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 devi... Read allThe 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 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.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 7 nominations
- Radio Evangelist
- (voice)
- (as Rev. William Preston Robertson)
- Helene Trend
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Marty's Vomiting
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsThe box of shells from which Abby dumps three live rounds is clearly labeled "blanks" and .32 caliber. Abby said earlier that the gun her husband gave her is a .38.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Private Detective Visser: [narrating] The world is full o' complainers. An' the fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee. Now I don't care if you're the pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin' can all go wrong. Now go on ahead, y'know, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help, 'n watch him fly. Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else... that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here... you're on your own.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits list the main cast, but none of the crew. All of the crew credits are at the end of the film, starting with Joel Coen as director.
- Alternate versionsWhen Blood Simple was first released, two quotes appeared over black, before the opening credits. One was from Dashiell Hammet explaining what "blood simple" meant and the second was from Alfred Hitchcock about how difficult it really would be to kill a man.
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Vision Quest/Turk 182/Blood Simple/Mischief (1985)
- SoundtracksIt's the Same Old Song
By Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland
Performed by The Four Tops
Used by Permission of Motown Record Corporation and Jobete Music Co., Inc.
Watching No Country for Old Men recently put me in mind of Blood Simple and gave me an excuse to watch it again for the first time in about a decade. I was glad that I did because, although it is very slimmed down, all the themes and standards that continue with the Cohen brothers down the years. The film is a modern noir-ish crime thriller with a contained set of circumstances bringing death and ruin to all involved. The story is engaging but it does have holes within it but they are not serious enough to affect the flow. What carries it through everything though is the visual style and feel given to the film by the Cohen's. From the opening sequence in the car to the ever present roar of the incinerator to the sweating, cackling presence of the detective, the sparse dialogue just doesn't matter because of the delivery. As with No Country, you can feel the oppressive heat and tension in each scene and it makes for a satisfying film.
The cast play to this heat and tension with contained but tense performances. The standout is Walsh, whose sweaty moral void is the heart of the film. Hedaya is almost as good in a smaller role. The two "lead" characters suffer a little from being less interesting but nevertheless both Getz and McDormand are good. Blood Simple is a tight and short film with limited dialogue and little in the way of quick action. However what it does have is a wonderful sense of Texas and crime. The slow pace adds to the claustrophobic feel of heat, which in turns adds to the tension and the constant presence of death in the air. Amazing to think the Cohen brothers started getting it so right so early in their careers.
- bob the moo
- May 26, 2002
- Permalink
- How long is Blood Simple?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Simplemente sangre
- Filming locations
- Hutto, Texas, USA(location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,851,855
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $42,971
- Jul 9, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $4,262,909
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Ultra Stereo(original version)
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1