Fargo

"A lot can happen in the middle of nowhere."

1996 1h 38m EN

🙌

7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 9,460

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jerry Lundegaard is a small-town Minnesota car salesman deeply in debt and willing to do almost anything to get out. Police chief Marge Gunderson discovers a string of violent crimes as Jerry's schemes spiral out of control.

“A lot can happen in the middle of nowhere.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Frances McDormand
Marge Gunderson
William H. Macy
Jerry Lundegaard
Steve Buscemi
Carl Showalter
Peter Stormare
Gaear Grimsrud
Harve Presnell
Wade Gustafson
John Carroll Lynch
Norm Gunderson
Kristin Rudrüd
Jean Lundegaard
Bruce Bohne
Lou

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joel Coen
Writers: J. Todd Anderson, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 8.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joel Coen, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Carter Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Joel Coen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Frances McDormand and William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A lot can happen in the middle of nowhere.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joel Coen directs. Roger Deakins behind the camera. Carter Burwell scores. Joel Coen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 8.7× over at the box office.
230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Joel Coen, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Carter Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Joel Coen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Frances McDormand and William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A lot can happen in the middle of nowhere.".
9IMDB entry: tt0116282 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 23 themes, including "salesclerk", "unsociability", "police", "cheating".

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Original score: Carter Burwell
Editing: Joel Coen
Production design: Rick Heinrichs
Costume design: Mary Zophres
Makeup / hair: John Blake
Sound: Michael Barry
Stunt coordinator: Jery Hewitt
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $60,611,975
Return: 866% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Fargo (1996)

Awards

Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
London Film Critics Circle Award for Film of the Year
Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Joel Coen

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Kamurai2020-10-18
Great watch, could watch again, and can recommend. It is very sad that this happened to people, but the way the story is told is so good that I felt like that sadness melted away fairly quickly. This movie holds up after 25 years, and it is dated, but with cellphones the story would change dramatically, and that would be a good alternative history subject for a different movie. A great cast, excellent deliveries, an amazing story, and the cinematography is a favorite on this one. The setting of a snowy Minnesota really allows for some great isolation scenes and highlights the "coldness" of the motivations in the story. I think they even summarize the events at one point as "all over a little money", and it's spot on. I can't say that any one thing is spectacular, but everything is done so well, I honestly think this is a great example of how to shoot a movie.
r96sk2022-03-23
★ 8/10
I didn't enjoy is as much as I thought I would, but <em>'Fargo'</em> is still very good and something I'd obviously recommend. I like the cast here, even if it is a bit of a Frances McDormand carryjob to be honest - she is terrific all the way through, absolutely nailing the role. Steve Buscemi is the star away from McDormand, while I've seen a few glimpses of William H. Macy elsewhere but this is his best showing that I've watched thus far. Peter Stormare is good too. It's an entertaining story, that's for certain! Around 98 minutes was a wise run time call, also. I didn't get that extra little something from it, yet it's a film that I'd more than happily rewatch - largely thanks to McDormand, and Buscemi.
Filipe Manuel Neto2022-09-08
★ 8/10
An excellent film, although the comedy is so watered down and so sarcastic that it's not funny to most people. When I saw this movie for the first time, a few years ago, I didn't understand it, and it annoyed me a lot. However, I've always heard good things about it, and after seeing several Cohen films that I liked, I realized the film's potential and decided to rewatch it. I did it at a good time: the film is better than I thought, and I just didn't know how to evaluate it as it deserved. The film begins with a note indicating that it is based on real events. It's a joke, actually, as it's entirely fictional. The story, however, can be based on several crimes, because it's nothing that we haven't seen on some TV news: a man who desperately needs money decides to hire two criminals and fake the kidnapping of his own wife, in order to convince his wealthy father-in-law to pay a fat ransom. It turns out that, as is so often the case in Cohen Brothers movies, things don't go as planned, the criminal duo's control gets out of hand and people start to die, as the local authorities, which practically boil down to a pregnant sheriff and a few colleagues, try to investigate what is going on. The film made a huge sensation among critics and at festivals. It was nominated for several Oscars, but only won two statuettes (Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress). It was also considered by many to be the best film by the Cohen Brothers, a highly relative consideration, which largely depends on the personal taste of the person who claims it. Anyway, it's a good movie, quite tense and dramatic, and where the comedy is in the brutally ironic way in which things happen. Frances McDormand is an actress who deserves particular attention in this film. She's not the kind of law enforcement officer we'd expect to see, because she appears to have a friendliness and sweetness that goes hand in hand with uncompromising law enforcement or even the use of firearms. However, her character does that and is actually very good at following her lead. Another actor to be congratulated is Steve Buscemi. He gives a huge performance, perhaps one of the best of his career so far. Next to him, Peter Stormare gives us the image of a cold and few-spoken criminal, who exerts brutal violence when he gets angry. William Macy is convincing in the role of the car salesman, with a slimy overdose of hypocritical politeness and cowardice. Technically, the film has excellent cinematography, where snow and gray tones are the dominant accent. Interestingly, it seems that a lot of artificial snow was used in the film in order to achieve the icy and inhospitable look that the directors wanted. The sets and costumes are very good, particularly McDormand's costume and her hairstyle. The film uses a lot of very good visual and special effects, particularly in the more violent scenes, like the one where the killer tries to tear his victim apart in a shredder. The soundtrack has one of the most interesting main themes in the Cohens' filmography.