Dead Man (1995)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch (written by)

Release Date:

10 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Western

Tagline:

No one can survive becoming a legend.

Plot:

On the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange Indian named "Nobody" who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

Plot Keywords:

William Blake | Accountant | Native American | Small Town | Factory

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Johnny Depp	...	William Blake
Gary Farmer	...	Nobody
Crispin Glover	...	Train Fireman
Lance Henriksen	...	Cole Wilson
Michael Wincott	...	Conway Twill
Eugene Byrd	...	Johnny 'The Kid' Pickett
John Hurt	...	John Scholfield
Robert Mitchum	...	John Dickinson
Iggy Pop	...	Salvatore 'Sally' Jenko
Gabriel Byrne	...	Charlie Dickinson
Jared Harris	...	Benmont Tench
Mili Avital	...	Thel Russell
Jimmie Ray Weeks	...	Marvin, Older Marshal
Mark Bringleson	...	Lee, Younger Marshal (as Mark Bringelson)
John North	...	Mr. Olafsen

Also Known As:

Dead Man (Germany)
Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for moments of strong violence, a graphic sex scene and some language.

Runtime:

121 min | Australia:115 min | Argentina:120 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Denmark:15 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:Refused Classification (original rating) | Australia:R (re-rating) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Applegate River, Oregon, USA

Company:

Pandora Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Billy Bob Thornton's character is named Big George Drakoulious. George Drakoulias is a musician and has produced music for The Black Crowes and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Jared Harris' character is named Benmont Tench. Benmont Tench is a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Goofs:

Continuity: The straps on Thel's dress while she's talking to Charlie.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Train Fireman: Look out the window. And doesn't this remind you of when you were in the boat, and then later than night, you were lying, looking up at the ceiling, and the water in your head was not dissimilar from the landscape, and you think to yourself, "Why is it that the landscape is moving, but the boat is still?"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Soundtrack:

Billy Boy

A profoundly spiritual film speaking to our true human nature in this world of illusion

I decided to check this movie out as I am now studying William Blake poems in my English class. This movie is flat out brilliant. To see Jarmusch make something as pretentious as Broken Flowers is kind of shocking. The amount of symbolism and metaphor in this movie is awesome. A real tribute to the actual William Blake. If ever Blake took a quest, this was it. I knew this movie was going to be good as soon as I saw the vast list of slightly eccentric actors lined up in it. This script must have touched something deeply spiritual in all of them and I, if I were them, would have felt as if I wasn't even in the film. So many times was I moved to tears. It is its own entity. Amazing movie. I'm definitely adding it to my collection.