Search - Fargo [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Adult Humor Movie Release: 1996 DVD Release: 09/30/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 38 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Crime, Americana, Black Comedy, Crime Comedy See Also: Fargo, Fargo, Fargo, Fargo [Blu-ray]

Filmmaking siblings Joel Coen and Ethan Coen both embraced and poked satirical fun at their Minnesotan roots with this comedy-drama-thriller that earned seven Oscar nominations, winning for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay. Frances McDormand stars as Marge Gunderson, a pregnant police chief whose affable, folksy demeanor masks a whip-smart mind. When a pair of motorists are found slain not far from the corpse of a state trooper, Marge begins piecing together a case involving a pair of dopey would-be kidnappers, Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Bergman stock player Peter Stormare). They've been hired by Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a car salesman under the thumb of his wealthy, overbearing boss and father-in-law, Wade (Harve Presnell). Jerry's raised some money illegally through a petty scam he's run on General Motors and he's about to get caught. When Wade sours a business deal that could save his son-in-law's hide, the desperate Jerry hires Carl and Gaear to kidnap his wife and hold her for ransom. Things go predictably wrong and a series of murders occur, with Marge, waddling along behind her enormous belly and ever-hungering for an all-you-can-eat buffet, hot on the trail of the killers. Although the credits for Fargo state that the film is loosely based on real events, the story is entirely fictional, the claim being just an ironic jibe on the part of the Coens. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Frances McDormand - Marge Gunderson
William H. Macy - Jerry Lundegaard
Steve Buscemi - Carl Showalter
Peter Stormare - Gaear Grimsrud
Harve Presnell - Wade Gustafson

Although Joel and Ethan Coen's award-winning Fargo was available before on DVD, this special edition from MGM/UA is a vast improvement. Roger Deakins' simply astonishing cinematography is given first-rate treatment on this disc. The monochromatic look of the film, dominated by vast fields of white snow, brought the film many well-deserved accolades. Roger Deakins' commentary track goes into great detail about his artistic process, his working relationship with Joel and Ethan, and some fairly technical talk about how some of the shots in the film were achieved. Rounding out this entertaining disc are a short retrospective featurette consisting of the cast and crew sharing their memories of working on the film, a segment of The Charlie Rose Show with the brothers and lead actress Frances McDormand, an onscreen text trivia track that combines bizarre tangential trivia about events that transpire on the screen with more conventional production information, and a gallery of advertising materials. Ask a character in the film if this DVD is any good, and odds are they will respond, "Oh yeah, you betcha." ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide