The Coen Brothers Movie Collection (Fargo / Miller's Crossing / Barton Fink / Raising Arizona / Blood Simple)

• Fargo - Languages English and French, Subtitles English, French, Spanish
• Raising Arizona - Languages English and French, Subtitles English, Spanish
• Miller's Crossing - Languages English, Spanish, French; Subtitles English, Spanish
• Blood Simple - Language English, Subtitles English, Spanish, French
• Barton Fink - Languages English, Spanish, French; Subtitles English, Spanish

The first movie from Joel and Ethan Coen plays like film noir, Texas style. Double and triple crosses abound in a complex mystery involving a wealthy bar owner, his wife, the handsome bartender she's having an affair with, and the private investigator hired by the husband but harboring his own greedy agenda. John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh star. Director's cut; 96 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish.The debut fi! lm 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 f! eel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by f! ilmmaker 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 KeoghThe first movie from Joel and Ethan Coen plays like film noir, Texas style. Double and triple crosses abound in a complex mystery involving a wealthy bar owner, his wife, the handsome bartender she's having an affair with, and the private investigator hired by the husband but harboring his own greedy agenda. John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh star. 95 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English DTS HD stereo; Subtitles: English, Spanish; audio commentary; theatrical trailer.The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blo! od 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 Jo! el). Sec tions 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 KeoghThe 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 wo! rse, 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 KeoghDisc 1: Barton Fink WS Disc 2: Blood Simple WS Disc 3: Fargo WS Disc 4: Miller's Crossing WS Disc 5: Raising Arizona WS