Been going through something of a crime/noir phase. Decided to check out the Coen bros. debut film, Blood Simple. As the title would suggest, things start off fairly simple. A bar owner (Dan Hedaya) hires a private investigator (Emmet Walsh) to murder his wife (Frances McDormand) and her lover (John Getz) after he discovers they are sleeping together. Of course, this relatively simple plan spirals into unpredictability.

I haven't seen all of the Coen bros. films but I'm pretty positive this is their most underrated and certainly one of their best, easily beating out most of their more popular works e.g. The Big Lebowski. Stylistically, Blood Simple is as noir as they come. Much darker than No Country For Old Men to which Blood Simple is the most similar. There's a sprinkling of the Coen bros. trademark humor but the overall tone is stark and unsettling. If anything, the humor makes it even darker. The characters are seedy, devious and off-kilter, especially Loren, the P.I. He starts off like a jolly Texas stereotype but can quickly turn it off and become cold as ice. The scale is small and intimate as opposed to NCFOM where everyone was jumping in on the action.

The suspense is the star of the show. It's slow and takes its time to build but isn't afraid to throw shocking curveballs. The silence is really unnerving and I think underused in film in general. You can only listen to John Williams so long before he becomes background noise but you always notice when things get quiet. While a lot of the suspense comes from the direction, the writing is also a contributor as the story is so unpredictable. Throughout the film, I could never guess what was going to happen next as even the characters weren't in on everything.

Along with Tarantino, the Coen bros. get pimped by film buffs 24/7. I think it's criminal that this one isn't mentioned more often, especially since NCFOM has become a 21st century classic. Anyone who hasn't seen Blood Simple should check it out ASAP. If anything, you guys owe it to yourselves to do so. As writers, film buffs... whatever.

This movie is the shit!!!  I got the director's cut, I never seen the theatrical cut so I don't know what is different, but this movie rules, it's very gruesome but very funny, probably their bloodiest film.  and how M. Emmet Walsh didn't get a supporting actor nomination is beyond me. For me this is the Coen's best, a terrific bloody, disgusting, funny and exciting thriller than doesn't have a dull moment.  Good one James for bringing this up!

Opinions eh?

The Coen Brothers are some of my favourite filmmakers.

There have been only two films they've made that I didn't enjoy:

Blood Simple and No Country for Old Men.

Both were very similar; Rambling, incoherent, boring and pointless plots filled with two dimensional characters whom I didn't care about.

Blood simple is the superior of the two, but both left me cold and very, very bored.

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films Opinions eh? The Coen Brothers are some of my favourite filmmakers. There have been only two films they've made that I didn't enjoy: Blood Simple and No Country for Old Men. Both were very similar, rambling, incoherent, boring and pointless plots filled with two dimensional characters who I didn't care about. Blood simple is the superior of the two, but both left me cold and very, very bored.

You enjoyed Intolerable Cruelty?  

Quoted from Takeshi You enjoyed Intolerable Cruelty?

I enjoyed it. It wasn't the greatest film ever made, but I enjoyed it.

Funnily enough, I didn't know it was a Coen Brothers film when I saw it. I thought it was going to be a typical Rom Com and only went to see it because it was a "girl friendly" film (I was with the missus). I was surprised that is was quite intelligent. Obviously, I realised why during the credits.

The only other film that didn't really hit the spot was the LadyKillers. It was OK, just not great.

For me, they don't have enough power in their films to deal with the harder subjects, when it veers into serious territory, their natural goofiness undermines their work.

That's just me though..clearly a lot of people really "get" their darker stuff.

Maybe that was the difference. I went in knowing it was a Coen Brother's film, with George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Billy Bob Thornton in it. So I was expecting a masterpiece.

I don' know about their natural goofiness undermining their work though. I thought the goofiness of Fargo worked quite well with the subject matter. The characters were off beat and unusual, but there are people like that in the real world.

As for Blood Simple, it has been awhile since I've seen it, but I don’t remember it being goofy. The burial scene was pretty creepy.  However, I don’t think it’s underrated.  It has a rating of 7.8 on the IMDB, which is about right IMO.

Quoted from Takeshi Maybe that was the difference. I went in knowing it was a Coen Brother's film, with George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Billy Bob Thornton in it. So I was expecting a masterpiece. I don' know about their natural goofiness undermining their work though. I thought the goofiness of Fargo worked quite well with the subject matter. The characters were off beat and unusual, but there are people like that in the real world. As for Blood Simple, it has been awhile since I've seen it, but I don’t remember it being goofy. The burial scene was pretty creepy.  However, I don’t think it’s underrated.  It has a rating of 7.8 on the IMDB, which is about right IMO.

Fargo worked. It was a great film. The goofiness worked because you never really took the film seriously, even though it dealt with a potentially dark scenario. The ineptness of the characters meant that the comedy worked. For me it was an expert dark comedy.

The tone of it was at the limit of what works for them, I think. A very thin line.

When they have a more strictly serious tone, their humour just throws me out.  

It's funny how different people watch the same thing. Me and the girlfriend broke into laughter at the burial scene. It was just so totally unbelievable, I just couldn't buy it.