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IMDbPro

Stranger Than Paradise

  • 19841984
  • RR
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
38K
YOUR RATING
Richard Edson, Eszter Balint, and John Lurie in Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.
Play trailer2:43
2 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyDrama
A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
38K
YOUR RATING
    • Jim Jarmusch
    • Jim Jarmusch
    • John Lurie(part one "The New World" from an idea by)
  • Stars
    • John Lurie
    • Eszter Balint
    • Richard Edson
    • Jim Jarmusch
    • Jim Jarmusch
    • John Lurie(part one "The New World" from an idea by)
  • Stars
    • John Lurie
    • Eszter Balint
    • Richard Edson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 132User reviews
    • 75Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:43
    Watch Official Trailer
    Bill Murray vs. Zombies? We're Dying for 'The Dead Don't Die'
    Clip 3:12
    Watch Bill Murray vs. Zombies? We're Dying for 'The Dead Don't Die'

    Photos101

    Richard Edson, Eszter Balint, and John Lurie in Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Richard Edson, John Lurie, and Cecillia Stark in Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Richard Edson, Eszter Balint, and John Lurie in Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    John Lurie in Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Richard Edson at an event for Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Richard Edson and Sara Driver at an event for Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Richard Edson and Sara Driver at an event for Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Richard Edson and Sara Driver at an event for Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Sara Driver at an event for Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Richard Edson, Eszter Balint, and John Lurie in Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
    Richard Edson, Eszter Balint, and John Lurie in Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Lurie
    John Lurie
    • Willie
    Eszter Balint
    Eszter Balint
    • Eva
    Richard Edson
    Richard Edson
    • Eddie
    Cecillia Stark
    • Aunt Lotte
    Danny Rosen
    • Billy
    Rammellzee
    • Man with Money
    Tom DiCillo
    Tom DiCillo
    • Airline Agent
    Richard Boes
    • Factory Worker
    Rockets Redglare
    Rockets Redglare
    • Poker Player
    Harvey Perr
    • Poker Player
    Brian J. Burchill
    • Poker Player
    Sara Driver
    Sara Driver
    • Girl with Hat
    Paul Sloane
    • Motel Owner
      • Jim Jarmusch
      • Jim Jarmusch
      • John Lurie(part one "The New World" from an idea by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Jim Jarmusch was dismayed to discover all the money he paid for the rights to Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" went to the record company, with nothing going to Hawkins himself. When the film earned a profit, Jarmusch took it upon himself to track down Hawkins (who was living in a trailer park, at the time) and give him some money. It was the beginning of a friendship between the two which lasted until Hawkins' death. According to Jarmusch, Hawkins continuously promised to pay him back, despite Jamursch's insistence that the money was a gift.
    • Goofs
      When Eddie and Willie are driving to Cleveland, the camera and camera operator can be seen in the reflection of the rear view mirror.
    • Quotes

      Eddie: You know, it's funny... you come to someplace new, an'... and everything looks just the same.

      Willie: No kiddin', Eddie.

    • Connections
      Edited from Stranger Than Paradise (1983)
    • Soundtracks
      I Put a Spell on You
      Written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (as Jay Hawkins)

      Used by permission of CBS Unart Catalog, Inc.

      All Rights Reserved.

      Performed by Screamin' Jay Hawkins

      Courtesy of CBS Records

    User reviews132

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Still good after all these years
    I just finished watching Stranger Than Paradise on DVD - the first time I'd seen it since its year of release. I'd always recalled the film with fondness, although I could never remember why I liked it. Several years after seeing the movie I came across the John Lurie soundtrack and bought it without stopping to listen, and been slightly taken aback by it. The haunting pieces were more emotionally esoteric than I expected, and it took some time for the album to grow on me.

    Seeing the movie again, I understand why. The only piece of popular music in the film is Screamin' Jay Hawkin's "I Put a Spell on You" and, although I had forgotten that it was there, I guess that I had expected the soundtrack to be more like those of mainstream movies and have songs and such-like. I think that Lurie's music is perfect in situ and, as I've said, the soundtrack has also grown on me as standalone pieces.

    The movie itself is a masterpiece. The black and white images present a starkness and a clarity that heightens the alienation of self in a land that was supposed to be the new hope for immigrants from a decaying old world. Instead we see Eva walking through a deserted ghost world of New York where the graffiti says "Yankee go home". America is only a dream, a collective vision of a better world; paradise somewhere on earth.

    As Willie and Eddie journey west after winning some money, we see that the supposedly beautiful city of Cleveland is cold and desolate with a frozen lake. The further trip to Florida ends in the middle of nowhere next to a bleak and windswept ocean. Paradise is still somewhere out of reach. I think that's why the movie appeals to me. It shows that the America of popular mythology - the home of the brave, land of the free, protector of the downtrodden, guardian of democracy in the free world - is merely a construct. Too many people these days believe in the child's fantasy of America being some paradise that Iraq and Afghanistan should emulate. Jarmusch reminds us that it is people who give meaning to a symbol, not the other way around. He allows for the ability of people to make their own meanings and evolve beyond the stagnation of popular culture.

    At a time I originally saw this movie I had recently left home and got my first job, moving from the country to the city, and maybe to some extent I identified with Eva - moving from Budapest to America. It was also my first taste of grownup film, if I recall correctly, and confirmed me with a lifelong fascination with the cinema. I have a lot to thank Jim Jarmusch for.
    helpful•71
    5
    • romper-2
    • Dec 3, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 4, 1984 (United Kingdom)
      • United States
      • West Germany
      • English
      • Hungarian
      • Italian
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • 464 Newark St, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
    • Production companies
      • Cinesthesia Productions
      • Grokenberger Film Produktion
      • Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 29 minutes
      • Black and White
      • Mono

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    Richard Edson, Eszter Balint, and John Lurie in Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
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