Coen Brothers: Ranking Their Films From Worst To Best

11. Blood Simple (1984)

The haunting debut film from the Brothers is Blood Simple, and it surely is a sign of good things to come - shadowy lighting, memorable and motivated characters, flash-bang violence and a script as tight as a snare drum. On some of the theatrical posters the film is subtitled as "The thriller", not to be confused with 'a' thriller, which hardly seems to do Blood Simple justice. The film also features one of the most innovative shots in any Coen flick. Midway through the film, the camera crawls slowly along a long grimy bar. A drunk barfly sleeps facedown up ahead, and when the camera reaches him it goes up and over, landing on the bar on the other side and continuing its path. This is brilliant self-aware cinema, and it's part of the crackling debut film from the future masters.