tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post7894568480030734715..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: Films I Love #46: Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1995)Ed Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-23301654348005249902010-04-20T08:38:28.870-04:002010-04-20T08:38:28.870-04:00Good review
I enjoy this movie, but it seems to m...Good review<br /><br />I enjoy this movie, but it seems to me that it could not decide weather it wanted to be a comedy, a tragedy or some kind of tribute to Stanley Kubrick. Some parts were incredibly funny, others just made absolutely no sense at all. If SOME of the melodramatic moments were taken out it would have been fineInformation Reviewhttp://informationtypes.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-293253172104211672009-12-15T17:06:50.034-05:002009-12-15T17:06:50.034-05:00"Plus, Neil Young is an icon, no matter what ..."Plus, Neil Young is an icon, no matter what age you are"<br /><br />I'm 20 and people who don't like Neil Young make me sad. If you can't feel the beauty of Harvest or rock out to Everybody Knows This is Nowhere then you must have fallen out of an Antonioni film because you can't be real.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-25618183940236903512009-12-15T10:08:43.169-05:002009-12-15T10:08:43.169-05:00Thanks, Rick, hope you enjoy it. Plus, Neil Young ...Thanks, Rick, hope you enjoy it. Plus, Neil Young <i>is</i> an icon, no matter what age you are.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-52647232740560229852009-12-15T10:06:12.209-05:002009-12-15T10:06:12.209-05:00Dead Man is Jim Jarmusch's feverish American n...<i>Dead Man is Jim Jarmusch's feverish American nightmare, a poetic vision of the American West — and the movie Western — as an endless plain of absurdist violence and senseless destruction.</i><br /><br />Nice writing, Ed.<br /><br />For me, Jarmsuch has always been hit or miss. But you've very powerfully evoked this one for me. I'll certainly see it. Plus, I am of an age that Rick Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846018585978997261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-38246670177124451282009-12-13T23:27:27.843-05:002009-12-13T23:27:27.843-05:00Thanks, Ryan and Film Buff. I love films that deco...Thanks, Ryan and Film Buff. I love films that deconstruct familiar images and archetypes, so obviously Jarmusch is interesting for me in that respect, especially <i>Dead Man</i> and <i>Ghost Dog</i>, which really is like a companion piece, deconstructing some different genres from <i>Dead Man</i>'s Western roots.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-36531230332346399342009-12-13T22:49:07.813-05:002009-12-13T22:49:07.813-05:00Wonderful review of a wonderful movie Ed. I have t...Wonderful review of a wonderful movie Ed. I have to catch up with JR's book too. <br /><br />A special mentiuon must be made for Robby Muller...just another film buffhttp://theseventhart.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-28196705156701622432009-12-12T19:00:13.002-05:002009-12-12T19:00:13.002-05:00Great piece. I was lukewarm on Jarmusch for a whil...Great piece. I was lukewarm on Jarmusch for a while, but I've started to turn around on the guy in a big way, and this is a movie that I respect much more in hindsight. I think what I enjoy most about Jarmusch is the way he thoughtfully deconstructs screen iconography. Ghost Dog and The Limits of Control are worthy companion pieces to Dead Man, as they similarly subvert screen archetypes.Ryan Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18054550377681273142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-2860708755843640902009-12-11T13:47:20.609-05:002009-12-11T13:47:20.609-05:00You don't have to defend Neil Young to me. I l...You don't have to defend Neil Young to me. I love the guy. He's still shreddin' the guitar after all these years and putting on 3hr.+ shows. I should be so lucky to be spry when I hit that age! I also love how he recorded to the soundtrack to DEAD MAN -- old school, by just watching the film and playing along. After two viewings he was done!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164105442273577128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-79254655251072500982009-12-11T13:37:16.571-05:002009-12-11T13:37:16.571-05:00Well, the Rosenbaum book is definitely going furth...Well, the Rosenbaum book is definitely going further up on my must-read list. Sounds great, J.D. And yeah, I have the soundtrack on CD and really love it, even in isolation from the film; it's just haunting and beautiful, though of course its patient rhythms are enhanced by the film's images, particularly that shot of the chugging train wheels. Along with <i>On the Beach</i> it's one Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-60911493089731571332009-12-11T13:06:32.263-05:002009-12-11T13:06:32.263-05:00I'm with you Ed, I love this film. I've ne...I'm with you Ed, I love this film. I've never been a massive Jarmusch fan, though I do hold his best work in high regard, and <i>Dead Man</i> is certainly one of his very best; a poetic and visionary offering, and as you pointed out, one of the greatest "revisionist" westerns ever. Everything in this film is so carefully calibrated as to create an almost intoxicating viewing Drew McIntoshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07054307044280470117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-60497646218041376382009-12-11T12:17:23.709-05:002009-12-11T12:17:23.709-05:00The Rosenbaum BFI book is excellent and a must-rea...The Rosenbaum BFI book is excellent and a must-read if you're at all a fan of this film. He even interviews Jarmusch for the book and goes into great detail about the film's depiction of Native American Indians, which is fascinating as hell. I didn't realize how much inside jokes/info Jarmusch put in there in regards to Native American culture. Reading Rosenbaum's book certainly Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164105442273577128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-54851105114541889362009-12-11T11:40:08.128-05:002009-12-11T11:40:08.128-05:00I haven't read the Rosenbaum book, though I re...I haven't read the Rosenbaum book, though I really should; I've often heard that it's one of the best of the BFI book series. I really need to see <i>The Limits of Control</i>, as well. Jarmusch's films aren't always total masterpieces, but they're always at least interesting and thought-provoking, and every once in a while he delivers a total gem like the ones we've Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-69932454439603330992009-12-11T11:33:29.758-05:002009-12-11T11:33:29.758-05:00Have you read Rosenbaum's mini-book on it, by ...Have you read Rosenbaum's mini-book on it, by chance? I only saw the film recently so I didn't seek his essay out before I could have my own experience with it (plus, it's not like genuinely interesting film books can be found in a typical bookstore for all the "Leonard Maltin's Guide to What's Tame and Lame 2012" copies). I ran through Jarmusch's 80s work (most Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-3725596122291848992009-12-11T10:56:55.388-05:002009-12-11T10:56:55.388-05:00Doniphon, totally agreed that this is one of Jarmu...Doniphon, totally agreed that this is one of Jarmusch's best. As much as I like him in general, the only other film of his that comes close for me is <i>Down By Law</i>. This film is simply overpowering in its effect, from Depp's performance to the Neil Young score to the wealth of idiosyncratic cameos to the gorgeous b&w cinematography.<br /><br />Jake, I love that opening scene too,Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-24529333369006256132009-12-11T10:48:26.640-05:002009-12-11T10:48:26.640-05:00I think the opening segment of this film alone has...I think the opening segment of this film alone has more to say about the West than 90% of what the rest of the genre has to offer. It may actually trump McCabe & Mrs. Miller on my list of revisionist Westerns, though I'm not going to split hairs in an argument in which everyone wins.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-85633501422177662782009-12-11T09:39:28.465-05:002009-12-11T09:39:28.465-05:00Thanks so much for posting this. I love classical ...Thanks so much for posting this. I love classical westerns, but Dead Man is just as extraordinary as Man Of The West or The Searchers. I think it's Jarmusch's best movie, it's so strange and beautiful. I love Robert Mitchum in it too.Doniphonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407443845368110678noreply@blogger.com