Media

Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - September, 2011

"Blood Simple" (Blu-ray) - Reviewed by Chris Heinonen

Synopsis

Blood Simple opens with Ray and Abby driving along a rainy Texas highway one night, discussing her relationship with her husband Marty.  As the talking continues, they wind up together in a motel while a private investigator hired by Marty takes pictures of them together.  Upon returning to town Ray confronts Marty, who is also his boss, but Marty is seemingly in no mood to talk to him other than to warn him that Abby will turn on him as well.

As the rage over the affair build inside of Marty, he goes back to the investigator, this time with something more sinister in mind.  His rage, and their decisions, leads them down dark paths they are not really prepared for.

Commentary

The film debut of the Coen Brothers, Blood Simple is a movie that takes its time and slowly builds the suspense.  Everything about the movie is very deliberate, from the pacing to the images to every line of dialogue but it certainly pays off in the end.  While it took a bit to really get going, once the plot of the movie starts to unravel and the actions of the characters start to influence each other, you get sucked in to the film.

Technical

Blood Simple looks pretty good for a film that was shot on a budget back in the mid-1980s.  Some scenes come alive with wonderful textures and detail on the faces of characters, while some appear to be a bit soft in comparison.  Overall it is possibly as good as the film is going to look, and it was a very decent transfer overall.  The audio is just a lossless stereo soundtrack, but it does a surprisingly good job of creating ambience and a very coherent front soundstage.  For a slowly paced drama there isn’t a lot of heavy action, but it sets the mood well and sucks you in.

A theatrical trailer and a sarcastic commentary track from a fake film preservation group.

3 D

Blu ray Players