Fargo (1996 film)

Fargo
A man lies face down in snow in a pool of blood, presumably his own. A upside down vehicle can be seen in the distance. Above the man, the words "Fargo" and "a homespun murder story" can be seen in red. The image has the appearance of being crafted by cross-stitch.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoel Coen[1][2]
Written by
  • Joel Coen
  • Ethan Coen
Produced byEthan Coen[1][2]
Starring
CinematographyRoger Deakins
Edited byRoderick Jaynes[a]
Music byCarter Burwell
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • March 8, 1996 (1996-03-08) (United States)
  • May 31, 1996 (1996-05-31) (United Kingdom)
Running time
98 minutes[3]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7 million[5]
Box office$60.6 million[5]

Fargo is a 1996 black comedy crime film written, directed, produced and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. Frances McDormand stars as Marge Gunderson, a pregnant Minnesota police chief investigating a triple homicide that takes place after a desperate car salesman (William H. Macy) hires two criminals (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife in order to extort a hefty ransom from her wealthy father (Harve Presnell). The film was an American and British co-production.

Filmed in the United States in late 1995, Fargo premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, where Joel Coen won the festival's Prix De La Mise En Scène (Best Director Award) and the film was nominated for the Palme d'Or. The film was both a critical and commercial success, earning particular acclaim for the Coens' direction and script and the performances of McDormand, Macy, and Buscemi. Fargo received seven Oscar nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Macy, winning two: Best Actress for McDormand and Best Original Screenplay for the Coens.

In 1998, the American Film Institute named it one of the 100 greatest American films in history (the most recent film on the list up to that point) but it was subsequently de-listed in 2007. In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[6][7] A Coen-produced FX television series of the same name, inspired by the film and taking place in the same fictional universe, premiered in 2014 and received widespread critical acclaim.[8]

  1. ^ a b c "Fargo (1995)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Fargo". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Fargo". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020.
  4. ^ "Fargo". Lumiere. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Fargo (1996)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020.
  6. ^ "'Fargo,' 'Blazing Saddles' Added to National Film Registry". ABC News. December 27, 2006. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference National Film Registry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (January 14, 2014). "FX's 'Fargo' Cast, EPs on Film Comparisons, Anthology Format, Courting Billy Bob Thornton". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020.


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