usually drives me nuts in movies but doesn't in this one. A very good first movie by the Coens.
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MCT:May 20, 2008
I love the Coens and this one seems to be left out when talking about their accomplishments. It should stand up there with Fargo and No Country.
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MCT:May 18, 2008
wow what a shocking thriller movie...this is a really good movie..the coen brothers who direct this movie have made some really good movies throughout there careers...i think this was there debut movie...all the actors/actressess throughout this movie all play really good parts in this movie...this has really good script throughout the movie...
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MCT:May 4, 2008
I've always been a Coen Bros. fan, and this is why. I love the neo-noir genre they tackled--so many twists! And very creepy! Not surprised to see this movie on Bravo's list of scariest movie moments (#73). Very impressive for a pair of brothers' first film they financed themselves.
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MCT:April 22, 2008
superb debut from the coens, and showing how there career could have gone, considering there latest no country for old men, is closest in style to this, very tense moments, and red hairings will hae you on the edge of your seat, a young francess mcdormond doing great job, a harh texas setting, with a great score backing it up, they went on to fluffy fair next with raising arizona but just shows the talents they are
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MCT:April 14, 2008
One of the most fantastic story I've ever seen in a cinema.It's not five stars because of the immature direction of Joel Cohen and because of the clumsy actors.
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MCT:April 9, 2008
Gem! Blood Simple is a trademark Coen flick. The movie has a very slow pace but that doesn't stand in the way of it becoming engrossing, the dialogues are genius; witty and hilarious, the score from Burwell is pretty awesome and the performances are top notch. Coen's debut set a very high benchmark.
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MCT:March 25, 2008
A very elegant little quiet story perfect for the debut of the coen bros. The movie is based on greed and an affair which combined lead to deadly consequences for every one involved. The movie is a great piece of Noir murder and suspense and a perfect example of low budget independent film making at its best. It's rare, but I'm glad i got a copy.
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MCT:March 24, 2008
Ingenious debut film by the Coen brothers. I, like so many others, have checked out this little gem after seeing all their later successes. I've never been a super fan of their style, but appreciate the craftsmanship behind every shot. I found this movie to be among their best and most enjoyable movies (No Country For Old Men was slightly better, but only because of Javier Bardem). This is their finest storyline for sure, with a real intricate plot, that takes its characters from bad to worse. The brothers really like to kill as many of the main characters as possible in their movies, in all kind of quirky ways. However, there's something about their style that just doesn't grab me the way I want it too. Perhaps after some repeat viewings, I will come to fully appreciate their masterpiece.
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MCT:March 20, 2008
Marty: I got a job for you.
Private Detective Visser: Uh, well, if the pay's right, and it's legal, I'll do it.
Marty: It's not strictly legal.
Private Detective Visser: [Thinks for a second] Well, if the pay's right, I'll do it.
The first movie from the Coen brothers. It's a crime thriller with a combination many noir and horror elements.
This movie is about a number of people who are all somewhat dark characters. A bar owner hires a dirty PI to kill his wife and lover, and bad things happen from there involving double-crosses, confusion, and people that wont die.
Being a low budget film, the best things coming out of this movie concern its style. It is a very creative film when it comes to how the Coen's handle the camera, how the characters are shown, how action is highlighted, what's going on where, what's the focus, etc.
It also helps that the plot is so sensible for a thriller. Every action has a reaction. Steps taken that seem logical from certain characters point of view have ways at coming back at them disastrously.
There is also the trademark Coen dialog throughout, although this was darkest material that they dealt with before making things lighter in films to come, despite the material.
The movie also works well in horror terms. A genuine amount of tension is built up throughout the movie, complete with a surprising amount of blood that gets everywhere.
The cast does a good job. Hedaya is in the perfect kind of role suited for him, as a sleazy but cowardly husband. Frances McDormand is always wonderful and M. Emmet Walsh has the perfect delivery for his character.
A very good, very dark thriller.
Marty: You know... in Greece, they would cut off the head of the messenger that brought the bad news.
Private Detective Visser: Now that don't make much sense.
Marty: No. It made them feel better. -
MCT:March 20, 2008
Blood Simple is pure Coens. There are the usual bag of cinematic tricks, the twisting storyline, the seamy characters, and the occasional droplet of dark humor. The story concerns a bar owner who thinks his wife is cheating on him. He hires a sleazy private investigator to find out, and when he learns the truth, he wants them dead. Trouble is, things get kind of complicated when a murder occurs. The film creates a palpable feeling of tension, where you don't know what to expect next. Half the fun of this film is trying to figure out what will happen. A true testament of the well sturctured nature of the film, is the fact that there are only four main characters, and they hold your attention till the very end. And in traditional film noir fanfare, all of these characters have some sort of sordid business to attend to. The Coens drew on their experiences on Blood Simple and made the similar, but very different, Fargo. Watch Blood Simple for a good old fashioned film noir that will keep you guessing.
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MCT:March 19, 2008
I hadn't seen this in years. Great stuff. M. Emmet Walsh is one of the best guys ever. One of those "style is substance" type movies.
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MCT:March 12, 2008BLOOD SIMPLE (1985)
directed by Joel Coen
starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, M. Emmet WalshBlood Simple is simply bloody. It is an effective piece of filmmaking. Always moody, dark and filled with qualities I had failed to see when I first saw it a long time ago.This is the first film by the Coen borthers and it shows their love for cinema and their knowledge. There is a surprising amount of profesionnalism for first time filmmakers and a first-time cinematographer.
There are lots of cool shots with weird angles sometimes making it hard to figure where the camera is set. The use of lighting is pretty clever. The script is twisted and well-crafted making this film a must-see thriller.
In Blood Simple the story told seems quite simple, but its not. A man hires a private detective to spy on his cheating wife. Then he ask the detective to kill her and his friend, sleeping with her. There is a lot of confusion for the character cause they dont get killed, the husband do and they suspect each other of the murder while the detective decides to track 'em down cause they are getting to close, well not as clsoe as he believes. The viewer is the only one to know what is going on and its all fun to see those characters going crazy.
In one very effective scene, a man is burried alive. Blood Simple is provocative and disturbing to some extent. There is a lot of irony in the film and the Coens already had it with the clever dialogues. Its stylish, not only in the way its shot but the way its written and acted. Frances McDormand is quite strong. The ending will get you on the edge of your seat. Extremely entertaining but unfortunately its too short, I wanted it to be longer. Oh well!
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MCT:March 2, 2008This movie was pretty boring. The plot is good, it is a solid debut for the Coens, but I wouldn't watch it again.
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MCT:February 25, 2008
coen brothers first feature - now you've seen "no country" watch this, M Emmet Walsh is seriously creepy
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MCT:February 19, 2008
This movie was perfect. Everyone thought everyone else was doing something else, and it leads to everyone killing everyone else. Classic. I especially liked when Frances McDormand stabs M. Emmet Walsh in the hand, and how he's still an old guy but a badass at the same time.
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MCT:February 17, 2008
When a Texas roadhouse bar owner hires an ethically challenged cowpoke detective to spy on his cheating wife and her bartender boyfriend, jealousy, greed, mistrust and fate cause events to spiral into a crazy, bloody finale. The opening scene, shot from a low angle against a rain-spattered windshield as blurry headlights rush towards the viewer, sets a tone of unease that never eases up.
