Are the 2006 and 1979 stories........
...actually true?
shareNo.
Nor is the film.
It was a strange joke by the Coens which they continued in the series.
OK thanks.
shareI think it's a bit more than just a joke. I think I read somewhere that they deliberately used it as a storytelling device, getting the viewer to see the story in a completely different way. Different level of suspension of disbelief.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/coen-brothers-fargo-true-story_us_56de2c53e4b0ffe6f8ea78c4
Ethan Coen first explained why the pair added the “true story” disclaimer to the film, saying, “We wanted to make a movie just in the genre of a true story movie. You don’t have to have a true story to make a true story movie.”share
[deleted]
Along with the "joke" aspect,
If you read the disclaimers for musical scores for operas, or read the disclaimers for fictional movies, you'll almost always see:
"This opera is a work of fiction and any resemblance between the characters and persons living of dead is purely coincidental."
I think the Coens like to turn that around.
There is an element of "untruth" with both disclaimers.
With the exception of biopics or documentaries, there is probably a bit of fact somewhere that either directly or indirectly inspired some works of successful fiction.
It's pretty hard these days to avoid writing about something that hasn't actually happened in real life or will happen in real life. It's a joke either way.
No.
Nor is the film.
It was a strange joke by the Coens which they continued in the series.
While the playfulness of the Coen Brothers is almost certainly a factor in the "this is a true story" title card for the original film, it's not only a joke.
The Coen brothers said they wanted the film to have a "true Crime" feel (think films such as The Onion Field, or Black Dahlia). They wanted the viewers to look at the film as if it was a true crime being depicted, even though it was fictitious.
Noah Hawley said his "this is a true story" title card for the series is both an homage to the Coen Brothers' film, plus it serves the double purpose of telling the audience to get into the frame of mind that the show is a "true crime"-type story.
share