is fargo a true story?

[travisbickle1000]

the brothers said on the charlie rose show that fargo is a true story, but the characters are fictional. Ebert says that its not, they use that opening title as a story telling device. is it just a hook, or a way of making the film feel even more disturbing that it already is? or does ebert just not know what he is talking about? neither would surprise me

[Ghostboy]

Ebert knew what he was talking about.

[kotte]

It's NOT true!

The Coens did it to open our minds about the story.

You gotta agree it works better as a true story...

A girl apperantly did die looking for the money Buscemi's character hid. Probably bullshit too.

[Ghostboy]

Beat you by one minute, Kotte!!!

I love it when people ask questions that lots of people know the answer...you'll get three people posting the exact same thing simultaneously.

[kotte]

Beat you by one minute, Kotte!!!

I love it when people ask questions that lots of people know the answer...you'll get three people posting the exact same thing simultaneously.

You feel really clever being the first to post an answere...then you feel more stupid than you felt clever when you see someone beat you by a minute.

It's meaningless to reply to an unanswered thread...you know someone's on it...  

EDIT: I would've won if I didn't ramble on about the girl...never ramble when things are at stake

[cowboykurtis]

is the neverending story true? my daddy told me it was...does HE know what he's talking about?

[kotte]

is the neverending story true? my daddy told me it was...does HE know what he's talking about?

What story?

[Finn]

From what I heard, on the DVD they talk about whether it's a true story or not.

[Ghostboy]

Your daddy DEFINITELY knows what he's talking about.

[NEON MERCURY]

was this movie based on true events.....?

[Redlum]

I watched a late night documentaary which covered the case of the girl who supposedly died looking for Buscemi's buried treasure, and most of the evidence seemed to indicate that she went out there to commit suicide. Really creepy tale. Its a shame they didn't put it on the DVD.

[Pro T-Bono]

hopefully this might bring this post back to life....does anyone find that duping the audience this way goes beyond storytelling device and borders on immoral storytelling...?

if ever there were a code of ethics for filmmaking, lying to the audience would undoubtedly violate it...

i love this film, but i hate that they took such a liberty with the trust of the audience...

[Sleepless]

i love this film, but i hate that they took such a liberty with the trust of the audience...

Really? I don't feel that way at all. I don't think they're abusing the audience's trust, they're just trying to get the audience in a state of mind where they're more willing to accept the chain of bizarre events that happen.

[socketlevel]

right, but in a way they're destroying the validity of future filmmaking.  if anyone can just throw on a "based on a true story" the audience will question each piece's authenticity.  i think it's a cool device but the coens took it too far.

-sl-

[Sleepless]

Personally, I think that every film which labels itself as 'based on a true story' takes liberties with the actual truth. Possibly even dicumentaries do an extent too (or so some would argue). I agree that the Coens have taken this further than most, but I still think all they've done is exploit what has become a cinematic device in order to bring the audience further into the movie. I wouldn't have thought that anyone would have gone into it believing every thing which happened on the screen. Yes, it would encourage them to think that something like this might have happened, but I think by the end of the film they've realised that's it not necessarily true - I think most audience members would be forgiving of it. All its done is encouraged them to suspend their disbelief. I can appreciate what you're saying, but I really don't think it's had a negative of the integrity of future filmmakers, or indeed the Coen brothers' own integrity.