Sam Raimi is my favorite director so A Simple Plan is one of his films I’ve been waiting for on 4K. It’s not one of his flashy films, in fact it was his first to employ a steadier style. Actually, the only other one really is The Gift which is also coming soon. But, A Simple Plan is so compelling it doesn’t need flash becuase the poor decisions of the would-be criminals just devestate you each step of the way. Like, “Oh, don’t do that. No, just stay calm, oh man.”
The Coen Brothers connection between them and Raimi is probably belabored at this point, but because Plan is set in the snowy winter, it does look like Fargo, which just came out last year on 4K. You still see the film grain in the snow, and the flakes falling stand out in the deep night sky. That fox is so red against the bright white snow.
New interviews run under 10 minutes each so they are to the point and intercut with archival footage that illustrates their stories. More of the archival footage is included separately. Cineamtographer Alar Kivilo and actors Becky Ann Baker and Chelcie Ross discuss technocal aspects of working in the snow, and the actors their characters.
Two new commentary tracks go further into the technical, mainly with production designer Patricia Van Brandenstein, but critics Glenn Kenney and Farran Smith Nehme also bring research. Van Brandenstein has two hours to go into detail about her observations of rural town life, the actual mixture for the snow flakes, and other minute details. The critics also include other critical takes along with their own.