Fargo (1996)

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Wikidata Q222720, film, IMDb tt0116282, TMDB 275: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by episode credits Joel Coen as director (5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished); 5 more episodes agree.

What a model would be handed about it, for corpus:ask.

In the store as #211, Fargo (1996).

The Rewatchables' awards

From ‘Fargo’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Kyle Brandt (2026-03-10):

Double feature

  1. pick No Country for Old Men: He pairs Fargo with the Coens' other story of a cop facing violence he can't make sense of.
    “Best double feature choice. No country.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:56:30
  2. pick 8MM: A host wants more Peter Stormare and calls it one of the most intense theater experiences he has had.
    “8 millimeter. Double. I want more storm air.”
    unknown · 1:56:33
  3. pick Raising Arizona: A host makes it a triple with Fargo and No Country, a Coen check-in every ten years.
    “Raising Arizona, Fargo, no country.”
    unknown · 1:57:17
  4. pick No Country for Old Men: The same triple-feature pick also includes No Country for Old Men.
    “Raising Arizona, Fargo, no country.”
    unknown · 1:57:17

Most rewatchable scene

  1. floated The opening credits, a truck towing a car out of a blizzard
    “Most rewatchable scene. We mention the opening credits.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:44:51
  2. pick Jerry meets the kidnappers at the King of Clubs bar
    “Jerry meets the kidnappers at king of clubs. The most North Dakota dive bar possible.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:44:55
  3. pick The home break-in and kidnapping of Jerry's wife
    “Like, the strangest part of the home break in is that Carl comes up like looking like you went to spirit Halloween and got home intruder costume, like with a crowbar and she just stands there watching him for a long time until he breaks the glass and then all shit breaks loose.”
    unknown · 0:47:04
  4. pick Jerry scraping the ice off his windshield, then rehearsing the phone call in the kitchen
    “I love that scene with Stan. I'm putting the 3 together of this scene, him flipping out in the ice scrapers, the next scene.”
    unknown · 0:48:17
  5. floated The murder of the couple in the car, 'Oh, daddy'
    “Just keep it still, lady, or else we're going to have to, you know, shoot yet.”
    unknown · 0:49:09
  6. pick Marge interviewing the two escorts
    “Marge, this is a quick one, but Marge interviewing the 2 escorts kills me.”
    unknown · 0:49:52
  7. pick Shep Proudfoot beating up Carl in the parking lot
    “I have Shep beating up Bushemi.”
    unknown · 0:52:21
  8. pick Wade, the father-in-law, getting killed
    “I have the father-in-law getting killed just because it's shocking.”
    unknown · 0:52:31
  9. pick Carl's phone call with Jerry and showing up when Wade gets out of the car
    “And then when he shows up and Wade gets out of that car, it is 100 out of 100 Bushemi, I'm not fucking around anymore.”
    unknown · 0:52:53
  10. pick The driveway guy's monologue at the lake
    “I think this might be my favorite scene.”
    unknown · 0:53:52
  11. pick Marge goes to see Jerry a second time
    “Marge goes to see Jerry a 2nd time.”
    unknown · 0:55:15
  12. pick The wood chipper scene
    “The wood chipper scene into the drive, which was an all time.”
    unknown · 0:55:20
  13. pick The 3-cent stamp ending
    “And then I have the ¢3 stamp, which I really like as an inning.”
    unknown · 0:56:09
  14. pick Marge's lunch with Mike Yanagita
    “Mike Yanagita scene is my favorite scene.”
    unknown · 0:56:44
  15. pick The triple homicide on the highway
    “It's the triple homicide in the highway.”
    unknown · 0:57:16

Best That Guy · The best 'that guy' actor in the movie.

  1. pick Harve Presnell as Wade Gustafson: Cites him as the choice before asking Chris; the hosts also mention he came back after years away from movies.
    “Best that guy. It has to be Harv Fresnel as Wayne Gustinson.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:28:39
  2. pick Larry Brandenburg as Stan Grossman: Chris points out he is also in the Shawshank crew betting on the fresh fish.
    “Larry Brandenburg, Stan Grossman.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:29:01

Dion Waiters Award · A small role with a big impact.

  1. winner Steve Park as Mike Yanagita: Chris runs through the small parts he could offer, then settles on Yanagita.
    “I love all that. It's Mike Ganagita.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:30:38
  2. winner Steve Park as Mike Yanagita: Bill puts Yanagita on his all-time Dion Waiters Rushmore.
    “I have Yanagita on my Waiters Rushmore.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:30:42
  3. nominee Shep Proudfoot
    “I could offer you Shep Proudfoot at Steve Park.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:30:17
  4. nominee Jose Feliciano concert (Carl takes the escort)
    “I could offer you Jose Feliciano.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:30:30
  5. nominee John Marley as Jack Woltz: Added to the all-time list as a Godfather example.
    “I would only add... John Marley is Jack Wolfson, Godfather.”
    unknown · 1:31:05

What's Aged the Best · What about the movie has aged the best.

  1. pick Steve Buscemi as Carl Showalter: His run of 90s scumbags, with Carl the scummiest of them.
    “Steve Boshemi 90s scumbag.”
    unknown · 1:01:55
  2. pick Carl takes an escort to a Jose Feliciano concert: The crowning achievement of Buscemi's scumbag run.
    “And then the crowning achievement is definitely Carl taking a hooker to a Jose Feliciano concert.”
    unknown · 1:03:03

What's Aged the Worst · What about the movie has aged the worst.

  1. pick The 'this is a true story' claim: It seems dopey now because anyone could Google it.
    “That was really all I had for what stage the worst, because it just seems dopey now, because you would just Google and be like, this didn't happen.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:14:42
  2. pick Scotty Lundegaard: Orphaned, but probably a multimillionaire from the family estate.
    “I think as a character who is aged the worst if you went into the future in the fictional world of Fargo, it would be Scotty, totally fucking orphaned, but probably a multimillionaire because he, but, why isn't, inheriting Wade's estate?”
    unknown · 1:14:48
  3. pick The hot lunch buffet
    “I guess the only thing other thing that's aged the worst is I personally don't really see a lot of hot buffets getting used up recent anymore.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:15:18
  4. pick The bedside landline phone with a bell
    “Margie being woken up by that phone next to her fucking face with an actual functional bell inside it, like in the middle of the night.”
    unknown · 1:16:12
  5. pick Pan-and-scan cable broadcasts of a widescreen movie
    “And when it was on cable for years and years with the square TVs.”
    unknown · 0:44:51

Most 1987 or 1996 Thing · The most 1987 (the film's setting) or 1996 (its release) thing about the movie.

  1. pick Scotty's Whitesnake poster (1987)
    “Scotty Lundegard's got a white snake poster over his bed and 87 is the year that that album came out and here I go again was all.”
    unknown · 0:58:24
  2. pick Passing the film off as a true story, which couldn't be researched (1996)
    “The 96 for me is just what we've already talked about that you could just say this was a true story and everyone would just believe it because they can't research it.”
    unknown · 0:58:56
  3. pick Regions of America felt far away and different (1996)
    “I actually had this for what was the most 1996 part of this movie is that it's not necessarily the last time, but it is a time in America where different regions felt far away and culturally very different.”
    unknown · 0:51:05
  4. pick The Playboy in the bathroom magazine rack (1987)
    “The most 1987 thing about this movie. We did not mention yet. It's a playboy in the bathroom reading rack.”
    unknown · 1:01:22

Great Shot, Gordo · The best shot in the movie (Roger Deakins' cinematography).

  1. pick The opening shot, a white-out then Lundegaard's car drives past
    “I mean, I have that for Great shot Gordo, the 1st shot whole fucking movie.”
    unknown · 0:16:02
  2. nominee Carl and Gaear introduced at the King of Clubs bar
    “I have a couple of nominees for Gordo, but the thing is, is that like the shot as they like kind of push in or when they even 1st just like, they didn't move the camera that much.”
    unknown · 0:37:48
  3. nominee Paul Bunyan towering over the night sky
    “Paul Bunyan towering over the night sky.”
    unknown · 1:11:28
  4. nominee The innocent couple driving past the trooper murder scene; Jerry driving past the parking attendant
    “The innocent couple driving by the state troopers murder scene, Jerry going past the parking attendant, that sort of like them sort of going into danger that way is really great.”
    unknown · 1:11:33

Best Character Name · The best character name in the movie.

  1. winner Shep Proudfoot: Loved that the movie acknowledges how cool the name is.
    “I would go Shep Proudfoot.”
    unknown · 1:11:51

Big Kahuna Burger Award · The best food or drink in the movie.

  1. winner The Minnesota lunch buffet: Chicken and dumplings, chicken fricassee, Swedish meatballs and more.
    “Because obviously this is the big Kahuna Burger Award winner for Bessie's food to drink. The buffet.”
    unknown · 1:04:59

Butch's Girlfriend Award · The weak link of the film.

  1. pick Scotty Lundegaard: Not curious enough about where his mom is; the host admits it is really a pick-a-nit.
    “Scotty's just not curious enough or where's mom?”
    unknown · 1:13:39

Hans Gruber Scale · Rank the villain on the Hans Gruber scale.

  1. pick Gaear Grimsrud: Rated about an eight.
    “Yeah, like an eight.”
    unknown · 1:18:28
  2. pick Jerry Lundegaard: Argued he is the most despicable character in the film; ranked a bit below Simon Gruber.
    “Stormair is just like a sociopath. He doesn't feel anything, but I think London Gard is the most despicable character by far.”
    unknown · 1:18:15

Vincent Hanna Award · The best overacting in the movie.

  1. nominee Shep Proudfoot: No one really overacts; he goes for it but is supposed to.
    “Proudfoot goes for it, like, but he's supposed to.”
    unknown · 1:19:09

Billy Batts Award · The most biting and quotable insult.

  1. winner Carl's tirade at the parking lot attendant: Kyle's flex category.
    “No, I have Billy Bat's Award for the most biting and scalable insult.”
    Kyle Brandt · 1:19:48

Rick (garbled) Award for the Inconsequential Death · The most memorable death of a bystander the movie treats as inconsequential.

  1. winner The state trooper's death: Alternates named in the discussion: the parking garage attendant and the two kids who flip their car.
    “I had the rick to chatty garden meat award for the most memorable death by a security guard or other bystander whom the movie treats is inconsequential, but who probably had a spouse and kids who love it for the state trooper who gets top of the headshot.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:12:13

Sean Penn, I Brought My Own Pack Award · The best onscreen smoking.

  1. winner Peter Stormare as Gaear Grimsrud
    “Otherwise, it's Sean Penn, I brought my own pack award for Stormer.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:12:40

Hottest Take · The hottest take about the movie.

  1. pick Fargo is in direct conversation with No Country for Old Men: Both feature a bag of money, a sacrificial wife and a cop who can't make sense of the violence.
    “We alluded to this a little bit in our opening conversation, but this movie is in direct conversation with no country for old men.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:20:56
  2. pick Gaear Grimsrud calling for a second pancake meal in one day: Kyle says it is the craziest thing Gaear does, answering Bill's 'what did you have for this'.
    “Of all the insane shit he does in this movie, the wood chipper, the executions, by far the craziest thing he does is calling for a 2nd pancake meal in the day.”
    Kyle Brandt · 1:22:55

Casting What-Ifs · Almost-castings, recasts and what-if scenarios.

  1. pick The 1997 TV pilot with Edie Falco as Marge; if picked up she might not play Carmela
    “In 1997, a year after this movie, a pilot was filmed for a TV series set in Brainerd shortly after the events of the film, starring Edie Falco as Marge Gunderson.”
    unknown · 1:25:06
  2. pick Bill Pullman as Jerry Lundegaard: Pullman was supposed to be Jerry before a scheduling conflict; Richard Jenkins was also considered.
    “Bill Pullman was supposed to be Jerry.”
    unknown · 1:27:16
  3. pick Robert Duvall as Wade Gustafson
    “Robert Duvall as the father-in-law?”
    unknown · 1:33:49
  4. pick Tom Hanks as Jerry Lundegaard: From the Cruise or Hanks game; Hanks could have played Jerry, and would have been an interesting Gaear.
    “It's Hanks because he thinks this is a perfect movie.”
    unknown · 1:40:10
  5. pick Tom Cruise as Gaear Grimsrud: Cruise as Gaear, with the smoking, like Vincent in Collateral.
    “I have I have crews written down as Stormer just because... Oh, I want to see that.”
    unknown · 1:40:47

Apex Mountain · Where something or someone peaked, on the mountain.

  1. pick Swedish meatballs (IKEA cafes)
    “Well, for Apex Mountain, certainly Swedish meatballs, because when you think about what IKEA was doing.”
    unknown · 1:36:13
  2. pick GMAC financing plans
    “I would also say GMAC financing plans.”
    unknown · 1:36:31
  3. pick The Coen Brothers: Apex is No Country for Old Men.
    “I'd say no country is going, brother.”
    unknown · 1:36:42
  4. pick William H. Macy: Not at Fargo yet, maybe after Boogie Nights.
    “Macy, it's not yet, but maybe after boogie nights were getting there.”
    unknown · 1:36:45
  5. pick Minnesota sports (the late-80s and early-90s World Series teams, the 98 Vikings)
    “Minnesota, probably the World Series in 88 or 87?”
    unknown · 1:37:04
  6. pick Steve Buscemi: Con Air, as his apex as a movie star.
    “I think Con Air is probably like his apex.”
    unknown · 1:37:37
  7. pick Steve Buscemi: An alternate: The Sopranos, because he was also directing.
    “I'd probably say, I'm not right, but I would probably say sopranos because he was also directing.”
    unknown · 1:37:43
  8. pick Frances McDormand: No apex; her career was designed not to have one.
    “I think her career was pretty intentionally designed not to have an apex.”
    unknown · 1:38:05
  9. pick Peter Stormare
    “Storm air, I'm still going, Dino velvet.”
    unknown · 1:39:00

Mount Rushmore of Disfiguring Facial Wounds · A Mount Rushmore of movie disfiguring facial wounds.

  1. pick Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland), Freeway
    “Freeway with Kiefer Sutherland.”
    unknown · 1:39:42
  2. pick Carl Showalter, Fargo
    “Fargo, what's the 4th one?”
    unknown · 1:39:49
  3. pick Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart), The Dark Knight
    “It's definitely Aaron Eckhart in Dark Knight.”
    unknown · 1:39:50
  4. nominee Gus Fring, Breaking Bad
    “Gus Spring has the same thing at the end of Breaking Bad, like half of the space is melting off just like that.”
    unknown · 1:40:02

Sarah Connor Award · Whether modern technology would ruin the movie.

  1. pick Ring cameras, cell phone pings and texting would catch the criminals
    “Ring cameras, cell phone pings, and texting. I think we catch these guys in 5 minutes.”
    unknown · 1:41:17

Picking Nits · Nitpicks of a film they love.

  1. pick Empty beer bottles as shorthand for drunk
    “I think it's a little bit of a hacky way that directors show someone's drunk that there's like 6 empty.”
    unknown · 0:45:30
  2. pick Close-range headshot would not look like that
    “I don't know enough about shooting somebody from 2 feet away.”
    unknown · 0:49:30
  3. pick The Lundegaards would have a dog
    “First of all, the London Guards would definitely have a dog, which I think would be a fun part of the home invasion.”
    unknown · 1:41:55
  4. pick Scotty has no Kirby Puckett or North Stars poster
    “Um, the fact that Scotty does not have a Kirby Pucket poster in his room is ridiculous, 1987.”
    unknown · 1:42:00
  5. pick Carl would not be uncircumcised
    “no fucking way he's uncircumcised.”
    unknown · 1:42:33
  6. pick Why Carl doesn't take off and goes back for Gaear
    “Why does Carl not take off?”
    unknown · 1:42:37
  7. pick The father-in-law never connects the dots
    “I have the father-in-law never connecting dots.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:43:10
  8. pick The criminals stay overnight for a drive of only a few hours
    “Second thing. Why are the criminals in the car for this long?”
    Bill Simmons · 1:44:41

Unanswered Questions · Questions the movie leaves open.

  1. pick Is Carl from Minnesota or out of town?
    “Where do you guys think, this is an unanswerable questions, but just because of an accent thing, do you think Carl's supposed to be from Minnesota or is he from out of town?”
    unknown · 1:08:18
  2. pick What is it like if you hate your son-in-law
    “I had this on unanswerable questions, like, what is it like if you hate your son-in-law?”
    unknown · 1:06:54
  3. pick Is Jerry the worst person in the movie
    “I had this in unanswerable questions. Is he the worst person in the movie?”
    unknown · 1:18:02
  4. pick What kind of money trouble was Jerry in: A host adds that the Coens said they did not want people to think about it.
    “I just sort of been like, unanswerable question is what's what's Jerry gotten himself into?”
    unknown · 1:43:25
  5. pick Why was Marge pregnant: A host says his son asked it; the answer offered is a sign of new life in a world of death.
    “Probably unanswerable questions. Why was Marge pregnant is a question my son asked, but I think, oh, that was one of his questions.”
    unknown · 1:50:01
  6. pick Could you really dispose of bodies in a wood chipper
    “Could you really dispose of bodies for the wood chipper?”
    unknown · 1:50:24
  7. pick If Carl had put the tags on the plate, would he have gotten away with it
    “If they put the tags on the license plate, did they get away with it?”
    unknown · 1:50:59
  8. pick What was Gaear doing two weeks before the movie
    “What was his, what was he doing 2 weeks before this?”
    unknown · 1:52:22
  9. pick What is the relationship between Shep and Carl
    “I don't understand what their relationship is, Carl and Sheff.”
    unknown · 1:52:58

Sequel, Prequel, Prestige TV · The sequel, prequel or prestige TV show they would make.

  1. pick The Fargo TV series (Noah Hawley): The hosts say they already have prestige TV; one host admits he never watched the series.
    “Okay, sequel, prequel, prestige, TV, all podcast, untouchable. Obviously, prestige TV because we had it.”
    unknown · 1:45:39

Memorabilia · A prop or piece of memorabilia they would want.

  1. pick The special Fargo VHS with a snow globe containing a dead body: Mentioned earlier in the episode and flagged for this segment; the speaker worked at Suncoast Motion Picture Company.
    “That be good for the memorabilia thing later.”
    unknown · 0:44:24
  2. pick The cop jackets with the fur hoods
    “I just want to say I really like the cop jackets?”
    unknown · 1:54:08
  3. pick A Gustafson Motors sign
    “Uh, I would also offer a Gustafson Motors sign.”
    unknown · 1:54:28
  4. pick Carl's driving gloves
    “Carl has driving gloves for the entire movie.”
    unknown · 1:54:48

Best / Worst Life Lesson · The best (or worst) life lesson in the movie.

  1. winner Marge: there's more to life than a little money
    “There's more to life than a little money, you know? Don't you know that? Yeah. Uh, that's got to be the life lesson.”
    unknown · 1:55:25
  2. pick Mike Yanagita shooting his shot (worst lesson): Offered as the worst advice: sometimes you shouldn't shoot your shot.
    “Like, Mike Yanagi, don't shoot that shot.”
    unknown · 1:55:41

Who Won the Movie · Who came out the winner of the movie.

  1. winner The Coen Brothers: For a completely original depiction of the world.
    “I think they won the movie too. I have them for who won the movie. It's completely original depiction of the world.”
    unknown · 1:57:24
  2. winner Minnesota: Marge Gunderson as the face of Minnesota before Randy Moss, Joe Mauer and Jesse Ventura.
    “Pre-Randy Moss, pre-Jo Mower, pre-Jesse Ventura. Marge Gunderson was like the face of Minnesota.”
    unknown · 1:57:34

Ebert Review · The reading of Roger Ebert's review.

  1. pick Fargo: Four stars.
    “Ebert, 4 stars. It rotates its story through satire, comedy, suspense, and violence until it emerges as one of the best films I've ever seen.”
    unknown · 0:43:37

Best Hang / Worst Hang · Which character you'd most (or least) want to hang with.

  1. pick Norm Gunderson: Best hang by default, though a host finds him boring.
    “I think it might be Norm.”
    unknown · 1:05:33
  2. pick Carl Showalter: Would take a road trip with Carl.
    “I would love to take a road trip with Carl.”
    unknown · 1:05:46
  3. pick Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud: Worst hang: the two criminals together.
    “We did best Hang, worst Hang, the 2 criminals.”
    unknown · 1:41:08

Best Line (accents) · Favorite lines and phrases from the Minnesota-accent dialogue.

  1. pick 'You're darn tootin'
    “I also had the accent stuff, which we talked about, but, um, I think my favorite one is, you're darn tooting.”
    unknown · 1:08:09
  2. pick Ending a phone call with 'real good then'
    “Of all the language things, I like ending a phone call with real good then and hanging up.”
    unknown · 1:09:02

Most Fargo People in Fargo · The five characters with the most Fargo accent and manner, ranked.

  1. pick Jerry's manager at the dealership, watching the Gophers game: Number five.
    “All right, at five. I have Jerry's manager at Gustav Sonato, who's watching the Gophers game.”
    unknown · 0:54:10
  2. pick The female cashier at the diner: Number four.
    “And number four, I have the female cashier at the diner.”
    unknown · 0:54:18
  3. pick The driveway guy at the lake: Number three.
    “And number three, I got driveway guy going crazy out there at the lake guy who's just kind of just sweeping his wet driveway with the hood up and everything, going crazy out there at the lake.”
    unknown · 0:54:24
  4. pick The blonde escort: Number two.
    “And number two, I have our girl, the blonde escort.”
    unknown · 0:54:36
  5. winner Lou, the officer with Marge: Number one.
    “I mean, Lou. Lou, the officer with Margie.”
    unknown · 0:54:43

Recast the Couch · Fargo characters recast onto a sports-debate show or other media set, played as impressions.

  1. pick Mike Yanagita as Gus Johnson: Kyle performs an impression as part of the segment.
    “Mike Danikita.”
    Kyle Brandt · 1:47:20
  2. pick Marge Gunderson as a Zane Lowe-style interview guest
    “You're on an incredible journey in law enforcement, but you're also on an incredible journey of motherhood.”
    unknown · 1:48:18
  3. pick Carl Showalter as a First Take guest
    “I do think Carl Showalter would also make an incredible 1st take guess just because he's like, I'm not going to debate you.”
    unknown · 1:48:51

Who talked about it

Blank Check with Griffin & David

Blank Check — Patreon

The Big Picture

The Rewatchables

Came from

What the speakers say it drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

No line says it drew on another film or person.

Led to

What the speakers say drew on it, marked the same way.

Fargo (unaired NBC pilot with Edie Falco): 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. lineage (adaptation): Fargo ⇒ Fargo (unaired NBC pilot with Edie Falco) (the host's read). An NBC pilot directed by Kathy Bates with Edie Falco as Marge aired years later; the Coens were not involved.
    “There was like an NBC pilot directed by Kathy Bates with Edie Falco playing Marge Gunderson.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:10:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. unmapped (false true story): Fargo ⇒ Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (the host's read). Kumiko is a movie about someone who believed Fargo's 'based on a true story' card and went looking for the money.
    “is a movie based on an Irvin legend about someone believing that Fargo was true and looking for the bag of money.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:46:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Panic Room: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. unmapped (model for the villains): Fargo ⇒ Panic Room (the host's read). A host feels Panic Room's funny villain and scary villain pair uses the Buscemi and Stormare model from Fargo.
    “But I'm realizing how much wisely it does feel like they're sort of using the model of Bushemi and Stoneman.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 2:20:45 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Connected to

No Country for Old Men: 4 lines unmapped ×3 people ×1

  1. people (same directors): No Country for Old Men → Fargo. The Coens previously made the crime dramas Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing and Fargo.
    “The filmmaking brothers behind such classic crime dramas as Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, and Fargo.”
    The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:07:19 · Brian Raftery (0.95 sure it was them)

Blood Simple: 2 lines unmapped ×1 contrast ×1

  1. unmapped (return to roots): Fargo → Blood Simple. Fargo is the Coens' most Blood Simple-like script, contemporary and simple, going back to what they tried there with more knowledge.
    “It feels like them sort of going back to what they were trying to do in that movie with the knowledge they've gained over the...”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:46:01 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Carter Burwell: 2 lines craft ×2

  1. craft (craft): Carter Burwell → Fargo. Cregger says the Paul Bunyan statue shot is lit and scored like the scariest thing you have ever seen, with Burwell's score.
    “they light it and shoot it like the scariest fucking thing you've ever seen. With the fucking Carter Burwell score”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:34:16 · Zach Cregger (0.70 sure it was them)

Roger Deakins: 2 lines craft ×1 unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (documentary approach): Roger Deakins → Fargo. Deakins's documentary background shapes simple, in-the-conversation setups: the best camera place to capture the actors.
    “he came out of documentaries 1st and foremost”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 1:03:55 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Weapons: 2 lines unmapped ×2

  1. unmapped (true-story opening): Weapons → Fargo. Zach says Weapons opens with a 'this is a true story' line, in the manner of Fargo's title card.
    “In weapons, the 1st line of the movie is this is a true story.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:48:07 · Zach Cregger (0.90 sure it was them)

A Serious Man: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (filmmaking precision): Fargo → A Serious Man. The Coens' obsessively precise choices make you hunt for solutions, until A Serious Man tells you to accept a mystery.
    “You get to, well, eventually gets a serious man.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:06:21 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Barbarian: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (tonal comparison): Barbarian → Fargo. Barbarian is called a scary movie that is funny with humor from the bizarreness of human behavior, as with the Coens.
    “you made a scary movie that was funny.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:33:14 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)

Barton Fink: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (building look): Fargo → Barton Fink. The St. George Hotel in Brooklyn looked like a Barton Fink hotel, frozen in time.
    “how much it kind of looked like a Barton Fink hotel.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:16:59 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Blue Velvet: 1 line career ×1

  1. career (career summation): Fargo → Blue Velvet. Fargo is the ultimate Coen film the way Blue Velvet is the best encapsulation of Lynch, not necessarily the favorite.
    “this does feel like the ultimate Cohen's film in the same way we were saying in our blue velvet episode, like, that's not my favorite Lynch movie”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:31:34 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

Boogie Nights: 1 line verdict ×1

  1. verdict (favorite pairing): Fargo → Boogie Nights. Zach's favorite-movie coin toss is Fargo versus Boogie Nights, a year apart, from his formative film-buff years.
    “It would be like a coin toss between this and boogie nights.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:14:31 · Zach Cregger (0.90 sure it was them)

Bottle Rocket: 1 line industry ×1

  1. industry (studio patience): Fargo → Bottle Rocket. Alex Ross Perry's point: studios once kept investing in talented directors after a commercial flop like Bottle Rocket, as with the Coens.
    “Wes Anderson makes bottle rocket for like $5000000 at Colombia and it bombs, but it gets good reviews.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:49:43 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Domestic Disturbance: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (craft): Domestic Disturbance → Fargo. The hotel scene with the hooker and the TV plays like a direct sequel to the Fargo motel scene.
    “But it feels like a direct sequel to the scene in Fargo when they take the 2 prostitutes back to the motel room and then they have that cut to them watching Jay Leno or whatever later that night.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:54:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Fargo (unaired NBC pilot with Edie Falco): 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (adaptation): Fargo → Fargo (unaired NBC pilot with Edie Falco). An NBC pilot directed by Kathy Bates with Edie Falco as Marge aired years later; the Coens were not involved.
    “There was like an NBC pilot directed by Kathy Bates with Edie Falco playing Marge Gunderson.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:10:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Intolerable Cruelty: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (fake soap opera): Fargo → Intolerable Cruelty. Asks whether Intolerable Cruelty also has a made-up soap opera, as Fargo's TV scenes do.
    “Now, intolerable cruelty has a soap opera thing too, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 1:35:09 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Jared Leto: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (aspiration): Jared Leto → Fargo. A host wonders if Leto is trying to be Buscemi in Fargo.
    “oh, is he, is he going full Bushemi and Fargo?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 1:16:04 · Eva Anderson (0.50 sure it was them)

Jerry Maguire: 1 line industry ×1

  1. industry (awards rival): Fargo → Jerry Maguire. The Best Picture field was an indie year with Jerry Maguire the lone studio movie.
    “Billy keeps joking about, that Jerry Maguire was the only studio movie.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:35:11 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Kathy Bates: 1 line verdict ×1

  1. verdict (verdict): Kathy Bates → Fargo. Bates beats McDormand in Fargo, Berry in Monster's Ball, Stone in La La Land for best performance.
    “Francis McDormand and Fargo.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 1:03:44 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (false true story): Fargo → Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. Kumiko is a movie about someone who believed Fargo's 'based on a true story' card and went looking for the money.
    “is a movie based on an Irvin legend about someone believing that Fargo was true and looking for the bag of money.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:46:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Manhunter: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (darkness and cops): Fargo → Manhunter. Contrasts Marge's coping with Manhunter's Will Graham, who has spent so long in the darkness he can't come out.
    “Manhunter is always the one I think about, where that for me is a movie about a guy who's just like spent enough time in the darkness that he's actually never going to come out now.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:52:59 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Muppet Treasure Island: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (joke perfection): Muppet Treasure Island → Fargo. Joked to be as perfect as Fargo, not a hair out of place.
    “That's much like Fargo, one of one of the few perfect films, not a hair.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:48:40 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Panic Room: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (model for the villains): Fargo → Panic Room. A host feels Panic Room's funny villain and scary villain pair uses the Buscemi and Stormare model from Fargo.
    “But I'm realizing how much wisely it does feel like they're sort of using the model of Bushemi and Stoneman.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 2:20:45 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Prelude to a Kiss: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (personal peak): Prelude to a Kiss → Fargo. Alec Baldwin treats Prelude to a Kiss as his Fargo, a perfect movie that didn't last.
    “as if it was obviously his Fargo.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:40:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Raising Arizona: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (commercial track record): Fargo → Raising Arizona. Raising Arizona (about $5M cost, about $30M worldwide) is argued to be the Coens' first clear hit; Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing and Hudsucker lost money.
    “Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing, Hudsucker all made less than they cost.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:09:37 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Resident Evil: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (structural comp): Resident Evil → Fargo. Showing the opening crash scene in the trailer is like showing Fargo's opening crime scene.
    “it almost is like he's recreating that.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:36:11 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Secrets & Lies: 1 line industry ×1

  1. industry (awards rival): Fargo → Secrets & Lies. At Cannes, Coppola's jury gave the Palme to Secrets and Lies and Fargo won Best Director.
    “gave the palm door to secrets and lies.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:32:46 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Steve Buscemi: 1 line career ×1

  1. career (career): Steve Buscemi → Fargo. Buscemi in Domestic Disturbance is basically his Fargo character.
    “He's basically doing his Fargo character.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:45:16 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Taxi Driver: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (voyeuristic framing): Fargo → Taxi Driver. The shot of Jerry rehearsing his phone call from the hallway is likened to Taxi Driver's payphone scene.
    “It's like the fucking taxi driver, uh, payphone scene.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 1:41:36 · Zach Cregger (0.40 sure it was them)

The Big Lebowski: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (quotability): Fargo → The Big Lebowski. Zach says every line in Fargo is quotable the way every line in Lebowski is.
    “Every line in this is a quotable line. kind of like Big Lebowski has that.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:02:35 · Zach Cregger (0.60 sure it was them)

The Birdcage: 1 line industry ×1

  1. industry (box-office rival): Fargo → The Birdcage. On Fargo's opening weekend (March 8, 1996, 36 screens) the number one film was The Birdcage.
    “It is the birdcage.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:36:11 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

The Hudsucker Proxy: 1 line career ×1

  1. career (career context): Fargo → The Hudsucker Proxy. Fargo came after the Hudsucker flop but was not a reaction to it; the script was already being written.
    “this movie was not a conscious reaction to that. They had already been writing it before they shot Hudsucker.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:45:20 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

The Shining: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (theme): Fargo → The Shining. A carpeted-restaurant joke leads to Kubrick's carpets and a Palm Springs hotel with the same carpet as the Shining hotel.
    “I was at a hotel in Palm Springs a few months ago and it has the exact same carpet as the Shining Hotel.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:14:46 · Craig Horlbeck (0.50 sure it was them)

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (true-story claim): Fargo → The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Fargo's true-story card is compared to Texas Chain Saw's loose Ed Gein basis.
    “Texas Chainsaw Massacre says it's based on a true story, and you're like, yeah, Ed Gane killed people.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:48:25 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Where it came up

What was said about it, by kind

career (3)

  1. career (career summation): Fargo → Blue Velvet. Fargo is the ultimate Coen film the way Blue Velvet is the best encapsulation of Lynch, not necessarily the favorite.
    “this does feel like the ultimate Cohen's film in the same way we were saying in our blue velvet episode, like, that's not my favorite Lynch movie”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:31:34 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. career (career context): Fargo → The Hudsucker Proxy. Fargo came after the Hudsucker flop but was not a reaction to it; the script was already being written.
    “this movie was not a conscious reaction to that. They had already been writing it before they shot Hudsucker.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:45:20 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. career (career): Steve Buscemi → Fargo. Buscemi in Domestic Disturbance is basically his Fargo character.
    “He's basically doing his Fargo character.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:45:16 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

contrast (1)

  1. contrast (genre contrast): Blood Simple → Fargo. The Coens see Blood Simple as a James M. Cain-type noir; Fargo they wanted drier and less hard-boiled.
    “They consider blood simple to be more like a James M. Kane type, you know, noir thriller, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:48:39 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

craft (5)

  1. craft (craft): Carter Burwell → Fargo. Cregger says the Paul Bunyan statue shot is lit and scored like the scariest thing you have ever seen, with Burwell's score.
    “they light it and shoot it like the scariest fucking thing you've ever seen. With the fucking Carter Burwell score”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:34:16 · Zach Cregger (0.70 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft): Carter Burwell → Fargo. Burwell's score plays the dread straight and never acknowledges the film's zaniness, its most playful moment being the break-in buildup.
    “this movie, with all of the zaniness that's definitely in here. His score never really acknowledges any of it.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:34:54 · Zach Cregger (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. craft (craft): Roger Deakins → Fargo. The Coens first told Deakins they wanted only fixed shots, then relaxed it as too puritanical, per his commentary as relayed by the hosts.
    “they initially told him we only want fixed shots. Like you're doing nothing. And then they realized like that's maybe a little too puritanical.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 1:03:01 · host (Griffin Newman or David Sims) (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. craft (craft): Domestic Disturbance → Fargo. The hotel scene with the hooker and the TV plays like a direct sequel to the Fargo motel scene.
    “But it feels like a direct sequel to the scene in Fargo when they take the 2 prostitutes back to the motel room and then they have that cut to them watching Jay Leno or whatever later that night.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:54:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  5. craft (structural comp): Resident Evil → Fargo. Showing the opening crash scene in the trailer is like showing Fargo's opening crime scene.
    “it almost is like he's recreating that.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:36:11 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

industry (4)

  1. industry (studio patience): Fargo → Bottle Rocket. Alex Ross Perry's point: studios once kept investing in talented directors after a commercial flop like Bottle Rocket, as with the Coens.
    “Wes Anderson makes bottle rocket for like $5000000 at Colombia and it bombs, but it gets good reviews.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:49:43 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. industry (awards rival): Fargo → Secrets & Lies. At Cannes, Coppola's jury gave the Palme to Secrets and Lies and Fargo won Best Director.
    “gave the palm door to secrets and lies.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:32:46 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. industry (awards rival): Fargo → Jerry Maguire. The Best Picture field was an indie year with Jerry Maguire the lone studio movie.
    “Billy keeps joking about, that Jerry Maguire was the only studio movie.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:35:11 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. industry (box-office rival): Fargo → The Birdcage. On Fargo's opening weekend (March 8, 1996, 36 screens) the number one film was The Birdcage.
    “It is the birdcage.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:36:11 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

lineage (1)

  1. lineage (adaptation): Fargo → Fargo (unaired NBC pilot with Edie Falco). An NBC pilot directed by Kathy Bates with Edie Falco as Marge aired years later; the Coens were not involved.
    “There was like an NBC pilot directed by Kathy Bates with Edie Falco playing Marge Gunderson.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:10:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

people (1)

  1. people (same directors): No Country for Old Men → Fargo. The Coens previously made the crime dramas Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing and Fargo.
    “The filmmaking brothers behind such classic crime dramas as Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, and Fargo.”
    The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:07:19 · Brian Raftery (0.95 sure it was them)

programming (1)

  1. programming (programming): Fargo → Fargo. Jerry's salesman-of-the-month picture behind him is offered as a Fargo secret-handshake prop.
    “I would love uh, Jerry's, like, salesman of the month picture that's behind Jerry in Fargo.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:27:03 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

theme (3)

  1. theme (tonal comparison): Barbarian → Fargo. Barbarian is called a scary movie that is funny with humor from the bizarreness of human behavior, as with the Coens.
    “you made a scary movie that was funny.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:33:14 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. theme (personal peak): Prelude to a Kiss → Fargo. Alec Baldwin treats Prelude to a Kiss as his Fargo, a perfect movie that didn't last.
    “as if it was obviously his Fargo.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:40:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. theme (theme): Fargo → The Shining. A carpeted-restaurant joke leads to Kubrick's carpets and a Palm Springs hotel with the same carpet as the Shining hotel.
    “I was at a hotel in Palm Springs a few months ago and it has the exact same carpet as the Shining Hotel.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:14:46 · Craig Horlbeck (0.50 sure it was them)

unmapped (19)

  1. unmapped (quotability): Fargo → The Big Lebowski. Zach says every line in Fargo is quotable the way every line in Lebowski is.
    “Every line in this is a quotable line. kind of like Big Lebowski has that.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:02:35 · Zach Cregger (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (filmmaking precision): Fargo → A Serious Man. The Coens' obsessively precise choices make you hunt for solutions, until A Serious Man tells you to accept a mystery.
    “You get to, well, eventually gets a serious man.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:06:21 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (commercial track record): Fargo → Raising Arizona. Raising Arizona (about $5M cost, about $30M worldwide) is argued to be the Coens' first clear hit; Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing and Hudsucker lost money.
    “Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing, Hudsucker all made less than they cost.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:09:37 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. unmapped (building look): Fargo → Barton Fink. The St. George Hotel in Brooklyn looked like a Barton Fink hotel, frozen in time.
    “how much it kind of looked like a Barton Fink hotel.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:16:59 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. unmapped (tonal sibling): Fargo → No Country for Old Men. No Country feels like a less humorous Fargo, both asking whether it is worth fighting the world's darkness.
    “in an interesting way, no country feels like a less humorous version of Fargo.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:33:20 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  6. unmapped (mythic figures): Fargo → No Country for Old Men. Sugar is an evil myth figure and Marge a good mythic one.
    “But sugar is this evil myth figure and Marge is kind of a good mythic figure in a weird way.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:33:43 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  7. unmapped (return to roots): Fargo → Blood Simple. Fargo is the Coens' most Blood Simple-like script, contemporary and simple, going back to what they tried there with more knowledge.
    “It feels like them sort of going back to what they were trying to do in that movie with the knowledge they've gained over the...”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:46:01 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  8. unmapped (false true story): Fargo → Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. Kumiko is a movie about someone who believed Fargo's 'based on a true story' card and went looking for the money.
    “is a movie based on an Irvin legend about someone believing that Fargo was true and looking for the bag of money.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:46:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  9. unmapped (true-story opening): Weapons → Fargo. Zach says Weapons opens with a 'this is a true story' line, in the manner of Fargo's title card.
    “In weapons, the 1st line of the movie is this is a true story.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:48:07 · Zach Cregger (0.90 sure it was them)
  10. unmapped (true-story claim): Fargo → The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Fargo's true-story card is compared to Texas Chain Saw's loose Ed Gein basis.
    “Texas Chainsaw Massacre says it's based on a true story, and you're like, yeah, Ed Gane killed people.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:48:25 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  11. unmapped (darkness and cops): Fargo → Manhunter. Contrasts Marge's coping with Manhunter's Will Graham, who has spent so long in the darkness he can't come out.
    “Manhunter is always the one I think about, where that for me is a movie about a guy who's just like spent enough time in the darkness that he's actually never going to come out now.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:52:59 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  12. unmapped (documentary approach): Roger Deakins → Fargo. Deakins's documentary background shapes simple, in-the-conversation setups: the best camera place to capture the actors.
    “he came out of documentaries 1st and foremost”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 1:03:55 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  13. unmapped (fake soap opera): Fargo → Intolerable Cruelty. Asks whether Intolerable Cruelty also has a made-up soap opera, as Fargo's TV scenes do.
    “Now, intolerable cruelty has a soap opera thing too, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 1:35:09 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  14. unmapped (voyeuristic framing): Fargo → Taxi Driver. The shot of Jerry rehearsing his phone call from the hallway is likened to Taxi Driver's payphone scene.
    “It's like the fucking taxi driver, uh, payphone scene.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 1:41:36 · Zach Cregger (0.40 sure it was them)
  15. unmapped (off-screen violence): Fargo → No Country for Old Men. Fargo's off-screen disintegration (Jean's death) is likened to the way No Country hides its violence.
    “much like in the move they pull in no country. of just like you can figure it out.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:17:24 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  16. unmapped (cops compared): Weapons → Fargo. Weapons' cop is less nice than Marge; Zach likes a fucked-up cop (cf. Bad Lieutenant).
    “you know, I like a fucked up cop.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:29:10 · Zach Cregger (0.80 sure it was them)
  17. unmapped (joke perfection): Muppet Treasure Island → Fargo. Joked to be as perfect as Fargo, not a hair out of place.
    “That's much like Fargo, one of one of the few perfect films, not a hair.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 2:48:40 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  18. unmapped (aspiration): Jared Leto → Fargo. A host wonders if Leto is trying to be Buscemi in Fargo.
    “oh, is he, is he going full Bushemi and Fargo?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 1:16:04 · Eva Anderson (0.50 sure it was them)
  19. unmapped (model for the villains): Fargo → Panic Room. A host feels Panic Room's funny villain and scary villain pair uses the Buscemi and Stormare model from Fargo.
    “But I'm realizing how much wisely it does feel like they're sort of using the model of Bushemi and Stoneman.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 2:20:45 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

verdict (2)

  1. verdict (favorite pairing): Fargo → Boogie Nights. Zach's favorite-movie coin toss is Fargo versus Boogie Nights, a year apart, from his formative film-buff years.
    “It would be like a coin toss between this and boogie nights.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fargo with Zach Cregger · 0:14:31 · Zach Cregger (0.90 sure it was them)
  2. verdict (verdict): Kathy Bates → Fargo. Bates beats McDormand in Fargo, Berry in Monster's Ball, Stone in La La Land for best performance.
    “Francis McDormand and Fargo.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 1:03:44 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

Fun items about it

  1. fun, about Fargo: Listener notes the Fargo pod never mentioned that the restaurant is carpeted, spawning a what-age-the-most idea.
    “Carpeted restaurants seem like a what's age the best, what's age, the worst, split decision?”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:13:08 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Who the speakers said made it

As said on the shows, not checked against the real credits.