Is Fargo a true story

Answer 1

The movie starts with captioning saying that the movie was inspired by a true story. However, when listening to the audio commentary included on the DVD, we hear the Coen brothers admit that the movie is, in fact, purely fictitious. They wanted to see how far they could push the boundaries of fiction, reasoning that if they are telling a story, all parts can be inherently fictitious even if presented as fact.

Answer 2

Despite the disclaimer at the beginning ("This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987...") the 1996 movie Fargo was NOT based on a true story. It is pure fiction. See the Related Link below for the snopes.com page.