Disc Reviews
Fargo 4K Review
This is the film that likely made the Coen brothers household names – despite indie hit Raising Arizona, and cult films Miller’s Crossing and Barton Fink – they had actually just come off their first major flop with the bigger-budgeted fiasco that was The Hudsucker Proxy. A truly terrific modern fantasy in the world of high tower business that simply failed to ignite with an audience at the time. So, this was their response. They went back to the small budget, back to the character-driven pieces, back to the low-rent crime and everything going wrong for the characters involved. It bagged Frances McDormand an Oscar, it bagged the brothers one for their writing, and they were off to the races. Next stop The Big Lebowski.
Fargo sees a very desperate car dealer (William H. Macy), married into a rich family, who are unwilling to share their wealth with him or their support for his business needs. He responds by having his own wife kidnapped by Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare’s low-rent thugs. The plan: get Daddy-in-law to fork over the ransom and then they split it. There are complications along the way, and it’s up to the local police chief (hello McDormand) to solve it.
This is just what is on the surface. The character interactions are where the gold is at with this film. The Coens deserved that Oscar for every letter they typed into this screenplay, regardless of how far afield the story might take us. A crime classic for sure, slathered in a layer of black comedy. It worked so well and has garnered such a reputation that it even spawned a TV show decades after the film came out! And even that has rolled on for 5 seasons – each a different tale, but retaining the feel of the film.
The Coen brothers’ films rarely seem to get much in the way of extras treatment. You rarely get a well-defined making-of documentary, and they themselves are often shy to show up for commentary tracks. But Arrow Video extras regular Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, who often provides Arrow with video essays on many recent era releases, has delivered a chat track, but the DoP Roger Deakins also recorded one back in the day, and that’s about as good as you can hope to get – Deakins’ profile is impeccable, and he is a mainstay of the brothers, so he knows what he’s talking about. The picture quality retains natural grain and is otherwise as clean. There are a few other archive items that will be of interest to fans that want to delve a little deeper. So another cult notch on Arrow’s belt before the year is out.
Steven Hurst
SPECIAL FEATURES:
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio options
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Archive audio commentary by director of photography Roger Deakins
- Brand new audio commentary by film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
- Minnesota Nice, an archive featurette on the making of the film
- Interview with the Coen Brothers and actress Frances McDormand on the Charlie Rose Show
- American Cinematographer article
- Original promotional featurette and behind-the-scenes footage
- Theatrical trailers and TV spot
- Image galleries
- Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by critics Jedidiah Ayres, Walter Chaw, and Priscilla Page
Fargo is released on 9th November