I'm a self proclaimed 'Coen-head'. There's nothing wrong in admitting it, Joel and Ethan Coen have created some of the greatest movies of the past 3 decades. Now here comes news that completely stunned me. Renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou is remaking their classic Blood Simple in his own language- renaming it San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi (The Stunning Case of the Three Gun Shots) I'm so used to seeing Americans remaking Asian Cinema (The Ring, The Grudge, The Eye) that it's astonishing to see a great Asian filmmaker remaking an American film. That's why I'm somewhat mixed with this idea of a remake, why mess around with something that's already great ? or it could just be total ignorance on my part and this turns out to be highly watchable.
This is where the Coen Brothers' journey in cinema started, it is their first and most horrifying film. In fact, I'd go as far to say that it's almost as good as their future masterworks No Country For Old Men and Fargo. There are many influences here, including french cinema and also -quite heavily-film noir from the 40's. Not many people have seen it, which is a shame and is a perfect opportunity for you to get your ass to the video store and rent the director's cut of this incredible 1984 film noir. Tout de suite !