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| Frances
McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, Harve Presnell |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Man:
So, I'm tendin' bar there at Ecklund and Swedlin's last Tuesday and
this little guy's drinkin' and he says, "So where can a guy find some
action? I'm goin' crazy down there at the lake." And I says, "What kinda
action?" and he says, "Woman action, what do I look like?" And I says,
"Well, what do *I* look like, I don't arrange that kinda thing," and
he says, "I'm goin' crazy out there at the lake," and I says, "Well,
this ain't that kinda place."
Gary: Uh-huh.
Man: So he says, "So I get it, so you think I'm some kinda jerk
for askin'," only he doesn't use the word jerk.
Gary: I understand.
Man: And then he calls me a jerk and says the last guy who thought
he was a jerk was dead now. So I don't say nothin' and he says, "What
do ya think about that?" So I says, "Well, that don't sound like too
good a deal for him then."
Gary: Ya got that right.
Man: And he says, "Yah, that guy's dead and I don't mean o' old
age." And then he says, "Geez, I'm goin' crazy out there at the lake."
Gary: White Bear lake?
Man: Well, Ecklund & Swedlin's, that's closer ta Moose Lake,
so I made that assumption.
Gary: Oh sure.
Man: So, ya know, he's drinkin', so I don't think a whole great
deal of it, but Mrs. Mohra heard about the homicides out here and she
thought I should call it in, so I called it in. End o' story.
Gary: What'd this guy look like anyway?
Man: Oh, he was a little guy. Kinda funny lookin'.
Gary: Uh-huh. In what way?
Man: Just a general way.
A
car salesman in Minnesota masterminds a scheme in which he hires two
hoodlums to kidnap his wife so his wealthy father-in-law will pay the
ransom and solve his money problems.
 Movies
like Fargo are those unique little cinematic jewels that
pop up unexpectedly and whose success is completely baffling to
everyone, not in the least to the filmmakers themselves. After the
commercial failure of The Hudsucker Proxy, the rather expensive
Joel Silver-produced comedy that was supposed to have been the Coen
brothers' breakthrough movie in the mainstream market, they decided
to forget about ever being successful and went ahead and made a
movie even their best friends thought only a handful of Minnesotans
would ever 'get'. But Fargo proved a bit of a runaway success,
eventually winning Oscars for Best Screenplay and Best Actress.
Frances McDormand got most of the attention ensuing from the film's
success, but character actor William H. Macy is the one who gives the
subtlest, most affecting performance in this reviewer's opinion. McDormand's
pregnant sheriff may be an odd-ball original, but her wide-eyed mannerisms
don't have the range of Macy's role of Jerry Lundergaard, who makes
an unlikable loser working himself into a tight spot painful, tragic
and funny to behold.
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There
have been two Region 1 releases of Fargo, both from MGM/UA. The
original release was letterboxed and had a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack, whereas
the rerelease (from August 2000) sports an anamorphic widescreen transfer
and a new Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. The Region 2 release is from Polygram
and has no special features. The following applies to the Region 1 rerelease.
The
widescreen image, framed at 1.85:1 is anamorphic and is overall of excellent
quality. There are a few defects in the source print (hairs, scratches
and dust) which are most noticeable during the opening credits sequence,
and some of the shots of snowy exteriors reveal a hint of compression
artifacting, but overall the quality is quite good, with deep black
levels and bright colors.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is really almost the same as the original
2.0 sound, with only the score and the very occasional sound effect
pulled into the rear speakers. This allows the great Carter Burwell's
music to come to the foreground a little more, as well as enhancing
the clarity of the dialogues by isolating them on center speaker. But
it fails to create a really immersive sound field. For instance, there
is no background noise at all from the rear speakers in the Fargo bar
scene, which one would expect on a good 5.1 soundtrack.
The
theatrical trailer is the only extra feature. The
menus are nicely done, with swirling snowflakes coming from darkness to
reveal a live-action snowy landscape and form the letters that make up
the navigation, which is clear and simple. Cues from the soundtrack play
in the background.
Dan Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: 2001
Click
here for IMDB info on Fargo.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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