8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.4 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.4 |
A small-time Minnesota car salesman hires two thugs to kidnap his wife so he can collect the ransom from his wealthy father-in-law.
Starring: Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Harve Presnell, Peter StormareDrama | 100% |
Crime | 54% |
Dark humor | 49% |
Film-Noir | 26% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
Spanish: DTS 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Japanese: DTS 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Polish, Thai, Turkish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
A film about greed and violence that is sometimes classified as a comedy proved to be Joel and Ethan Coen's first major breakthrough to mainstream audiences. Earning seven Academy Award nominations and winning two--Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress--Fargo shows the darkest and brightest sides of humanity against a backdrop of barren fields of snow. But it is nothing as lofty as the Coen brothers' exploration of good, evil and individuality that made Fargo a blockbuster success. The immense draw of the film is attributable to brilliant writing and a quirky cast. The Coens' odd portrait of Americana is delivered in seductively quotable lines about someone "goin' crazy out there at the lake" and "a no rough-stuff type deal" and the ultimate deadpan line about an "accomplice in the wood chipper." With its unique characters and infectious "you betcha" dialog among Nordic descendants, Fargo smacked a home run with audiences around the world. Now MGM has issued the dark comedy in high definition, with excellent picture and sound. It's the third Coen brothers' movie to be released on Blu-ray, following No Country for Old Men and Burn After Reading.
Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) is on the case...you betcha.
After about 10 years of repeated DVD viewings, watching the MPEG-4 encode of Fargo on Blu-ray is like seeing it for the first time. It's a fantastic transfer! With film-like qualities, the picture is defined, colors are vibrant and black level is deep, all contributing to the appearance of landscapes, sets and actors with lifelike detail. The video is not without problems, which are especially visible at the beginning, as Jerry Lundegaard hauls the "brand new burnt umber Ciera" to Fargo for the initial meeting with Showalter. During the daylight part of the ride, in heavy snow that casts a monotone haze across the screen, the film actually appears damaged, with signs of banding, flickering, strobing and a digital sheen to the film grain, suggesting MGM tried to clean it up. These problems concerned me and I recalibrated my expectations lower to avoid disappointment throughout the film.
But by the time the more heterogeneous imagery of the night scene played across my kuro screen and the credits had finished rolling, these problems had largely and mysteriously vanished, to my delight. Even later scenes featuring homogeneous snow weren't as bad as the opening sequence. When Marge inspects the snowy crime scene, there are few signs of damage compared to the initial problems during the opening. The sets and landscapes offering more variety in texture and color better showcase the brilliance of cinematographer Roger Deakins. The definition almost achieves reference level in some scenes, for example when the kidnappers reach their hideout by the lake. Note the delicate branches in the frost-crusted trees behind the men as they stand watching Mrs. Lundegaard. The 1080p transfer serves as a significant upgrade to heighten the experience of watching Deakins' and the Coens' attention to detail in lighting and camera angles. Once you feast your eyes on the Blu-ray, you will wonder how you ever watched this on DVD.
From the opening sound of the evocative instrumentation by Carter Burwell to the characters' voices to the blast of gunshots and open-throated engines, the DTS-HD MA audio track of Fargo is a pleasure to hear. Like the picture quality, it's a significant upgrade in definition and refinement. The soundstage up front is narrow but deep, and very little use of surrounds is apparent--just a touch of ambience in the music and some of the louder effects like car engines. Treble is a bit bloated here. Watch the scene where the kidnappers break into the Lundegaards' home. The sound of breaking glass has good presence and definition, and the piercing cries of Mrs. Lundegaard are more open, airy and not nearly as thin and digital-infused as the compressed Dolby Digital audio from the DVD version. In fact, voices throughout Fargo on Blu-ray feature better detail and tonality than ever before. When Jerry scrapes the ice off his windshield after the meeting with his father in law, the contributes to the overall impact and isolation of the scene. Another notable sound is the violin in Burwell's compositions that perfectly tie together the film's bleak landscapes, unbelievable plot and quirky characters. But ultimately, every sound in the DTS-HD MA track is a pleasure to hear and the only thing holding it back from the highest rating is a more dynamic surround mix. Frankly, that would not have seemed natural with this film, so the focus on the front three channels is perfectly suitable.
A straight port from the DVD version, Fargo comes with a bevvy of bonus content, but it's all in NTSC. What is there is very good especially the audio track by cinematographer Roger Deakins; however, there is nothing new except the enabling of BD-Live.
• Audio Commentary with director of photography Roger Deakins
• Minnesota Nice
• Trivia Nice
• Article from American Cinematographer
• Theatrical Trailer, TV Spot and Photo Gallery
• BD-Live enabled
MGM's Blu-ray release of Fargo is the best available version of the film and, as such, is a must-have. No Blu-ray library should be without it. A new generation of fans quoting the more memorable lines and characters, like "Norm son-of-a-Gunderson" will certainly find themselves enjoying this remarkable movie over and over again in high definition. Whether you enjoy the pinnacle of writing, acting and cinematography or are into Fargo for other reasons, you will be thanking your lucky stars that MGM decided to release this Coen brothers classic on Blu-ray.
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