List of Coen Brothers References in Fargo[]
Below is a list of references within the Fargo series to films of Joel and Ethan Coen who wrote and directed the original Fargo film which the series shares canonicity with.
Introduction[]
The films of the Coen Brothers follow a unique style that the series of Fargo follows. While sharing canonicity with the original 1996 film, the series draws from themes and style that derive from all of the Coen Brother's filmogrophy. Among these themes are the mixing of comedy and violence; the presence of cosmic justice (or injustice); moments of apparent irrelevance and (more implicitly) the usage of Schrödinger's Cat and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in storytelling. Fargo draws upon all of these to match its signature style with that of the Coen Brothers. Some elements of the following references can be interpreted as drawing a wider range of the Coen Brother's films into the canon of Fargo beyond the original film.
The following is a list of references, parallels and similarities to the films of the Coen Brothers.
It is likely incomplete and in need of being expanded. If an episode a reference is in is incorrect or there is references missed feel free to edit this list.
Series 1[]
| Series | Episode | Reference | Film |
| 1 | The Crocodile’s Dilemma | The demeanour, clothing and name of Lester Nygaard is familiar to that of Jerry Lundegaard from the film Fargo, | Fargo |
| Lester's practice of confronting Malvo at the door is similar to Jerry Lundegaard practice of phoning Wade Gustafson in the film Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| In the diner Lester confronts Malvo in, a sign by the door reads 'Special, White Russian $4.95'. This references the white russian drink that predominately features in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| The shops of the Bemidji high street have names that reference characters from Fargo. Wade's Jewellery referencing Wade Gustafson and Norm's Pizza referencing Norm Gunderson. | Fargo | ||
| The Rooster Prince | The character of Don Chumph (a dim-witted gym employee who tries to extract money from someone through blackmail) strongly mirrors the character Chad Feldheimer from Burn After Reading. | Burn After Reading | |
| At the pharmacy in Bemidji a sign reads 'Parking spot reserved for owner Mike Zoss'. 'Mike Zoss Productions' being the name of the Coen Brother's production company, which was named after the pharmacy near where they grew up. 'Mike Zoss' Pharmacy features in the film No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| The use of the word 'unguent' is likely a reference to Gaear Grimsrud's same use of the word in Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| Lorne Malvo's briefcase includes the names of characters Everett McGill from O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Carson Wells from No Country For Old Men. | -O Brother, Where Art Thou?
-No Country For Old Men | ||
| In the Duluth post office, Malvo leaves and says "you missed a spot" to the janitor, the staging of which is similar to Hi's interaction in prison in Raising Arizona. | Raising Arizona | ||
| The character Stavros Milos mirrors (in appearance, occupation, and role) that of Nathan Arizona from Raising Arizona | Raising Arizona | ||
| Scraping Verne's name off of his door is shot in a way that mirrors the way Waring Hudsucker's name is scraped off in The Hudsucker Proxy. | The Hudsucker Proxy | ||
| A Muddy Road | Phil McCormick's accounting firm's name 'McDonnough & Snoats Accounting & Consulting firm' refers to the names of Hi McDonnough and the Snoats Brothers. Characters from Raising Arizona. | Raising Arizona | |
| Molly Solverson's meeting with her old friend Barbara obviously mirrors Marge Gunderson's meeting with her friend Mike Yanagita. | Fargo | ||
| In the cupboard where Malvo takes over Chumph's blackmailing operation, written on a box in the background is 'LaBoeuf', the name of a character from True Grit. | True Grit | ||
| Eating the Blame | During the cricket infestation scene in Phoenix Farms, can a customer be seen wearing the cardigan worn by The Dude in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | |
| Molly refers to a love interest saying "There's a suitor" as said by Everett McGill's daughters in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | ||
| The Six Ungraspables | The opening shot of a wheat field accompanied with bluegrass folk music is synonymous with O Brother Where Art Thou?. | O Brother Where Art Thou? | |
| The store Lester buys the shotgun and socks from is named 'Uli's Sporting Goods', referring to the character Uli Kunkel from The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| The parable of the rich man who gave everything away told by Ari Ziskind has similarities to the story of the goy's teeth, as told in A Serious man. Both stories being told by a Jewish character, the voice-over matching the story's character's mouths and the character who is being told the story is unable to make any immediate sense of it. | A Serious man | ||
| Gus' use of the phrase "So your sayin'... what are you sayin?" mirrors Stan Grossman's identical remark in Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| A shot of Gus lying in bed with the light through the curtains over his face, him deliberating and deciding to get up closely mirrors the shots of Llewelyn Moss doing the same in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| Molly opens the back of the washing machine by unscrewing it with a coin. The same method is used by Anton Chigurh to unscrew air vents in the film No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| Buridan’s Ass | Stavros is instructed to take the money (that previously belonged to Carl Showalter) to Gustafson's Parking Garage, referencing Wade Gustafson from the Fargo film. | Fargo | |
| Stavros' altercation with the parking lot attendant mirrors Carl Showalter's similar altercation, both claiming they've decided not to park there. | Fargo | ||
| Who Shaves the Barber? | 'Who Shaves the Barber?' refers to the Baraber's Paradox, a logical paradox mentioned by Freddy Riedenschneider in The Man Who Wasn't There. | The Man Who Wasn't There | |
| The cleaning service Lester hires is named Riedenschneider Cleaning Service. Being a nod the character Freddy Riedenschneider from The Man Who Wasn't There. | The Man Who Wasn’t There | ||
| Bill Oswalt mentions a pharmacy fire, referencing the explosion and fire in the pharmacy in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| The main headquarters for the Fargo Crime Syndicate is titled 'The Showalter Block'. A reference to Carl Showalter (a Fargo based criminal operating the same time as the Syndicate). Possibly alluding to a connection. | Fargo | ||
| The Heap | The use of 'Ode to Joy' performed on a steel drum references Raising Arizona where the piece of music is performed on a banjo. | Raising Arizona | |
| A Fox, A Rabbit, And A Cabbage | The character Burt Canton uses the term 'Friendo', which is significantly used by Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | |
| The shots of the empty hallways in the Las Vegas hotels slightly mirror the empty hallways of the Hotel Earle in Barton Fink. | Barton Fink | ||
| Morton’s Fork | An officer reporting an 'unsecured load' is done in No Country For Old Men, in which Sheriff Bell pulls over a truck (hauling away the victim in the shootout) for that infraction. | No Country For Old Men | |
| The bullet holes and the light passing through in Lester's bathroom door visually match the bullet holes in the climactic scene of Blood Simple. | Blood Simple | ||
| Malvo's hobbling walk and leg injury mirrors that of Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men. They are both inflicted by the one they're hunting, and they both perform surgery on themselves. Malvo and Chigurh strike other similarities, both being relentless and psychopathic killers with peculiar haircuts. | No Country For Old Men |
Series 2[]
| Series | Episode | Reference | Film |
| 2 | Waiting For Dutch | The name of Judge Mundt is a likely reference to Karl Mundt from Barton Fink. Though the characters strike little similarities and she is likely also named so due to the resemblance to the word 'judgement'. | Barton Fink |
| The location of the shoot-out being in a Waffle Hut mirrors the location of a waffle hut in The LadyKillers. | The LadyKillers | ||
| The Story of Job that Judge Mundt tells Rye is what A Serious Man is partly based on. | A Serious Man | ||
| The dynamic between Karl Weathers and Sonny Greer matches that of Walter and Donny from The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| The song 'Don't Leave Nobody But the Baby' (cover by showrunner Noah Hawley) features in the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou?. | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | ||
| Before the Law | The 'Mike Zoss' pharmaceutical brand name reappears from No Country For Old Men in the Luverne high street. | No Country For Old Men | |
| R ye Gerhardt's disembodied leg sticking out the top of the meat grinder mirrors Carl Showalter's leg sticking out the top of the woodchipper. | Fargo | ||
| The Myth of Sisyphus | Hank Larsson's use of the phrase "And for what? ...All for a little bit of money." mirrors Marge Gunderson's use towards the end of Fargo. | Fargo | |
| Charlie Gerhardt describes the Kansas City Mafia to have "didn't seem like the kinda fellas who wanna own half a car.". This references Carl Showalter's and Gaear Grimsrud's short argument about splitting a car between them | Fargo | ||
| The blown-out lock from the door on the floor of Carriage Typewriters visually matches the method used by Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| Fear and Trembling | The shots of the Pearl Hotel's corridors mirrors those of the Hotel Earle's in Barton Fink. The two hotels having phonetically similar names. | Barton Fink | |
| Features the song 'Down in the Willow Garden', which is sung by Ed in Raising Arizona. | Raising Arizona | ||
| The Gift of the Magi | Joe Bulo's head in the box is reflective of the box that likely contains Audrey Taylor's head in Barton Fink | Barton Fink | |
| Features the song 'Let’s Find Each Other Tonight', which Carl Showalter watches Jose Feliciano perform in Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| As the butcher shop goes up in flames, a shot of the wall shows the words 'life' and 'mind' written on paper. References Barton Fink where the Hotel Earle goes up in flames as Karl Mundt shouts "I will show you the life of the mind!". | Barton Fink | ||
| When Charlie Gerhardt discusses films with Noreen Vanderslice, she calls Rocky "Just a boxing picture." Barton Fink is hired to write a simple boxing B-picture, and fails to deliver. | Barton Fink | ||
| Rhinoceros | Karl Weathers blocks the door with a bench though places it on the wrong side of the door, which opens outwards, as done by The Dude in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | |
| Features a cover of the song 'Man of Constant Sorrow', which features highly and plays a central role in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. The song continues to play in the bar Karl and Sonny visit. | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | ||
| Did You Do This? No, You Did It! | Features the song 'Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)', which features in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | |
| Mike Milligan's anecdote opens with "Sometimes... theres a man..." as said in through the opening narration to The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| As Mike Milligan awaits The Undertaker, the song 'O Death' plays. This song being sung by Homer Stokes, the leader of the KKK rally, in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | ||
| The scene where Bear Gerhardt slowly marches Simone into the woods, and she pleads for her life closely mirrors the scene in Miller's Crossing where characters Tom Raegan and Bernie Bernbaum do the same. The music that follows ('O Danny Boy') also being part of another significant scene from Miller's Crossing. | Miller's Crossing | ||
| Loplop | The scene where the gas station proprietor Maynard Oltorf is intimidated by Hanzee Dent has similarities to the scene between Anton Chigurh and the store clerk in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | |
| Maynard Oltorf noted how Ed Blumquist says, 'we're going crazy up there at the lake'. The same line uttered by a witness in Fargo (1996) who reports on Carl Showalter, who is also at the time couped up in a cabin near a lake in a different location. | Fargo | ||
| Peggy Blumquist tries to watch the same documentary about bark beetles as Marge and Norm Gunderson do. Her attempt to fix it by banging the antenna also references Carl Showalter doing the same in their cabin. | Fargo | ||
| Though not written by both Coens, Ethan Coen's book, Gates of Eden features a short story, The Boys, about a dysfunctional family that go on a camping trip near Sioux Falls and Lake Vermillion. | Gates of Eden* | ||
| The Castle | Martin Freeman's character of Barton Brixby as the narrator shares a name with Barton Fink. Both characters being writers (though one writes fiction and the other writes history). | Barton Fink | |
| ‘The History of True Crime in the Mid-West’ mentions Peggy Blumquist to be Peggy Knutson before marriage and to have grown up on a farm in Minnesota. This matches Bunny Lebowski, née Knutson, who grew up on a farm in Moorhead, Minnesota in The Big Lebowski. Moorhead being adjoined to Fargo, North Dakota. This could be interpreted as a reference to Peggy and Bunny being potentially related, considering Hawley’s conformation of The Big Lebowski’s canonicity. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| The presence of the UFO matches the presence of the UFO in The Man Who Wasn't There. Both appearances are off beat; to be questioned why and appear before a pivotal character death. | The Man Who Wasn’t There | ||
| Features the song 'Run Through the Jungle', which features in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| Palindrome | Betsy Solverson's dream of the future very closely mirrors the dreams of the future had by Hi McDonnough in Raising Arizona. Both sequences present a happy future of family life and quickly shift into a nightmare of the antagonist lit by firelight | Raising Arizona | |
| Mike Milligan refers to Ricky G as Friendo, as Anton Chigurh does in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| Hank's use of the phrase 'see ya in the funny papers' is reflective of Big Dan Teague saying the same in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. | O Brother, Where Art Thou? |
Series 3[]
| Series | Episode | Reference | Film |
| 3 | The Law of Vacant Places | The opening shot of the interior of the microphone (accompanied with music rising in tension) mirrors the opening of the interior of the ear canal in A Serious Man. | A Serious Man |
| The opening Berlin 1988 scene has similarities to the Coen Brother's short film Tuileries which featured in the anthology Paris, je t'aime (2006). Both are set in a single room in a European language and country. Both involve miscommunication and end on a shot of a framed picture. | Tuileries | ||
| The scene is also similar to the prologue in A Serious Man. Again, set in a single space. Like the Berlin scene, it is also in a foreign language and country and involves someone accusing somebody else to be a different person they claim to be. | A Serious Man | ||
| Features the shop Red Owl grocery, a real Minnesotan supermarket chain, included in A Serious Man. | A Serious Man | ||
| A couple being parole officer and parolee matches Raising Arizona's police officer and criminal pairing of Hi and Ed. | Raising Arizona | ||
| A criminal (Maurice LeFay) fondling a silver lighter in a bar before being asked to commit a crime for someone that will then lead the plot is reflective of Loren Visser from Blood Simple. | Blood Simple | ||
| Maurice loses control of a vehicle after failing to throw a joint out of a closed window and it landing on his lap. As done by The Dude in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| The written word 'Eden Prairie' could be misread as the word 'Coen' Prairie. | N/A | ||
| The game bridge mirrors the use of bowling in The Big Lebowski. Both retro and mundane games are given strong attention and are enjoyed by the leading and eccentric characters. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| A poorer man accidentally robbed instead of the intended richer man of the same name is done in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| The scratches on Thaddeus Mobley's floor at the feet of where he had been restrained is reflective of the scratches on the floor where Anton Chigurh restrains and kills a police officer in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| The Principle of Restricted Choice | The shot of Gloria Burgle in bed and deliberating, then acting on her thoughts closely mirrors the shot of Llewelyn Moss in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | |
| The presence of Russians behind a capitalistic environment is familiar of Hail, Caesar!. | Hail, Caesar! | ||
| The man in Ray Stussy's parole office tells a story similar to the one told by Hi McDonnough’s prison inmate in Raising Arizona. | Raising Arizona | ||
| Emmit Stussy mentions Stan Grossman. A direct reference to the character from Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| The Law of Non-Contradiction | Isolating an episode to Los Angeles, California allows reference to the films Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski and Hail, Caesar!. All of which being set in this location. | -Barton Fink
-The Big Lebowski -Hail, Caesar! | |
| The neon star on the motel wall matches the stars on the wall of the bowling alley in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| Elements of Gloria's motel room reflect elements of Barton Fink. Involving close attention put on a pair of shoes, the typing of a typewriter and a box where the contents of which are neither one thing or the other. | Barton Fink | ||
| Gloria has similarities to the problems faced by Ed Crane in The Man Who Wasn't There, who was played by Billy Bob Thornton. Both characters face an existential crisis, questioning their identity and partly believing they don't exist. Both characters pursue their identity by putting their faith into pursuing the story of another person. (Gloria pursues the story of Thaddeus Mobley and Ed does the same with Birdy Abundas.) Both characters come to the realisation that there’s nothing special about these people. | The Man Who Wasn't There | ||
| The diner Gloria visits has seating booths similar to the diner the nihilists visit in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| The employee at the writer's guild slowly walking to a ringing bell and silencing it with her finger mirrors Chet doing the same in Baton Fink. | Baton Fink | ||
| Paul Murrane's story about the divorced/married couple references Schrödinger's Cat, a theme which strongly plays a part in A Serious Man. The concept is also played with in Barton Fink and Inside Llewyn Davis. | -Barton Fink
-A Serious Man -Inside Llewyn Davis | ||
| Ethan Coen's short story Destiny from Gates of Eden features a character of similar description to the older Howard Zimmerman. Zimmerman and 'Mr Curtis' also both use an electrolarynx. | Gates of Eden* | ||
| Gloria Burgle recreates the pivotal beach picture in Barton Fink, the recreation of which is highly significant in the film. | Barton Fink | ||
| The Narrow Escape Problem | A shot of Emmit Stussy putting on shoes with a shoehorn mirrors a shot of Hi doing the same in Raising Arizona. | Raising Arizona | |
| Sy corrects someone for not using the 'preferred nomenclature' similarly to Walter in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| Moe Dammick's reference to a war he fought in, while having nothing to do with the situation, is regularly done by Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| Winnie Lopez's questioning of Sy Feltz is reflective of marge Gunderson's questioning of Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo (1996). Both a friendly female officer questioning a nervous and guilty man in his workplace. | Fargo | ||
| Winnie's use of the phrase 'turnin' in', referring to going to sleep is said by Marge Gunderson in the final scene of Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| The House of Special Purpose | Ray Stussy uses the phrase 'So you're saying... What are you saying?', as used by Stan Grossman in Fargo. | Fargo | |
| Beethoven's 'Appassionata' (also played in episode 6 and 10 and commented on by V.M. Varga) is played in The Man Who Wasn't There. | The Man Who Wasn't There | ||
| The Lord of No Mercy | The phrase 'mere surmise' is repeated in A Serious Man, both uses is a character confused by this phrasing. | A Serious Man | |
| The full name of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) is referenced by Varga, as done by Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski. Both times is it specified the distinction between him and 'the walrus' (John Lennon) to avoid confusion. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| The presentation of Nikki Swango entering the motel room while building expectation to see Meemo inside is similar to Ed Tom Bell doing the same in No Country For Old Men with Anton Chigurh expected to be inside. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| The Law of Inevitability | During Nikki's arrest is a similar documentary on insects playing on the television as featured in Fargo. | Fargo | |
| The police storming Nikki’s motel room and arresting her closely mirrors Jerry Lundegaard arrest in Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| Who Rules the Land of Denial? | The passing rubberneckers followed and killed by Meemo mirrors those who are killed by Gaear Grimsrud in Fargo. | Fargo | |
| The use of the bowling alley obviously references The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| Paul Marrane has obvious close similarities The Stranger from The Big Lebowski. Both are reflective of religious figures, Paul matching The Wandering Jew and The Stranger theorised to be God. Both appear sat next to a lead character at the bar of a bowling alley and appear as the shot pans out to them. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| The use of a ginger cat being used to symbolise a major character is a reference to Inside Llewyn Davis. In which a secretary says "Llewyn is the cat" while Paul Marrane says, "Ray is the cat." | Inside Llewyn Davis | ||
| Aporia | Nikki's line about a briefcase being full of underwear references Walter Sobchak’s 'ringer' full of undies in The Big Lebowski. Both cases are to be handed over to someone who is intended to believe it to be full of money. | The Big Lebowski | |
| The action of Mr. Wrench sawing off the barrel of a shotgun mirrors Llewelyn Moss doing the same in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| Somebody to Love | The title of the episode references the song 'Somebody to Love' which features throughout A Serious Man. This episode most strongly playing on the themes of accepting the mystery of not knowing whether one thing or the other happened as done throughout A Serious Man. | A Serious Man |
Series 4[]
| Series | Episode | Reference | Film |
| 4 | Welcome to the Alternate Economy | The character of Constant Calamita has similarities to Eddie Dane from Miller's Crossing. As well as appearance, both are tall imposing enforcers for an Italian mafia who are later burnt in the face. | Miller's Crossing |
| The bank where Loy Cannon visits Clayton Winckle to present the credit card uses pneumatic pipes as a messaging system, the same system is significantly used in The Hudsucker Proxy. | The Hudsucker Proxy | ||
| Clayton Winkle saying "And you're saying... the bank... What're you saying?" is again similar to Stan Grossman's use of the phrase in Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| The Land of Taking and Killing | The line "We released ourselves of our own recognisance" referring to Zelmare Roulette and Swanee Capps's prison escape is said by Gale and Evelle Snoats from Raising Arizona. The scene in which the two escape also mirrors Gale and Evelle's escape, screaming in joy at their escape and then freshening up in a public restroom. | Raising Arizona | |
| Loy Cannon calling recent events 'the rumpus' references Miller's Crossing in which the phrase is repeated. | Miller's Crossing | ||
| The captive bolt gun used in the slaughterhouse is commonly associated as the weapon and tool of Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| Oreatta telling Ethelrida she's making her into one of her 'special projects' mirrors Llewelyn Moss telling Anton Chigurh he's going to make him a 'special project of mine'. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| Raddoppiarlo | The character of Dick Wickware lightly mirrors Sheriff Cooley from O Brother, Where Art Thou?, both being members of the US law enforcement who wear round dark tinted glasses and are resilient in catching their convicts | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | |
| Omie Sparkman says "Girl, you have a panty on your head." matching the remark of a passing driver in Raising Arizona who says to Hi "Son, you have a panty on your head". | Raising Arizona | ||
| Omie keeping a shotgun prepared and stationed hidden under the desk and firing it is similar to the botched robbery in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs | ||
| Docter Senator saying to Loy Cannon: "Hm-hmm. Hubris to think you can control things. That's why God created tornadoes. To remind us" references the actual tornado at the end of A Serious Man, symbolizing the deep ambiguity and uncertainty of life, a central theme of the film. | A Serious Man | ||
| The Pretend War | The imagery of constant dripping in a shoddy hotel room is synonomous with the room in Barton Fink. | Barton Fink | |
| The Birthplace of Civilisation | Ethelrida Pearl Smutny says the line "What's the rumpus?", the same is repeated in Miller's Crossing. | Miller's Crossing | |
| The truck owned by Mort Kellerman has the word 'Treehorn' on the side, referencing Jackie Treehorn from The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski | ||
| Camp Elegance | The scene where Odis Weff is attacked in his home references two films. First, the figure behind the shower curtain remaining still and then jumping out on him is reflective of Jean Lundegaard doing the same to Gaear Grimsrud in Fargo. | Fargo | |
| Secondly, Omie Sparkman suffocating Odis with the shower curtain on the floor is shot the same way Anton Chigurh strangles the officer in No Country For Old Men. In both attacks is the distant sound of a train passing heard. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| Lay Away | Loy Cannon whipping Leon Bittle is shot to mirror Shep Proudfoot doing the same to Carl Showalter in Fargo. | Fargo | |
| Omie Sparkman says the phrase "See ya in the funny papers" to Gaetano Fadda. The same phrase is said by Big Dan Teague in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | ||
| The Nadir | |||
| East/West | The Barton Arms Inn is a reference to The Barton Arms apartments in Miller's Crossing which is in itself a reference to Barton Fink which was being written at the same time. | -Barton Fink
-Miller’s Crossing | |
| The character Hunk Swindell claims to have the gift of the gab, similarly done by Big Dan Teague in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | ||
| The two elderly sisters who own The Barton Arms (as well as referencing The Wizard of Oz) also reference Grandma Turner from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. A character who is only seen sat at the table of a boarding house and is hard of hearing. A character also named Grandma Turner appears in True Grit, again being very elderly and residing in a boarding house. | -The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
-True Grit | ||
| The characters Major Hamar and Millie are reflective of the lead characters from True Grit, Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross. Hamar being a grizzled old man with an eyepatch travelling with a young girl with a phonetically similar name. | True Grit | ||
| As Satchel Cannon waits on his bed holding up his gun to the door followed by a shot of the light under the door mirrors Llewelyn Moss' similar action in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| The slogan to Hudsucker Industries 'The Future is Now' which is present throughout The Hudsucker Proxy features on the billboard outside the Barton Arms. | The Hudsucker Proxy | ||
| Happy | |||
| Storia Americana | Ethan Coen's The Gates of Eden, in the story 'Destiny', features a character considering the middle name 'Harold "Happy" Landing', similar to 'Lionel "Happy" Holloway’s' nickname. | The Gates of Eden* | |
| Josto Fadda pleads for his life to Joe Bulo stating "You don't have to do this". The same is said by Carson Wells pleading for his life from Anton Chigurh. In both situations the are abruptly shot and killed while pleading. | No Country For Old Men | ||
| The final shot being that of Ethelrida with the real version of Loy's copy of 'Summary Execution Under the Moorish Kings of Grenada' holds light similarities with the Coen Brother's short film Tuileries, both being set in Paris and significantly featuring a famous painting. | Tuileries |
Series 5[]
|
|
The Tragedy of the Commons | Dot’s daughter, Scotty Lyon shares a first name with Jerry Lundergaard’s son, Scotty Lundergaard, from Fargo (1996). | Fargo |
| Indira Olmstead says ‘It’s a beautiful day’ while driving Dot Lyon to the station, similar to Marge Gunderson’s remark driving Gaear Grimsrud at the end of Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| Dot’s mugshot photo and arresting process is shot similarly to Hi McDonough’s in Raising Arizona. | Raising Arizona | ||
| Dot’s kidnapping directly mirrors Jean Lundergaard’s kidnapping in Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| Ole Munch and Donald Ireland being pulled over on the road during their kidnapping directly mirrors Carl Showalter and Grimsrud doing the same in Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| Trials and Tribulations | Roy Tillman’s opening monologue begins in a near identical way to the opening monologue of Sherrif Ed Tom Bell in No Country for Old Men. | No Country for Old Men | |
| Ole Munch says he is a nihilist, and he believes in nothing. Asserted the same way as the nihilists in The Big Lebowski. | The Big Lebowski. | ||
| Lorraine Lyon says ‘for richer or poorer’ when referring to breaking up a marriage, as done by Julian Marty in Blood Simple. | Blood Simple | ||
| A Tannoy in Wayne Lyon’s dealership mentions a special deal on a TruCoat sealant, as mentioned in Jerry Lundergaard’s dealership in Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| Insolubilia | The car Ole Munch drives is the same make, model, year and color (blue 1984 Ford Tempo) as the one driven in Fargo by the two by-passers who are later killed by Gaear Grimsud. | Fargo | |
| Ole Munch already strikes similarities with Gaear Grimsrud, being the tall, imposing and quite one of two kidnappers. His request for pancakes is similar to Grimsrud's remark in Fargo. | Fargo | ||
| The Tiger | |||
| The Tender Trap | The tracking device Gator uses to follow Munch’s car is identical to the one used by Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men. | No Country For Old Men | |
| Linda | Munch axing the elderly woman’s son to death is shot near identically to Gaear Grimsrud axing Carl Showalter in Fargo. | Fargo | |
| Gator sniping Munch's decoy through the window strikes similarities with Loren Visser sniping Ray in Blood Simple. | Blood Simple | ||
| Blanket | |||
| The Useless Hand | |||
| Bisquik | Munch's fiinal arrival in the Lyon home mirrors Anton Chigurh's final arrival at the end of No Country For Old Men in the home of Carla Jean Moss. In both instances, Anton and Munch insist on fulfilling their principles, while Carla Jean Moss and Dot Lyon rebuff their intentions and refuse to play to the visitor's principles. | No Country For Old Men |
Repeated Actors[]
Fargo often uses actors who appear in one or many of the Coen Brother's films to match the feel of the Coen Brothers.
Repeated actors:
- Billy Bob Thornton. Thornton portrays Lorne Malvo and The Narrator in S3 E4. Thornton previously played the leading role of Ed Crane in the film The Man Who Wasn't There (2001).
- David Thewlis. Thewlis portrays V.M. Varga and Robot in S3 E3. Thewlis previously played Knox Harrington in the film The Big Lebowski (1998).
- Michael Stuhlbarg. Stuhlbarg portrays Sy Feltz and had previously played Larry Gopnik, the leading role in A Serious Man (2009).
- Jennifer Jason Leigh. Leigh portrays Lorraine Lyon and previously played Amy Archer in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) and a female inmate in an uncredited voice cameo in The Man Who Wasn't There (2001).
- Jack Huston. Huston portrays Odis Weff. Huston previously had a minor role in Hail, Caesar! (2016).
- Stephen Root. Root portrays Burt Canton. Root had previously played Mr. Lund in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Fernand Gudge in The LadyKillers (2004), the leader of the Dallas Mob in No Country For Old Men (2007) and The Teller in The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018).
- Elizabeth Marvel. Marvel portrays Constance Heck. Marvel had previously played Sandy Pfarrer in Burn After Reading (2008) and the older Mattie Ross in True Grit (2010).
- Bruce Campbell. Campbell portrays Ronald Reagan. Campbell previously played Smitty in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), appeared as an actor in the soap opera in Fargo (1996) and played the Humane Society Worker in The LadyKillers (2004).
- Fred Melamed. Melamed portrays Howard Zimmerman. Melamed previously played antagonist Sy Ableman in A Serious Man (2009) and one of the Communist writers in Hail, Caesar! (2016).
- Adam Arkin. Arkin portrays Hamish Broker and directed S2 E9 & E10. Arkin previously played Don Milgram in A Serious Man (2009).
- Wayne Duvall. Duvall portrays Jeb Cheney. Duvall previously played Homer Stokes in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).
- Gary Houston. Houston portrays major Hamar. Houston previously played the Irate Customer in Fargo (1996).
- Tom Musgrave. Musgrave portrayed Bo Munk. Though not appearing in any Coen Brothers film by the time he was in Fargo, Musgrave would later play one of the Communist writers in Hail, Caesar! (2016).