Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, with special guests Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair and Stacy Grouden, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT.
This time, Joel and Ethan Coen’s Fargo.
A routine kidnapping case spirals into something far more sinister and unsettling in an isolated corner of Minnesota. Arriving to the scene of a brutal roadside murder, Chief of Police Marge Gunderson finds herself embroiled in a complicated and chaotic story of greed and violence with horrific consequences.
At time of recording, it was ranked 176th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 8th May 2021.
- Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, this episode was recorded remotely. We suspect, going forward that a lot of our episodes will be until the crisis resolves.
- Fargo at The Internet Movie Database.
- The IMDB 250 as it appeared at time of recording.
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- Dan Jackson at Thrillist argues for Marge Gunderson as the best Coens Brothers character, March 2016.
- Jason Bailey at Flavourwire discusses the legacy and impact of Marge Gunderson as a cultural icon, March 2016.
- Peter Bradshaw reflects on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fargo for The Guardian, June 2021.
- Clarisse Loughrey at The Independent discusses the directors’ cut of Blood Simple, August 2017.
- Christopher Orr revisits Blood Simple for The Atlantic, September 2014.
- Asher Gelzer-Govatos at The A.V. Club argues that the Coens tend to build their films in pairs, February 2016.
- David Kehr at The Chicago Tribune reports on Barton Fink‘s unprecedented success at the Cannes Film Festival, May 1991.
- Vincent Canby at The New York Times reports on Barton Fink taking home the top prizes at Cannes, May 1991.
- David Crary at The Los Angeles Times looks at the reaction to the victory of Barton Fink at Cannes, May 1991.
- The Los Angeles Times questions the victory of Barton Fink at the Cannes Film Festival, May 1991.
- Greg Cwik looks back on the phenomenal success of Barton Fink at the Cannes Film Festival for The Dissolve, May 2015.
- Christopher Orr looks back on The Hudsucker Proxy for The Atlantic, September 2014.
- Scout Tafoya at RogerEbert.com discusses the legacy and the reputation of The Hudsucker Proxy, February 2014.
- Christopher Orr looks back on Miller’s Crossing for The Atlantic, September 2014.
- The Telegraph looks back on classic and beloved box office bombs, September 2017.
- Gabriel Byrne talks to The Treatment about his life and career, May 2021.
- William McDonald profiles the Coens for The New York Times, March 1996.
- David Gritten looks back at the lives and careers of the Coens for The Los Angeles Times, March 1998.
- Joe Blevins at The A.V. Club looks back on the twentieth anniversary of Fargo, March 2016.
- Roderick Jaynes writes about working with the Coens for The Guardian, September 2001.
- Vulture discusses Roderick Jaynes’ Oscar nomination history, January 2008.
- Gabriel Snyder at Slate discusses why the Coens use the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes, March 2010.
- Mike Klingaman discusses the history and importance of the three-cent stamp at The Baltimore Sun, December 1994.
- The Associated Press reports on the decision to increase postage by exactly three cents, March 1988.
- Sarah Loebig at Stamps.org discusses the impact and importance of the three-cent duck stamp from Fargo, June 2020.
- Euan Kerr at MPR discusses the relationship between the Coens and Minnesota, September 2009.
- The Coen Brothers talks to IndieWire about growing up in Minnesota, October 2009.
- Chris Hewitt at Twin Cities Pioneer Press discusses how Fargo put Minnesota on the map, March 2016.
- Paul Willistein at The Morning Call discusses how Fargo popularised the “Minnesota nice” accent and dialect, March 1996.
- Glenda Burgeson at SC Times discusses Fargo as a portrayal of the midwest, March 2021.
- Scott Tobias discusses the various faces of Minnesota in Fargo, January 2014.
- Mica Rosenberg at Reuters looks at the online advertisements taken out by alleged hitmen in Mexico, July 2008.
- Nathaniel Popper at The New York Times looks at online advertisements for hitmen, March 2020.
- Kevin Krause at Dallas News reports on a case about a Frisco man entrapped into hiring an undercover hitman, June 2019.
- Bruce Campbell discusses his career in soap operas with 1428 Elm, June 2018.
- Olivia Armstrong at HBO argues for Fargo as a romance, August 2018.
- Emily VanDerWerff discusses the Mike subplot and its significance to the larger arc of Fargo at Vox, March 2016.
- The staff at The Dissolve discuss the portrayal of masculinity in Fargo, January 2014.
- Keertana Sastry at Bustle discusses the irony of the fact that Fargo does not take place in Fargo, May 2014.
- Christopher Orr discusses Fargo as a breakout moment for the Coen Brothers in The Atlantic, September 2014.
- Peter Stormare shares five stories about working in Fargo with The Huffington Post, March 2015.
- Peter Jackson and Christopher Lee discuss the sound that a person makes when stabbed, June 2015.
- Meredith Woerner at The Los Angeles Times looks back at the time that Christopher Lee taught Peter Jackson what sound a person makes when stabbed, June 2015.
- Blue Rose Epics reports on how David Lynch’s milkshake obsession inspired Frank Booth, April 2018.
- Kayla Cobb at Decider discusses Fargo as a movie based on a true story, December 2020.
- Gavin Scott at SBS debates how much of Fargo was actually inspired by true events, May 2017.
- Steve Lynch at The Truth About Cars reports on the car dealership scam that inspired Fargo, September 2015.
- David W. Grogan at People reports on the woodchipper murder of Helle Krafts in Minnesota, August 1988.
- Khal at Complex reports on the crediting of Prince in Fargo, March 2016.
- Larry Wallace at Fever Dreams discusses Fargo as a “tall tale”, July 2019.
- Frances McDormand discusses her life and career with The Los Angeles Times, March 1996.
- Noel Murray, Tasha Robinson and Nathan Rabin discuss the appeal and perils of long-running actor/director partnerships at The Dissolve, August 2013.
- Frances McDormand talks to The New York Times about the appeal of playing Marge Gunderson in Fargo, March 1996.
- Frances McDormand discusses her attitude to fame and success with The Los Angeles Times, July 1998.
- Hugh Linehan at The Irish Times discusses Frances McDormand’s performance at the Gate Theatre, June 1998.
- Frances McDormand wins her Academy Award for Fargo, March 1997.
- Frances McDormand wins her Academy Award for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, March 2018.
- Frances McDormand wins her Academy Award for Nomadland, April 2021.
- Frances McDormand talks to The New York Times about her awkward relationship to fame, October 2017.
- Jason Bailey at Flavourwire discusses the death of the mid-budget movie, December 2014.
- Dorothy Pomerantz at Forbes reports on the squeezing of the market for mid-budget movies, August 2012.
- Derek Nystrom at The Los Angeles Review of Books discusses the complicated politics of the Coen Brothers, March 2016.
- Emily VanDerWerff reviews Hail, Caesar! at Vox, February 2016.
- David Sims at The Atlantic discusses the complicated relationship between the Coens and Hollywood, February 2016.
- Adam Nayman at The Ringer discusses Fargo as the key to understanding the Coen Brothers, March 2021.
- Frances Santagate Sutton at Food Anthropology pays tribute to the food in Fargo, October 2016.
- Christopher Orr looks back on Intolerable Cruelty for The Atlantic, September 2014.
- Doug Jamieson at Filotomy defends Intolerable Cruelty as an underrated Coen Brothers’ film, May 2018.
- Calum Marsh at The New York Times looks at the explosion of Letterboxd, January 2021.
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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: capitalism, coens, corruption, ethan coen, evil, fargo, good, greed, joel coen, laziness, marge gunderson, minnesota nices, moral hygiene, peter stormare, podcast, Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair, Sloth, stacy grouden, steve buscemi, The 250, the coen brothers, the coens |
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