"Actor: Deborah Neumann"

• Blood Simple | Blu Ray | (30/10/2017) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blood Simple is grisly comic noir that marries the feverish toughness of pulp thrillers with the ghoulishness of even pulpier horror. (Imagine the novels of Jim Thompson somehow fused with the comic tabloid Weird Tales and you get the idea.) The story concerns a Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a seedy private detective (M Emmett Walsh) to follow his cheating wife (Frances McDormand in her first film appearance) and then kill her and her lover (John Getz). The gumshoe turns the tables on his client and suddenly a bad situation gets much, much worse, with some violent goings-on that are as elemental as they are shocking. (A scene in which a character who has been buried alive suddenly emerges from his own grave instantly becomes an archetypal nightmare.) Shot by Barry Sonnenfeld before he became an A-list director in Hollywood, Blood Simple established the hyperreal look and feel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose The Evil Dead had just been coedited by Joel). Sections of the film have proved to be an endurance test for art-house movie fans, particularly an extended climax that involves one shock after another but ends with a laugh at the absurdity of criminal ambition. This is definitely one of the triumphs of the 1980s and the American independent film scene in general. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Blood Simple | DVD | (30/10/2017) from £5.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blood Simple is grisly comic noir that marries the feverish toughness of pulp thrillers with the ghoulishness of even pulpier horror. (Imagine the novels of Jim Thompson somehow fused with the comic tabloid Weird Tales and you get the idea.) The story concerns a Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a seedy private detective (M Emmett Walsh) to follow his cheating wife (Frances McDormand in her first film appearance) and then kill her and her lover (John Getz). The gumshoe turns the tables on his client and suddenly a bad situation gets much, much worse, with some violent goings-on that are as elemental as they are shocking. (A scene in which a character who has been buried alive suddenly emerges from his own grave instantly becomes an archetypal nightmare.) Shot by Barry Sonnenfeld before he became an A-list director in Hollywood, Blood Simple established the hyperreal look and feel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose The Evil Dead had just been coedited by Joel). Sections of the film have proved to be an endurance test for art-house movie fans, particularly an extended climax that involves one shock after another but ends with a laugh at the absurdity of criminal ambition. This is definitely one of the triumphs of the 1980s and the American independent film scene in general. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Blood Simple | DVD | (01/01/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blood Simple is grisly comic noir that marries the feverish toughness of pulp thrillers with the ghoulishness of even pulpier horror. (Imagine the novels of Jim Thompson somehow fused with the comic tabloid Weird Tales and you get the idea.) The story concerns a Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a seedy private detective (M Emmett Walsh) to follow his cheating wife (Frances McDormand in her first film appearance) and then kill her and her lover (John Getz). The gumshoe turns the tables on his client, and suddenly a bad situation gets much, much worse, with some violent goings-on that are as elemental as they are shocking. (A scene in which a character who has been buried alive suddenly emerges from his own grave instantly becomes an archetypal nightmare.) Shot by Barry Sonnenfeld before he became an A-list director in Hollywood, Blood Simple established the hyperreal look and feel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose The Evil Dead had just been coedited by Joel). Sections of the film have proved to be an endurance test for art-house movie fans, particularly an extended climax that involves one shock after another but ends with a laugh at the absurdity of criminal ambition. This is definitely one of the triumphs of the 1980s and the American independent film scene in general. --Tom Keogh

• The Coen Brothers Collection | DVD | (13/12/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  A collection of films from acclaimed Oscar-winning siblings Joel and Ethan Coen. The Big Lebowski: The Dude Jeff Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) is unemployed and laid-back. That is until he becomes a victim of mistaken identity two thugs breaking into his apartment in the errant belief that they are accosting Jeff Lebowski the Pasadena millionaire. In hope of getting a replacement for soiled carpet the Dude visits his wealthy namesake and with buddy ex `Nam' veteran Walter (Joh

• Blood Simple: Director's Cut | DVD | (15/04/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Breaking up is hard. Deep in the heart of Texas a jealous bar owner hires a private eye to kill his wife and her lover. The sleazy hitman double-crosses the husband killing him instead and pocketing the cash. The perfect crime or so it seems but disposing of the corpse is not so simple.... Blood Simple uncoils its film noir plot with audacious style dense atmosphere and blood-curdling twists. The razor-sharp debut of Oscar-nominated Joel and Ethan Coen will have you on the very edge of your seat!