The Coen Brothers Figured It Out on Their First Try

Blood Simple (1984) breakdown — How Joel and Ethan Coen made one of the most assured debuts in film history by breaking with convention at every step, from financing to cinematography to casting. Subscribe to StudioBinder Academy ►► https://bit.ly/sb-ad StudioBinder Blog ►► http://bit.ly/sb-bl Try Higgsfield ►► https://higgsfield.ai/ ───────────────────── Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction to Blood Simple 00:53 - How the Film began 02:54 - Financing the Film 04:45 - Cinematography with Barry Sonnenfeld 07:46 - Extraordinary Performances 09:35 - Final Thoughts ───────────────────── THE COEN BROTHERS' FIRST FILM Very few directors arrive fully formed, but the Coen Brothers did. Blood Simple, a Texas-set neo-noir about a bartender, his boss's wife and the private investigator hired to kill them, already has every Coen hallmark: stylized dialogue, a collision of grisly violence and dark humor, and a protagonist who can't get out of his own way. The title comes from a line in Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest. HOW BLOOD SIMPLE WAS FINANCED Knowing no studio would back two unknowns with an oddball noir, the Coens followed their friend Sam Raimi's lead and shot a short trailer to show investors. Cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld — hired partly because he owned a 16mm camera — recalls screening it for "investment groups full of dentists." It took about a year, but it worked. BLOOD SIMPLE CINEMATOGRAPHY Sonnenfeld had never shot a feature, so the team made up for it in planning, storyboarding the film in the Coens' Riverside Drive apartment. Inspired by early Scorsese and Robby Müller's work on The American Friend, they embraced unmotivated camera moves, a custom rig built by grip Tom Prophet, and saturated neon lighting. CASTING FRANCES McDORMAND AND M. EMMET WALSH Without the budget for stars, the Coens scouted New York theater. Holly Hunter recommended her roommate, Frances McDormand, in her first film role, and M. Emmet Walsh signed on after seeing the same trailer that won over investors. #FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking ───────────────────── ♬ SONGS USED: “The March” — Carter Burwell “Blood Simple” — Carter Burwell “Blood Simpler” — Carter Burwell “Second Chance” — Adi Goldstein “A Mystery Continues” — Pacific Oaks “Realisation” — Dan Phillipson “Norville’s End” — Carter Burwell “Light Lunch” — Carter Burwell “Tokyo Waits” — All India Radio “Evolution” — All Good Folks “The Void” — Brock Hewitt: Stories in Sound “Down to the River to Pray” — O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack “Tell Me” — The Rolling Stones “Equilibrium” — Yoel “The Wheel Turns” — Carter Burwell, The Hudsucker Proxy First Films_Blood Simple d1 “Tumbling Tumbleweeds / Cool Water” — Sons of the Pioneers Music by Artlist ► https://utm.io/umJx Music by Artgrid ► https://utm.io/umJy Music by Soundstripe ► http://bit.ly/2IXwomF Music by Music Vine ► http://bit.ly/2IUE0pT Music by MusicBed ► http://bit.ly/2Fnz9Zq ───────────────────── SUBSCRIBE to StudioBinder’s YouTube channel! ►► http://bit.ly/2hksYO0 Looking for a project management platform for your filmmaking? StudioBinder is an intuitive project management solution for video creatives; create shooting schedules, breakdowns, production calendars, shot lists, storyboards, call sheets and more. Try StudioBinder for FREE today: https://studiobinder.com/pricing — Join us on Social Media! — Instagram ►►   / studiobinder   Facebook ►►   / studiobinderapp   Twitter ►►   / studiobinder   #film-theory, #video-essay, #filmmaker