Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
- Won 2 Oscars
- 83 wins & 58 nominations total
- Shep Proudfoot
- (as Steven Reevis)
- Directors
- Joel Coen
- Ethan Coen(uncredited)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe snow plow that drives past the motel at the end of the film was not part of the script. Signs in the area warned motorists not to drive through due to filming, but a state employee ignored them.
- GoofsIn the opening scene where Jerry is towing the Ciera along the snow-covered roads, both cars are understandably covered with road grime, ice and salt. Later, when he pulls into the King of Clubs for the meeting, both cars are perfectly clean.
- Quotes
Marge Gunderson: [to Gaear] So, that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money? There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it.
- Crazy creditsA symbol similar to the Artist Formerly Known as Prince is in the credits as "victim in field", but it is not him, it is J. Todd Anderson, the storyboard artist.
- Alternate versionsPolygram Filmed Entertainment sold most of its film library to MGM in 1999. As a result, when the video and DVD were re-issued by MGM video, the MGM lion logo was added to the beginning of the film.
- SoundtracksDo You Know the Way to San Jose
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Published by Blue Seas Music, Inc. and JAC Music Co., Inc.
Recording courtesy Alshire International
Muzak heard playing while Marge and Norm Gunderson are at an all-you-can-eat buffet
About the story: first, it is NOT a true story as indicated in the movie. That's a lie. It's a fictional kidnapping-turned into murder story with a few bloody scenes, lots of profanity (most of it by Steve Buscemi) and a comedy. Yup, this is pure "black comedy." It's dark humor mixed in with a parody about the way the Scandanavian people in the upper Midwest supposedly speak.
Both William H. Macy and Frances McDormand have some wonderful facial expressions along with their accents. Those two and Buscemi are the lead characters and all three "are a trip." Macy is hilarious; the best character in here, in my opinion. The more I watch this film, the funnier he gets. It's also the best role, I assume, ever for McDormand who was never a star before - or since - this movie. Her character in here, "Marge Gunderson," elevates this movie from just another modern-day sick crime movie, to an original. It's nice to see a wonderful husband-wife relationship, too, as is shown here with her and husband "Norm" (John Lynch).
You have this clean, old-fashioned lady cop (McDormand), a middle-of-the-road bungling car salesman (Macy) and two extreme low-life killers in "Carl Showalter" (Buscemi) and "Gaear Grimsrud" (Peter Stormare) all combining to make this story a mixture not only of people but genres. Other minor characters are strange, too, led by one of Marge's old high school acquaintances "Mike Yanagita" (Steve Park). Add to that some equally-bizarre music (slow violins) and you have this unusual story that brings out the morbid fascination in us viewers.
So, I guess what I am saying is this movie truly is an original, the best film the Coen Brothers have ever made and maybe the rest roles ever for the three main actors, McDormand, Macy and Buscemi.
- ccthemovieman-1
- Nov 24, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Thị Trấn Fargo
- Filming locations
- Fargo, North Dakota, USA(snow exteriors)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $24,611,975
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $730,265
- Mar 10, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $60,611,975