Blood Simple (Criterion) 4K UHD Blu-ray (Rental)

Joel and Ethan Coen’s career-long darkly comic road trip through misfit America began with this razor-sharp, hard-boiled neonoir set somewhere in Texas, where a sleazy bar owner releases a torrent of violence with one murderous thought. Actor M. Emmet Walsh looms over the proceedings as a slippery private eye with a yellow suit, a cowboy hat, and no moral compass, and Frances McDormand’s cunning debut performance set her on the road to stardom. The tight scripting and inventive style that have marked the Coens’ work for decades are all here in their first film, in which cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld abandons black-and-white chiaroscuro for neon signs and jukebox colors that combine with Carter Burwell’s haunting score to lurid and thrilling effect. Blending elements from pulp fiction and low-budget horror flicks, Blood Simple reinvented the film noir for a new generation, marking the arrival of a filmmaking ensemble that would transform the American independent cinema scene. DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES Restored 4K digital transfer, approved by cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld and filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features Conversation between Sonnenfeld and the Coens about the film’s look, featuring Telestrator video illustrations Conversation between author Dave Eggers and the Coens about the film’s production, from inception to release Interviews with composer Carter Burwell, sound editor Skip Lievsay, and actors Frances McDormand and M. Emmet Walsh Trailers English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing PLUS: An essay by novelist and critic Nathaniel Rich