1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the
screening.
Fargo is the
perfect Midwest, crime thriller created by the Coen Brothers. Joel and Ethan
Coen worked together on the film, both helping to write and direct the film
even though Joel was the only one given credit for directing. The Coen brothers
got their start in the movie industry with their first crime film Blood Simple. Since then, the Coen
brothers have written, directed and produced many timeless classics such as Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski and No
Country for Old Men. However before they entered the film making industry,
they each attended separate colleges. Joel, the older of the two brothers
studied film at NYU, while Ethan earned a philosophy degree at Princeton
University. The Coen brothers are a very accomplished team of film makers and
have yet to announce any plans to retire.
2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio,
actor/actress, artistic content, etc.)and summarize the content. You may use
the library or the internet.
The article from the Huffington Post titled, “5 Stories You
Didn't Know About 'Fargo,'” As Told By The Movie's Main Villain”, is an
interview with Peter Stormare, the actor who played Gaear Grimsrud in Fargo. In the interview we get a very
close look at some of the things that went on behind the scenes during the
making of Fargo. From the first
question of the interview we learn that Stormare gave some advice to the Coen
brothers that they actually used; the Coen brothers are known for following
their own script very closely. In one of the final scenes with the wood
chipper, Stormare advised the Coen brothers to have his character push the leg
through the wood chipper with a block of wood which would be more realistic and
also give his character a weapon to through at the police officer. Stormare
also mentioned that even though the film was not based off of one true story,
the Coen brothers have said that the idea for the story and characters were
based off of things that they have witnessed or experienced growing up in the Midwest.
Stomare also states how his character in the film, and Steve Buscemi’s
character were completely opposite of how they were in real life; Stomare being
the loud one and Buscemi being the quiet one. One of the most eerie responses
from Stomare was about an incident that occurred after they had finished the
cop killing scene. Apparently after they had finished shooting that night, the
Coen brothers offered to take everyone to town to get pancakes. Buscemi and
Stomare were still driving together in the same car and actually got pulled
over by a police woman. Stomare said the incident went down similarly to how it
went in the film, just minus the killing. Overall this interview was very
interesting and gives a nice behind the scenes look to what goes on during the
making of a Coen brothers film, especially since the Coen brothers seldom talk
about their own work.
3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did
the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director,
content, etc.?
The article did not change my opinion of the film at all (I
already think very highly of the film and the directors) but it gave a very
interesting look into what goes on behind the scenes of one of the Coen
brothers dark crime dramas. I always enjoy watching Peter Stomare in the Coen
brothers films so it was especially nice hear from him about what it’s like
behind the scenes. It is nice to hear from one of the cast members that there
actually is some truth to the opening titles of the film that state the film is
based off a true story. I remember feeling a little betrayed when I first found
out from the credits that the film and all of its characters were fictitious,
so it’s nice to know that there is some truth to the opening titles. The
anecdote about Buscemi and Stomare was pretty amusing as well, it doesn’t
change the story for me at all but it does help prove that a lot can happen in
the middle of nowhere. Lastly the article confirmed that the strange symbol in
the credits was put there actually to give credit to the artist Prince. Even
though he was able to make it into the film due to his record company, it is
nice to see that the Coen brothers were able to give their friend Prince some
type of credit in the film.
4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your
personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text
material and the article.
Fargo is a
brilliant piece of storytelling that has already withstood the test of time and
will continue to do so for many years to come. The opening scene of the film
sets up the whole story so perfectly. It fades in from all white to a barely
visible snowy road with the epic theme song playing to introduce one of our
main characters driving none other than the tan Sierra. Besides just
introducing the main character, the opening scene sets the world and the
environment that the movie will be taking place in. Then in the next scene where
we finally meet Jerry Lundegaard and the two villians, Lundegaard’s strong over
exaggerated accent lets the audience know that we are in the Midwest. The characters
in this movie really set the audience in the Midwestern environment but more
importantly, each character has their own distinct personality and character
traits that serve a specific purpose in the movie. We see how Jerry’s sleazy
personality ultimately leads to his downfall and how Carl Showalters’s loud
mouth leads to his downfall. The characters and cinematography are outstanding
throughout the film, but the brilliance of the film all leads back to the
script written by the Coen brothers. The story itself is incredibly
interesting; a man wants his own wife to be kidnapped to gain ransom money from
his father in law. This is an incredibly interesting jumping off point, which
is essentially the plot point the drives the entire story. The Coen brothers do
an outstanding job of making the audience believe the story is true from start
to finish and could not have been done without the great script, crazy
characters, beautiful cinematography and last but not least the epic score. Fargo is
a near perfect example of how to tell a story with moving pictures and deserves
a place in film history with some of the best.
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) (x ) I have not handed in this
assignment for any other class. 2) ( x) If I reused any information from other papers
I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) (x )
If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or
used indentation and citation within the text. 4) ( x) I have not padded the
bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of
the paper. 5) ( x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally
read. 6) (x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be
stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the
bibliography. 7) (x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper
lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and
therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my
paper.
Name: ____Joe Katulak________________ Date: ___4/7/15______
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