Fargo - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Fargo



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Fargo was probably the moment that Joel and Ethan Coen moved from being arthouse and cinemaphile fan favorites to massive big hitting directors that EVERYONE wanted a piece of. The Snow Noir thriller is a work of cinematic genius, having won multiple awards, and filled with an ensemble cast of “Coen favorites” that literally makes this gem worth watching again and again and again. Heck, we’ve had a broadway play based off of it, plus a well received TV show going on several years, and I’ve probably collected the film half a dozen times over the course it’s home video release. I remember buying the VHS when I was a teenager, sneaking the R-rated movie under my coat into my house past the nose of my fairly strict parents. Then there was the DVD, the special edition DVD, the horrible MGM Blu-ray, the remastered Blu-ray, the Shout Studios steelbook Blu-ray a few years back, and now this 4K UHD disc (yikes, more than half a dozen copies), and the film has NEVER looked better than it has now.

Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) has everything planned out to the letter. He’s got a line on a plot of land that he needs to secure his family’s future, but his stingy father in law won’t lend him the cash. So, the well meaning (if not a bit naive) Minnesotan decides to hire a couple of criminals (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormaire) to kidnap his wise, ransom her back to her father (played by Harvey Presenell) for a big wad, and use the funds to pay the criminals and use the rest to fund his big deal. Only thing is, things go downhill fast. The kidnapping of his wife Jean (Kristin Rudrud) goes easily enough, but the duo get caught by a state trooper leaving the little town of Brainerd leading to a series of deaths that bring the attention of the local PD into their deals.

The best way to describe the plot of Fargo is “whatever can go wrong, will go wrong”, as the film is just a broadway play of things going horribly wrong. Killers can’t seem to make a break, Frances McDormand is an absolute doll as the intrepid pregnant police officer who can’t let things go, and tons and TONS of pop culture references and Coen brother snappy dialog. It’s a just a neo Noir film set in snowy Minnesota, with enough 90s starts to fill up a cadre of films. The film was on the way to winning best picture, but it unfortunately was the year of Jerry Maguire, and The English Patient, so Fargo sadly got snubbed in that category. But still, it was THE film that put the Coen Brothers on the map for the general populace.

I’m not really sure how best to describe the relationships on screen, but Fargo is pretty much all about interpersonal relationships rather than the kidnapping plot itself. William H. Macy is deliciously painful to watch as the bumbling “villain” of the movie who starts out on a seemingly reasonable front, only to end up getting in so far over his head that he can’t even remotely get out. Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormaire absolutely ham it up to level 11 as the two hitmen, and Frances McDormand’s delightful “Dontcha know there” bantering with her husband Norm (John Carroll Lynch) just sweetens the pot. Part of me has never understood exactly WHY and HOW the Coen Brothers did it, but somehow they touched into the pulse of a nation during the late 90s and just knocked it out of the park. I can watch Fargo over and over again till the cows come home, and still leave with a smile on my face.




Rated R for strong violence, language and sexuality




4K Video: Video:

Supervised by the director of cinematography, Roger A. Deakins, Fargo comes to 4K UHD (and the included Blu-ray) with a bran new 4k master stuck from the original camera negatives with really great results. This is an absolutely PRISTINE demonstration of how a movie shot on film should look in 4K UHD. The film grain is abundant, but natural and organic looking, while the colors having been tamed a bit from the garish look of the old Blu-ray. The Blacks are deep and inky, with tons of shadow detail and no signs of comprised details in the darkness. Colors are a bit on the cool blue side, though primary colors like red and green to pop with some startling clarity when they’re introduced (the reds and blues on the car lot signs for example). Skin tones lean towards a slightly ruddy look that was very typical of 90s films, but nothing looks overly pushed towards that end of the color spectrum if you know what I mean. Basically this is an amazing 4K UHD experience, and one of Shout’s better looking releases in the format recently.








Audio:

This appears to be a direct port of the Shout Studios steelbook Blu-ray audio, with both the 5.1 DTS-HD MA and 2.0 DTS-HD MA downmix included. ANNNNNNNNNNNND from what I can tell that track mimics the 5.1 track found on the old MGM disc as well. That being said, that’s nothing to sneeze at as the 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix is more than capable of handling the drama. The front 3 speakers take up the brunt of the load with tons of dialog and some panning front sound stage effects (snow storm, feet crunching on snow, a car going off the road), while the surrounds get mainly filled out with some ambient noises and the score. Bass is mild, but still adds some light accompaniment to the score as well as backing up some of the more exciting parts of the movie (gunshots etc). It may not be a competitor for Transformers or Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, but it’s a very well crafted and competent mix for a Noir type flick.






Extras:

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE SUPERVISED BY DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ROGER A. DEAKINS
• Audio Commentary With Roger A. Deakins
• "Minnesota Nice" Featurette
• Interview With The Coen Brothers And Actor Frances McDormand
• American Cinematography Article
• Original Trailer And TV Spot
• Still Photo Gallery

Final Score:
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Shout Studios did a great job with this release, simply porting over the extras from their splendid Steelbook edition from 6 years back, but going with a brand new master overseen by the director of cinematography himself to make a fantastic looking 4K release. The film looks and sounds amazing, and while I would have loved to have seen Ethan come back with Joel to make a new special feature (sadly the “brothers” are over at this point), but the legacy extras are still a blast to check out. A fantastic film, and a wonderful 4K UHD releases allows me to give this one a full two thumbs up.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: William H. Macy, Frances McDorman, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormaire, Harvey Presenell, Kristin Rudrud
Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen
Written by: Joel and Ethan Coen
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English, French, Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Shout Studios
Rated: R
Runtime: 98 minutes
Blu-Ray Release November 7th, 2023

Recommendation: Great Buy

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I remember seeing this one long time ago. Great movie.