Blood Simple Blu-ray Frances McDormand

directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
U.S.A. 1984

A Texas bar owner hires a private detective to kill his wife and her lover, but things don't go as planned when double-crossing... and betrayal abound.

***

Black humor, abundant originality and a brilliant visual style make Joel Coen's ''Blood Simple'' a directorial debut of extraordinary promise. Mr. Coen, who co-wrote the film with his brother Ethan, works in a film noir style that in no way inhibits his wit, which turns out to be considerable. This is a film in which a dying man, mistakenly shot by a woman who cannot see him (and who meant to kill someone else), can hear her shout one more insult at the intended victim - and answer her, ''Well, ma'am, if I see him I'll sure give him the message.''

A lot of dying is done in ''Blood Simple,'' and almost none of it is done right. The plot concerns four people - a bar owner (Dan Hedaya), his wife (Frances McDormand), the bartender whom the wife runs off with (John Getz), and the private detective hired to kill the runaway couple (M. Emmet Walsh, the veteran character actor, who plays him with a mischievousness that is perfect for the role).

Excerpt from Janet Maslin at the NY Times located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 7 September 1984 - Canada (Toronto Film Festival)

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Comparison:

Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Ole Kofoed and Pavel Borodin and Gregory Meshman for the DVD Screen Caps!

1) Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT

2) Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Manga Films (Spain) Region 0 - PAL	Universal (US) Region 1 - NTSC	Cine Korea (Korea) Region 0 - NTSC	MGM Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:31:31 (4% PAL speedup)	1:35:45	1:35:42	1:35:38.399
Video	1.87:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.71 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.83:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.52 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.83:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.91 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 32,082,121,221 bytes Feature: 30,943,156,224 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 38.90 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut)
Bitrate: Universal (US) (Director's Cut)
Bitrate: Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut)
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dub DD5.1	English Dolby Digital 2.0	English Dolby Digital 2.0, English Dolby Digital 5.1	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1799 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1799 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Subtitles	Spanish or none (with some work)	English, Spanish, French, none	English, Korean, Spanish, French, none	English (SDH), Spanish, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Manga Films (Spain) Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.87:1 Edition Details: • Trailer • Filmographies of cast & crew DVD Release Date: 2000 Keep case Chapters 10	Release Information: Studio: Universal (US) Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.83:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer • Audio Commentary by Kenneth Loring of Forever Young Films • Cast and filmmakers • Production notes • Story line DVD Release Date: September 4, 2001 Keep case Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: Cine Korea (Korea) Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.83:1 Edition Details: • Feature commentary with Kenneth Loring of Forever Young Films • Theatrical trailer • Cast and filmmakers • Production notes • Story line DVD Release Date: September 9, 2004 Keep case Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: MGM 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 32,082,121,221 bytes Feature: 30,943,156,224 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 38.90 Mbps Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer • Audio Commentary by Kenneth Loring of Forever Young Films Blu-ray Release Date: August 30th, 2011 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 24

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - August 11': The DVDs of Blood Simple never attained any impressive appearance via the SD standard. Noise and artifacts abound, and while the Blu-ray transfer seems adept with a very high bitrate nothing can really be done to make this film pristinely crisp or glossy - and it wouldn't suit the experience anyway. This is as good as it gets and this is still the 'director's cut' not the slightly longer 'theatrical' version that some fans were hoping. The 1080P is thick, not very crisp but tighter than the SDs. It looks good - but the film will never look dynamic with extensive depth although it does have some scope-like grandeur in 1.85:1 as compared to the DVDs. The Blu-ray offers the best presentation that I have seen despite the sometimes problematic 80's film stock utilized.

Audio goes lossless with a DTS-HD Master in original 2,0 channel stereo - not surround bump. Subtle effects like crickets, footsteps etc. all sound more notable. There is some perceived depth (echoing gunshots) and the Blu-ray offers optional subtitles and the, occasionally pulsating, original score by Carter Burwell, a Coen mainstay, never overtakes the film and sounds adept via the uncompressed transfer. The disc is region 'A'-locked.

Same Kenneth Loring (of Forever Young) film commentary which is rumored to be Ethan Coen putting on an English accent - and same intro plus a theatrical trailer. So nothing new in the supplements.

Like much of the Coen's worth Blood Simple continues to grow on me and it was 'refreshing' to see it in the new format with far less artifacts. Great thing is the price is right and we endorse.

***

ON THE DVDs: The anamorphic video of the Korean disc is completely identical to the US version (the same transfer with the same compression). What the bitrate chart demonstrates is that on Cine Korea disk it is shifted up slightly because of addition of a 5.1 bump track.

NOTE: The "Kenneth Loring" commentary, on both the Universal and Korean, may in fact be Ethan Coen putting on an English accent. He mocks the film and this is perhaps a provocation to their fans who would dearly love to see a Coen commentary on all (or any) of their films on DVD. I suppose this can't be considered a 'real commentary' but it is nonetheless humorous and entertaining. The Korean DVD looks like a bootleg, but we may never know.

To remove the "forced" subtitles on the Spanish release: Start the movie, goto set-up menu and select "No subtitles", go to main menu and continue the movie.

- Gary Tooze

DVD Menus

(Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT vs. Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Subtitle Sample from MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Screen Captures

1) Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP

2) Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP

2) Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP

2) Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP

2) Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP

2) Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP

2) Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Manga Films (Spain) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP

2) Universal (US) (Director's Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Cine Korea (Korea) (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) MGM - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

More Blu-ray Captures

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Report Card:

Image:	Blu-ray
Sound:	Blu-ray
Extras:	Universal/ Cine Korea tie

DVD Box Covers

Distribution

Manga Films (Spain)

Region 0 - PAL

Universal (US)
Region 1 - NTSC

Cine Korea (Korea)
Region 0 - NTSC

MGM
Region 'A' - Blu-ray