Arizona Dream (1993)

Director:

Emir Kusturica

Writers:

David Atkins (story) &
Emir Kusturica (story) ...

Release Date:

9 September 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

A rebellious young man. With his own vision of the future. And his own fantasy of love.

Plot:

An Innuit hunter races his sled home with a fresh-caught halibut. This fish pervades the entire film...

Plot Keywords:

Halibut | Accordion | Turtle | Sex Standing Up | Metaphor

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Johnny Depp	...	Axel Blackmar
Jerry Lewis	...	Leo Sweetie
Faye Dunaway	...	Elaine Stalker
Lili Taylor	...	Grace Stalker
Vincent Gallo	...	Paul Leger
Paulina Porizkova	...	Millie
Michael J. Pollard	...	Fabian
Candyce Mason	...	Blanche
Alexia Rane	...	Angie
Polly Noonan	...	Betty
Ann Schulman	...	Carla
James R. Wilson	...	Lawyer
Erik Polczwartek	...	Man with Door
Kim Keo	...	Mechanical Doll
Patricia O'Grady	...	MC / Announcer

Also Known As:

Arizona Dream (France)
The Arrowtooth Waltz

Runtime:

142 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | LC-Concept Digital Sound

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Douglas, Arizona, USA

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

The first cut of the film was about 4 hours long. Emir Kusturica gave Johnny Depp a copy of the version.

Quotes:

Grace Stalker: Life is beautiful.
Axel Blackmar: [referring to giving her mother a plane] I think what you did is beautiful.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "O tzitzikas & o mermigas: (#1.3)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

In The Death Car

A Fun, Dreamlike Comedy that many have yet to see!

Yugoslavian director Emir Kusterica is most well known for his critically acclaimed international films like "Time of the Gypsies" and "Underground"(1995). He did one English language film in Ameica. The film "Arizona Dream" is a highly underrated film that people have seem to forgotten. Which is a shame, since it has an amazing cast of well known actors like Johnny Depp, Vincent Gallo, Faye Dunaway, Jerry Lewis and Lili Taylor. Jonny Depp plays Axel a young twenty something dreamer. In the beginning of the film he has a dream about an Eskimo family. He works at a dock cleaning fish and often drifts away from reality to dreams. Him and his friend Paul (Vincent Gallo) drive to Arizona to visit Axel's uncle Mr. Sweetie (Jerry Lewis)who's a car salesman. I must say Depp and Lewis make a great comic duo. Axel and Paul end up staying with the wealthy Elaine Stalker and her suicidal daughter Grace (Lili Taylor). Axel starts dating Mrs. Stalker, but at the same time has strange feelings for her daughter. The film is very surreal and dreamlike. Mrs. Stalker obsessively dreams of flying, so her and Axel build a flying machine that resembles a Right Brothers style airplane. It's hilarious when the plain repeatedly malfunctions. There's also a floating fish throughout the movie, turtles, an attempted pantie hose suicide and a weird sex scene where Jonny Depp crows like a rooster (must be seen to be believed). Warner Bros. felt that the film was too European. So the film collected dust on their shelf and had a poor limited release. The film does have a magic-realist tragi-comedy style like Emir Kusterica's other Eastern European films. Co writer David Atkins later went on to write the screenplay for Novacaine. Also producer Claudie Ossard has also helped produce other bizarre films like "City of Lost Children". "Arizona Dream" is a quirky and strange masterpiece. Track down a VHS copy, or better yet the 20 minute longer international version. It's quite a cult sensation in Europe.