Representative of his style going forward. His style takes some getting used to – I see it as sort of anti-narrative.
Mystery Train and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai are my two favorites.
Excellent film. It captured the post moment perfectly. A whole generation felt inspired by it.
the first of his many masterpieces. i love the visit to lake erie, and the great shot of nothingness that accompanies it.
Really like everything Jarmusch has done. Stranger Than Paradise is my favorite of his early work. Richard Edson, John Lurie and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins w. I Put a Spell on You. Wow. On the dvd of Down By Law, JJ gives a commentary on his views of the auteur theory. Very interesting. He was a student of Nicholas Ray and a friend of Sam Fuller. And one of the Sons of Lee Marvin.
One of my favourite films of my short cinephile career.
The concept behind the film especially rings true to me and it does not hurt that the film is very funny at times and shot impeccably.
Pure dope. Hip as hell. It felt so immediate and authentic, lived in, in a way which, unfortunately, is not so true of his later work. I love the bit early on where Lurie and Edson discuss the racing sheet and the horses are named after Ozu films.
I really like it, but it depresses me. It’s pretty funny too.
i was compelled to watch it straight through. it was enjoyable, but finally, didn’t mean much (to me).
i also liked Ghost Dog much better, which forced me to read “Rashomon”, “Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai”, and to watch the film, Rashomon.
Stylistically, one of the things I really liked was the use of all long takes — no cut-ins for close-ups, no over-the-shoulder shots. EVERY scene played out in one take, even though there was camera movement and subject movement. Those “oners,” as they’re called in Hollywood, along with the black-outs between every scene inspired many a film student back in the day.
Dalton R.
What are your thoughts or views on Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise?