Cheap Fargo (Special Edition) (DVD) (Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi) (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen) Price

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Customer Reviews of Fargo (Special Edition)

Fargo is a different kind of thriller; it has black humor(it's actually funny seeing a poor kidnaped woman wonder around aimlessly because she has a cloth over her head), it has a certain dialect("Ye darn tootin'") and not to mention a great plot mixed in with some fine action and even mixed in with some great and stellar acting.

Not to let myself give away the plot, I'll give a few points: A car salesman(William H. Macy) wants his wife kidnaped for money. One of his workers called Shep Proudfoot, hires two people(one including Steve Busemi) to do the dirty work. Along this many things happen, which of course, a cop(Francis McDormand) goes to the spot to check things out.

The cop is probably one of the best parts of the show: she's pregnant, she likes food, and her accent really helps. She is just cute. During an example here, when she investigates a shooting, she looks at the deceased, says "I'm gonna puke" and then realizes how hungry she is. Herself and the sheriff talk about food right over the horrible accident like it was nothing. The director of this film did this so greatly.

There is plenty of action, and all of it helps. And there is so many details: blood on the snow, how everyone in the town talks(their accent), facial expressions, neat and expressive dialogue, "Accordion King" posters, camera angles, and the ever good presence of Francis McDormand.

The film believes that this is "a true story" that occurred in 1987, not to mention at Fargo, North Dakota. The whole movie is based in winter, and it actually helps. The snow gives this movie an original existence.

To "read between the lines" is a good phrase to this movie; once in the action, you'll feel welcome and will be watching the movie in anticipation, waiting for the next thing to happen. But if you didn't look into the surface of the movie enough, then you'll get an average shady thriller flick. Don't worry, though, the "Ye darn tootin" and "Ja, ja" will keep you interested long enough.

Fargo is one of the best thriller films combined with tricky yet neat dark humor to come along in a loooong time. It's worth every cent of your ticket.

You Betcha!
Whenever I rave about a movie I've recently seen, there's the inevitable question "What's it about?" With regard to this film, I recall responding that it's about a pregnant police chief who eventually solves a series of brutal murders somewhere in the Upper Midwest. (Brainerd, Minnesota? Fargo, North Dakota?) It is always a pleasure to observe Frances McDormand's performance in a role for which she received an Academy Award for best actress in 1996. The film was directed by Joel Coen who co-wrote the screenplay with brother Ethan. This film effectively combines some of the most dead-on (albeit affectionate) cultural satire of Scandinavian Americans in "Small Town U.S.A." with severe physical violence as when one victim is stuffed upside-down in a wood chip machine. (When I first observed "Margie" methodically gathering information, I was reminded of Colombo whose keen mind is also underestimated.) The basic story involves Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a desperate swindler. After his wealthy father-in-law Wade Gustafson (played by Harve Presnell whom I did not recognize) refuses to become involved in a real estate project, Lundegaard hires Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimstad (Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife Jean (Kristin Rudrud) so that he can use most of the ransom to cover his debts and thereby conceal his crimes. Of course, his plan fails and several lose their lives as a result. As the film ends, the camera focuses on Chief Gunderson as drives her police sedan across the bleak winter landscape (think of the surface of the moon beneath three feet of snow and ice), with one of the two kidnappers in custody. She claims not to understand how anyone could behave badly in such a "beautiful" world.

Yes, this is a nasty film...at times severely violent. It also has a number of delightful comic moments, notably during Chief Gunderson's conversations with her husband Norm (John Carroll Lynch) as well as with Lundegaard. The acting by all members of the cast is consistently brilliant under Coen's crisp direction. After numerous viewings, what I still enjoy most in this film is McDormand's performance. Chief Gunderson may have a trusting heart but also a remarkably sharp mind. She wants so much to believe in goodness, to think the best of others, but she is by no means naive. As played by McDormand, she invests this film a warmth which is all the more remarkable, given the physical setting and time of the year.

"..that was your accomplice there in the woodchipper."
Fargo fits into a tiny crack between popcorn flick and truly interesting, and not just because it's based on a true story. It feels the right amount of homely and immersing to be just another irrelevent kidnapping "drama", all the while keeping its simplistic "movie feel".

The story is told from mutliple perspectives of the main characters. A less-than-successful car salesman Jerry Lundegaard [Macy] agrees to pay two crooks, Carl Showalter [Buscemi] and Gaear Grimsrud [Stormare] to kidnap his wife Jean [Rudrüd]. But along the way, complications happen and the body count rises as Lundegaard and his two hired crooks try, unsuccesfully, to follow through on their plan. Through this, we meet the primary character, or the one whose perspective we look through most--Marge Gunderson [MacDormand], a 7-months-pregnant police officer who takes it upon herself to figure out the situation.

Fargo has more of a small town murder investigation plot than a dramatic something-isn't-quite-right kidnapping focus, which does nothing to worsen the quality of the overall storyline and how it plays out, but there are points where you can spot editing errors and total blandness, but the movie itself is shorter than you would expect and manages to work in such an innovative take on the genre to the frame. The acting is done well and is completely convincing, and the good direction goes hand-in-hand with it. As mentioned, there are spots were the script could be better done, but so much whereas it takes away from the feel of the movie.