IMDb > Fargo (1996)
Fargo
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Fargo (1996) -- Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of pregnant Marge Gunderson.
Fargo (1996) -- AllTrailers.net - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 27% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Joel Coen (written by) &
Ethan Coen (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Fargo on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
8 March 1996 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
A homespun murder story. more
Plot:
Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of pregnant Marge Gunderson. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 52 wins & 30 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(108 articles)
'Saint John of Las Vegas' trailer: It's a Buscemi bonanza!
 (From EW.com - PopWatch. 3 December 2009, 6:43 AM, PST)

Movies We Love: Fargo
 (From FilmSchoolRejects. 2 December 2009, 10:01 AM, PST)

User Comments:
A masterpiece of Shakesperean proportions more (640 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for strong violence, language and sexuality.
Runtime:
98 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the kidnappers' cabin, Bruce Campbell can be seen on the fuzzy TV screen. Bruce Campbell was in the Coen Brothers' The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) and has been in various films by Coen buddy Sam Raimi. The footage was not shot for this film, but was actually old footage of a regional soap opera in which Campbell appeared. more
Goofs:
Errors in geography: In Brainerd, when Officer Olson interviews Mr. Mohra about the guy "going crazy at the lake," they each refer to lakes that are nowhere near Brainerd. Officer Olson asks if it's White Bear Lake, about 130 miles southeast of Brainerd. Mr. Mohra tells him it was Moose Lake. Minnesota has more than 1 Moose Lake, but the closest one is in adjacent Cass County, which is outside of the Brainerd Police department's jurisdiction. The error is repeated later, when Marge Gunderson says she is on patrol around Moose Lake. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Jerry Lundegaard: I'm, uh, Jerry Lundegaard.
Carl Showalter: You're Jerry Lundegaard?
Jerry Lundegaard: Ya. Shep Proudfoot said...
Carl Showalter: Shep said you'd be here at 7:30. What gives, man?
Jerry Lundegaard: Shep said 8:30.
Carl Showalter: We've been sitting here an hour. He's
[motioning to Gaer]
Carl Showalter: peed three times already.
Jerry Lundegaard: I'm sure sorry. Shep told me 8:30. It was a mix-up, I guess.
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FAQ

A NOTE REGARDING SPOILERS
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
Was Fargo based on a true story?
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179 out of 241 people found the following comment useful.
A masterpiece of Shakesperean proportions, 11 November 2004
10/10
Author: retroman85 from Vancouver, Canada

I've always thought Fargo would make a great Shakesperean play; you could alter the modern elements and still have created a buzz 400 years ago in suburban England. Indeed, the plot is similar to Hamlet's, in that they both have characters we root for who create zany plans than end up spinning wildly out of control into bloodshed. Many people seem to like Fargo for its humorous qualities, its characterization of the Minnesotan culture and Frances McDormand- not me. I love Fargo for its brilliant writing, its tragic musical score, its tragic plot, William H Macy, Harve Presnell and Steve Buscemi, its ignorance of political correctness (how many movies can you remember when the only two minority characters were both revealed to be creeps).I want to draw attention to an overlooked reason why the film works so well - how well the music suits the visuals in this movie. Each murder scene is scored superbly, and other audio clues really add to the effect (for instance, notice how when the police officer asks Carl Showalter "What's this?" in reference to the abductee, a disquieting guitar sound is immediately played that has an instantaneous psychological effect on how you interpret the scene). I have seen this film over, well, an embarrassing number of times and have committed its screenplay, from start to finish, by memory. Fargo is the ultimate Coen Brothers movie, a brilliant tragedy, and restores my faith in Roger Ebert as he places this movie in as his fourth favorite movie of the '90s.

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Message Boards

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