Critic Reviews
Blood Simple. (1984) Rank 5 Reviews
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based on (96) reviews
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Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
If you arrived late to the quirky Coen brothers -- probably withFargoorRaising Arizona-- you now have a welcome opportunity to travel back to the beginning.Blood Simple, the audacious 1984 film debut by director-writer Joel and ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
Ted Prigge
Up to this point, it's standard film noir and nothing really spectacular, but then the film throws us for a loop, which I won't spoil, and the film from that point on becomes a tense, nightmarish experience, filled with twists upon twists upon twists, ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Ted Prigge
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
A stunning debut, and arguably one of the Coens' two best features, this Gothic noir introduced the wry, sardonic, and playful approach that would shape their future work, and launched the screen career of the brilliant Frances McDormand. ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
filmcritic.com (Robert Marley)
The year is 1984. Reagan is looking forward to four more years as president. Orwell’s book by the same name is at the top of the popularity bell curve. The Olympic games are held in Los Angeles and two unknown guys named Joel and Ethan Coen decide ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at filmcritic.com (Robert Marley)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (--)
...for all its delirious impudence and film school showiness, it's so clearly a movie made by guys crazy about moviemaking. ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution (--)
Reel.com
Simply put, Blood Simple becomes more bloodcurdlingly suspenseful in direct proportion to the size of the screen. It's a forceful and significant debut, well-deserving of its ranking as a classic, and it has aged well, thanks largely to the calibrated, ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Reel.com
ErikCinema (Erik Bauman)
ToxicUniverse.com (John Nesbit)
The mood is generally dark, as you’d expect in such a film noir, and I can’t say that the conclusion contains one of those “feel-good” endings that most American audiences have come to expect. However, the ending in Blood Simple is ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at ToxicUniverse.com (John Nesbit)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
The genius of "Blood Simple" is that everything that happens seems necessary. The movie's a blood-soaked nightmare in which greed and lust trap the characters in escalating horror. The ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
A lot has been written about the visual style of "Blood Simple," but I think the appeal of the movie is more elementary. It keys into three common nightmares: (1) You clean and clean, but ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Xiibaro Productions (David Perry)
Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)
Blood Simple is essentially a retake on classic film noir, and certain elements have been unmistakably lifted from other movies. But the Coens have infused so much of their considerable imagination into the project, that no one can ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)
eFilmCritic.com (Carina Hoskisson)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
A lot has been written about the visual style of "Blood Simple," but I think the appeal of the movie is more elementary. It keys into three common nightmares: (1) You clean and clean but ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
An auspicious debut for director Joel Coen and for the Coen brothers as a writer and director team of this delightful film noir. Texas bar-owner Marty (Hedaya) hires a seedy private detective, Visser (Walsh), to snoop on his unfaithful wife Abby ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Movie Hell (Michael J. Legeros)
The director's cut of BLOOD SIMPLE (1984) opened in Triangle theaters the other week. I screened same in Seattle, earlier in August, and was surprised at how dark the photography was. Is. Was. Whatever. 'Tis certainly a *muddier*-looking film than I ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Movie Hell (Michael J. Legeros)
David N. Butterworth
Hedaya plays a sleazy Texan bar owner who hires Walsh's private investigator to kill the wife (McDormand) he suspects of cheating on him (Getz plays the lover; his days are numbered too). Of course, murder is never that easy, 'specially in Texas.Walsh's ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at David N. Butterworth
TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide
Stylish shoestring noir, and an admirable filmmaking debut for the brothers Coen — Ethan (writer/producer) and Joel (writer/director). Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) is a sleazy, greasy private eye in a mustard-yellow leisure suit, hired by Texas strip-bar ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide
Matinee Magazine (Jason Clark)
Movie Reviews UK
A classy and idiosyncratic debut, Blood Simple economically represents all that is captivating in film noir. When the rain beats on your windscreen and passing cars blind you in the glare of their headlights, that's a nervous time to driving with your ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Movie Reviews UK
That Cow (B. Kiefer)
There are a couple of scenes in this movie that are probably as good as anything ever put on film. This movie thrives on it's images and sounds. The first is the shovel dragging across the road. The second is the bullets of light that pierce the ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at That Cow (B. Kiefer)
Baltimore City Paper (Ian Grey)
filmcritic.com runs Blood Simple
San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)
San Francisco Examiner (Wesley Morris)
Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Blood Simple, the filmmaking debut of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen ( O Brother, Where Art Thou? ), has not aged a bit in the 16 years since it was first released. Taut, suspenseful, well-written, and superbly directed with a sly sense of black humor, ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
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iAfrica.com (Andrew Burden)
The Coen Brothers can easily be seen as one of America’s greatest filmmaking duos ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at iAfrica.com (Andrew Burden)
Netflix (James Rocchi)
The neo-noir debut from the Coen brothers is snappy, cynical and intricate. ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Netflix (James Rocchi)
DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
...a sly, tongue-in-cheek, film-noir thriller...a dark murder mystery laced with black humor. ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
artechock (Michael Haberlander; Thomas Willmann)
DVD Authority.com ("Fusion3600")
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BBC Films (Almar Haflidason)
rec.arts.movies.reviews (David N. Butterworth)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
That Cow (Andrew Bradford)
It's hard for me not to think of a Coen Brothers' film as anything other than a comedy, but this first film of theirs must have struck theatregoers as something else, most likely a twisted little tale of infidelity and murder. We get glimmers ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at That Cow (Andrew Bradford)
Boston Herald (James Verniere)
Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Taut, suspenseful, well-written, and superbly directed with a sly sense of black humor ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Reel Movie Critic (George O. Singleton)
Loren, while trying to cover a crime that he commits, finds himself literally in two places at the same time. Yes, you read it right and there is no trick photography or ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Reel Movie Critic (George O. Singleton)
Kevin Patterson
The premise of "Blood Simple" is really just a slight variation on the standard lovetriangle/revenge scheme: sleazy bar owner Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) hires a shifty private detective (M. Emmet Walsh) to kill his wife Abby (Frances McDormand) and her ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Kevin Patterson
Steve Rhodes
In order, one supposes, to celebrate roughly their first 15 years, they are releasing a director's cut of BLOOD SIMPLE to the theaters. They claim to have taken out some of the boring parts and added in a bit as well. But the running time is about the ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Steve Rhodes
SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
A lot can happen in fifteen years. When I first saw Blood Simple, it blew my mind. It was one of those early independent films that was so daring and original that it made me want to do cartwheels down the theatre aisles. After seeing the newly ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
Movie Martyr (Jeremy Heilman)
The Coen brothers’ first film, Blood Simple has evidently garnered enough of a following to justify a re-release a mere fifteen years later. It’s certainly not a bad film, but it’s hardly the classic reinvention of film noir that it wants to be. This ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Movie Martyr (Jeremy Heilman)
Detroit News (Susan Stark)
Criminy Pete's Knee Jerk Spoilers
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The Making of a Coen Brothers Film
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Blunt Review with Emily Blunt
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Philadelphia City Paper (Sam Adams)
Leave it to the ever-contrary Coen Brothers to produce the first "director’s cut" that’s actually shorter than the original. Though the 1984 original was released just as Joel and Ethan wanted it, they decided looking back the movie needed a little ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at Philadelphia City Paper (Sam Adams)
Edinburgh U Film Society (Ben Stephens)
BBC Films (Almar Haflidason)
culturevulture.net, Choices for the Cognoscenti
Boston Phoenix (Peter Keough)
DVD Times (Jon Robertson)
Xi-online (Jasja van Leeuwen)
Boxoffice Magazine
Boxoffice Magazine
Cinema 2000 (João Lopes)
Andrew Hicks (Andrew Hicks)
The MovieHamlet (Stefan Hedmark)
Barrymore, a copy editor at Chicago Sun-Times, gets an undercover assignment that sends her back to high school to learn what today’s teenagers are going through. The script gives Barrymore’s character a chance to do everything right in school the ...read the complete Blood Simple. movie review at The MovieHamlet (Stefan Hedmark)
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Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
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