Directed by Jim Jarmusch • 1984 • United States, Germany
Starring John Lurie, Richard Edson, Eszter Balint
With this breakout film, Jim Jarmusch established himself as one of the most exciting voices in the burgeoning independent-film scene, a road-movie poet with an affinity for Americana at its most offbeat. Jarmusch follows rootless Hungarian émigré Willie (John Lurie), his pal Eddie (Richard Edson), and his visiting sixteen-year-old cousin, Eva (Eszter Balint), as they drift from New York’s Lower East Side to the snowy expanses of Lake Erie and the drab beaches of Florida, always managing to make the least of wherever they end up. Structured as a series of master-shot vignettes etched in black and white by cinematographer Tom DiCillo, STRANGER THAN PARADISE is a nonchalant masterpiece of deadpan comedy and perfectly calibrated minimalism.
Up Next in Directed by Jim Jarmusch
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Down by Law
Directed by Jim Jarmusch • 1986 • United States
Starring Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto BenigniDirector Jim Jarmusch followed up his brilliant breakout film STRANGER THAN PARADISE with another, equally beloved portrait of loners and misfits in the American landscape. When fate brings together t...
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Mystery Train
Directed by Jim Jarmusch • 1989 • United States
Starring Masatoshi Nagase, Youki Kudoh, Nicoletta BraschiAloof teenage Japanese tourists, a frazzled Italian widow, and a disgruntled British immigrant all converge in the city of dreams—which, in MYSTERY TRAIN, from Jim Jarmusch, is Memphis. Made...
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Night on Earth
Directed by Jim Jarmusch • 1991 • France, United Kingdom, Germany, United States, Japan
Starring Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Rosie PerezFive cities. Five taxicabs. A multitude of strangers in the night. Jim Jarmusch assembled an extraordinary international cast of actors (including Gena Rowlan...
