Blood Simple
| Blood Simple | |
|---|---|
Theatrical re-release poster
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| Directed by | Joel Coen |
| Produced by | Ethan Coen |
| Written by | Joel Coen Ethan Coen |
| Starring |
John Getz Frances McDormand Dan Hedaya Samm-Art Williams M. Emmet Walsh |
| Music by | Carter Burwell |
| Cinematography | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| Edited by | Roderick Jaynes Don Wiegmann |
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Production
company |
River Road Productions
Foxton Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Circle Films (1985) USA Films (2000) |
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Release date
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September 7, 1984 (Toronto International Film Festival) October 12, 1984 (New York Film Festival) January 18, 1985 (USA) |
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.5 million |
| Box office | $3,851,855 |
| Original Motion Picture Soundtracks: Raising Arizona and Blood Simple | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by Carter Burwell | ||||
| Released | 1987 | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 39:26 | |||
| Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
| Coen Brothers film soundtracks chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
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Blood Simple is a 1984 American neo-noir psychological crime thriller film written, edited, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It was the directorial debut of the Coens and the first major film of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who later became a noted director, as well as the feature film debut of Joel Coen's wife Frances McDormand, who subsequently starred in many of his features.
The film's title derives from the Dashiell Hammett novel Red Harvest (1929), in which the term "blood simple" describes the addled, fearful mindset of people after a prolonged immersion in violent situations.
In 2001, a "Director's Cut" DVD was released. It ranked #98 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills. The film also placed #73 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
The film opens with a short voice-over monologue voiced by M. Emmet Walsh as various images of the Texas landscape are shown. The film then shifts to a conversation between Abby (Frances McDormand) and Ray (John Getz) in a car as it drives through a heavy downpour at night. They seem to be discussing Abby's bad marriage and Ray indicates that he's driving her to Houston. But instead of driving Abby to Houston, Ray drives to a motel and they have sex. We later find out that Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya), who owns a Texas bar, has suspected Abby's affair with Ray, one of his bartenders, so he hires private detective Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to take photos of them.
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Wikipedia