Blood Simple. 1984. Directed by Joel Coen

Film

Blood Simple. 1984. USA. Directed by Joel Coen. Courtesy Photofest

Blood Simple. 1984. USA. Directed by Joel Coen. Screenplay by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen. With John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, Samm-Art Williams, M. Emmet Walsh. 35mm. 99 min.

Initially released in January 1985, Blood Simple was more of a hit with critics than with audiences. The Coen Brothers’ Texas tale of adultery and double crosses displays many of the hallmarks of their early work: the roving camera (courtesy of DP Barry Sonnenfeld), a noir plot stacked with complications, and a protagonist who takes his lumps again and again. Raising Arizona, the brothers’ next film, was deliberately sunnier, and it garnered a major studio release and earned over $20 million at the box office.

This film accompanies American Indies, 1980–1989.

Sat, Feb 1, 2020, 2:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 1

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1
Fri, Jan 24, 2020, 4:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 1

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1

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