Lists
- ranked 10 in Roger Ebert's Best Films of 1985
- ranked 98 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills
- ranked 592 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (December 2006)
- ranked 627 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (March 2006)
- ranked 696 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (August 2005)
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills Nominees
- one of AV Club 50 Most Important American Independent Movies
- one of Empire's 250 Greatest Films You've Never Seen
The Coens' first, a brilliant thriller about misconceptions and the mistakes people make in emergencies (when rendered "blood simple"). More than any other film I've seen, it perfectly exploits the tension between the omniscient audience and the limited knowledge of the actors.