8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.7 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.7 |
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: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Japanese: DTS 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish DTS=Castilian; Japanese hidden audio track
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Thai, Turkish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
As part of its 90th Anniversary celebration, MGM is releasing remastered versions of some of its most acclaimed holdings. The latest film to receive this treatment is the 1996 Coen Bros. black comedy of homespun Minnesota crime, Fargo, which won Oscars for its screenplay and lead actress Frances McDormand. Fargo has been previously reviewed on two occasions at Blu-ray.com. Since the new version adds no new extras and appears to contain the same soundtrack, this review will focus on the remastered HD video.
The prior Blu-ray of Fargo was no slouch in the video department—Greg Maltz ranked it at 4/5, while Jeffrey Kauffman gave it a 4.5/5—but the remastered Blu-ray bests it in several respects, starting with the famous opening shot of Jerry Lundegaard's vehicle emerging from the white darkness of snow and clouds as he approaches his fateful meeting with the two kidnappers. On the old disc, the white field flickered at the sides, but on the new one it remains rock steady, providing a solid background for the spare credits that appear as Carter Burwell's score warns of impending disaster. The aliasing and video noise that occasionally showed up in forests and other scenes with fine edges are gone altogether, and additional detail is now visible in darker scenes, e.g. the exterior of the King of Clubs when Jerry drives up to it, the interior of the cabin where Carl and Gaear hide Jean Lundegaard or the roof of the parking garage where the fateful ransom drop occurs. The grain is much finer, but whether this results from a superior scan or an absence of electronic sharpening (which was lightly applied to the earlier disc) is impossible to say. The color temperature has been subtly altered for the remastered disc, with a distinct shift toward the warmer end of the spectrum. This may seem an odd choice for a story set in the frigid winter of Minnesota, but to my eye the initial disc had too much of a bluish cast, which rendered flesh tones somewhat unnatural, especially indoors. On the remastered disc, faces look more natural, while the vast expanses of snow ensure that the arctic weather remains a constant presence. (Of course, to determine which color scheme is accurate to the source, one would need an authoritative reference, such as an answer print.) Technical difficulties prevented me from measuring the average bitrate, but according to the Blu-ray cover, it is approximately 31 Mbps, which is roughly the same as the original disc.
The remastered Blu-ray appears to use the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack as the previous disc. From Greg Maltz's review of the 2009 Blu-ray edition: 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.
The extras are identical to those of the previous disc. See the reviews by Greg Maltz and Jeffrey Kauffman for further discussion.
Unlike with, say, the original Robocop, the improvements offered by the remastered Fargo aren't so dramatic that I would encourage everyone to run right out and replace their existing copy, especially since there are no new extras to sweeten the deal. But anyone who is buying their first Blu-ray of this Coen Bros. masterpiece should certainly acquire the new version, and Coen fans should consider adding the new disc to the Blu-ray.com price tracking tool to await the inevitable bargain. With those caveats, recommended.
Collector's Edition
1996
1996
Remastered Edition with Slipcover & Poster
1996
Limited Edition Collectible Cover Art | Remastered
1996
Remastered | Awards O-Ring Slipcover
1996
1996
1996
20th Anniversary Edition
1996
1996
1990
1984
1944
2007
2019
10th Anniversary Special Edition
2000
2001
2017
2008
2016
Includes Beanie
2014
2011
1950
2013
1947
2014
1955
1997
1996
Collector's Edition
2007