Blood Simple (Director's Cut)

Rating:
Summary: "I Didn't Do Anything Funny"
Review: I finally watched the Coen Brothers debut film this weekend. As with all Coen Brothers films, I picked up on many more details on the second viewing. This one is quite intriguing from the start. Frances McDormand absolutely lights up the screen as the sensuous and wandering wife of a creepy Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya.) However, it is M. Emmit Walsh as the private detective (slash hit man) whose character is the most memorable.

Even after seeing this film twice, I'm still not clear about the motivation of Walsh's character. Suffice it to say no one really knows what's going on, so they all assume the worst and pretty much come totally unglued by the end.

I did not think the film was as grisly as other reviewers make it out (I'd say more grisly than average, but less so than Pulp Fiction, for example.) As for the music selection, I'd have to say that the Four Tops makes more sense than Neil Diamond, since it's the bartender from Detroit making the selection. I was sorry not to get to hear the man from Lubbock though...

Blood Simple is a very intriguing and suspenseful film, and totally entertaining. Highly recommended for a cold rainy night.


Rating:
Summary: That's the test, ain't it? Test of true love.
Review: Blood Simple completely breaks from the convention of other movies in that no one individual character completely understands the motivations of the other characters, even at the end of the movie. In nearly every other movie that you see, by the end, everyone is happy that they understand the whole story. In Blood Simple, there are misconceptions by each individual.

The inventiveness of the screenplay as one character after another misinterprets the actions of the another make this one of my favorites. I also found myself on more than one occasion thinking about the idiosyncrasies of the characters. Each one is different in their own way. It was actually fun to watch the "good" guys stumble through the actions, while the infamous "bad" guys were perfectionists. My nerves were going crazy when Ray attempts to dispose of a body. He kept doing things wrong, I wanted to jump through the screen and just shake Ray to show him how to do properly finish the crime. I am no criminal, but I could show this guy a thing or two.

Abby makes reference in this film about how "anal" Marty is about his plans, which is interesting to see why she fell for Ray. He is not "anal", in fact, I don't think he thinks through his actions before he does them. I couldn't tell you how many beats my heart missed when watching Ray bury Marty. The sound in this movie was phenomenal. It created such an ambiance to this film. It not only helped build the characters, but also helped build the feeling of this film. This is one of those "keep you on your toes" films. You need to be watching and listening to what is happening not only around these characters, but to them as well.

Speaking of the characters, I loved the character of Visser. He is one of those characters that would normally be lost to the background, but instead he pulls off as the scene stealer of the film. What immediately impressed me about this film is its simplicity, it had a stark quality, the scenery just had the essentials, and the dialogue was also simple, yet this movie packed quite a story within, and although it was simple, it definitely required strict observation on the part of the viewer to keep up with the events.

Someone quoted this film by saying, "...it was like watching Hitchcock, but on acid..." and I couldn't agree more!! I love movies like that, where you have to pay attention to EVERYTHING in order to fully understand what is going on. What really impressed me is that this is the Coen's first film, and how amazingly RIGHT they got it, on the first try.

Grade: ***** out of *****

Rating:
Summary: One of the most powerful film noir of the eighties!
Review: Onscribe this work as an extraordinaty punch wprk and promosing directorial debut of the Coen brothers.
What movie . Filled of twists of fate , intriguing plot and high caliber drama .
When a man decides to murder his wife and makes a contract , what happens if ...? certainly this premise is a discrete and deserved hommage to Dial M for murder .
The camera work and the kinetic script catch all our interest and involves us into the sordidness and darkness of original approach . Mc Dormand is splendid in her role , and when she awarded the prize for Fargo , the only comment I made in that moment was: Why had the Academy and film makers waited so long to recognize her brilliant actoral powers ? .
Intelligent , brilliant and one of the best four film moir of the eighties . The other three would be Body heat , The postman always rings twice and Black widow .
A Sundance Festival winner!


Rating:
Summary: A Must For Murder Mystery Fans
Review: If you hadn't figured it out yet, I'm a movie buff
(fanatic). I started to watch "Blood Simple" late
last night, but I waited until this morning to finish
it off...and "finish it off" couldn't be a better
description of this classic murder drama. Originally
released in 2001, this digitally remastered copy on
DVD is a definite crime thriller "must". If you like
murder mysteries with plenty of twists, this one is
for you. Even though top billing went to Frances
McDormand as Abby, John Getz as Ray and Dan Hedaya as
Marty, the true polished acting performance in this
gem is M. Emmet Walsh as Visser (a hired killer).
Talk about double and triple crossing someone! This
film is the directoral debut of Joel Coen. Critics
said, "The most inventive and original thriller in
many a moon. A maliciously entertaining murder
story." Right on. Set in Texas, where locals do
everything "Blood Simple", I gotta give this one a 10.
I searched for flaws...and found none. There's some
Motown music tracks, scary piano background
music...and intense build-ups to stir (and sometimes
curdle) your blood. Murder buffs...don't miss it!