Fargo

UPC: 027616884152

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Graphic Violence, Adult Humor]

Summary: Filmmaking siblings Joel Coen and Ethan Coen both embraced and poked satirical fun at their Minnesotan roots with this comedy-drama-thriller that earned seven Oscar nominations, winning for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay. Frances McDormand stars as Marge Gunderson, a pregnant police chief whose affable, folksy demeanor masks a whip-smart mind. When a pair of motorists are found slain not far from the corpse of a state trooper, Marge begins piecing together a case involving a pair of dopey would-be kidnappers, Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Bergman stock player Peter Stormare). They've been hired by Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a car salesman under the thumb of his wealthy, overbearing boss and father-in-law, Wade (Harve Presnell). Jerry's raised some money illegally through a petty scam he's run on General Motors and he's about to get caught. When Wade sours a business deal that could save his son-in-law's hide, the desperate Jerry hires Carl and Gaear to kidnap his wife and hold her for ransom. Things go predictably wrong and a series of murders occur, with Marge, waddling along behind her enormous belly and ever-hungering for an all-you-can-eat buffet, hot on the trail of the killers. Although the credits for Fargo state that the film is loosely based on real events, the story is entirely fictional, the claim being just an ironic jibe on the part of the Coens. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Category: Crime

Awards: 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Screenplay – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Director – National Board of Review Best Actress – National Board of Review Best Picture – Independent Spirit Awards Best Director – Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Actor – Independent Spirit Awards Best Actress – Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography – Independent Spirit Awards Best Picture – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Director – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Original Score – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Screen Actors Guild Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Picture – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor – Screen Actors Guild

Features: cc"Minnesota Nice" documentary
Interview with the Coen Brothers and Frances McDormand
Audio commentary by Director of Photography Roger A. Deakins
Trivia track
Behind-the-scenes photo gallery
Original advertising gallery
Hidden menus and other surprises

Fargo

Format: DVD

Release Date: 09/30/2003

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen, 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 98 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- Widescreen
1. True Story/Main Title [2:52]
2. Personal Matters [3:31]
3. "Dad's Here" [2:04]
4. Sex and Pancakes [:55]
5. "But That TruCoat..." [2:37]
6. If the Numbers Are Right... [1:18]
7. To Vouch or Not to Vouch [1:00]
8. Complete Silence [1:39]
9. The Darn Serial Numbers [1:28]
10. Unguent for the Kidnapper [2:47]
11. "We're Not a Bank, Jerry" [3:31]
12. "It's Jean... It's My Wife...!" [1:29]
13. Killing for Compliance [7:29]
14. The Most Important Meal [2:49]
15. Murder and Morning Sickness [2:22]
16. Lou's Police Work [1:40]
17. "No Cops! That's Final!" [2:17]
18. Mom's in Florida [1:26]
19. Blind Woman's Bluff [1:12]
20. Better Than the Hautmans [1:20]
21. "Kinda Funny-Lookin'" [3:58]
22. "Blood Has Been Shed" [2:35]
23. The Phone Records [1:33]
24. Wade Prefers to Handle It [4:15]
25. Jerry and the Cop [3:03]
26. Mike's Plight and Times [3:59]
27. "The Old In 'n' Out" [2:27]
28. No Jean, No Money, No Deal [5:36]
29. Going Crazy by the Lake [2:18]
30. Snow Bank [3:54]
31. Snippy Yet Cooperative [3:43]
32. How to Split a Car [2:24]
33. Woodchipped [3:38]
34. More to Life Than Money [3:19]
35. The 3-Cent Stamp [1:35]
36. End Credits [3:41]
Side #2 -- Standard
1. True Story/Main Title [2:52]
2. Personal Matters [3:31]
3. "Dad's Here" [2:04]
4. Sex and Pancakes [:55]
5. "But That TruCoat..." [2:37]
6. If the Numbers Are Right... [1:18]
7. To Vouch or Not to Vouch [1:00]
8. Complete Silence [1:39]
9. The Darn Serial Numbers [1:28]
10. Unguent for the Kidnapper [2:47]
11. "We're Not a Bank, Jerry" [3:31]
12. "It's Jean... It's My Wife...!" [1:29]
13. Killing for Compliance [7:29]
14. The Most Important Meal [2:49]
15. Murder and Morning Sickness [2:22]
16. Lou's Police Work [1:40]
17. "No Cops! That's Final!" [2:17]
18. Mom's in Florida [1:26]
19. Blind Woman's Bluff [1:12]
20. Better Than the Hautmans [1:20]
21. "Kinda Funny-Lookin'" [3:58]
22. "Blood Has Been Shed" [2:35]
23. The Phone Records [1:33]
24. Wade Prefers to Handle It [4:15]
25. Jerry and the Cop [3:03]
26. Mike's Plight and Times [3:59]
27. "The Old In 'n' Out" [2:27]
28. No Jean, No Money, No Deal [5:36]
29. Going Crazy by the Lake [2:18]
30. Snow Bank [3:54]
31. Snippy Yet Cooperative [3:43]
32. How to Split a Car [2:24]
33. Woodchipped [3:38]
34. More to Life Than Money [3:19]
35. The 3-Cent Stamp [1:35]
36. End Credits [3:41]

Mark Deming

Fargo never seems to make up its mind if it wants to be an absurdist comedy or a stylized crime drama, and that's a big part of its charm: somehow it manages to be both at the same time. While the movie never shies away from the grim facts or consequences of the kidnapping and multiple murders at the core of the narrative, Fargo does manage to skate playfully into a dryly comic look at life in the frozen wastes of Minnesota, where cuisine is ruled by the buffet and folks really say "You betcha!" Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, former Minnesotans themselves, understand the physical and emotional landscape of the little town of Brainerd, and they seem to laugh both with it and at it; while they can't help but find humor in the nasal, Nordic drawl and implacably low-key nature of these people, Joel and Ethan seem genuinely to like them -- especially Police Chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand, in a deservedly Oscar-winning performance), whose perversely sunny disposition only partially obscures the fact that she's a clever, observant, and very effective cop. The Coens have even more fun (though of an edgier variety) with Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi, who steals every scene he's in), a weasely crook whose every word and gesture screams, "I'm Not From Around Here." Despite the film's assured comic sensibility, the Coens bring a nail-biting tension to the murder scenes, and William H. Macy's Jerry Lundergaard is a pathetically compelling mass of misguided motivation and bad choices. While most of their films are remarkable for a gymnastic visual style, the Coen brothers give Fargo a stark, clean look that's the perfect match for the chilly near-monochrome of the snowy Midwestern landscape; Fargo looks less like a Coen brothers film than anything else they've done, while defining their signature themes as clearly as anything else they've done. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Cliff Rakerd  Actor 
Steve Reevis  Actor 
Gary Houston  Actor 
José Feliciano  Actor 
Bruce Campbell  Actor 
Warren Keith  Actor 
Sharon Anderson  Actor 
Tim Bevan  Executive Producer 
Carter Burwell  Composer (Music Score) 
Ethan Coen  Producer 
Ethan Coen  Screenwriter 
Joel Coen  Director 
Joel Coen  Producer 
Joel Coen  Screenwriter 
Eric Fellner  Executive Producer 
John Cameron  Producer 
Frances McDormand  Actor 
William H. Macy  Actor 
Steve Buscemi  Actor 
Peter Stormare  Actor 
Harve Presnell  Actor 
John Carroll Lynch  Actor 
Kristin Rudrud  Actor 
Larry Brandenburg  Actor 
Stephen Park  Actor 

Country: USA