A Simple Plan
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Synopsis
SOMETIMES GOOD PEOPLE DO EVIL THINGS.
Working from an Academy Award-nominated screenplay by Scott B. Smith (adapting his own bestselling novel), director Sam Raimi swapped his trademark hyperkinetic horror for stark, bone-chilling tension in the expertly-crafted, critically-acclaimed thriller A Simple Plan.
Hank Mitchell (Bill Paxton) and his wife Sarah (Bridget Fonda) have big dreams and a baby on the way, but are stuck in the small Minnesota town where Hank grew up alongside his sweet but naive brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton, Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor). One day while walking in the woods, Hank, Jacob, and Jacob's friend Lou (Brent Briscoe) discover a small plane buried in the snow, with a dead pilot inside... and a duffel bag containing over $4 million in cash. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to grasp the American dream in one fell swoop, if they can just keep it a secret - but Hank soon learns that keeping that secret will come at a terrible cost.
A bleak, heart-stopping morality play with allusions to Macbeth and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Raimi's favorite film), A Simple Plan returns in a brand new director-approved 4K remaster accompanied by new and exclusive bonus features.
Picture 10/10
Arrow Video presents Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan on 4K UHD with Dolby Vision, featuring a 2160p/24hz ultra high-definition transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio on a triple-layer disc. The presentation comes from a new restoration performed by Arrow, sourced from a fresh scan of the 35mm original negative.
Having never received a Blu-ray release in North America, I’m coming to this edition straight from my 1999 DVD—and calling the improvement "night and day" would be an understatement. This looks incredible, just shockingly great. The new 4K scan picks up an extraordinary level of detail, impeccably capturing the film’s grain structure along with all the subtle tonal shifts in its wintry landscapes. That level of detail would mean little if the encode weren’t up to the task, but thankfully, it’s more than up for the challenge. The film’s somewhat heavy yet fine grain structure is rendered flawlessly, holding up even over bright, snow-covered scenes. The result is an unbelievably sharp image, with fine details and textures that practically leap off the screen.
That alone would be enough to make this release a revelation (especially considering all we’ve had in North America is a standard-definition DVD), but what truly elevates the presentation to another level is the addition of HDR and Dolby Vision. These enhancements are particularly beneficial in the snowy settings, ensuring that the landscapes never appear flat or blown out while delivering an impressive range of whites and cooler tones. Highlights look fantastic with no clipping issues, but where the presentation really shines is in the film’s darker sequences. Simple settings—like the bar where the three meet or Lou’s (Brent Briscoe) dimly lit house—now take on a more noir-like quality, with deep, inky blacks and natural light falloff. I hesitate to use the word, but the film looks breathtaking, and I had almost forgotten how gorgeous its cinematography is. The DVD simply flattened everything out.
Overall, this is a stellar presentation—one of my favorites in recent memory. It’s strange how this film, arguably Raimi’s best, has been overlooked for so long, but Arrow has finally given it the treatment it deserves.
Audio 8/10
Arrow includes both the original 5.1 surround mix in DTS-HD MA and an optional 2-channel stereo track. I only listened to the surround mix, which remains a highly effective, subtly haunting experience—thanks in no small part to Danny Elfman’s eerie score, which is mixed effectively through the channels. Dialogue and sound effects are primarily focused on the front channels, but the mix makes great use of space, expanding outward during key moments, like a sudden crash or a gunshot. Bass is understated but well-placed, adding weight when necessary. Overall, it’s a terrific mix, sounding significantly sharper and more dynamic compared to the DVD’s compressed Dolby Digital track.
Extras 8/10
The film was a critical darling upon release, but unfortunately, it came out during Paramount’s early days in the DVD market—an era when the studio showed little interest in bonus features. As a result, previous editions were disappointingly barebones. Arrow remedies this with a solid slate of new extras, starting with two audio commentaries: one featuring critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme, and another with production designer Patrizia von Brandenstein and filmmaker Justin Beahm.
I’m a bit torn on the von Brandenstein/Beahm track. While it offers a thorough discussion on the film’s production design, I can’t help but feel it might have worked better as a video essay or a partial commentary rather than a full-length one. Their conversation primarily focuses on locations, props, and set details, including the challenges of finding appropriate locations (scattered across multiple areas) and constructing key set pieces, like the crashed plane. Much of it isn’t especially engaging, but then unexpectedly fascinating topics emerge, such as the techniques used to make locations look lived-in, how to naturally convey decay, and the nuances of making objects look authentic without violating legal restrictions—like the difficulties of using fake money, which has to be distinguishable from real currency to avoid counterfeiting issues. Von Brandenstein explains how they worked around this by mixing real and fake bills, which then leads to a discussion about similar challenges with props like FBI badges. There are also some amusing anecdotes, including one about a possible cameo from ZZ Top’s Frank Beard (who may or may not have been cut from the final film). If the commentary had been streamlined to just these kinds of insights, it might have worked better, but as it stands, it’s a bit uneven.
The Kenny/Nehme track, on the other hand, is a more academic and engaging discussion. They dig into the film’s production—which was apparently far more complicated than I had realized, with Ben Stiller and John Boorman both attached as directors at different points—before examining the film’s place within Raimi’s filmography. They discuss its noir influences, its character dynamics, and why its central premise feels so universal. Kenny has also read the source novel and offers some eye-opening comparisons, revealing just how much darker the book is (which is saying something, given how bleak the film already is). This leads to an insightful, though unfortunately brief, discussion on the differences between novel and film narratives—what can be translated effectively and what simply can’t. Overall, it’s a compelling commentary.
Arrow also includes a handful of newly recorded interviews. Cinematographer Alar Kivilo’s segment (8 minutes) is especially amusing—having just moved to L.A. from Canada to escape the cold, his first film assignment was A Simple Plan, shot in some of the coldest locations he’d ever worked in. Actors Becky Ann Baker and Chelcie Ross also provide entertaining reflections on their experiences. Baker had been attached to the project since John Boorman was set to direct, so she was understandably surprised when she arrived on set to find Sam Raimi in charge instead. Ross, who was blown away by the script, explains how he was determined to land the role and even created a full backstory for his character. Considering the film one of the best he ever worked on, his enthusiasm is infectious, and he shares some great stories from his time on set and working with old friends, including Briscoe and Gary Cole. Their interviews run 6 and 11 minutes, respectively.
The rest of the supplements consist of archival material, including brief promotional interviews with Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Raimi, and producer James Jacks, running anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes each. The interviews, likely produced for marketing purposes, aren’t especially in-depth, though Thornton and Fonda provide the strongest insights. There’s also about 7 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, which seems like it was intended for an EPK or featurette but never fully realized. Rounding things out, the film’s original trailer is included, albeit sourced from Paramount's DVD.
The package also comes with a 35-page booklet, featuring an excellent essay by Bilge Ebiri and an excerpt covering A Simple Plan from John Kenneth Muir’s book The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi.
While it would have been great if Arrow could have secured new contributions from Thornton or Fonda (though the latter seems unlikely), they’ve still put together a strong collection of supplements—finally giving A Simple Plan the treatment it deserves after Paramount’s featureless DVD.
Closing
While it’s great to finally have a proper special edition for the film, it’s the new 4K presentation that truly makes this release essential. It’s an absolute knockout.
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