Blood Simple

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Blood Simple

R

Released Jul 7, 1984

1h 37m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

110 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

"Blood Simple" was the first feature film from Joel and Ethan Coen. This is the newly restored and re-edited director's cut of the film, introduced by Mortimer Young. The stylish crime thriller premiered at film festivals in 1984. "Blood Simple" begins deep in the heart of Texas, where a jealous saloon owner hires a cheap divorce detective to kill the saloon owner's younger wife and her bartender lover. But the detective gets a better idea: he follows the two lovers, and...

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Critics Consensus

Brutally violent and shockingly funny in equal measure, Blood Simple offers early evidence of the Coen brothers' twisted sensibilities and filmmaking ingenuity.

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Jay Scott

Globe and Mail

Blood Simple is entirely self-concious, and good for it.

Dec 6, 2022

Full Review

Adam Nayman

The Ringer

What holds up best about Blood Simple, besides its vice-tight plotting and the rotten charisma of M. Emmet Walsh's evil, manipulative private eye Visser, is the sheer exuberance of the Coens's visual style.

Apr 15, 2019

Full Review

Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

Blood Simple is a reminder that the Coens are formalist film-makers first, with keen noses for composition and taut, structured storytelling, as well as masters of black comedy.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 8, 2017

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Bodies are shot, stabbed, dragged, and buried, blood is spilled and wiped up, evidence planted, swiped, and swapped, and nobody really knows what the story is. Except the audience, and we’re generally a beat behind.

Apr 6, 2024

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Blood Simple not only put the Coens on the map but guaranteed that cinema would never again be the same.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 7, 2024

Full Review

Dimitris Passas

PopMatters

The debut neo-noir feature film by the brothers Ethan and Joel Coen is perhaps their most enchanting work. Blood Simple remains loyal to the classic noir tradition while evolving the genre’s prototypical narrative structure.

Nov 28, 2023

Full Review

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Audience Member

I didn’t enjoy it; slow and unengaging I’ve hardly liked anything by the Cohen Brothers The only one I’ve actually liked is O Brother Where Art Thou?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/19/25

Full Review

Audience Member

I liked this movie just as much as Fargo! I didn't know that the Coen brothers made movies in the mid/early 1980s. This film's runtime isn't that long but so much happens within a span of a few minutes. It was quite suspenseful and dramatic with its scenes and what happened between and to each character involved in the plot's murder scandal. I wanted to watch this movie after Roger Avery and Quentin Tarantino went in Joe Rogan and after the way they spoke about it, I knew it was very likely something special! Why can't they make simple and genuine movies like these ones anymore? I would recommend it!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/25

Full Review

bob c

Excellent first movie by Coens. Low budget shows.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/28/24

Full Review

Jerod S

Built on the jealousy of a husband losing his wife (McDormand) to another lover, Blood Simple should be a boiling rage of a movie. But it's slow and cheesed up by Emmet Walsh.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/04/24

Full Review

Mason M

The Coen's best was also their first. A film that's beautifully shot in blue and neon lighting that is simply a treat to the eyes and one of the defining neo noirs of the 80s. Well crafted in a way where we are the only ones that know the full picture of what's happening, with the highlight being the quite long section in the middle that doesn't contain a single line of dialogue. Blood Simple remains the best film that the Coen Brothers ever made

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/08/24

Full Review

Lars N

The 'feel' of a Coen brother movie is there from the start. It's effortlessly and engagingly enigmatic.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/23/24

Full Review

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Joel Coen

Director

John Getz

Ray

Frances McDormand

Abby

M. Emmet Walsh

Private Detective

Dan Hedaya

Julian Marty

Samm-Art Williams

Meurice

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Synopsis

"Blood Simple" was the first feature film from Joel and Ethan Coen. This is the newly restored and re-edited director's cut of the film, introduced by Mortimer Young. The stylish crime thriller premiered at film festivals in 1984. "Blood Simple" begins deep in the heart of Texas, where a jealous saloon owner hires a cheap divorce detective to kill the saloon owner's younger wife and her bartender lover. But the detective gets a better idea: he follows the two lovers, and...

Director: Joel Coen
Producer: Ethan Coen
Screenwriter: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Distributor: USA Films
Production Co: River Road
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 7, 1984, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jul 1, 2016
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.7M
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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