Fargo [Remastered] [Blu-ray]

Jerry Lundergaard (William H. Macy) is obsessed with getting his grubby paws on his father-in-law's money. He's in "trouble" (what kind isn't explained, but my imagination tells me it's some kind of sleazy business or real estate deal. It's made clear later that Jerry faked VIN numbers on a GMAC loan to receive $320,000 - but GMAC is threatening to call back the money). He's so crazy to get money out of his father-in-law, Wade, that he hires two petty criminals to kidnap his own wife and split the ransom with them. This is just the opening to the movie, wait until it really gets going!Jerry is a weasel; a sniveling, swindling, conniving, bumbling weasel, and the criminals he hires, Carl Showalter (played by the amazing Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) are not very bright either. During the execution of the kidnapping, they wind out shooting three people in Brainard, a small town outside the Minneapolis area. Assigned to the murders is Brainard's pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson (Academy Award winning Frances McDormand). Marge, unused to such violence in her small town, is determined to find the killers.I don't want to give too much away, I want you to be as shocked and entertained as I was when I watched 'Fargo' for the first time. The film moves quickly, and bodies keep unexpectedly dropping. There's never a dull moment. This spectacular Coen Brothers film has everything in it, suspense, comedy, blood, and horror. (It's usually classified as a Dark Comedy). The performances by William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, and Steve Buscemi are brilliant; the casting was perfect. A couple of hilarious scenes are Marge Gunderson interviewing two hookers, and the "Geez, I'm going crazy out there at the lake" story by Mr. Mohra to Officer Olson. You'll laugh out loud at these. Jerry's fumbling, greedy attempts to get money (This is MY deal here, Wade) are a riot, and his temper tantrums when he fails are not to be missed. (William H. Macy should have won the award he was nominated for)I was finally spurred into writing a review of this, one of my favorite movies, when the Special Edition DVD came out. In the Special Edition you have:*A Documentary called Minnesota Nice (what Frances McDormand punned the dialect used in the film), which is interviews with the Coen Brothers and actors Peter Stormare, Steve Buscemi, Frances McDormand, and William H. Macy. It also answers once and for all the question of whether or not the movie really is based on a true story.*An Audio Commentary of the film by Cinematographer Roger Deakins. He's not very loquacious, and speaks in a monotone - often muttering - but has interesting details of the locations (most of the movie was filmed on location rather than using studio sets), lighting, camera angles, etc. It's unfortunate he doesn't have much to say about the actors performances though. He also talks way too much about other movies he's filmed rather than focusing specifically on 'Fargo'.*A Trivia Tract. Interesting little windows of information during the film, everything from the actor's previous films to the history of McDonald's restaurants.*A segment of The Charlie Rose show where he interviews Ethan and Joel Coen, and Frances McDormand.*Theatrical and TV trailers.The Special Edition DVD is worth the price, I recommend purchasing it even if you already own a previously released copy of the film. If you haven't seen the movie yet, then run right out and buy a copy right now. I highly recommend this movie, definitely worth a purchase. 10 Stars. Enjoy!

"Fargo"Is a movie that once it entered my DNA, I wondered how I survived without it. From the opening shot that references "Double Indemnity" to the (in)famous woodchipper, I found myself in love. Marge Gunderson remains one of my favorite heroes for many reasons. Since she's not introduced until after the first act, I'll get to her later. Right now, I recommend watching the movie and reading absolutely nothing about it beforehand. Then read some trivia on IMDb.The movie juxtaposes comedy and violence until they combine into one in an amazingly grotesque finale. We see such scenes as a woman watching a corny morning show while noticing a man in black about to break in. Her reaction is delayed at best. We also have the sudden influx of violence when the police first get involved which could derail the movie if the Coen brothers didnt have such a sure hand over their story. Recently, I watched a comedy called "Rough Night" that included a death which did, for me at least, derail the narrative because it got 'too real.' That's not the case with "Fargo" as there is a playfulness even when it gets nasty. The violence and comedy don't feel like separate films but merge perfectly with the narrative.By revealing as little of the plot as possible, I will discuss the characters. The two criminals, Carl and Gaear, have something truly wonderful in their chemistry. Roger Ebert described them as two cartoon dogs, one yapping incessantly and the other quiet but brutal when he strikes. Marge, on the other hand is a brilliant police officer who, in my opinion, is a true hero because she maintains a focus on the big picture rather than allowing herself to push and punish all wrongdoing she comes across. When she arrives at the scene of the crime, she figures out exactly what happened without even seeing the entire crime scene. Her partner makes a dumb mistake in his police work leading to the great line "You know, I can't say I agree with ya a hundred percent on your police work there, Lou." See, she corrects his mistake and then makes a joke so that he wouldn't feel bad for making the mistake. He learned from what she said, and there was no need to dwell but instead to clear the air and let him know she still thinks he's a good officer. Such observations may seem slight, but they make a difference to me. It's where the soul of the movie lies, in the goodness of people. A character like Jerry Lundegaard seems like everyone around him has one civil response, but by the second statement they run out of patience. His father in law hates him which is clear when we see the Employee of the Month wall. All the pictures are headshots except for Jerry who has a picture in which his entire body is present, making him seem smaller than others.I could go on, but this would be an unnecessarily long review. It's bold and brilliant, energetic and stylish. This is my favorite movie because I keep coming back to it time and time again.

A very well done crime movie with good acting. Also, it has a well-written script which gets across its main theme well. An excellent example of how the love money can drive people to do all kinds of evil.

An amazingly well made movie, although there perhaps is too much cursing. If you can look beyond that, and if you decide to watch it, you will be enjoying an incomparably beautiful movie. The only other movie I can think of that can be considered as great as this one would be the unforgettable Godfather. And, as in Godfather, the acting on everybody's part was superb. Give this movie a watch; you might enjoy it as much as I did. "There is more to life than a little money, you know? Don't you know that? And, here you are. And it's a beautiful day... I just don't understand it." Marge Gunderson