Blood Simple

R16

1984

97 mins

Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
94%
88%
Drama
Thriller
Award Winner

Joel and Ethan Coen's acclaimed debut feature is a crime noir thriller starring John Getz and Frances McDormand that took... More

Joel and Ethan Coen's acclaimed debut feature is a crime noir thriller starring John Getz and Frances McDormand that took top prize at Sundance.

When the owner of a small-town Texas dive bar (Emmy-winner Dan Hedaya) learns that his wife (McDormand) is having affair with one of his employees (Getz), he hires a private investigator (M. Emmet Walsh) and devises a plot to have the couple murdered.

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Where to watch Blood Simple

Blood Simple is available to stream in New Zealand now... More on Apple TV Store and AroVision and Prime Video Store.

There is no screening information for this title.

Blood Simple | Ratings & Reviews

94_%111 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
88_%39,423 reviews
Audience score rating

"An inordinately good low-budget film noir thriller."

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Variety

"With their 1984 directorial debut, the Coen brothers showed the surefootedness with which they would ease themselves into one genre after another, reworking each to fit their deadpan vision."

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Total Film

"It isn't really about anything except making a commercial narrative movie outside the industry."

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The New Yorker

"A gripping, drum-tight noir masterpiece to compare with Touch of Evil."

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The Guardian

"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."

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Salon

""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."

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