Product description

Blood Simple [1984] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Price: £6.24
Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : DVD
EAN : 0883904112853
Label : MGM
Manufacturer : MGM
Publisher : MGM
Release date : 2008-09-16
Title : Blood Simple [1984] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actor : Array
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1984-01-01
Region code : 1
Running time : 99
Studio : MGM
Theatrical releaseDate : 1984
MPN : MGMDM111285D

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blood Simple is grisly comic noir that marries the feverish toughness of pulp thrillers with the ghoulishness of even pulpier horror. (Imagine the novels of Jim Thompson somehow fused with the comic tabloid Weird Tales and you get the idea.) The story concerns a Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a seedy private detective (M Emmett Walsh) to follow his cheating wife (Frances McDormand in her first film appearance) and then kill her and her lover (John Getz). The gumshoe turns the tables on his client, and suddenly a bad situation gets much, much worse, with some violent goings-on that are as elemental as they are shocking. (A scene in which a character who has been buried alive suddenly emerges from his own grave instantly becomes an archetypal nightmare.) Shot by Barry Sonnenfeld before he became an A-list director in Hollywood, Blood Simple established the hyperreal look and feel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose The Evil Dead had just been coedited by Joel). Sections of the film have proved to be an endurance test for art-house movie fans, particularly an extended climax that involves one shock after another but ends with a laugh at the absurdity of criminal ambition. This is definitely one of the triumphs of the 1980s and the American independent film scene in general. --Tom Keogh

Amazon.co.uk Review
The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blood Simple is grisly comic noir that marries the feverish toughness of pulp thrillers with the ghoulishness of even pulpier horror. (Imagine the novels of Jim Thompson somehow fused with the comic tabloid Weird Tales and you get the idea.) The story concerns a Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a seedy private detective (M Emmett Walsh) to follow his cheating wife (Frances McDormand in her first film appearance) and then kill her and her lover (John Getz). The gumshoe turns the tables on his client and suddenly a bad situation gets much, much worse, with some violent goings-on that are as elemental as they are shocking. (A scene in which a character who has been buried alive suddenly emerges from his own grave instantly becomes an archetypal nightmare.) Shot by Barry Sonnenfeld before he became an A-list director in Hollywood, Blood Simple established the hyperreal look and feel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose The Evil Dead had just been coedited by Joel). Sections of the film have proved to be an endurance test for art-house movie fans, particularly an extended climax that involves one shock after another but ends with a laugh at the absurdity of criminal ambition. This is definitely one of the triumphs of the 1980s and the American independent film scene in general. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Customer reviews

review by: spirit of vambo date: 2008-03-30 rating:

Bloody Awful.
Life is too short to inflict such misery apon yourself. If someone suggests that you watch this cover your genitals with polyfilla and go to A&E to have it scraped off, it will be a lot less painful and far more fun.

review by: date: 2008-03-26 rating:

a glimpse of the future
I saw this film first time round in 1984 and have only just seen it a second time. There are many echoes of Fargo and No Country For Old Men and gripping tension throughout as the plot tightens more and more around an adulterous couple who, by a combination of miscommunication and misjudgement, get embroiled in covering up a murder they did not commit. Two scenes are remarkable for the tension they create as the main characters struggle to subdue those threatening them.

Although some of the scenes and some of the acting are a bit creaky at times, I would still recommend you to watch this start of two great careers in films.

review by: date: 2006-07-26 rating:

a real masterpiece... even better than "Fargo"
I watched this movie three times and really liked it. Coen Brother's cinematic debut is a wonderful example of how to let the pictures tell most of the story. In essence, the story is real simple: A greasy and sleazy bar owner hires an even sleazier private eye to kill his wife and her paramour. But things do not turn out quite as planned. There are enough twists and turns to keep a viewer guessing even after the movie is over. Especially, second part of the movie is a first-grade thriller with violent, bloody, suspenseful, and endless twists. The last word: an absolutely fantastic film - one of the best I have ever seen. Dark entertainment at its best!

review by: thebigmeowski date: 2006-05-13 rating:

Watch this film!!!
Probably the darkest Coen Brothers film, and in my opinion, the best next to Fargo. The preformances are spot on but the best thing here is the fantastic dialoge. This is a really original film noir full of twists and black, black humour which has clearly had an influence on the likes of Tarantino and David Fincher and will stick in your mind for ages.

review by: fiftyfirstfloorfilms date: 2006-05-08 rating:

Did do better
The Coen Brothers first film has few of the surreal characters and inspired comedy which characterized their later works, and although it has some deeply black humour its definitely their most serious story. They really seem to hold back on what most of us love them for. I look at it as a Fargo test run.

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