"Fishing with John" (1991) TV series

Director:

John Lurie

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Documentary | Comedy | Sport

Plot:

Musician John Lurie knows nothing about fishing, but that doesn't stop him from embarking on fishing in exotic locations with friends.

Plot Keywords:

Fishing | Mock Documentary | Exotic Locale

Cast

John Lurie	...	Himself (6 episodes, 1998)
Nik Tyler	...	Theme Song Vocals (6 episodes, 1998)
Robb Webb	...	Narrator (6 episodes, 1998)

Series Directed by
John Lurie		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Mark Gibson	....	line producer / producer (4 episodes, 1998)
Taku Nishimae	....	producer (3 episodes, 1998)
Kenji Okabe	....	executive producer (3 episodes, 1998)
Sara Rychtarik	....	associate producer (3 episodes, 1998)
Deborah Brown	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Ruth Ozeki Lounsbury	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
John Lurie		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Tom Krueger		(1 episode, 1998)
James Nares		(1 episode, 1998)
Michael Spiller		(1 episode, 1998)
Steven Torton		(1 episode, 1998)
Yoshiyuki Kurosaki		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Laura Israel		(unknown episodes)
Jeffrey Levy-Hinte		(unknown episodes)
Caleb Oglesby		(unknown episodes)
Kathy Schermerhorn		(unknown episodes)
Mike Weiss		(unknown episodes)
Thom Zimny		(unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Robert Burden	....	post-production supervisor (unknown episodes)
Mike Weiss	....	post-production supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jill Selsman	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1998)

Series Sound Department
Paul Furedi	....	sound editor (3 episodes, 1998)
Suzie Hollander	....	assistant sound mixer / audio post editor (unknown episodes, 1991)
Jason Baker	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Masahiro Kashiwabara	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Tom Paul	....	sound recordist (unknown episodes)
John Romeo	....	sound (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Masahiro Kashiwabara	....	video engineer (unknown episodes)
Yoshiyuki Kurosaki	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Robert Burden	....	on-line editor (unknown episodes)
Sean McCall	....	on-line editor (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Kazu Makino	....	musician (unknown episodes, 1991)
Tom Lazarus	....	music engineer (unknown episodes)
Paul Zinman	....	music mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Renee French	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Kyoko Kudo	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Marisa Sullivan	....	researcher (unknown episodes)

Distributors

• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• William F. White International  grip and lighting equipment

Runtime:

152 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Montauk, Long Island, New York, USA

Trivia:

Tom Waits was so displeased with his experience filming his episode he didn't speak to 'John Lurie' for two years afterwords.

Quotes:

Narrator:[as Tom Waits puts a fish in his pants to "feel better"] Oh, my God.

Often Whimsical, Sometimes Funny

"Fishing with John" is a different kind of fishing show, one where the fishing is not the main point of the series. Rather, what we get is a whimsical spoof of early Saturday morning fishing shows, sending up their tendency to over dramatize fishing.

This show is not for all tastes. It has a very high whimsy factor, and much of the humor derives from subtle irony, such as the use of hyperbolic narration and bombastic music for calm, non-exciting scenes. The show is also duologue heavy, and has an obviously low budget, which translates at times into shoddy camera work.

Nevertheless, I like this series because it captures, in its own way, one of the best parts of fishing: the tranquility and calm. With its silences and its appreciation of the simple interactions between the fishermen, it does more than any prize fish to remind us of what makes fishing great.