Arizona Dream (1993)

Director:

Emir Kusturica

Writers:

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

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:

Accordion | Halibut | Turtle | Kitchen | Dark Comedy

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
James P. Morrison	...	Boatman
Vincent Tocktoo	...	Eskimo Man
Santos Romero	...	Mariachi Band Member
David Rodriquez	...	Mariachi Band Member
Juan Urrea	...	Mariachi Band Member
José Luis Ávila	...	Mariachi Band Member
Sergio Hlarmendaris	...	Mariachi Band Member
Frank Turley	...	Mariachi Band Member
Manuel Rodríguez	...	Mariachi Band Member
Cayetano Acosta	...	Mariachi Band Member
Manuel Ruiz	...	Mariachi Band Member
Narcisco Domínguez	...	Mariachi Band Member
Benjamin S. Gonzales	...	Mariachi Band Member
Serafino Flores	...	Mariachi Band Member
Miguel Moreno	...	Mariachi Band Member
Raphael Salcido	...	Mariachi Band Member
Chanaia Rodriguez	...	Mariachi Band Member
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jackson Douglas Fisher	...	Priest (uncredited)
Tricia Leigh Fisher	...	Lindy (uncredited)
Sal Jenco	...	Man at Phone (uncredited)
Emir Kusturica	...	Man in Bar (uncredited)

Directed by
Emir Kusturica

Writing credits
David Atkins		(story) &
Emir Kusturica		(story)
David Atkins		(screenplay)

Produced by
Richard Brick	....	co-producer
Paul R. Gurian	....	executive producer
Yves Marmion	....	producer
Claudie Ossard	....	producer

Original Music by
Goran Bregovic

Cinematography by
Vilko Filac

Film Editing by
Andrija Zafranovic

Casting by
Pennie DuPont

Production Design by
Miljen Kreka Kljakovic

Art Direction by
Jan Pascale

Set Decoration by
Jan Pascale

Costume Design by
Jill M. Ohanneson

Makeup Department
Karoly Balazs	....	makeup artist
Deborah Ann Piper	....	hair stylist
Patty York	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Charles Darby	....	unit manager
Buddy Enright	....	unit manager: Alaska/Colorado
Svetlana Novak	....	post-production supervisor
Jay Sedrish	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
K.C. Hodenfield	....	second assistant director
Sergio Mimica-Gezzan	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Christy Addis	....	set dresser
Jeff Butcher	....	property master: New York
Tom Conway	....	set dresser
Louise Del Araujo	....	lead
Curtis Gutierrez	....	set dresser
Gary Kosko	....	assistant art director
Byron K. Lovelace	....	set dresser
Elaine O'Donnell	....	set decorator: New York
Erik Polczwartek	....	on-set dresser
Chris Santini	....	construction foreman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Vincent Arnardi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gérard Hardy	....	sound editor
Jean-Pierre Lelong	....	foley artist
Fred Mays	....	post-synchronization
Corinne Rozenberg	....	assistant sound editor
Corinne Rozenberg	....	sound editor
Jim Stuebe	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Johnny Borgese	....	special effects
Ken Estes	....	special effects coordinator
Greg Landerer	....	special effects
Ron Petruccione	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Max W. Anderson	....	visual effects supervisor
Max W. Anderson	....	visual effects
Martin Body	....	rostrum cameraman
Nicholas Brooks	....	visual effects
Pete Hanson	....	studio manager: CFC
Kent Houston	....	visual effects supervisor
John Swinnerton	....	motion control cameraman
Mark Nelmes	....	digital visual effects supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Adam Brown	....	safety diver
Ron Petruccione	....	stunts
Peter Rocca	....	stunt double: Johnny Depp

Camera and Electrical Department
Patric J. Abaravich	....	lighting technician
Mitchell Amundsen	....	camera operator: Alaska and Colorado (as Mitch Amundson)
John Armstrong	....	generator operator
Bob Becchio	....	second assistant camera
Suzanne Hanover	....	still photographer
Ric Urbauer	....	crane grip

Casting Department
Debby Corper	....	casting assistant

Editorial Department
Urszula Lesiak	....	first assistant editor
Yvan Lucas	....	color timer
Michael Philip	....	first assistant editor
Marypat Plottner	....	synching editor

Music Department
Srdjan Kurpjel	....	music arranger

Transportation Department
Chris Gallegos	....	driver
Brita McCollough	....	driver
Jim Petti	....	transportation captain
Marty Radcliff	....	driver

Other crew
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot
Debby Corper	....	assistant to director
Dawn Darfus	....	production accountant: Arizona/New York
Tad Driscoll	....	production accountant
Buddy Enright	....	location manager: Alaska/Colorado
Toya Hankins	....	production assistant
Lynn Harris	....	script supervisor
Chiemi Karasawa	....	assistant to director
Marie-Christine Malbert	....	unit publicist
Annie Saunders	....	production coordinator
Lenny Speregen	....	marine coordinator
Steven C. Ward	....	assistant production coordinator

Thanks
Tomislav Novakovic	....	special thanks
Jonathan Weisgal	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Canal+
• Constellation
• Hachette Première
• Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1994) (USA) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1994) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC) (1993) (France) (theatrical)
• Electric (1995) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Finnkino (1997) (Finland) (VHS)
• Nelonen (1999) (Finland) (TV)
• Twister Digital Video (2002) (Russia) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (HD-DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV) (TV1)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (Czech Republic)
• Budapest Film (Hungary)
• Cannes Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2008) (United Arab Emirates) (DVD) (Middle East)
• TriPictures (Spain)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Special Effects

• Computer Film Company, The (CFC) (digital compositing)

Other Companies

• Albert G. Ruben and Company  insurance

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexuality

Runtime:

142 min | 119 min (DVD)

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | LC-Concept Digital Sound | Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | 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:

Axel Blackmar:Whenever I try to remember my dreams, I always turn 'em into stories. But dreams are like life. You can't catch it with your hands because you can't catch something you don't really see. If you believe in your dreams, you could be sure that any force, a tornado, a volcano or a typhoon, wouldn't be able to knock you out of love; because love exists on its own.

Movie Connections:

Features North by Northwest (1959)

Soundtrack:

Besame Mucho

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.