- Actors: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover, Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott
- Directors: Jim Jarmusch
- Writers: Jim Jarmusch
- Producers: Demetra J. MacBride, Karen Koch
- Language English
- Classification: 18
- Studio: 4front
- VHS Release Date: 12 April 1999
- Run Time: 121 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004R6UH
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 7,089 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
This disappointment from Jim Jarmusch stars Johnny Depp in a mystery Western about a 19th-century accountant named William Blake, who spends his last coin getting to a hellish mud town in Texas and ends up penniless and doomstruck in the wilderness. A benevolent if goofy Native American (Gary Farmer) takes an interest in guiding Blake on a quest for identity in his earthly journey, but the film is really just a string of endless shtick about inbred woodsmen, dumb lawmen, and a trio of irritable killers. With Robert Mitchum, Iggy Pop, Gabriel Byrne, Alfred Molina, and a noodling soundtrack by Neil Young. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Dead Man is a triumph of cinematography. Jim Jarmusch has created an excellent vehicle for Johnny Depp [William Blake} who is cast as an offbeat innocent drawn into a world where life is cheap and he must delve into the depths of his humanity for survival. Beautifully filmed in Monochome which adds to the atmosphere and enriches the characters and scenic landscape of the old west. Cameo performances from Robert Mitchum, Iggy Pop etc. add the mood and strangeness of this film. Gary Farmer [Nobody], excellent as the indian who befriends Depp and leads him towards his final destiny. The final poignant scenes are both visually beautiful and moving aided by a wonderfully haunting soundtrack by Neil Young which will live long in the memory after the film is over. Depp fans will love this as he is at his best and will watch this one again and again. Highly recommended. B Lynch.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
The critics who panned this film obviously missed the point. They label 'Dead Man' a "revisionist
counter culture western," which deconstructs the genre, reminiscent of some of the more eccentric westerns of the 1970's. Perhaps they feel justified in their role if they can put something into a box and then criticise it for not fitting into the contraints they themselves have placed it in?
This film is simply about the journey - actual and spiritual, of Johnny Depp's character who is changed forever by the people he meets on the way.
Ultimately though, the film is about death. Death of innocence, death of identity, and finally, bodily death. Shot entirely in monochrome, with a poignant soundtrack by Neil Young, there are some great cameo appearances throughout and some superb acting, as ever, by Michael Wincott as Conway Twill.
If you don't bring any pretensions to this movie, you will not come away disappointed. It proves that sometimes, the simplest concepts are beautiful because they are simple, and that sometimes, stories don't need to be told for any other reason than to be enjoyed.
counter culture western," which deconstructs the genre, reminiscent of some of the more eccentric westerns of the 1970's. Perhaps they feel justified in their role if they can put something into a box and then criticise it for not fitting into the contraints they themselves have placed it in?
This film is simply about the journey - actual and spiritual, of Johnny Depp's character who is changed forever by the people he meets on the way.
Ultimately though, the film is about death. Death of innocence, death of identity, and finally, bodily death. Shot entirely in monochrome, with a poignant soundtrack by Neil Young, there are some great cameo appearances throughout and some superb acting, as ever, by Michael Wincott as Conway Twill.
If you don't bring any pretensions to this movie, you will not come away disappointed. It proves that sometimes, the simplest concepts are beautiful because they are simple, and that sometimes, stories don't need to be told for any other reason than to be enjoyed.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Johnny Depp is a dead man. With a bullet lodged next to his heart he is unaware that his fate is sealed, however an indian who prefers to be called Nobody recognises his predicament and, mistaking him for his hero (poet William Blake), sets about helping him get back to the mystical realm where he belongs. Don't be misled on this one by reviewers who try to make out that the film is somehow a languishing turkey with a flimsy score and no plot. They haven't understood it and probably didn't even watch all the way to the end. It's no formulaic action-adventure but a well-told, thoughtful story about accepting your fate and getting on with it. The only real disappointment is Iggy Pop desperately attempting to act. But the sheer authenticity of Gary Farmer as Depp's self-appointed saviour is by itself a reason to buy this film. (He reprises the role as a cameo in 'Ghost Dog'). A great moment in cinema. Buy it, Watch it, Love it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
beautiful picture, wonderful story
this is one of the best movies i have seen. it takes its time, nothing is rushed through. like an old tale the story is told with a hero wandering woods for answers to unspoken... Read more
Published on 2 Oct 2009 by Jenny Lundin
Strongly coherent and meaningful
This film is really a perfect example of coherence, cohesion and connexity. I intentionally borrow these three words from text analysis as I believe that the whole film is as well... Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2008 by Cinephilo
A soul's journey from this world into the next
This is one of the most unique pieces of cinema I've ever had the pleasure on encountering. It is not dream 'like', it is as near you can get to dreaming without being asleep. Read more
Published on 10 July 2008 by Mr. G. C. Stone
Digital Insanity!
This film is a total trip. Johnny Depp in war paint, Iggy Pop dressed as a pilgrim woman, it doesn't really get more random than Dead Man! Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2007 by Washington-Irving
... inspired and by William Blake & by the wisdom of Nobody.
Most viewers rate this film 4-5 star as it should be ... many of the words and sentences that Nobody (the Indian who escorts William Blake to his death) are improvised (& sometimes... Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2005 by Paul Schwartzberg
The Thinking (Wo)man's film
What a fantastic film!!! The opening sequence is magnificent with the long train journey which enables you to truly sense the distance travelled by the changing passengers on... Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2005
Dead Man
Believe the Amazon review at your peril...This is one of the most overlooked films of Depps' career and in my opinion one of his best performances. Read more
Published on 31 July 2005
do you have a smidgen of patience?
If you have a smidgen of patience and can adjust the window holywood have plonked in front of you then you might realise this to be the missing link between cinema and the waking... Read more
Published on 4 Dec 2004 by simon waldron
Love it or loath it?
Having read many reviews, clearly this is a film you either love or loath. Personaly I love it, this is my fourth copy, the others got borrowed! Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2004 by "hlawton6"
Thought provoking
At times this film does require endurance to hang on until the end, but 90% of the film is enjoyable. Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2004 by Constant Reader
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