Editing Blood Simple (section)

{{Short description|1984 film by Joel and Ethan Coen}}
{{about|the film|the metal band|Bloodsimple}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Blood Simple
| image          = Blood-simple-movie-poster-md.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Joel Coen]]
| producer       = [[Ethan Coen]]
| writer         = Joel Coen<br/>Ethan Coen
| starring       = {{Plain list|
* [[John Getz]]
* [[Frances McDormand]]
* [[Dan Hedaya]]
* [[Samm-Art Williams]]
* [[M. Emmet Walsh]]
}}
| music          = [[Carter Burwell]]
| cinematography = [[Barry Sonnenfeld]]
| editing        = {{ubl|[[Roderick Jaynes]]{{efn|Roderick Jaynes is the shared pseudonym used by the Coen brothers for their editing.}}|Don Wiegmann}}
| studio         = {{ubl|River Road Productions|Foxton Entertainment}}
| distributor    = [[Ben Barenholtz|Circle Films]]
| released       = {{film date|1984|10|12|[[New York Film Festival]]|ref1=<ref name=afi/>}}
| runtime        = 96 minutes<ref name=afi>{{cite web|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|title=Blood Simple|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/67010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803124744/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/67010|archive-date=August 3, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $1.5 million<ref name="numbers">{{cite web |title=Blood Simple (1985) - Financial Information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Blood-Simple#tab=summary |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |access-date=2022-04-10 |archive-date=2022-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410021008/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Blood-Simple#tab=summary |url-status=live }}</ref>
| gross          = $2.7 million<ref name="numbers" /><ref name="mojo">{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bloodsimple.htm |title=Blood Simple (1985) |work=Box Office Mojo |access-date=14 July 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817094543/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bloodsimple.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

'''''Blood Simple''''' is a 1984 American [[independent film|independent]] [[neo-noir]] [[crime film]] written, edited, produced and directed by [[Coen brothers|Joel and Ethan Coen]], and starring [[John Getz]], [[Frances McDormand]], [[Dan Hedaya]] and [[M. Emmet Walsh]]. Its plot follows a [[Texas]] bartender who is having an affair with his boss's wife. When his boss discovers the affair, he hires a [[private investigator]] to kill the couple. It was the directorial debut of the Coens and the first major film of [[cinematographer]] [[Barry Sonnenfeld]], who later became a director, as well as the feature-film debut of McDormand.

The film's title is derived from [[Dashiell Hammett]]'s novel ''[[Red Harvest]]'' (1929), in which the [[Continental Op]] muses, "This damned burg's getting me. If I don't get away soon I'll be going blood-simple like the natives."<ref name=":Orr">{{cite news| author=George Orr| date=September 8, 2014| title=30 Years of Coens: ''Blood Simple''| work=[[The Atlantic]]| url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/30-years-of-coens-revisiting-blood-simple/379743/}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Falsani, Cathleen.| title=The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers|location= Grand Rapids, MI|date= 2009|publisher= Zondervan|page= 31}}</ref> Stylistically, the film has been noted for its blending elements of neo-noir, [[pulp magazines|pulp]] crime stories and low-budget [[horror film]]s.<ref name=criterion/> In 2001, a [[director's cut]] was released, the same year that it was ranked No. 98 on [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills]].