Where Was Fargo Filmed? An Oscar-Winning Black Comedy Flick!!

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Have you finished watching Tarantino’s black comedy flick, Death Proof? Are you looking for something similar? Well, then we suggest you watch Fargo starring Steve Buscemi. Later in this piece, I’ll also share with you where was Fargo filmed.

The American hysterical crime thriller Fargo was released back in 1996. Famous Hollywood filmmakers Ethan and Joel Coen co-directed this amazing film, along with writing the entire screenplay.

The basic premise of Fargo revolves around the character of Jerry Lundeegard, a middle-aged American car salesman living in Minnesota. The story gets interesting when the lead actor’s criminal motifs are not fulfilled due to the intervention of a diligent female cop, Marge Gunderson.

Fargo performed extraordinarily well at the box office. This crime drama film grossed over $60 million in worldwide collections. The commercial performance of Fargo exceeded the expectation of the makers and many critics. Apart from winning 81 major awards in total, this intriguing film also managed to bag 2 Academy awards.

If you’re really intrigued to find out more about this award-winning movie, then without waiting anymore, let’s discuss where was Fargo filmed.

Where Was Fargo Filmed? Let’s Know This Crime Thriller Movie Closely!

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the story of Fargo is set in a suburban city in Minnesota. But I think you’d be amazed to know that not all sequences of this movie were filmed in and around the state of Minnesota.

Apart from filming almost three-quarters of the movie in and around this mid-western state, the Coen Brothers also thought of shooting some scenes in North Dakota. 

The filming locations in Minnesota were perfect enough for shooting the entire movie. But since the title of the film is Fargo, the directors thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to film some sequences in and around the actual city in North Dakota.

However, apart from these reasons, another main reason was to depict the backstory of an important character who lived in North Dakota during the early stages of his life. So, after the filming locations were selected by the Coen brothers, they asked the crew to commence filming.

The principal photography of Fargo began in the fourth week of January 1995 and continued until the final week of March of the same year. The shooting schedule lasted for two months or so, however, the makers still weren’t able to release the movie in the same year.

This happened because the promotion and the post-production process of this project started pretty late. After the Coen brothers wrapped the shooting process, they got invested in some other work, leaving this project hanging for quite some time.

Finally, by the third week of December 1995, the filming crew began working on the post-production and continued working till the second week of January 1996. Retrospectively, if the Coen brothers would’ve started working on the post-production process sooner, Fargo would’ve been released by the end of 1995.

Alright, coming back to our main topic, where was Fargo filmed, let us now take a closer look at the filming locations of this Oscar-winning film.

Minnesota | USA

The opening scene of the movie, where we see the character of Lundegaard inside a local bar in Minnesota, was actually filmed in Minneapolis. The production members took filming permission from the owners of King of Clubs, located in the downtown area of Minneapolis, and filmed the opening scene.

A couple of pieces of lighting equipment were strategically placed inside this nightclub before capturing the interior scene. Other important outdoor scenes in Minnesota were filmed near St. Louis Park, Brainerd, and South St. Paul.

The sequence where we see Stockman’s Truck Shop in the movie was actually filmed near South St. Paul, Minnesota.  The interior scenes of the Brainerd Police Department, however, were shot in a different location.

The production members used Edina City Hall, located at 4801 West 50th St, Edina, and filmed the interior shots of Officer Marge’s Police Department.

After shooting some more outdoor scenes in and around the state of Minnesota, the production members moved to the next filming location.

North Dakota | USA

The final phase of the shooting took place in the state of North Dakota. The scene where we see the character of Lundegaard burying the money in the snow was filmed near an abandoned place in Grafton, North Dakota.

The ending scene of the film was captured in Fargo, after which the entire shooting process came to an end.

Ok, it’s time for me to walk you through the plot of Fargo. In the meantime, you can also read Ex Machina, Tides, and Whatever Happened To Baby Jane.

Plot Of Fargo | What’s It About

Where Was Fargo Filmed? An Oscar-Winning Black Comedy Flick!!

The story of Fargo revolves around the character of Jerry Lundegaard, an amateur criminal, and a diligent female police officer, Marge Gunderson. At the very beginning of the movie, the character of Jerry appears to be talking to his henchmen about the next robbery.

As the story progresses further, Jerry’s stooges are not able to execute the plan and eventually get caught by the police. Upon further investigation, they name Jerry to be the main mastermind. Shortly after, the chief of the Brainerd Police Department, Marge Gunderson, starts pursuing Jerry.

Watch Fargo and find out how Marge is finally able to get hold of the amateur criminal in the end.

Final Words

I hope now you finally know where was Fargo filmed. If you haven’t watched this hysterical crime movie yet, you can definitely consider watching it this weekend. Plus, now you’d be able to spot the filming locations of Fargo too.

If you wish to read other intriguing pieces like Where was Fargo filmed, then check out the latest blogs on Viebly. 

Who Is The Cinematographer Of The Film Fargo?

Roger Deakins is the cinematographer of the film Fargo.

What Is The Rating Of The Film Fargo?

The film Fargo has an R rating.

Who Is The Music Director Of The Film Fargo?

Carter Burwell is the music director of the film Fargo.

Who Is The Producer Of The Film Fargo?

Ethan Coen was the producer of the film Fargo.

Ujwal Mattoo
Ujwal Mattoo
With full journalism and half engineering background, Ujwal has hands in both the tech and creative fields. He is a film enthusiast who loves all kinds of genres. As much as he enjoys watching movies, he is always amused to know more and write about the locations to feed his hunger for traveling. In this world of fictional louds, he voices his opinions softly! He is either busy writing or playing with Milo, his dog!

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