Blood Simple, the 1984 black-comic thriller that introduced director Joel Coen and his brother and co-writer, Ethan, to the screen, has been restored, re-edited and rereleased, and that's something worth cheering about during these dog days. The Coens, then as now, are alive to the possibilities of movies. So savor their technique and the sizzling performances of Frances McDormand as an adulterous wife, Dan Hedaya as her vengeful husband and M. Emmet Walsh as a private detective from hell. One…

This father of "Fargo" is a classic crime caper with a twist of comic creepiness.

Story

"The boring things have been taken out, and other things have been added," the narrator tells in his mocking intro to the re-release of this 1984 film. And he must be right. This taut and exhilarating Southern noir thriller unravels the story of a jealous Texas saloon owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a private detective to kill his wife (Frances McDormand) and her lover (John Getz). It's disturbing enough…