While the Coen brothers may now be able to attract such A-list stars as Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson to their Oscar-geared films, the Academy-Award winning directing team began their careers far from Hollywood.
In fact, it would be an understatement to say that Joel (61) and Ethan (59) weren’t among the forefathers of filmmakers who got their start by making movies outside of the studio system entirely, in the American independent filmmaking movement of the 80s.
And now, their first feature film, 1984’s exploitation-horror inspired “Blood Simple,” has been digitally restored and released by the Criterion Collection, out now on Blu-ray and DVD.
The Coen’s directorial debut (of which Ethan is singularly credited as director and Joel as Producer, as it would be years before the Academy would recognize the pair as a legitimate directing team), a neo-noir about a love triangle and hitman has been was undertaken by the Criterion Collection from the original 35 mm negative, which was scanned in 16-bit 4K resolution. Color correction and restoration were supervised and approved by Joel and Ethan Coen, as well as director of photography Barry Sonnenfeld.
Take a look at what’s loaded onto this fantastic special edition:
As a web exclusive, check out this storyboarding video that compares scenes from the film to their original storyboards, with commentary by Joel and Ethan Coen, cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, and actor Frances McDormand.before adding “Blood Simple” to your personal collection.
