Fargo

Production

Gramercy Pictures released Fargo in March 1996. Joel and Ethan Coen wrote and directed, with Joel taking the sole credited director slot per Directors Guild rules of the time. Roger Deakins shot the film in the white winter flatlands of Minnesota and North Dakota.

Story

Minneapolis car salesman Jerry Lundegaard, deep in undisclosed debt, hires two low-grade criminals to kidnap his own wife so that his wealthy father-in-law will pay a ransom that Jerry will keep. The botched kidnapping leads to triple homicide and an investigation by the local police chief, Marge Gunderson.

Reception

Fargo received seven Academy Award nominations and won two, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress for Frances McDormand. The film established the Coens as major commercial directors and inspired a long-running FX anthology television series of the same name.