Blood Simple (Director's Cut)

The Coen’s ingenious debut feature catches all ‘red-handed’ – literally in blood – with this gritty noir tale of small-town eccentrics trapped in a web of murder, betrayal and double-cross. The formidable Frances McDormand gives the first glimpse of her daunting performance that later won three Oscars as the adulterous wife of a Texas bar owner, whose duplicitous hired gun sees a simple revenge story descend into a darkly comic procession of violent misunderstandings. Crafted with clever plot twists, dark humour and offbeat wackiness, this atypical thriller launched a filmmaking phenomenon that marked the Coens’ later gems.

Sundance Film Festival: Grand Jury Prize (US Dramatic)

9/9 (Sat): Film talk with Horace Chan