Blood Simple – The Directors Cut – Coen Brothers Debut Finally Released on DVD

Given the now legendary status of filmmaking duo Joel and Ethan Coen, it’s surprising that the director’s cut edition of their 1984 debut, the critically acclaimed Blood Simple has only now surfaced on DVD in the UK.

If you’re unfamiliar with the film, rest-assured, Blood Simple lies within comfortable Coen brothers territory and bears many of the hallmarks which characterize their later, and probably more familiar, successes such as Fargo and No Country for Old Men.

The story, which revolves around a jealous husband’s plot to have his cheating wife murdered (along with her lover), is classic Coen brothers fare and, true to form, it is soon complicated by the opposing wills, desires and fortunes of its unwitting characters. Present also is the darkly comic undertone seen in Fargo and other later films, as well as the duo’s long-standing (to this day even) musical collaborator, Carter Burwell. Given all of this, Blood Simple doesn’t feel like the fledgling effort of a directorial duo finding their feet in the film industry, but, rather, another worthy addition to their now intimidatingly large back-catalogue of American Indie classics.

Disappointingly, this release excludes the spoof audio commentary which accompanied the 2008 US DVD release, but strangely still features the spoof introduction by fictional film executive Kenneth Loring, The 2008 commentary, which was scripted by the Coens themselves and comically parodied the typical, information dense director’s commentaries often found on DVD releases, would likely have been of interest to the duo’s fans and, given the lack of any other extra content, a welcome addition to this release.

Blood Simple.: The Director’s Cut is available on DVD from 15th April 2013.

Bblood Simple film review Tom Smalley

Tags:

You May Also Like

Sid and Nancy film

Sid and Nancy film – A tale of self destruction

Sid and Nancy film – A story of self destruction restored for a new ...

Mark Kermode – The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex

Over two decades, Mark Kermode has established a reputation as one of the most ...

Sing Street Film

Sing Street Film – A coming of age through teenage kicks

Sing Street Film Review by Bojana Duric With endearing films like Once and Begin ...

Branchage Festival, Film Festival Jersey

Branchage Festival – Jersey’s unique celebration of film and culture

What is in a festival? If art is comprised of branches of the same ...

Rob Zombie channels Argento and Polanski in The Lords of Salem – his latest horror

Musician, writer, director and all-round renaissance man of horror, Rob Zombie, takes his lifelong ...

Le Quai des Brumes film

Le Quai des Brumes film – Win a Copy of this French Classic

Another welcome re-release that is part of the Studiocanal Collection; Le Quai des Brumes ...