- Actors: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark, Danny Rosen
- Directors: Jim Jarmusch
- Writers: Jim Jarmusch
- Producers: Sara Driver, Otto Grokenberger
- Format: PAL
- Language English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: AV Channel
- DVD Release Date: 21 Sep 2005
- Run Time: 85 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000CCSEIG
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 73,327 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details |
Reviews
Australia released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Behind the scenes, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Although Jim Jarmusch made his directorial debut with Permanent Vacation (1982), Stranger than Paradise (1984) marked his breakthrough as a major American filmmaker. One of the most deadpan comedies ever committed to film, Stranger than Paradise suggests a Buster Keaton film written by Samuel Beckett and Jack Kerouac and directed by Andy Warhol. Willie (John Lurie) is a small-time gambler whose distant cousin Eva (Eszter Balint) is moving to America from Eastern Europe and informs him that she'll need to stay with him for ten days. Willie isn't happy to have Eva around, but after Willie introduces her to the joys of American cigarettes and TV dinners ('You got your meat, you got your potatoes, you got your vegetables, you got your dessert and you don't have to wash the dishes -- this is how we eat in America!'), Eva steals a frozen meal and a pack of smokes from the corner store, and Willie is both surprised and impressed. His buddy Eddie (Richard Edson) happens by, and they hang out with Eva just long enough to develop a fondness for her before she moves on to Ohio, where she'll live with her Aunt Lottie (Cecillia Stark). Months later, Willie and Eddie score $600 in a poker game and decide to visit Eva in Ohio. However, it's the dead of winter, and they have nothing to do except look at the frozen surface of the lake. The three eventually head down to the tacky paradise of Miami, where Willie and Eddie try their luck with the ponies and Eva decides what to do next. Stranger than Paradise is a film that defines the notion, 'It's not what you say, but how you say it.' Shot in long, static takes, its style is minimalism itself, but the post-beatnik cool of John Lurie, Richard Edson and Eszter Balint somehow betrays the fact that ...Stranger Than Paradise
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
It is quite possible that somebody might say they have never seen a more slow, uneventful and seemingly uninteresting film in their lives than Strangers in Paradise. It is true that throughout the film nothing really 'happens'. Strangers than Paradise demolishes all presuppositions about narrative and plot, even the minimal expectations one might have from a road movie. Yet it manages to make a point, partly because of its alluring cinematography (the serenity of the snowy landscape weighs on you unbearably), partly because of the distancing effect of the dubbing and partly because of the brilliantly performed characters, whose indifferent, tired faces captivate. This is a story about the American dream and about non-belonging. For those who were mesmerised by the obviousness of American Beauty, Strangers than Paradise will be a total anticlimax. For me, it worked.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Its all black and white, tv diners and howling wolf, day trips into the fog, jet planes flying overhead, bringing with them that strange Hungarian relative who just can't stay. But your best friend thinks she's cool, and my god, do we have to go and visit Aunt Lottie - I mean who's the tourist here? Jim Jarmusch's minimalist classic just gets better, buy it, keep it, watch it with the one you love - It reminds you how just how cool filmmaking can be. Jarmusch tells it straight with a twist, paving the way for the film that made him - "Mystery Train" and mapping out the journeys of "Night on Earth", "Dead Man" and "Ghost Dog". Tom deCillo keeps it crisp with stunning camera work, and the cast shine throughout. Its got a spell on you.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Stranger Than Paradise" directed by Jim Jarmusch is a triumph of independent film-making and is a product his influences. It would be difficult to imagine other films like "Slacker" (Linklater, 1991) or "Drugstore Cowboy" (Van Sant,1989) without it. Jarmusch's influences are clearly evident in "Stranger Than Paradise" drawing from the neo-realism of Vittorio De Sica as well as Dreyer, Ozu, Bergman, Bresson and Antonioni while never really entering into their angst-ridden territory. There is no evident anxiety in these characters but rather what would one would have to regard as a pre-slacker boredom. There seems to be a underlying comic element to these observations of American popular culture as viewed from an outsider perspective that gives it an endearing quality. This is a world where Screaming Jay Hawkins, Grindhouse movies, TV dinners and hipster beat cool replace the existential anxieties of those afore mentioned directors but utilise the visual style instead to achieve its objective. I am also reminded a bit of the Direct Cinema of the Maysles brothers, most notably their masterpiece "Salesman" (1969), when watching this film.
"Stranger Than Paradise" may very well be the best American film of the 80s and is one that I would place in my top 100 ever made.
The criterion package as always is superb with the added bonus of Jim Jarmusch's 1980 directorial debut "Permanent Vacation" included.
"Stranger Than Paradise" may very well be the best American film of the 80s and is one that I would place in my top 100 ever made.
The criterion package as always is superb with the added bonus of Jim Jarmusch's 1980 directorial debut "Permanent Vacation" included.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
