The Coen Brothers' Fargo (Cambridge Film Handbooks) [Paperback]

William G. Luhr (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521005019 | ISBN-13: 978-0521005012 | Publication Date: October 13, 2003

The most commercially and critically successful film of Ethan and Joel Coen, Fargo was nominated for five Academy Awards and received two, an exceptional achievement for a low budget, independently produced film. This volume explores Fargo from a variety of perspectives. Providing a detailed account of the film's production, reception and place within the career of the Coen brothers, it covers issues and themes significant to current film discourse, including genre, gender and sexuality, race, history, culture and myth.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a useful introduction to the critical discourse penned in the years since the film's premier." Jarrod Waetjen, Gibbs College, American Book Review

Book Description

Fargo is the most commercially and critically successful film of Ethan and Joel Coen. Immediately recognized as an important work, it was nominated for five Academy Awards and received two, an exceptional achievement for a low budget, independently produced film without major stars. This volume explores Fargo from a variety of methodological perspectives. Providing a detailed account of the film's production, reception and place within the career of the Coen brothers, it explores issues and themes that are important to current film discourse, including genre, gender and sexuality, race, history, culture and myth.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521005019
• ISBN-13: 978-0521005012
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #476,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great companion to the film "Fargo" by the Coen brothers., February 18, 2010

By 

Russell Clay "Father Christmas" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Coen Brothers' Fargo (Cambridge Film Handbooks) (Kindle Edition)

This is a great companion to the film "Fargo" by the Coen brothers. Although the story is virtually the same in both formats, reading the written word is not the same as viewing a video. When you can have both, the enjoyment of the story is greater than the sum of its formats.

The biggest complaint I have with all the Kindle books I've purchased so far (since December 2009) is that the line breaks and other document formatting is just plain goofy. If anyone picked up a physical copy of a book and saw similar errors, there is very little chance the person would buy the book. They would think it was defective in printing. But with Kindle books, you pay a slightly lower price and "takes yer chances." Very sad. It's as if someone just cut the pages out of a physical copy and fed them through a scanner, creating a PDF, without bothering to check the output.

This isn't supposed to be a review of the Kindle, however, so I'll leave my comments about that and say that "Fargo" is one of the Coen brothers' best movies, full of both nuance and suspense. The pathetic character played by William Macy comes across in the written form as an even sadder, more desperate man. The description and actions of the two bad guys are all the more ominous and gruesome when read word for word. When I watch "Fargo" on TV and then pick up the Kindle, the experience is fantastic, as if I were immersed in the lives of the characters on a deeper level than could be possible by just watching or reading the story.

I recommend "Fargo" in the Kindle edition for anyone who enjoys the Coen brothers' work, anyone who likes to see how a written plot or screenplay is translated into visual form, and, alas, for anyone who has the patience to put up with the cheap production that is the biggest flaw in all the Kindle e-books I have purchased.

Four stars for an incredible story, but I must withhold the fifth star for the crummy formatting of the book; for the cost of the Kindle version of "Fargo" I should get more than weird line breaks and words running together like snow in Dakota.