Blood Simple (1984)
90%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: 6 wins & 8 nominations
Brutally violent and shockingly funny in equal measure, Blood Simple offers early evidence of the Coen Brothers’ twisted sensibilities and filmmaking ingenuity.
Blood Simple is a film that will have you on the edge of your seat, but not because of the suspenseful plot. No, it’s because you’ll be so mesmerized by the Coen brothers’ stunning visuals and the wickedly charming performance by M. Emmet Walsh as the slimy private eye Visser. This movie is a masterclass in black comedy and a must-watch for any fan of the genre. Just be prepared to feel a little sweaty and paranoid by the end.
Production Company(ies)
Eisei Gekijo Hakuhodo Nippon Shuppan Hanbai K. K.
Distributor
USA Films
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Pflugerville, Texas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1985
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Ultra Stereo (original version)
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 37m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 7, 1984 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 6, 2007
Genre(s)
Drama/Crime
Keyword(s)
starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, M Emmet Walsh, Dan Hedaya, Samm-Art Williams, Deborah Neumann, directed by Joel Coen, written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, drama, crime, mystery, thriller, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Adam Nayman, Simran Hans, Peter Bradshaw, David Jenkins, Kenneth Turan, Andrew O’Hehir, David Nusair, Josh Larsen, Nicholas Bell, Mike Massie, Tim Brayton, Molly Haskell, R rating, Mortimer Young, restored, re-edited, Texas, saloon owner, divorce detective, murder, jealousy, black comedy, Coen Brothers, filmmaking ingenuity, vice-tight plotting, formalist filmmakers, composition, taut, structured storytelling, masters of black comedy, neo-noir, revenge, misunderstandings, absurdities, Frances McDormand’s debut, violent, gritty, twists
Worldwide gross: $4,228,292
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,942,789
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,902
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,302,376
US/Canada gross: $3,851,855
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $10,879,545
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,595
US/Canada opening weekend: $42,971
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $121,371
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,861
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $4,236,742
Production budget ranking: 1,937
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,281,486
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,424,561
ROI to date (est.): 83%
ROI ranking: 1,001
Frances McDormand – Abby
M. Emmet Walsh – Private Detective
Dan Hedaya – Julian Marty
Samm-Art Williams – Meurice
Deborah Neumann – Debra
Director(s)
Joel Coen
Writer(s)
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Producer(s)
Ethan Coen
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 8 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (105) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (98) | Rotten (7)
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.
April 15, 2019
Adam Nayman
The Ringer
TOP CRITIC
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.
October 8, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A gripping, drum-tight noir masterpiece to compare with Touch of Evil.
October 5, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
One of the great debut features of modern times.
October 2, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
David Jenkins
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
“Blood Simple” becomes a dazzling comedie noire, a dynamic, virtuoso display by a couple of talented fledgling filmmakers who give the conventions of the genre such a thorough workout that the result is a movie that’s fresh and exhilarating.
July 28, 2016
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Watching this beautiful restoration of “Blood Simple” I was actually struck by how non-bleak it is, how much the strength of the film lies in images of beauty, defiance and survival.
June 30, 2016
Andrew O’Hehir
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
…stylish yet distressingly uninvolving…
February 10, 2022 | Rating: 2/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
…good Old Testament stuff.
March 19, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
Moody, tenacious, and sweaty, it is the earliest, and one of the best films from the distinctive duo.
September 30, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
Distrust and deviance run rampant, toying with expectations and shattering any trust in consistent behavior from the actors, who are all remarkably effective.
August 31, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
One of the boldest debuts and most watchable indie movies of the 1980s.
May 3, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
Blood Simple is less than a masterpiece, but it’s more than a successful audition for the Coen brothers’ talents.
February 27, 2020
Molly Haskell
Vogue…
Plot
Texas bar owner Julian Marty, who is generally regarded as not a nice person, hires shady private detective Loren Visser, who is able to obtain what Marty requests evidence – in this instance, photographic – that his wife, Abby, and one of his bartenders, Ray, are having an affair. As Ray and Abby realize that Marty has found out about them, it allows them to plan for their future away from Marty, while being up front with Marty about the situation. Marty, in turn, decides to hire Visser once again, this time to kill Abby and Ray, and dispose of their bodies so that they won’t be found. The out-in-the-open affair and the contract hit lead to some actions based on self-interest and a standoff of sorts between the four players, which is compounded in complexity by some wrong assumptions of what has happened, with an innocent bystander, another of the Marty’s bartenders, Meurice, potentially, and unwittingly, adding to the scenario.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Frances McDormand, who plays Abby in Blood Simple, would later become a frequent collaborator with the Coen Brothers, appearing in several of their films including Fargo, Burn After Reading, and Hail, Caesar!
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