JuanT
Merlin Mann"Fargo" (1996) is just over an hour and a half long.
They managed to fit all of that world-building and intricate storytelling into 90 minutes.
What a durable and economical masterpiece.
To paraphrase Griffin and David on "Zodiac"—
Every scene in this movie is my favorite scene in this movie.
Zach Thomas@hotdogsladies When Buscemi read the script, he thought they were going to give him a prosthetic nose or something. Turns out he already had the face for the role!
Frances McDormand doesn't even show up until 30 minutes in.
What an amazingly confident movie.
@hotdogsladies what a coincidence, I just rewatched it a few days ago and I was surprised by the exact same thing. What an incredibly good movie.
Andrew Burke@hotdogsladies my favourite of theirs is Miller's Crossing, mostly because of its flamboyance, but Fargo manages to be just as impactful by being anti-flamboyant. Appropriate for the setting I guess.
(I feel like I still remember this shot from the trailer.)
Paul DeCarli@hotdogsladies Fargo contains one of my favorite shots in cinema. Jerry’s entire life summed up.
@pauldecarli Man. The ice scraper.
Max Siegel@hotdogsladies I just rewatched it and thought the same thing. Incredible filmmaking and world building in 90 minutes.
Alan Bucknam@hotdogsladies I mean it’s North Dakota for jeez-sake; it’s gonna be frugal.
Jesse Atkinson@hotdogsladies we of course love the movie. But also the show is amazing. We are currently on season 3. Blown away that it’s not more popular.
Chuck O'Rourke:verified:@jsatk @hotdogsladies I’ve watched the first three seasons of the show and find it pretty “meh”.
@Chuck_ORourke @hotdogsladies I find that stunning. Season 2 is maybe my favorite mini series ever.
@jsatk @hotdogsladies I remember season two was critically acclaimed to put it mildly. I just thought 🤷. My favorite was season three. I didn’t watch season four. I’ve been planning on starting the new one.
They don’t really have the feel of the movie or the Coens.
@jsatk Episode one of the new season was promising.
@hotdogsladies you’re darn tootin’.
rexi@hotdogsladies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_Fink
my fave, of which the same could be said, Barton Fink
@rexi That’s the one with the Wallace Beery wrestling picture.
https://nerdist.com/article/barton-fink-william-faulkner-clifford-odets-real-life-inspiration/
In 1932, Faulkner signed a contract with MGM for $500 a week,…This is the same amount as Barton Fink’s contract with Capitol Pictures in the film…
As Fink works on his Wallace Beery film, the producer Ben Geisler (Tony Shalhoub) has him watch the dailies from a wrestling picture written by Faulkner surrogate Mayhew. In fact, one of Faulkner’s earliest screen credits is for a 1932 wrestling picture called Flesh, starring none other than…Wallace Beery.
Mads B. Klinkby 🌻@hotdogsladies
This and Lebowski. Coens FTW 🔥
This and Lebowski. Coens FTW 🔥
Derek Martin@hotdogsladies @gruber I love the heck out of that movie, don’cha know!
GenuineTed@hotdogsladies I read this in relation to superhero/pre-existing IP films. The economy of Fargo is that no one save the Coens has the greater world in mind before going into the theater. The durability and intricacy comes the artifice of the writing/directing and the infilling by viewers’ imagination.
No baggage means that viewers have more space to fill with their own stuff that’s inspired by the world the artists give them.
Garret 
@genuineted @hotdogsladies I think you’re right. It’s interesting that films in the 80s and 90s can feel so focused and maybe even feel “bigger than they are” because of how well they are constructed. Even silly comedies sometimes.
Whereas now we have these three hour films that say lots of things but don’t really say anything at all.
@hotdogsladies Has anybody watched the Coen’s remake of’True Grit’, lately?
That’s a great one too and perfect for this time of year.
Neil Hargreaves@hotdogsladies not to mention the score!
Mike Brogan@hotdogsladies so true. The Mike Yanagita scene struck me as odd for the longest time. I later read that her discovering that he was a liar gives Marge the idea that Jerry could by lying, and that’s why she goes back to see him. So great!!
hot coffee@hotdogsladies surprising, even compared to contemporary films (e.g. LA Confidential 2h20m)… maybe because the pace of the dialog feels relaxed, yah.
A modern film would add an hour of CGI “spectacle”