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Author Topic: Dead Man  (Read 6623 times)

masterofsparks

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Re: Dead Man
« Reply #20 on: June 25, 2009, 12:05:33 PM »
I was a big Jarmusch fan during college. I've since revisited the movies that I loved then (specifically Mystery Train and Night on Earth) and discovered that they're not nearly as good as I remember.

Having said that, I love Dead Man and Ghost Dog.

Variable

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Re: Dead Man
« Reply #21 on: August 05, 2009, 07:04:27 PM »
I loved this movie. I saw Down By Law a little more recently and I think I liked it more but I really want to check out Dead Man again. Night On  Earth I wasn't crazy about.

I do wish Depp would do something like this again. I don't ever see it happening and I won't say he hasn't entertained me generally (thugh I didn't like Public Enemies at all) but it would be nice to be blown away by him like I was many years ago.

Dead Man was my first Jarmusch and I suppose the best compliment I can give is to say I will happily watch any of his other movies on the strength of this one. Beautiful to watch and thus never boring, but a nice slow burn story that still manages to be strong. and two great acting performances.

exskiman

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Re: Dead Man
« Reply #22 on: August 28, 2009, 09:42:10 PM »
I've seen every Jarmusch film (except Year of the Horse and his newest one which after hearing the awful reviews I decided to wait till its DVD release) and I really like Jarmusch. I absolutely love Night on Earth, Mystery Train and Broken Flowers. I like quite a bit Stranger than Paradise, Down by Law, and Ghost Dog. Coffee and Cigarettes is kind of hit and miss for me but there are still some great scenes. That said I recently saw Dead Man and really disliked it. Its beautifully shot and I liked Depps performance (being 16 and only being introduced to him with the Pirates series also) but the film itself was just tedious for me. Maybe there were things I missed (I am obviously missing a lot in my film knowledge in various genres but Westerners wise I've seen probably just this and Butch Cassidy (though I keep meaning to watch McCabe & Ms.Miller)) but I really disliked the film on the whole.

As Ebert put it in his review of the film: "Jim Jarmusch is trying to get at something here, and I don't have aclue what it is. Are the machines of the East going to destroy the nature of the West? Is the white man doomed, and is the Indian his spiritual guide to thefarther shore? Should you avoid any town that can't use another accountant?"

At least I now can laugh a little more heartily at Nobody's lines in Ghost Dog.

FelixMouse

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Re: Dead Man
« Reply #23 on: September 01, 2009, 06:14:24 AM »
When I first saw Dead Man, I wasn't sure about it. I'd loved Jarmusch's other films - especially Down By Law, which was one of my all time favourite films. I saw Dead Man at a flea pit cinema in London's Piccadilly Circus on a terrible bunker-like screen and thought it was a bit willfully artful. But then about a year later, I had to write an essay on Westerns for my degree and chose to do Dead Man (mostly because I loved Jarmusch and Depp). So I had to watch the film about 3 more times in a week. And now I totally love it. It gets better with every time I watch it.

If anyone's interested, there's a good book by Jonathan Rosenbaum about it in the BFI classic collection. Unfortunately this was written after I wrote my essay, so didn't help me, but it's still very information ( ike all Rosenbaum's stuff).

And I got a 1st for my essay. But now I'm jyust bragging.

I now think Dead Man is by far Jarmusch's best film. And along with Unforgiven, is the best Western made after 1980.
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skjerva

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Re: Dead Man
« Reply #24 on: September 01, 2009, 11:51:24 AM »
When I first saw Dead Man, I wasn't sure about it. I'd loved Jarmusch's other films - especially Down By Law, which was one of my all time favourite films. I saw Dead Man at a flea pit cinema in London's Piccadilly Circus on a terrible bunker-like screen and thought it was a bit willfully artful. But then about a year later, I had to write an essay on Westerns for my degree and chose to do Dead Man (mostly because I loved Jarmusch and Depp). So I had to watch the film about 3 more times in a week. And now I totally love it. It gets better with every time I watch it.

If anyone's interested, there's a good book by Jonathan Rosenbaum about it in the BFI classic collection. Unfortunately this was written after I wrote my essay, so didn't help me, but it's still very information ( ike all Rosenbaum's stuff).

And I got a 1st for my essay. But now I'm jyust bragging.

I now think Dead Man is by far Jarmusch's best film. And along with Unforgiven, is the best Western made after 1980.

what is/was your degree?
i sometimes think about picking the Rosenbaum book up
what ws the thesis of your essay?
i think The Limits of Control is Jarmusch's best, with Dead Man and Stranger than Paradise close behind

welcome to the boards
But I wish the public could, in the midst of its pleasures, see how blatantly it is being spoon-fed, and ask for slightly better dreams. 
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FelixMouse

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Re: Dead Man
« Reply #25 on: September 02, 2009, 07:41:16 AM »
My degree was in Film and Literature. My essay was about how Jarmusch's film fit into the genre of the western (and the later revisionist westerns). Basically there was a lot about gender, sexuality and identity and how Jarmusch used/played against the typical mythic signifiers of the western genre (and how the film deconstructed/reconstructed those ideas and how this related to USA's myths about at the end of the 20th century). And of course there was some stuff about William Blake and his poetry/mysticism.

I graduated a fair few years ago, but still will read anything Rosenbaum publishes. Movie Wars is especially good.

I've not yet seen The Limits of Control. But am looking forward to it.

And thanks for the welcome.
"In a word - verbs..."
"...and therefore active!"

 

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