“A homespun murder mystery” (as described on the the memorable needlepoint poster), Fargo was/is a terrific showcase for the prodigious storytelling talents of Joel and Ethan Coen. Propelled by the knockout performance of Frances McDormand, who created an iconic character in her cheerful but canny Marge Gunderson, the movie is a delicious mix of crime, humor, and pathos, to which cinematographer Roger Deakins — in his mesmerizing images of a snow-blanketed vistas — has added a refreshing bit of ice.
WHERE THESE SCENES WERE SHOT: Numerous locations in both states, including the Coen brothers’ hometown of St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
OTHER “COLD” MOVIES SET IN MINNESOTA (AND DIRECTED BY A COEN BROTHERS COLLABORATOR):A Simple Plan, directed by Hudsucker Proxy co-writer Sam Raimi.
Spanning the tumultuous years that gave birth to the Soviet Union, Dr. Zhivago is a grand and glorious epic. Director David Lean wisely makes the landscape a character unto itself (and succeeds in passing off parts of Spain, where the movie was largely filmed, as Mother Russia). In perhaps the movie’s most memorable scene, Yuri Zhivago (played with soulful intensity by Omar Sharif) and his lover Lara (a luminous Julie Christie) return to their ice-covered home in Varykino, now seized and property of “the people.”
WHERE THESE SCENES WERE SHOT: Most of the movie — including the “ice palace” scene (in a set dressed with frozen beeswax) — was filmed in Spain; many winter scenes were shot in Finland and Canada.
OTHER “COLD” MOVIES SET IN RUSSIA:Enemy at the Gates, Stalingrad, Gorky Park, Alexander Nevsky, and Derzu Uzala
As we prepare for the Game of Thrones finale, we recognize Joffrey and nine other baddies who showed us that terrible, horrible things can come in small packages
