Fargo

Fargo screens at the Paramount and Stateside Theatres on Sunday, August 9, as part of the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series. The Coen brothers' 1996 crime comedy is the main feature, and it's one of those movies that works just as well on a big screen as it does at home.

If you've seen it a dozen times, it's still worth catching here. There's something about the Coens' particular kind of dry, Midwestern humor—the slow-burn tension and the deadpan delivery—that hits differently when you're in a room full of people. And if you've never seen it, it's a great place to start with their work: a botched kidnapping, a small-town police chief who's far more capable than she looks, and a whole lot of snowy Minnesota landscape.

The screening is at the Paramount, which is the oldest surviving theatre in Austin. It opened on Congress Avenue in 1915, and it's a City and State Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's also one of the few remaining 'hemp houses' in the country, built back when hemp was used for insulation. Over the years, it's become the city's go-to for red-carpet premieres, and it's a regular part of the SXSW and Austin Film Festival programs. It also hosts the Moontower Comedy Festival. The Paramount is run alongside the neighboring State Theatre under the Austin Theatre Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

This particular screening is part of the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series, so it's one of several classics they're bringing back to the big screen throughout the season. Doors open at 6 PM on Sunday, August 9, at the Paramount, 713 Congress.