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Zhang Yimou Remaking the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple

by Brandon Lee Tenney
June 23, 2009

A while back we reported that Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, most recently the puppet master behind the 2008 Summer Olympic Games' opening ceremony, but most famously the director of Jet Li's Hero and House of Flying Daggers, was set to move forward with a new film entitled Amazing Tales - Three Guns. It was thought that this may actually be a remake of the Coen Brothers' debut 1984 film Blood Simple -- and it seems that's precisely what it is, according to a new update in THR today. The title has changed (translated from the original Chinese "San Quiang Pai An Jing Qi") to The Stunning Case of the Three Gun Shots.

We're not entirely sure how the plot has changed from the Coens' original. But Blood Simple's plot is just what you might expect from the Coens. It's the story of a Texas bar owner who hires a private detective to kill his adulterous wife and her lover. It's filled with double-crossings, cheating, lying, death -- and laughs. Zhang's version is set to be released later this year and has already been filming for about a month. Again, I'm a huge fan of Zhang. He's one of the most visually stunning auteurs working today, right up there with Tarsem and Aronofsky. I'm interested to see how Zhang will bring his beauty to the Coens' grit. You?

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-Peter-

take out the Coen Brothers, and the movie isn't good.
xerxex

agreed #1 I see a flop.
d1rEct

I agree to what a joke.
Cody

Yeah agreed just stupid idea plus its not like its old or anything Blood simple is a classic alone...I mean I know theres been lots of remakes popping up lately but this one is just so unneccesary.
Joshua

I'm at a loss for words..
Betterchill

BAD IDEA.
Mario

I am actually kind of excited. Not a big fan of remakes, but Yimou is not an ordinary director. Yes, Blood Simple is a near-perfect classic, but with this material I can see Yimou going back to his earlier work. I always thought that Raise the Red Lantern had Coen-ian moments, when Meishan tells Dr. Gao that she needs some medical consultation (whilst flirting), hilarious and revelatory (they love each other). Or when Songlian is drunk trying to sing opera like Meishan. Anyway, I´m expecting you´ll keep us informed about this good news Brandon. Greetings.
Marsius

impossible
http://www.thismusicstudio.com jon lee

i guess i'm the lone voice fighting for the chinese ha ha. look, it definitely could be a bad idea, but don't beat it down just yet. but atleast it's not uwe boll or paul ws anderson. double crossing is such an old movie concept that i don't think that it necessarily has to be considred a remake. in reality zhang is making a movie about double crossing and he just happens to be inspired by the characters and idea from blood simple. it doesn't even have the same title. if you watch flying daggers and hero you know that he is a different kind of from the coen brothers. you know he doesn't make stuff that is very commercial. his distinct style is enough of an indication that he might just pull it off. hopefully i won't have to eat my words when he releases this film. cheers,