Blood Simple (1984) is the Coen Brothers’ Grand Declaration of Filmmaking

Hello, reader. Jeremy here. For today’s guest post, and I’m very excited to welcome my dear friend Kristin Dober to the Dust On The VCR family! Kristin and I worked together for a couple years in the advertising world, and even when we were just doing Zoom calls together, I could tell that she’s a fantastic producer. (And director, and assistant director, and writer, and really whatever else she wants to do.) But since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside her on set, and she is the real deal, folks. Which is why she’s also the perfect person to write about how the Coen Brothers staked their claim in the world of cinema simply by betting on themselves and hiring all the right crew members. Take it away, Kristin!

In the world of filmmaking, there’s a well-known saying: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

And it’s true. The process of making a film can serve as a catalyst for relationships between actors, directors, cinematographers, editors, and even production assistants, which in turn can evolve into the start of a viable career in any of those respective roles. Everyone starts somewhere, and before the Coen Brothers became the prolific directors of acclaimed films like Fargo and No Country for Old Men, they didn’t know anyone in the film business. They didn’t really know anything about how films were made. They simply decided they’d be filmmakers, and they made Blood Simple.

Set in a small Texas town, the story centers around a seedy bar owner, his unfaithful wife, and her lover, as well as a private detective hired to gather necessary proof of their infidelity. It’s a tale as old as time, but the Coens’ effortless blend of neo-noir, thriller, and black comedy elements elevates a simplistic plot to make it feel timeless.

It’s a cinematic milestone for a few reasons. Not only was it the Coens' directorial debut, it was Frances McDormand’s first feature film role. Blood Simple helped launch McDormand’s career, and it sparked the beginning of her decades-long marriage to Joel Coen.* It was also the first collaboration between the Coens and director of photography Barry Sonnenfeld, who later went on to shoot Raising Arizona and Miller’s Crossing for them before striking out on his own as a director.**

Determination helps when making films too. At the advice of their friend Sam Raimi, who had just made The Evil Dead, the Coens made a teaser trailer for Blood Simple and went canvassing with it, asking anyone who would let them in their house if they would invest in the film. Genre films, especially horror, were growing in popularity with audiences during the early 80s, and the Coens were confident they could sell the film despite having zero experience with the craft of narrative filmmaking. They raised a little under a million dollars in a single year, then they figured out how to hire crew and cast actors.

Recruiting Sonnenfeld was even more serendipitous. The Coens met him at a party and hired him simply because he said he owned a camera. Here’s the catch: He had never worked on a film set before either.***

Sonnenfeld was so nervous on set, he threw up at least 18 times during the 42 days of shooting. But he kept going. And he wasn’t the only crew member to puke his guts out. Since M. Emmet Walsh couldn’t blow a decent smoke ring (and made himself sick trying), one of the ladies in the props department stood in for him and created several perfect smoke rings for a shot, but even she lost her lunch after several takes.

The person with the most experience on that set might’ve been the key grip, Tom Prophet, the MVP of the production. Prophet had just moved to Texas after his wife’s astrologer told her that Los Angeles was about to have a major earthquake. He was so glad to be working on a film again, he agreed to be on Blood Simple for almost no money. Sonnenfeld and the Coens heralded him for figuring out how to craft dozens of specific shots they storyboarded, several of which meant affixing the 30-pound Arri camera to a two-by-four or strapping Sonnefeld to the hood of a car.****

Prophet’s most creative rig involved a shot that would allow McDormand and the camera to maintain the same distance and angle to each other as they pivoted 90 degrees, shifting only the background. When Sonnenfeld asked Prophet how he came up with the idea for the rig, he proudly told him he had seen blueprints for a similarly functioning sex device in Hustler and knew he could build it.*****

Prophet even helped McDormand stay in character for the tension-filled final scene by restraining her until Joel called action, which allowed her to stay riled up enough to maintain the level of hysteria she felt the scene required. She spent the time between takes under a table, and after they knew she was okay, no one asked any further questions. 

There was no doubt plenty of learning by doing on the set of Blood Simple. The Coens and their frequent collaborators have said that there’s a lot they’d do differently if they were to make that film again, but it worked out just fine for them, of course. Blood Simple went on to win awards at film festivals like Sundance and received rave reviews. More than anything, though, the Coens were able to prove to themselves and everyone else that they were indeed filmmakers.

Making a film is hard, whether you’re doing it for the first time or the 50th time. Even bad films are hard to make. But sometimes all you need is a trusted team around you and enough courage (or ignorance) to give it a shot.

*It’s easy to raise an eyebrow when filmmakers cast their spouse in prominent roles. However, most filmmakers aren’t married to Frances McDormand.

**For better or for worse, it’s an interesting filmography: Two Addams Family movies, three Men in Black movies, and the unforgettable Wild Wild West, among others.

***Before production began, Sonnenfeld asked the camera assistant to show him where the on/off switch was. Imagine being that camera assistant.

****I applaud the Coens for their ingenuity, but I personally do not condone strapping anyone to the hood of a moving car ever. I don’t care how good your key grip is.

*****There’s a scene in the Coens’ Burn After Reading where George Clooney’s character has a similar idea. I choose to believe this is an homage to their creative key grip of yore.

Blood Simple is now streaming on Max and the Criterion Channel, and it is available for rent elsewhere.