Fargo (1996)
95%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Violent, quirky, and darkly funny, Fargo delivers an original crime story and a wonderful performance by McDormand.
Fargo is a movie that will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe even feel a little bit sad. The Coen Brothers really know how to balance humor and violence, and Frances McDormand’s performance as Marge Gunderson is truly iconic. Plus, who can forget the scene with Mike Yanagita? It’s a classic. If you haven’t seen Fargo yet, do yourself a favor and give it a watch. Just maybe don’t plan on visiting North Dakota anytime soon.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Gramercy Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
TV-MA
Year of Release
1966
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Stereo Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.78 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 37m
-
Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 15, 1996 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2006
Genre(s)
Comedy/Crime
Keyword(s)
starring Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, William H Macy, Harve Presnell, John Carroll Lynch, directed by Joel Coen, written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, comedy, crime, mystery, thriller, drama, R rating, box office, budget, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Peter Bradshaw, Danny Leigh, Adam Nayman, Derek Malcolm, Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson, Steve Buscemi as Carl Showalter, William H Macy as Jerry Lundegaard, Peter Stormare as Gaear Grimsrud, Harve Presnell as Wade Gustafson, produced by Ethan Coen, MPAA rating, Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, Stereo, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR, Flat (1.85:1), Gramercy Pictures
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Steve Buscemi – Carl Showalter
William H. Macy – Jerry Lundegaard
Peter Stormare – Gaear Grimsrud
Harve Presnell – Wade Gustafson
John Carroll Lynch – Norm Gunderson
Director(s)
Joel Coen
Writer(s)
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Producer(s)
Ethan Coen
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (104) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (98) | Rotten (6)
The North Dakota setting is icily evocative, the supporting characters perfectly pitched (remember Marge’s old flame Mike Yanagita?), while the air of sadness that blankets the film like snow adds genuine profundity.
June 14, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Its brilliance [lies] in making the forces of law and order look as interesting and funny as the bad guys.
June 10, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
McDormand aside, the secret might be the perfect pitch of the black comedy, the two elements in rare harmony.
June 9, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Danny Leigh
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
The movie stands as a pseudo thesis of the things the Coen Brothers have been interested in all along…
March 9, 2021
Adam Nayman
The Ringer
TOP CRITIC
The Coen Brothers are among the most able practitioners in America and this film is one of their best attempts to turn a familiar genre — the True Crime drama — into something miles away from the ordinary.
March 20, 2018
Derek Malcolm
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
[Frances] McDormand is excellent and has a lot of fun with her tenacious and competent character, who is dedicated to duty and her sweet, supportive husband.
March 19, 2018
David Hunter
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
The spirit of comedy counterbalances the violence of the gangster film and trumps it hands down. Kind ordinariness and the wordy story clash victoriously with the irony of fate that lies in wait for enterprising hearts.
May 3, 2022
Alain Masson
Positif
Though Miller’s Crossing may be the one Coen movie as poetic as it is absurd, Fargo is the brothers’ smartest film and a matter-of-fact masterpiece.
April 19, 2022
Michael Atkinson
Spin
The performances by McDormand (bringing a great screen character to life) and Macy are superb.
November 1, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
…where the Coens’ craft fully matured.
April 30, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
The Coens’ dialogue is snappy and fun and they know how to ride the line between serious and funny. Their tendency towards moments of horrific violence doesn’t always work for me but that is one of their signatures and I can usually get past it.
March 24, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
A riveting drama of death, dismemberment, small town criminality, and exaggerated accents.
September 11, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…
Plot
The all new “true crime” case of Fargo’s new chapter travels back to 1979 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Luverne, Minnesota, where a young State Police Officer Lou Solverson, recently back from Vietnam, investigates a case involving a local crime gang and a major Mob syndicate. Helping him piece things together is his father-in-law, Sheriff Hank Larsson. The investigation will lead them to a colorful cast of characters that includes Karl Weathers, the town lawyer of Luverne, Minnesota. A Korean War vet, Karl is a flowery drunk blessed with the gift of gab and the eloquence of a true con artist. Joe Bulo, the front man for the northern expansion of a Kansas City crime syndicate. The new face of corporate crime, Joe’s bringing a Walmart mentality to small town America. His number two is Mike Milligan. Part enforcer, part detective, Mike is always smiling – but the joke is usually on you. Bulo and his crew have their sights set on the Gerhardt crime family in Fargo, currently led by matriarch Floyd Gerhardt. With her husband at death’s door, Floyd takes over the family business, frustrating her eldest son, Dodd Gerhardt. An impatient hothead with a cruel streak to match his ambitions, Dodd can’t wait for both his parents to die so he can take over and expand their business from kingdom to empire. Bear Gerhardt is the middle son, an intimidatingly large man who, although inarticulate, is the most decent of his clan. Rye Gerhardt, the youngest of the Gerhardt clan, views himself as a big shot, but in reality he’s just a small dog who barks big.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Frances McDormand’s performance as Marge Gunderson is widely praised by critics as one of the highlights of Fargo.
Joel-Coen.jpg
