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Blood Simple ()

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The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
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Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
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Photos and Videos

281 photos | 6 videos

Cast verified as complete

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Ray
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Abby
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Julian Marty
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Private Detective
Samm-Art Williams ...
Meurice
Deborah Neumann ...
Debra
Raquel Gavia ...
Landlady
Van Brooks ...
Man from Lubbock
Señor Marco ...
Mr. Garcia
William Creamer ...
Old Cracker
Loren Bivens ...
Strip Bar Exhorter
Bob McAdams ...
Strip Bar Senator
Shannon Sedwick ...
Stripper
Nancy Finger ...
Girl on Overlook
William Preston Robertson ...
Radio Evangelist (voice) (as Rev. William Preston Robertson)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Helene Trend (uncredited) (voice)
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Marty's Vomiting (uncredited) (voice)

Directed by

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Joel Coen
Ethan Coen ... (uncredited)

Written by

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Joel Coen ... (written by) and
Ethan Coen ... (written by)

Produced by

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Daniel F. Bacaner ... executive producer
Ethan Coen ... producer
Joel Coen ... producer (uncredited)
Mark Silverman ... associate producer

Music by

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Carter Burwell

Cinematography by

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Barry Sonnenfeld ... director of photography

Editing by

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Ethan Coen ... (as Roderick Jaynes)
Joel Coen ... (as Roderick Jaynes)
Don Wiegmann

Editorial Department

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Victor Concepcion ... negative cutter
Peggy Connolly ... location editor
David Diliberto ... restoration consultant: directors cut
Sheri Eisenberg ... theatrical mastering colorist
Edna Ruth Paul ... editorial consultant

Casting By

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Julie Hughes
Barry Moss

Production Design by

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Jane Musky

Costume Design by

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Sara Medina-Pape

Makeup Department

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Jean Ann Black ... makeup artist
Paul R. Smith ... prosthetics / special effects makeup

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Steve Love ... second assistant director
Deborah Reinisch ... first assistant director
Shannon Wood ... third assistant director

Art Department

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Jeffrey Michael Adams ... art department assistant (as Jeff Adams)
Kathy Baker ... art department assistant
Shirley Belwood ... property master
Marcos E. González ... property assistant
Nancy Griffith ... set dresser
Michael Peal ... art department assistant
Dave Pearce ... art department assistant
Beth Perry ... special graphics designer
Steve Roll ... assistant to production designer
Robert A. Sturtevant ... art department assistant (as Bob Sturtevant) / carpenter
David Wander ... photo retouching
Kirk Hunter ... art department assistant (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Lewis Goldstein ... sound effects: new (directors cut) (as Lew Goldstein)
Bradford L. Hohle ... consultant: Dolby (directors cut)
Peter F. Kurland ... boom
Blake Leyh ... sound effects: new (directors cut)
Skip Lievsay ... sound editor
Michael R. Miller ... sound editor
Jun Mizumachi ... special sound effects
Lee Orloff ... sound mixer
Fred Szymanski ... special sound effects
Mel Zelniker ... re-recording mixer

Special Effects by

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Loren Bivens ... special effects coordinator
Michael O'Sullivan ... special effects: mechanical (as Michael K. O'Sullivan)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Richard Creasy ... best boy
Joey Forsyte ... gaffer
David J. Frederick ... assistant camera / focus puller (as David Frederick)
Julie Gant ... second electric
Don Kirk ... clapper loader
Blaine Pennington ... special stills
Tom Prophet Jr. ... key grip
John Shaw ... electrician
Angelo Louis Suasnovar Jr. ... third grip (as Angelo Suasnovar)
Don Wiegmann ... electrician

Casting Department

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Edith M. Clark ... casting: Austin
Phil DiMaggio ... casting associate
Peter Golden ... casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Chelle Coleman ... wardrobe assistant

Location Management

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Edith M. Clark ... location manager
Don Hartack ... location coordinator
H. Harris Willcockson ... location auditor

Music Department

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Murri Barber ... music production
Todd Kasow ... music editor: director's cut

Script and Continuity Department

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Andreas Laven ... script supervisor

Transportation Department

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Joseph Lockwood ... driver / transportation

Additional Crew

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Ben Barenholtz ... presenter
Lizanne Brazell ... dialogue coach
Van Brooks ... production assistant
Melanie Hecht ... production assistant
Darrell Kreitz ... production assistant
Alma Kuttruff ... production office coordinator
Webster Lewin ... production assistant
Marty Mahoney ... dog trainer
Shawn Malone ... production assistant
Tom Martin ... production assistant
David McGill ... production assistant
Jim Pedas ... presenter
Ted Pedas ... presenter (as Ted)
Dan Perri ... title designer
Adam Smith ... production assistant
Ingrid Weigand ... production assistant
John Woodward ... production assistant
Richard Woolsey ... production assistant
Bruce Campbell ... budget consultant (uncredited) / stand-in: Dan Hedaya (uncredited)
Sam Raimi ... budget consultant (uncredited) / car provider (uncredited)

Thanks

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Ivan Bigley ... special thanks
George Majesski ... special thanks
Earl Miller ... special thanks
Hilary Nye ... special thanks (as Hilary Ney)
Ron Seres ... special thanks

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Texas bar owner Julian Marty, who is generally regarded as not a nice person, hires shady private detective Loren Visser, who is able to obtain what Marty requests evidence - in this instance, photographic - that his wife, Abby, and one of his bartenders, Ray, are having an affair. As Ray and Abby realize that Marty has found out about them, it allows them to plan for their future away from Marty, while being up front with Marty about the situation. Marty, in turn, decides to hire Visser once again, this time to kill Abby and Ray, and dispose of their bodies so that they won't be found. The out-in-the-open affair and the contract hit lead to some actions based on self-interest and a standoff of sorts between the four players, which is compounded in complexity by some wrong assumptions of what has happened, with an innocent bystander, another of the Marty's bartenders, Meurice, potentially, and unwittingly, adding to the scenario. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines The first film by Joel and Ethan Coen (2016 Re-Release) See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Blood simple. (United States)
  • Blood Simple: The Thriller (Japan, English title)
  • Blood Simple. (France)
  • Sang pour sang (France)
  • Blood Simple - Eine mörderische Nacht (Germany)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 99 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $1,500,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend United States $42,971, 09 Jul 2000

Did You Know?

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Trivia On the advice of Sam Raimi, the Coens went door-to-door showing potential investors a two minute 'trailer' of the film they planned to make. They ultimately raised $750,000 in a little over a year, enough to begin production of the movie. See more »
Goofs The box of shells from which Abby dumps three live rounds is clearly labeled "blanks" and .32 caliber. Abby said earlier that the gun her husband gave her is a .38. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in Vision Quest/Turk 182/Blood Simple/Mischief (1985). See more »
Soundtracks It's the Same Old Song See more »
Crazy Credits Opening credits list the main cast, but none of the crew. All of the crew credits are at the end of the film, starting with Joel Coen as director. See more »
Quotes [first lines]
Private Detective Visser: [narrating] The world is full o' complainers. An' the fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee. Now I don't care if you're the pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin' can all go wrong. Now go on ahead, y'know, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help, 'n watch him fly. Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else... that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here... you're on your own.
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