Rating: 
Summary: Two for the price of one...
Review: A lot of people have tried to figure out the Coens. In my own Amazon review of Barton Fink, I took a stab at making sense of their intentions. But you know, it took seeing Blood Simple - The Director's Cut, with its intelligent and insightful commentary by "film historian Kenneth Loring", to turn that lightbulb on above my head. For all of the skill the Coens display in marshalling symbols (the hat in Miller's Crossing, the picture in Barton Fink, the UFO in The Man Who Wasn't There; on and on), you would think they have something in mind. Something specific, in a metaphorical sense. Some philosophical point to advance. Some kind of meaning, in other words. But if you take an artist's premiere work to be prototypical in some way, then a viewing of Blood Simple (especially with the commentary track) will tell you all you need to know about Joel and Ethan Coen's artistic sensibilities.Blood Simple has been called film noir, and it is that, in spades. But it is also a screwball comedy (yes, you read that correctly). In the great Preston Sturges tradition, each character thinks he or she knows what's happening, but only has a small piece of the puzzle. Only we, the audience can see the whole picture. The fun is in watching how one absurdity piles upon the next as the characters act on bad information. That's the very definition of screwball comedy -- only in this case, we get increasingly horrific (if satirical) set-pieces in place of the usual witty repartee and sight-gags. You see, the Coens intend nothing more than to tell an interesting story. That is exactly what they do, and no more. Trying to label it, find its "meaning", or stuff it into a genre-specific box is pointless. Each film simply is what it is - a ride through an odd world of dark humor and quirky plot machinations that push your emotional buttons even as they ultimately amount to not much more than a diversion. You must be at least this tall to buy a ticket. Kenneth Loring, a deadpan creation of theirs, would disagree. His commentary on Blood Simple is a satire of those obvious, frequently pompous film commentaries you find on Criterion discs. It's full of ridiculous trivia (animatronic dogs, digital flies, car interiors supposedly filmed in reverse), self-important observations ("There is nothing more fascinating than the human face; it's movie...MAGIC!"), silly anecdotes (the confrontation with Merchant-Ivory writer Ruth Prawer-Jablava had me rolling on the floor), and exactly the kind of "analysis" I tried to do on Barton Fink. The point, if there is one, is that there's nothing to figure out. Just enjoy Blood Simple - and all the Coen films - for what they are: pure...movie...MAGIC!
Rating: 
Summary: excellent film
Review: The commentary track on this dvd is a "meh" joke. It's a scripted parody of all the worst commentary tracks you've ever heard. A "scholarly" voice drones on and on - repeating what's on the screen, making irritatingly obvious observations on technique, and goofily stabbing at vague academic analysis. Considering all the genuinely funny and sincerely crappy commentaries there are out there (Battlefield Earth anyone? Marion "It's-A-Phallus" Keane's Criterion work?) Blood Simple's joke track is pretty lame. Excellent film though. I'd rate it higher than most of their subsequent work. Nice transfer.
Rating:
Summary: This movie explains film noir
Review: Prior to seeing this movie, I didn't understand what was meant by the term 'film noir'. Film noir, I understood, was an enviable quality in a movie, a dark quality, but it was also an ephemeral quality: I knew it when I saw it in a movie, but could not elucidate precisely what it was. Blood Simple is the bizarre tale of some small-town Texans (the politically incorrect term likely would be white trash) marginally employed in a variety of jobs: private eye, bartender, loan shark, etc. One thing leads to another and eventually all of the major characters meet grisly ends. In this vein the movie is fairly predictable: it becomes obvious about half way through the movie that the only way for the movie to end is for everyone to die; that is, the movie requires that none of its major characters survive the world in which they inhabit. So, no, the movie is not to be judged in the way Hitchcock is to be judged; the movie is predictable. But what of its evocative atmosphere? What of its unstabilizing effect on the viewer? Watching this movie is like having bugs crawl over you: you want it over with as soon as possible so you can escape the bizarre sensations. If the genius of film is that it excites the emotions (hell, even Die Hard does this), then this movie is the apotheosis of emotional excitement.
Rating: 
Summary: TEXAS COWPOKE SATIRE + FILM NOIR = A DELECTABLE THRILLER!
Review: Yet another of Coen Brothers' delectably detailed mixture of Texas cowpoke satire and film noir by way of Antonioni style failure of communication, perhaps even one of the best film noirs to come out of an indie studio, Blood Simple has it all in spades. Themewise: a spooky man hires a slimy sleuth to murder his wandering wife & dumb boyfriend, but things get slightly out of hands when the sleuth has an ulterior motive all of his own. Yeah, ok, this kind of story has been done to death a million times so what makes this movie so special. Obviously the Coens don't go for the obvious, instead they lead the viewer into unchartered waters. Rather than letting us think what should happen next, they spike that theory with something a little different, making for a more entertaining film. The acting is good, although I have to say I wasn't particularly impressed with the dreary boyfriend, played by John Getz. Throughout the film he had that "out to lunch" sign permanently etched over his face - no emotion, no wit, no charm in his voice just the same dreary monotone throughout, which soon begins to irritate. But its the Coens who steer the film with some very good little twists; while the cinematography is excellent from Barry Sonnenfeld. The score is exceptionally good, lots of simple but haunting piano work that lingers in the memory as a portent of expectation. A wholesome treat!
Rating:
Summary: the first Coen brother film
Review: bloody and great, its bloody great. this one pits on John Getz who's having an affair with his bosses wife and then the boss puts a hit out on him and the boss ends up dead. Getz burrys the body and things happen, suspicions start to occur, great filmmaking leaves you hanging to the very last shot. McDormands first film
Rating:
Summary: Hated the commentary...
Review: or I would have given it 5 stars. I discovered this movie on HBO in 1986 and have recommended to many people over the years. Truly one of my top 20 favorite movies. The "commentary" was cute for about two minutes, and quickly became unbearable. My first assumption was that the Coens had sold all reproduction rights to Forever Young, and the FY company thought this would be a funny gimmick. If you enjoyed Brad Hall as host of Saturday Night Live, you would find Mr. Louring similarly engaging. However, according to the Amazon trivia notes, the Brothers Coen scripted the commentary. What a bummer... or is it an insult? (...)
Rating: 
Summary: A slow start
Review: The first Coen brothers movie is pretty bad. The ending is good, but it takes a loooong time to get there. After this 'slow talking' movie, they switched gears and made a few movies where people talk fast and say a lot. That was an improvement. The commentary, by the way, is a joke. Whoever this guy says he is, he's just an actor or comedian who lies about everything he sees on the screen. It's kind of funny, actually.
Rating:
Summary: Macabre, even for Texas
Review: Even though there may be one or two instances where the squeamish will want to avert their gaze, they'll still be mesmerized by BLOOD SIMPLE until the last drip of gore. Even my wife hung tough to the end, though remarking at one point, "No one dies quickly in this movie." Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) is a creepy Texas bar owner whose wife Abby (Frances McDormand) is spending quality time in the sheets with one of her husband's employees, Dan (John Getz). After an initial confrontation during which his finger gets broken and his groin kicked, Marty hires a slimeball private eye (Loren Visser) to kill Abby and Dan while he (Marty) goes fishing. What should be a straightforward bloodletting becomes grotesquely complicated by a series of mistaken identities. Don't expect a plausible plot. Don't be surprised that law enforcement makes no appearance whatsoever. Indeed, enough clues are left in the commission of assorted crimes for a trainee to make an arrest after only one day in the police academy watching COLUMBO reruns. No matter, however, because justice is served all around. The fascination of this production derives from the camera perspectives, sound and video editing, set lighting, and the vision of the directing and producing Coen brothers. The sight and sound of a rolled-up newspaper smacking a screen door, the slow drip of blood from the end of a finger, the sudden appearance of a streetlamp-lit VW Beetle on a darkened street, the approaching headlights of a far-off truck, the slow decay of fish on an office desk, the labored stab of a knife through living bone and gristle, the anticipation of a sniper's bullet through a window. All are these, and more, send thrills of delight and/or dread up the viewer's spine. The fact that all acting performances are flawless is almost a bonus. This is imaginative entertainment, capable of inspiring both an appreciative "Oh, wow!" or shocked "Eeeewww!", best seen on a dark and lonely night clutching a bowl of popcorn and your favorite teddy bear.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT DEBUT
Review: this is the coen's brothers first movie and it is great.
it's a great little story about how things are never simple when it comes to blood.
wonderful, beautyful and funny.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Fantastic
Review: The Coen Brothers' debut film, in my opinion, is one of thier best films, and it was made at a meagure cost of $1.5 million in 1984. It easily surpasses many of the great thrillers of all time. From the opening scene of the film, you know you are going to be treated to some clever and inventive filmmaking. The bullet shots, the flowing blood, the sudden jerks of the camera, it all makes for a very entertaining and inspiring 96 mintues. Many people say that some of the characters in this film are too dumb not to tell each other what is on their mind, but they fail to realise that people are very careful what they talk about to other people, especially when it involves love, sex, or even murder. This is where the Coens have managed to capture the realities of a murder situation and yet make it seem so surreal. The cinematography is brilliant, paying tribute to the film noir genre of films. Carter Burwell's haunting theme is another excellent aspect of the film (like in Fargo). Blood Simple is definitely a film you will enjoy watching, especially if you are a mystery/suspense/film noir fan. Well done Coens!
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