Fargo - The Complete First Season - DVD

Film: Minnesota in 2006: In the small town of Bemidji, insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) leads a fairly unremarkable life. But after a run-in with former school bully Sam Hess lands him in the hospital, where he meets the mysterious Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), who gives him a good talking to, Lester decides he doesn't want to be pushed around any longer. Especially not by his wife, whom he kills in the heat of the moment after another nagging attack. With the help of Malvo, he tries to make the murder look like a robbery. But it doesn't take long for the next murder to occur as a result. And that's just the beginning of some bloody events in Bemidji. Young cop Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) is convinced that Lester has something to do with the deaths. Against the wishes of her superior, she investigates the good citizen of her town and gets help from Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks), a colleague from a neighboring town who had an eerie run-in with Lorne Malvo. But can the two of them do anything against a stone-cold killer and an increasingly cunning Lester?

With the two-time Oscar-winning film Fargo, brothers Joel and Ethan Coen achieved absolute cult status in 1996. Now the cult film has been turned into a TV series by screenwriter Noah Hawley, with the Coens also involved as executive producers. Of course, it was to be feared that the story would merely be warmed up and artificially dragged out. Whether that would really work seemed more than questionable. But after the pilot aired, most doubters fell silent and Fargo was quickly hailed as one of the best television series of the year (which was ultimately underscored with two Emmys and Golden Globes each). The reason for these accolades is simple: Hawley didn't just deliver a remake of the film, but created something entirely his own. His series is more of a spin-off of the film, immersed in the same black-humored-morbid atmosphere that made the success of the thriller at the time.

While the series also manages the feat that you can definitely laugh heartily here as a viewer again and again, while the story itself is really told extremely exciting especially towards the end. This is also due to the very good character drawing and the excellently selected actors. Billy Bob Thornton, for example, is incredibly good as the ice-cold killer. In some scenes he gives you real goosebumps with his deceptive friendliness, which makes Lorne Malvo without a doubt the most interesting and best character of the first season. But Hobbit Martin Freeman is also perfectly cast as unassuming Lester Nygaard, who transforms from bullied henpecked hero to manipulative anti-hero. The two are supported by a great ensemble, which includes new discovery Allison Tolman, Breaking Bad and Better call Saul star Bob Odenkirk, Colin Hanks or a wonderfully sleazy Oliver Platt.

The atmospheric imagery, the cleverly constructed story, the gripping finale and the subtle humor make the TV version of Fargo quite great cinema. So it's hardly surprising that a second season is already in the works, but it will be set several years before the events of season 1 and will therefore feature a completely new cast (including Kirsten Dunst and Ted Danson). It will be interesting to see if the high quality of the first season can be maintained here. The only noticeable shortcoming is the dubbing. Admittedly, the dialogue direction has done a really good job. However, especially for Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman speakers were selected, which simply do not want to fit the original voices and characters. Malvo loses some of his menace in the German version, which is a real shame given Billy Bob Thornton's great performance.

You don't have to be a fan of the Coen brothers to like this series. You just have to have a soft spot for suspensefully told crime fare infused with a bit of sarcasm that places more emphasis on characters and dialogue than action and pacing. Then applies to this really great first season also quite clearly: Absolutely worth seeing !!!

Picture + sound: A high image sharpness, an atmospheric color scheme and harmonious contrasts make the absolutely clean picture of the DVD a real pleasure. The audio has some very nice sound effects to offer, which come across well in the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. Overall, both the picture and the audio help to capture the very special atmosphere of this series. Good!

Extras: In addition to some dropped scenes (approx. 9:33 min.), the first DVD also features an audio commentary (optionally subtitled) on the first episode with writer Noah Hawles and Billy Bob Thornton. The two also complete another commentary on Disc 2, which also features some cut scenes (approx. 2:52 min.). For the commentary on disc 3 Hawles is supported by actress Allison Tolman. And also on this disc some cut scenes (approx. 9:50 min.) may not be missing. Disc 4 then has the most extras to offer. In addition to the obligatory deleted scenes (approx. 3:06 min.), there is also the two-part making of A True Story (approx. 27:05 min.), as well as the featurettes Greetings from Bemidji (approx. 16:26 min.) and Villains and Green Levels (approx. 14:14 min.), which deal with other aspects of the production. Good!

Conclusion:Fargo is a bold experiment that has failed far too often: blowing up a cult film as a series. But the makers of this mini-series have succeeded in taking good material and turning it into a stand-alone, excellent multi-part series that bears comparison to the original. Excellent actors (Billy Bob Thornton is excellent), atmospheric locations, quirky humour and an exciting, convoluted storyline full of absurd twists and turns make Fargo the best TV entertainment, presented on DVD in atmospheric picture and sound quality. In addition, there are some very good extras, which is why this series box set should not be missing in any good collection. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp