Leave it to the wildly inventive Coen brothers to concoct a fiendishly clever kidnap caper with Fargo that's simultaneously a comedy of errors, a Midwestern satire, a taut suspense thriller and a violent tale of criminal misfortune. It all begins when a hapless car salesman (played to perfection by William H. Macy) ineptly orchestrates the kidnapping of his own wife. The plan goes horribly awry in the hands of bumbling bad guys Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare (one of them being described by a local girl as "kinda funny lookin'" and "not circumcised"), and the pregnant... sheriff of Brainerd, Minnesota, (played exquisitely by Frances McDormand in an Oscar-winning role) is suddenly faced with a case of multiple murders. Her investigation is laced with offbeat observations about life in the rural hinterland of Minnesota and North Dakota, and Fargo embraces its local yokels with affectionate humour. At times shocking and hilarious, this is utterly unique and distinctly American, bearing the unmistakable stamp of its inspired creators. --Jeff ShannonOn the DVD:Fargo, Special Edition presents the movie in anamorphic widescreen (16:9) with Dolby 5.1 available in a choice of English, French or Spanish. Extras include a rare 20-minute interview with the Coens and Frances McDormand, dating from the time of the movie's release, and the 27-minute retrospective documentary, "Minnesota Nice", which has more interviews with the principal cast and crew. There's a "Coen Brothers' Family Tree" listing actors who have collaborated with the duo, and an on-screen trivia track which, among other nuggets, provides a history of pancakes after Peter Stormare's character famously demands "Where is pancakes house?". Cinematographer Roger Deakins provides an intermittent commentary mostly concerned with technical issues. The text of an American Cinematographer article about Deakins and the Coens, trailers and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery complete the package. --Mark Walker [show more]
The term "cruel but brilliant" has never been so appropriate. With this icy, well staged movie from the Coen brothers back catalogue, cruelty is rife and brilliance courses through its frozen veins. The deceptively simple story - car sales man in financial crisis organises the kidnapping of his own wife so he gets the ransom her rich dad pays - starts to unravel before out eyes as a series of killings brings on Francis McDormand as a pregnant Police officer. McDormand, in her Oscar winning role, manages to win you over completely with her sheer skill at making her character rounded, likeable and very human. The good cop just doing her job. In this special edition we get a worthwhile commentary with director of photography Roger Deakins (responsible for the many wonderful shots and colours in the Coen Brother's films), and a new documentary and interviews with the Coen brothers which also complement the film well.
We will publish your review of Fargo Special Edition [1996] on DVD within a few days as long as it meets our guidelines.
None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. William H. Macy plays Jerry Lundegaard, a Minneapolis car salesman who is, by all accounts, a loser. He is desperately in debt, so decides to hires two thugs (who are bigger losers than he is) to kidnap his wife in the hope that his wealthy father-in-law (who bullies him regularly) will pay the ransom. When one of the kidnappers goes off the rails and events career out of control, it falls to Marge Gunderson, Chief of the Brainerd Police Department, to set things right. Arguably the best of the Coen brothers films (they won an Oscar for the script), featuring two of their best usual suspects, Steve Buscemi and Frances McDormand who won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in this role. The film raked in a range of other prestigious and International Awards, 36 in total - including best direction at Cannes and David Lean Award for Direction at the 1997 BAFTA awards. Actors Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare & Harve Presnell Director Joel Coen & Ethan Coen Certificate 18 years and over Year 1996 Screen Widescreen 16.9 Anamorphic ; Fullscreen Languages English ; French ; Spanish - Dolby Digital (5.1) Subtitles Croation ; Dutch ; English ; English for the hearing impaired ; French ; Polish ; Portuguese ; Spanish Duration 1 hour and 34 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.
Offbeat, grisly black comedy from the Coen brothers. Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), deeply in debt, arranges for the kidnapping of his wife in order to obtain a sizeable ransom from her father, to pay off both his henchmen and his debts. However, all does not go according to plan. Frances McDormand won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of the heavily pregnant Police Officer assigned to the case, while the film also won Best Original Screenplay.
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy
