a 1984 crime-thriller film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

“Blood Simple” is a 1984 crime-thriller film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

a American neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Blood Simple is a American neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

a 1984 American neo-noir crime film

Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Blood Simple is a 1984 American neo-noir crime film.

a noir thriller about a bartender who starts an affair with Rear Window's boss's wife only for his boss's wife to end in gunshot and bloodshed – quite literally a tense affair from start to finish

Blood Simple is a noir thriller about a bartender who starts an affair with Rear Window's boss's wife only for his boss's wife to end in gunshot and bloodshed – quite literally a tense affair from start to finish.

a quirky, twisted crime thriller

Blood Simple, released in 1984, is a quirky, twisted crime thriller.

a masterful noir that plays like it was made by a filmmaker at the top of Ethan Coen's craft, a crime thriller that both feels soothing in a crime thriller's calm pacing yet

Blood Simple is a masterful noir that plays like it was made by a filmmaker at the top of Ethan Coen's craft, a crime thriller that both feels soothing in a crime thriller's calm pacing yet is also unnerving for the very same reason.

an unparalleled neo noir thriller, and

From Da Sweet Blood's beautiful opening chiaroscuro to the catchy harmony of The Four Tops ‘Same Old Song’, Blood Simple is an unparalleled neo noir thriller, and a classic Coen Brothers work through and through.

an astonishing first film, a lean, vicious slice of noir that finds new ways to turn the screws on the screws's small cast of characters in every single scene

Blood Simple is an astonishing first film, a lean, vicious slice of noir that finds new ways to turn the screws on the screws's small cast of characters in every single scene.

a beautifully crafted crime thriller

Blood Simple' is a beautifully crafted crime thriller, expressively celebrating the mystery and suspense of classic film noir.

a 1984 crime thriller film directed by Joel Coen

Blood Simple is a 1984 crime thriller film directed by Joel Coen.

a startling exercise in crime noir that, at times, passes as full-blown psychological horror

Co-written by both brothers and directed by Joel, Blood Simple is a startling exercise in crime noir that, at times, passes as full-blown psychological horror.

by Joel and

Co-written by both brothers and directed by Joel, Blood Simple is a startling exercise in crime noir that, at times, passes as full-blown psychological horror.

the debut of the Coen brothers and an exquisitely crafted crime thriller

A neo-noir masterpiece, Blood Simple is the debut of the Coen brothers and an exquisitely crafted crime thriller.

a nice little dramatic thriller with some decent moments

, Blood Simple is a nice little dramatic thriller with some decent moments.

a masterful piece of neo-noir filmmaking that marked the directorial debut of Joel and Ethan Coen

Blood Simple is a masterful piece of neo-noir filmmaking that marked the directorial debut of Joel and Ethan Coen.

a neo-noir crime thriller that has all early the hallmarks of what made the directors so successful

Marking a number of firsts — including being the first feature film performance from Frances McDormand and the directorial debut of the Coen brothers — 'Blood Simple' is a neo-noir crime thriller that has all early the hallmarks of what made the directors so successful.

the earmarks — the title nods to detective novelist extraordinaire Dashiell Hammet’s Red Harvest — the Coens screw with the form, tossing in their own brand of verbal playfulness, like the now-classic Coen-ism of different characters repeating phrases of a classic noir

Blood Simple’s script has the earmarks of a classic noir — the title nods to detective novelist extraordinaire Dashiell Hammet’s Red Harvest — the Coens screw with the form, tossing in their own brand of verbal playfulness, like the now-classic Coen-ism of different characters repeating phrases.

as a high watermark in American independent cinema, a brilliantly plotted and scabrously funny thriller that tweaked the noir genre for a more knowing modern sensibility

But however arbitrary its re-release, Blood Simple stands as a high watermark in American independent cinema, a brilliantly plotted and scabrously funny thriller that tweaked the noir genre for a more knowing modern sensibility.

a film noir

Blood Simple was a film noir, Raising Arizona a screwball comedy of sorts and Miller's Crossing, which was probably 1990's best movie, a reanimation of the classic gangster dramas of the 1930s.

the fantastic neo-noir that announced the arrival of the Coen brothers as a fantastic talent to keep an eye on

Blood Simple is the fantastic neo-noir that announced the arrival of the Coen brothers as a fantastic talent to keep an eye on.