outline for presentation " Blood Simple"

Outline for the Presentation  (100 Points)

Blood Simple

I.                    Introduce your film and provide the premise of the film in three sentences or fewer.

a.       Blood Simple is a story of adulterous actions Between Abby, Marty’s wife, and the bartender Ray.  Marty is the typical jealous husband that hires a private investigator named Visser.  This is a love triangle story that ends wrong.  And three people end up dead and the only one that survives is Abby.

II.            Characteristics and Conventions of the Film that Link it to Classic Film Noir

1.      Narration

a.       At opening of the movie starts with a narration, which give the best representation of film Noir.  It gives the audience s sense of anxiety because they don’t know what to expect from the film due to Visser’s words which express how it does not matter how important you are you will never guess the person who will stab you in the back.

2.       Ambiguous protagonist

a.       Ray represents the ambiguous  protagonist, because he tends to be a simple normal bartender but the love for Abby drags him to the bad side.  He thinks Abby killed her husband so when he finds Marty shot he hides evidence.  He finds out that Marty was not dead so he takes him to the fields in Texas and buries him alive.   

3.       Visual elements

a.       Visual elements from classic noir are shown in the film. Many of the scenes when murder , or something bad is going to happen, it will take place in the night time. These scenes gives anxiety and mistrust.

II.                  Elements of the Film that Deviate from Classic Film Noir and Link it to Neo Noir

                                                               i.      Neo- Noir

1.       Noir has changes throughout the years. The genre is now considered Neo- Noir, it has taken the characteristics to a new level theirs more graphic violence, sex, murder.

1.       Intermixing of races

a.       The Neo- noir introduce a new element which is the introduction of different races, they don’t only show the white people.  The introduction of different races shows the audience the anxieties of this time. And before when only whites appeared in the film, that showed only the anxiety’s they had.

2.      Crucial graphics

a.       The classic Noir film did not show graphic murders but the new and improved Neo-noir do.The film involves violence and murder.  Visser Shoots Ray from another building : this scene shows all the blood flowing from Rays back and how it goes through his chest.  This was a very graphic murder.

3.      Double Crosses

a.      Double indemnity has double cross that gives the noir and neo noir feeling due to anxiety and mystery, that Abby thinks that the husband is fallowing them, but that does not stop them from having their affair, they go to a hotel and have sex.  

Quotes from Outside Sources (These may be inserted anywhere in the outline)

Source One:

Context:  Provide a signal phrase that includes the title of the source and the author:	Quote from the Source: Be sure to include the page number	Significance: How does this quote relate to the topic of your essay?
The movie “Blood Simple” opens with a narration from Visser.	“ The world is full of Complainers, and the fact is, nothing 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 something can all go wrong… what I know about Texas, and down here, you’re on your won”.	This quote gives the film the classic noir feeling because it starts with a flashback.  But not only that but its gives the audience anxiety because the way he expresses his words that does not matter how important a person is you will never guess who will stab you in the back.

Source Two:

Context: Provide a signal phrase that includes the title of the source and the author:	Quote from the Source: Be sure to include the page number	Significance: How does this quote relate to the topic of your essay?
According to Matt Murray	““Blood Simple” is classified as a mystery.  But for a few scattered counterexamples, the plot machinations are always known to the audience. Not mystery, but misunderstandings”	This demonstrated that the twists and turns.  The audience has an idea whats happening, but don’t know who to expect it from.  The characters get trapped in personal desertion.  They have helplessness understanding of who did what .

Annotated Bibliography

Bakan, Micheal B. "The Abduction of the Signifying Monkey Chant:
Schizophonic Transmogrification of Balinese Kecak in             Fellini's Satyricon and the Coen Brothers" Blood Simple". Ethnomusicology Forum 18.1 (2009): 83-106. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO.web. 30. Apr. 2011.

In the article "The Abduction of the Signifying Monkey Chant: Schizophonic

Transmogrification of Balinese Kecak in Fellini's Satyricon and the Coen Brothers" BloodSimple". by Micheal B. Bakan examines different musical aspects of the film "Blood Simple" . "Balinese kecak performances in two landmark films, Federico Fellini satyricon (1969). and Joel and Ethan Coen's Blood Simple (1984)"(84).  The musical, or sound affects of the movie blood simple, the audio affects are used to give the audience a sensational feeling of the scene.  Micheal mentions " Joel and Ethan Coen's dark, psychological murder- and revenge drama blood simple is relatively sparse heard in just two scenes and for only about a minute in each but its impact on the film is profound nonetheless" (96).    in the article Micheal B Bakan also mentions the features of the film and about the love triangle between Abby, Ray, and Marty.  "Blood Simple was the first features film made by the coen brothers whose more recent efforts have included no c country for old men, winner of the Oscar for Best picture at the 2007 acadamy awards. blood simple is a sinister and macabre Texas tale of an adulterous wife Abby her lover Ray, and husband Marty.  a psychopathic private investigator cum hit cum cold - blooded murder, Visser, who ultimately is reveled to be bet on the destruction of all three members of this severely dysfunctional love triangle" (96).

Corliss, Richard. "Joel and Ethan Coen. (cover story)". Time 171.19 

     (2008):101. Academic search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 May 2011.

In the article of "Joel and Ethan Coen" focus primarily on Independent film makers and Academy awards (Motion Picture) by Corliss, Richard.  Joel and Ethan Coen made the Time,  They were able to win three Oscars due to their great films.  " Their appearance to the Oscars, to pick up statuettes for best picture, direction and adapted screenplay...( Richard). Richard Corliss also examines about their film Blood Simple .  "Blood Simple" in 1984, they've lent their acute camera skill to tales of murder kidnapping and other crimes of the heart, perpetrated by lost souls as funny as they are desperate" This passage demonstrates how the Coen brothers develop their new and improved camera skills in their films.  their film Blood Simple involves murder, kidnapping and much more crimes.  Blood Simple was the Coean brothers first filmed they developed and it had much success.

Lee, Chris. "Zhang Yimou remakes the Coen brothers' 'Blood Simple'".  
       Los Angeles Time. web. 1 May 2011.

The article "Zhang Yimou remakes the Coen brothers' " Blood Simple" written by Chris Lee talks about how the film "Blood Simple" made by The Coen brother was a multiple Oscar nominee, and Zhang Yimou wanted to remake a movie but he was not sure what movie to pick.  he ended up choosing the movie Blood simple from the Coen brother.  The movie has a very interesting plot. this movie includes a double crossed and misunderstanding. Chris Lee mentions "the film  situates "Blood Simple" Double-crosses and misunderstandings, grand mal scheming and thivery, in desolate Gansu province, somewhere between the Great wall of china and the silk road, during the late ming gynasty of the 17th century" (1). This article also mentions about the the different lightnings of the film " as well, where "Blood Simple" exist almost as a formal exercise in the cinematic usage of darkness, shadow and light, color fairly explodes from the screen in " A Woman, A Gun" and with several of china's most beloved comedian in prominent roles, it is also shot through with a goofy brand of Peking opera inspired comedy that has proved somewhat baffling to many non Chinese viewers.

Snee, Brian j. " Soft- Boiled cinema: Joel and Ethan Coen's Neo- Classical neo- noirs"  film quarterly  37.3 (2009): 212-223. Academic search premier. EBSCO. wed. 30 Apr. 2011.

The Article " Soft- Boiled cinema; Joel and Ethan Coens' Neo- classical neo- noirs" gives back ground information about the film Blood Simple.  it gives characteristics of noir and neo noir "the cinematic roots of fim noir are found in the radition of Hollywood gangster films, German expressionist films, and french poetic realist films among others"(215). and how the film has developed throughout the years.  The article also talks about the different scenes in the film and how they relate to neo- classical. the scene were the detective kills Marty is a neo- classical because it represents the tendency so it can remind the audience the impresion of being perceived or generated by consciousness. 

Klawans, Stuart. " Blood Simple" Nation 280.5 (2005): 34-36 Academic search premier. EBSCO. web. 1 may 2011.


The article "Blood Simple" written by Klawans Stuart focus on motion picture and a documentary Film.  this article docent focus on the movie " Blood Simple" specifically but it gives detailed description of the different motion picture used in the different neo noir films. Klawans Stuart mentions " He noted, for example that these so called action pictures often showed little more than viwers of men standing around on a sidewalk, waiting for something to happen. the something, when it came, was often an inventive way to torture human flesh" (34).