Blood Simple

Blood Simple (1985)

Timing: 1:37 (97 min)

7.241/10
1355

7.344/10
14439

7.5/10
113000

All about film

Video 4

Photo 43

Actors and characters

Release date

1985-01-18

Country

United States

Production

Circle Films, River Road Productions, Foxton Entertainment

Genre

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Budget

$1 500 000

Revenue

$2 183 742

Website

Director

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Actors

John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh, Samm-Art Williams, Deborah Neumann, Raquel Gavia, Van Brooks, Señor Marco, William Creamer
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Producer

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Daniel F. Bacaner

Operator

Barry Sonnenfeld

Composer

Carter Burwell

Artist

Audition

Julie Hughes, Barry Moss, Edith M. Clark

Editing

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Don Wiegmann
All team (82)

• Holly Hunter was initially considered for the role of Abby, but when she landed a role in a New York play, she suggested her roommate, Frances McDormand, audition. This was Frances McDormand’s first film role; she later married Joel Coen, starred in five Coen brothers films, and even won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in 'Fargo'.
• Maurice’s answering machine features the voice of Holly Hunter, who was asked to record at least a short line for the film.
• In the script, the character of Emmett Walsh was named "Loren Visser," but in the film itself, he is never referred to by name (only the inscription "Loren" can be seen on his lighter), and in the credits he is listed as "Private Detective" to avoid confusing viewers.
• The director's cut of the film is shorter than the studio version.
• For the re-release and special DVD edition of 2001, the Coens shot an introduction in which the fictional producer Mortimer Young (head of the fictional company "Forever Young Films," which restores damaged film footage), played by George Ives, talks about working on the film.
• The film's title is a reference to the novel "Red Harvest" by author Dashiell Hammett, in which the term "blood simple" denotes a traumatized psyche of people after prolonged exposure to an atmosphere of fear and violence.
• A teaser (short promotional video) for this film was shot long before the start of filming the actual movie. In it, Bruce Campbell, covered in blood, crawls along a road, exactly as the character played by Dan Hedaya will do in the film.
• Holly Hunter was initially considered for the role of Abby, but when she landed a role in a New York stage play, she suggested her roommate, Frances McDormand, audition.
• The answering machine at Maurice's house has a message from Holly Hunter, who was asked to record at least a short line for the film.
• The character of M. Emmett Walsh was named 'Lauren Visser' in the script, but he is never referred to by name in the film itself (only the inscription 'Lauren' can be seen on his lighter), and he is credited as 'Private Detective' to avoid confusing viewers.
• On Sam Raimi's advice, directors and screenwriters Joel and Ethan Coen made a two-minute trailer for the film they intended to shoot, and they used this trailer to solicit potential sponsors. Over the course of a year, they raised $750,000 and were able to start working on the film.
• According to cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, lead actress Frances McDormand was rarely shown storyboards, because the artist preparing them inexplicably (for an unknown reason) drew her character exclusively nude, even though neither Sonnenfeld nor the Coens had asked him to do so.
• M. Emmet Walsh (who played a private detective) received his entire fee for the film daily. He was paid every day right on the set.
• A teaser (a short promotional video) for this film was shot long before the start of filming the actual movie. It featured Bruce Campbell, covered in blood, crawling along a road, just like the character Dan Hedaya would play in the film.
• M. Emmet Walsh had to be persuaded to pick up a hat in the film's finale. The actor had a long list of reasons why his character shouldn't do it, and the Coens couldn't refute any of these arguments. After several unsuccessful attempts to convince the actor, Joel Coen simply asked Walsh to do him a favor, to which he replied: “The fact that I’m even filming in this goddamn movie is a favor.”
• In the script, M. Emmet Walsh’s character was named “Loren Visser,” but in the film itself, he is never referred to by name (only on his lighter can you see the inscription “Loren”), and in the credits he is listed as “Private Investigator” to avoid confusing viewers.
• The film's title alludes to Dashiell Hammett's novel "The Dain Curse," in which the term "blood simple" denotes the traumatized psyche of people after prolonged exposure to an atmosphere of fear and violence.