Blood Simple

The unforgettable debut of the Coen Brothers returns to the screen a little shorter (the brothers felt they made a few passages too long) and with a restored print. The film not only stands as a brilliant thriller, but one of the strongest feature film debuts by any creative team. A sleazy bar owner (Dan Hedaya) hires a nasty private investigator (M. Emmet Walsh) to spy on his wife (Frances McDormand), and everything goes to hell. Sometimes frightening, often funny and always technically excellent. A great film, and a great indicator of things to come from one of cinema’s more consistently entertaining director-producer teams.