The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
The story of a bar owner, his wife, her lover the bartender, and the private investigator.
Joel and Ethan Coen are just like Mario and Luigi, they're super. With a debut film like Blood Simple, the Coen Brothers do it all and then some.
The editing. There's a ceiling fan shot that changes over to a scene In a bed, a finger press of an answering machine turning into a finger in the back seat of a car, and a newspaper that hits the door like a ton of bricks when dark news is delivered. Can you say, fucktastic editing?
The music. What a mix. One part is early 80's piano pop. I guess it's a piano. You hear the…
i can't believe the coen brothers invented anxiety in 1984??? THIS ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK.....
Noir-November Challenge! Movie #47
Joel and Ethan Coen's directorial debut throws more curves at you than the legendary curveball master Sandy Kofaux!
I wanted to say M. Emmet Walsh really NAILED his role as the sleazy private eye but after recalling the infamous window sill scene perhaps that distinction truly belongs to Frances McDormand!
Fate dispenses a world of hurt on folks caught up in a shit storm of deception, lust and greed in this twisted southern gothic noir!
A few of these folks are suffering from a terminal case of the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing!
"I need unguent" - Steve Does The Coens
As awful as I found The Counselor to be, something good will come of it.
The subsequent discussion/scrum in the comments led to discussions about Cormac McCarthy and then No Country For Old Men. Then I started thinking, "Now there's a film I need to rewatch. Hmm, there are some Coens I haven't seen yet as well. Really need to get round to Barton Fink. And A Serious Man. It's been a few years since I've seen Fargo as well. And The Man Who Wasn't There. I wonder...."
And thus the decision was made to wade through all of the films directed by one or both of the Coens in chronological order,…
It had been years since I'd seen this, luckily after revisiting it remains my 2nd favorite from the Coens. Though they've made many other films, and all but 2 of them absolutely perfect, BLOOD SIMPLE still stands out as:
1. Their best use of soundtrack/sound design. They have put together some of the all-time best scores and soundtracks (my favorite is probably FARGO - goddamn!), but here they incorporate it as another "speaking" character. The sound of a lazily turning ceiling fan is made deeper and louder, becomes the sound of menacing footsteps or a slowly dying heartbeat.
2. Maybe their best "show don't tell", but of course the bits of dialogue pack a serious punch.
3. Their bleakest, and…
This movie has such a great tone. It's moody without being overly so. It's swift and easy going, while also containing a slow boil and brilliant atmosphere.
From Joel Coen's wonderful direction to their equally wonderful way with words, to the beautiful piano laced score, the small little background details and ways the actors play off each other, to managing to be intense and shocking using as little as possible (a sequence involving a shovel was the most intense I've been watching something in awhile).
It's amazing to me that a movie this good was their first, but then again, they are two of the best filmmakers working, so I shouldn't be that surprised.
Plus, it's always the sign of a great film that as soon as it was over, it felt like it had only started and I was more than willing to watch it again.
Highly recommend.
Grime,
sweat,
blood, and
neon.
Throw in a
girl, a
gun, and
some cash, and you've
got yourself
one helluva
movie.
Blood Simple
A bar owner's wife has an affair that turns deadly.
With Barton Fink coming out on blu-ray, I wanted to run through the Coens' filmography and to watch and rewatch the ones I haven't seen and don't remember.
The Coen Brothers directorial debut and it's so crazy. All the performances are so intense. Breaking down every character none of them are good people, who do you really root for. So much happens that's unexpected within a really simple story. I definitely said 'oh shit' out loud two or three times. The direction, the camera work, characters this movie is just the foundation of what the Coen Brothers would come to be known for all these years later. ✌🏼
This is pretty much the perfect way to start a film career. The story flows so well, the characters and dialogue are solid, I enjoyed all of the performances. And there's so much. Goddamn. Tension. A fantastic feature film debut from the Coen Bros. that is a delicious taste of what was to come from the then fresh on the block pair.
What's crazy about this is how un-Coen this feels while still remaining totally inside their wheelhouse. The dialogue is lean and efficient, but lacks the snap and pizzazz of their later films; it actually rather flat, but works just fine. But most striking is the look; DP Barry Sonnenfeld gives this the look of a slasher or some other 80's horror movie; it's closer in look to early Carpenter than to their later Deakins collaborations (there's even a bit of Raimi-cam!). But once again, it totally works by emphasizing the thriller aspect. The only part that feels traditionally Coen is the plot; trapping characters in uncertainty is something revisited in just about every Coen film and their fasciniation with it is completely formed even this early.
This may not be their "best" movie, but it's my favorite.
Thought I would like this movie more than I did but it just couldn't hold my interest.
It is pretty hard to believe this is a first time film for the directors, a first time score and a first time shooting 35mm as almost everything about this movie is perfect. I was oddly distracted upon re-watching it by the Indonesian monkey dance music that is used in 2 pivotal scenes. I was surprised in the special features they called out the Latin music but that.
I really love Walsh in this film. The blu-ray looks great.
Pitch black, funny, bloody and (indeed) simple. But also intricately crafted. I'll admit I have a weak spot for this type of Coen film. In its class, it is a vintage slice to savor.
Jason Bullok 1,000 films
A list of Edgar Wright's favorite 1000 Movies per his list on Mubi on July 27th, 2016.
twitter.com/edgarwright/status/758339515421433856 mubi.com/lists/edgar-wrights-favorite-movies
FxckItDude 1,351 films
Just a list of some pretty cool movie posters on the LB database. I haven't seen most of these movies.…
Tyler Warren 553 films
