Fargo Blu-ray

Fargo

 (1996)

Crime | Thriller



Jerry Lundegaard is a car salesman in Minneapolis who has gotten himself into debt and is so desperate for money that he hires two thugs to kidnap his own wife. Jerry will collect the ransom from her wealthy father, paying the thugs a small portion and keeping the rest to satisfy his debts. The scheme collapses when the thugs shoot a state trooper and two innocent bystanders in rural Minnesota, drawing local Police Chief Marge Gunderson into her first homicide investigation. At first unaware that the homicides are connected to a Minneapolis kidnapping, Chief Gunderson draws closer to Jerry Lundegaard as his situation further unravels.

For more details about Fargo on Blu-ray, see the Fargo Blu-ray Review

Starring: Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
Director: Joel Coen

Fargo Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


After about 10 years of repeated DVD viewings, watching the MPEG-4 encode of Fargo on Blu-ray is like seeing it for the first time. It's a fantastic transfer! With film-like qualities, the picture is defined, colors are vibrant and black level is deep, all contributing to the appearance of landscapes, sets and actors with lifelike detail. The video is not without problems, which are especially visible at the beginning, as Jerry Lundegaard hauls the "brand new burnt umber Ciera" to Fargo for the initial meeting with Showalter. During the daylight part of the ride, in heavy snow that casts a monotone haze across the screen, the film actually appears damaged, with signs of banding, flickering, strobing and a digital sheen to the film grain, suggesting MGM tried to clean it up. These problems concerned me and I recalibrated my expectations lower to avoid disappointment throughout the film.

But by the time the more heterogeneous imagery of the night scene played across my kuro screen and the credits had finished rolling, these problems had largely and mysteriously vanished, to my delight. Even later scenes featuring homogeneous snow weren't as bad as the opening sequence. When Marge inspects the snowy crime scene, there are few signs of damage compared to the initial problems during the opening. The sets and landscapes offering more variety in texture and color better showcase the brilliance of cinematographer Roger Deakins. The definition almost achieves reference level in some scenes, for example when the kidnappers reach their hideout by the lake. Note the delicate branches in the frost-crusted trees behind the men as they stand watching Mrs. Lundegaard. The 1080p transfer serves as a significant upgrade to heighten the experience of watching Deakins' and the Coens' attention to detail in lighting and camera angles. Once you feast your eyes on the Blu-ray, you will wonder how you ever watched this on DVD.

Fargo Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


From the opening sound of the evocative instrumentation by Carter Burwell to the characters' voices to the blast of gunshots and open-throated engines, the DTS-HD MA audio track of Fargo is a pleasure to hear. Like the picture quality, it's a significant upgrade in definition and refinement. The soundstage up front is narrow but deep, and very little use of surrounds is apparent--just a touch of ambience in the music and some of the louder effects like car engines. Treble is a bit bloated here. Watch the scene where the kidnappers break into the Lundegaards' home. The sound of breaking glass has good presence and definition, and the piercing cries of Mrs. Lundegaard are more open, airy and not nearly as thin and digital-infused as the compressed Dolby Digital audio from the DVD version. In fact, voices throughout Fargo on Blu-ray feature better detail and tonality than ever before. When Jerry scrapes the ice off his windshield after the meeting with his father in law, the contributes to the overall impact and isolation of the scene. Another notable sound is the violin in Burwell's compositions that perfectly tie together the film's bleak landscapes, unbelievable plot and quirky characters. But ultimately, every sound in the DTS-HD MA track is a pleasure to hear and the only thing holding it back from the highest rating is a more dynamic surround mix. Frankly, that would not have seemed natural with this film, so the focus on the front three channels is perfectly suitable.

Fargo Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Fargo Release Gets Detailed - February 26, 2009


• MGM Announces May Titles: Fargo, Bond, & The Good, the Bad, and t... - February 26, 2009

Fargo Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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