Fargo-Special Edition (1996)

"...first-rate cast...   Variety
"Two thumbs up, way up!  Siskel & Ebert

Editor's Note Poor Jerry Lundegaard. He's deep in debt. His wealthy father-in-law has no respect for him. He cheats customers at the car dealership where he works. And now he's hired a bumbling duo to kidnap his wife--a plan that goes horribly awry, leading to homicide. Enter Marge Gunderson, one of the most fabulous movie cops in film history. The very-pregnant Marge--played marvelously by Frances McDormand in an Oscar-winning and career-defining performance--just goes about her everyday business, eating (in nearly every scene), talking to the people in the community, and examining bloody corpses as if no day is different from the next. A multiple murder in the small town of Brainerd, Minnesota--home of Paul Bunyan, as the sign claims--seems to have little effect on her. Yet she has an innate cop sense--she is very, very good at her job and determined to solve the case in her offhanded manner. FARGO is yet another offbeat, highly entertaining film from the Coen brothers (BARTON FINK, BLOOD SIMPLE). The film is nearly colorless; instead, director of photography Roger Deakins washes the screen in the blinding white of the snow, occasionally breaking for the drab grays and browns of police uniforms and winter jackets. Carter Burwell's score further enhances the slow, steady pace of this oddly funny and compelling film. The Coens have once again populated their film with a slew of bizarre characters, with outstanding performances delivered by all, particularly the edgy William H. Macy, the quietly luminous McDormand, the nearly psychotic Steve Buscemi, and the oh-so-cold Peter Stormare.

	Frances McDormand
	Peter Stormare
	Steve Buscemi
	William H. Macy
	Joel Coen - Director
	Roger A. Deakins - Director of Photography
	Cater Burwell - Musical Score
	Tim Bevan, et al. - Producer
	Rick Heinrichs - Production Designer
	Joel Coen - Screenplay
	Ethan Coen - Screenplay

The Coen brothers' black comedy revolves around a crime orchestrated by a desperate, debt-ridden man--and its unexpected results. In dire need of money, Jerry Lundegaard comes up with a plan: Hire two thugs to kidnap his wife, Jean; make Jean's rich father shell out the ransom; and then use the money to pay off both the kidnappers and his creditors. But what appears to be the perfect crime goes seriously awry when the goons murder three people after abducting Jean. As a result, they soon have an intelligent--and very pregnant--police chief named Marge Gunderson investigating the clues they've carelessly left behind. The criminals must now collect the ransom before Marge puts all the pieces together...but that turns out to be a lot harder than they thought.

"Yah?" "Yah."----just about every character in the film, at one time or another

"Oh----I just, I think I'm gonna barf."----Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) |"Geez, you okay, Margie?"----Lou (Bruce Bohne) |"I'm fine----it's just morning sickness....Well, that passed."----Marge |"Yah?"----Lou |"Yah. Now I'm hungry again."----Marge

"Say, Lou, ya hear the one about the guy who couldn't afford personalized license plates so he went and changed his name to J2L 4685?"----Marge |"Yah, that's a good one."----Lou

"Okay, so we got a trooper pulls someone over, we got a shooting, these folks drive|by, there's a high--speed pursuit, ends here, and then this execution--type deal."----Marge

"Just keep it still back there, lady, or we're going to have to, you know, shoot you."----Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi)

Rolling Stone
"...A terrific, twisted comedy....A dazzling mix of mirth and malice....McDormand wins your heart..." 03/21/1996 p.104

Sight and Sound
"...The Coens prove themselves masters of orchestrating cross-purposes plots....FARGO is a further demonstration of Joel Coen's remarkable ability to mix comedy with horror..." 06/01/1996 p.40-1

USA Today
"...McDormand's uproariously sly-spry performance connects with Roger Deakins' bleakly beautiful photography to create one of the Coens' most consistently successful outings..." -- 3 out of 4 stars 03/08/1996 p.7D

Variety
"...FARGO is a strikingly mature, unique entertainment that plays on many levels...all satisfying..." 02/12/1996

Los Angeles Times
"...With the perfect assist from their actors, all of whom are well in on the joke, this affectionate look at the frozen North brings the Coens back in from the cold..." 03/08/1996 p.F1

Chicago Sun-Times
"...A great movie....FARGO is true toe the rhythms of small-town life....William H. Macy's performance is an implosion of fear and frustration..." 04/15/2001 p.5

Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 8 of 10
The Coen Brothers put a unique spin on a murder case, layering their story with droll observations about Minnesotans and winding up with a totally disarming comedy! McDormand is terrific as an efficient (and pregnant) police chief with multiple murders on her hands; Macy is equally good as a two-bit schemer who tries to stay cool when he finds himself way over his head in a quicksand of crime. Love that Muzak in the background! - Leonard Maltin

Apollo Leisure Guide 0 of 10
Most of the great movies are filmed in black and white. Artistically speaking, there are few reasons to film in colour except perhaps that colours are in some way vital to the story. Joel and Ethan Coen's Fargo is filmed in colour, but in an odd way, it is a black and white film. The contrast of black and white is central to one's appreciation of this great film. The blackness of the characters contrasts with the cold, clean, pristine whiteness of the film's landscape, which is the tabula rasa upon which this brilliant story is told... In many of the Coens' previous movies, the lead characters are so fatally flawed by ego, stupidity, fear, or naivete, that we have no desire to cheer for them, so there is often an emotional distance between the Coen brothers' art and their audience...Finally, they have given us characters we can care for, a story that keeps us wondering, hoping and guessing, as well as the distinctive visual style that marks all Coen productions... this film has a VERY dark sense of humour that might not be to everyone's taste. Still, I loved this film. It is encouraging to see that some film makers are willing to risk failure to make a great movie. - Dan Jardine