Fargo (Special Edition) [1996] | ![Fargo (Special Edition) [1996]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41H4K6PSX1L._SL500_.jpg)
| Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Actors: Frances Mcdormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, Harve Presnell
Studio: MGM Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £3.48
You Save: £16.51 (83%)
New (38) Used (12) Collectible (1) from £1.97
Rating:  56 reviews
Sales Rank: 1241
Format: Colour, Pal, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: Czech (Subtitled), Dutch (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Greek (Subtitled), Hungarian (Subtitled), Polish (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region: 2
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5050070008357
ASIN: B00008AWT1
Theatrical Release Date: March 8, 1996
Release Date: April 21, 2003
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Leave it to the wildly inventive Coen brothers (Joel directs, Ethan produces, they both write) to concoct a fiendishly clever kidnap caper 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, Fargo is utterly unique and distinctly American, bearing the unmistakable stamp of its inspired creators. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk Review
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 51 more reviews...
 Finest direction you will see in a cracking crime drama October 14, 2008
Stampy (England)
To collect money for an investment, Jerry (Macy) sets a fake operation up for the kidnap of his wife, but it doesn't go according to plan.
The Coen brothers have made a name for themselves over the past twenty years and this 1996 film, written and directed by the pair cements them into the highest class of different and brilliant filmmakers.
The unusual plot opens with "This is based on a true story" when in fact it isn't, which will set the tone for a bizarre but highly intriguing viewing, made even more strange as the plot unfolds and the direction and cinematography are established.
This whole ideology of kidnapping gives the Coen brothers a great chance to dive deep into their unknowing way of thinking, and is expressed through some wonderful artistic direction to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
The opening scene with the police cars driving towards the camera coming straight out of the mesmerizing mist is breathtaking and the different use of shots and a diverse approach to tell the tale will always surprise you in a consistent and exciting narrative.
Macy (Magnolia) gives an Oscar nominated performance as Jerry Lundegaard a man who wants to succeed and his belief is in two criminals who he agrees to divide his earnings with, once they have successfully kidnapped his wife. Macy's portrayal of the nervous and unlawful man makes something out of the plot, and with his personal issues, do we see a real man with real problems and a real life situation in our hands, with some perfect realism with a consistent use of colloquial language to add consistency.
Frances McDormand (Mississippi Burning) delivers an Oscar winning act as Police Chief Marge Gunderson, a professional on a mission to solve the case. Her performance is one of the finest by a leading actress you will ever see in the crime genre, and this is no exaggeration, but possibly in the last twenty years.
Steve Buscemi (The Big Lebowski) gives a crazed portrayal of Carl, a crazed man out for money and will stop at nothing to get it. Having these diverse characters gives the film depth and a great sense of realism, which was vital to achieve.
As good as the performances are, it is the Coen brothers who are the stars with a consistent well written plot and some fine diverse direction to make an ultimate realistic crime drama.
8.5/10
Revisiting FARGO in the New Millennium September 22, 2008
F. Sweet (Midwestern USA)
The other night, I saw a new film starring Frances McDormand. Her pesence on the silver screen led me to free associate to her Academy Award winning role as the seven month pregnant Police Chief Marge Gunderson, obliged to investigate a triple homocide in the nearby small town of Brainerd in snow blanketed Minnesota.
By now everyone is familiar with the magic put on the screen by the Coen Brothers. However, 10 years after having first (and last) seen FARGO it was still utterly entertaining and freshly surprising for me. The blindingly white landscape could now be even more appreciated for the creative way in which the Coens had decided to have the film shot. For me, now, in addition to revisiting the now well known story line it was like visiting a fine art museum to savor the subtle blending of colors and shapes by one of the old masters.
The rest of the cast assembled by the Coens for FARGO have gone on to distinguished acting careers -- nearly all. William H. Macy's hapless, incompetent, and bumbling car saleman Jerry Lundegaard is one of his classic roles. Similarly, Steve Buscemi's weirdo criminal mastermind Carl was essentially replicated in other films such as CONAIR. Sweden's Peter Stormare who played Gaer, Carl's creepy and mostly silent henchman who had committed most but not all of the murders, had also appeared in the films Minority Report and in the 2005 film Constantine.
FARGO is available with subtitling in nine non-English languages -- revealing its global popularity. The digital high quality of the pictures and sound made home viewing of the movie a plasure. It is definitely worthwhile to revisit this now classical 1990s offbeat murder mystery.
Revisiting FARGO or even seeing it for the first time now is very worthwhile for an evening's home entertainment.
 Wonderful film by Coen Brothers... July 5, 2008
Ogun Eratalay
Fargo is the name of a small town in Dakota US. The movie takes place in Fargo and is about a man who is a car dealer and desperately in need of money. He plans to raise the money by kidnapping his own wife via some thugs and squeezing money from his father-in-law. Things take a different turn from the plan creating mayhem and shedding a lot of blood. The small town life of an ordinary US citizen is well portrayed in the film. Mostly middle aged and living in reasonably comfortable lives the common people are leading easy-going lives. There are also those who lead wandering lives, no cash, no home, no real friends or nothing. Spectacular personalities deserving focus are the prostitutes who are least concerned with life, they have graduated from high school and their life is terminated. No money, no prospects, no more education. Also deserving focus is the illegal dealer and car mechanic on parole "Chef". He is the typical suspect as he is of Indian origin and once condemned so always under the sword of Damocles--the US law-- . Detective Marge who is more than a country detective showing signs of brilliance in detection capability and reasoning, exploits this situation by her cunning approach. The usage of English is quite interesting among locals. In all her interviews the detective uses and hears "Yah!" instead of a yes. The film gets the events from real life incidents happened on separate occasions. Once you choose the illegal way you have to consider all the possible consequences as there is no limit. Once you have trodden on the mire you can not step back. You can choose that way if you have a logical reasoning but be warned!
Coens, Coons and Raccoons in South Dakota June 16, 2008
Jacques COULARDEAU (OLLIERGUES France)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Take a sordid crime story, but something really bleak, gross, more than anything you can think of as trashy, disgusting, sickening, etc and entrust the story to the Coen Brothers to make it a comic thriller and you might get some kind of funny, humorous and hilarious film with blood everywhere, victims everywhere, one million dollars playing hooky in some snow landscape, a pregnant sheriff that is loaded to the very brim and is still smiling and going though not running. And mind you they do not miss one detail. Neither the shot through the top of the skull and the blood geyser out of it. Nor the body in the wood chipper with one foot with its sock still on sticking out. Nor the meal of the sheriff: she is obviously expecting quintuplets, even maybe two sets of quintuplets. And the sheriff's husband is a painter: he paints stamps for the post office, I guess among other great projects. You will learn that DLR means Dealer. That's important. And what else? So much that you would get dizzy if I started quoting them all and you would have no surprise. And it is a true story. Crime for the dummies, I guess, crime made easy and pleasurable. A great moment of fun.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
You're darned tootin! April 25, 2008
NK (Lancs. UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Fargo is another brilliant querky story by the Coen brothers about the little people in every-day small town USA that most Hollywood films never go near.
It starts off slow but once we meet all the characters you just remain glued. The plot revolves around car salesman Jerry Lundegaard (played by William H. Macy) who is in deep financial trouble. He hatches a plan to get some of his father-in-laws cash by having his wife kidnapped. This task is assigned to Coen brother regulars Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare. As you would guess, the scheme goes completely pear-shared and we get murder after murder until pregnant policewoman Marge Gundersson (Frances McDormand) solves the case.
It's a violent and dark film but with comedy on many layers; the punishment given to poor old Steve Buscemi's character just keeps getting worse and worse as the tale goes on (watch it to find out), and lines like "he was kinda funny lookin'" and "I'm co-operatin' here" are unforgettable. You know it's a good movie when you and your friends keep quoting lines from it again and again. Definitely the Coen Brothers best all-round film to date.
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