How much of fargo is true

Joel and Ethan Coen 's masterpiece Fargo opens with a very specific disclaimer: "This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed.

Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred. So what's the real story here? Was Fargo based on actual events? Or were the Coens just pulling our legs all along? Well, one thing we can say for certain is that, despite what they want you to believe, the Coens were definitely not dramatizing any real-life event "exactly as it occurred.

Jerry's plan is to use the kidnapping to extort his father-in-law Harve Presnell , who owns the dealership where Jerry works, for some much-needed cash. Being that this is a Coen Brothers film, it's easy to guess that the criminals end up not being very bright, and things quickly spiral out of control, especially once a savvy and very pregnant police detective by the name of Marge Gunderson Frances McDormand starts working the case.

After Gaear murders a state trooper, he starts butting heads with Carl, while Jerry grows more and more desperate to retrieve his wife.

It would be tragic if the Coens weren't so good at finding the dark humor in the most bizarre and violent of circumstances. There was no kidnapping. There was no murder. But beyond that, the story is made up. The TV show similarly revolves around crime and murder. Season 2 revolves around a hit-and-run cover-up and a triple homicide. And Season 4 delves into two clashing crime families in Kansas City, Missouri. But the show is overall even less based in reality than the original film. John McNamara is a felon who was convicted of a Ponzi scheme fraud.

Only McNamara owned the dealership the vans were being purchased from, the customization company, the shipping company that claimed it was sending the vans to Cyprus, and 67 different corporations and partnerships that were involved in his scheme. None of these vans were ever actually purchased or sold. His sentence was reduced to five years on the basis that he would provide evidence against the officials he had bribed.

But what about the wood chipper? In a special edition of the Fargo DVD it was confirmed that element of the film was based on the tragic murder of Helle Crafts.

She was never seen again. The investigation and trial revealed that her husband Richard Crafts murdered Helle and disposed of her body in a rented wood chipper. Richard Crafts was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the crime. As of January of , Crafts has been released from prison. He currently lives in a halfway house in New Haven.

So why say that there is?