Night on Earth (1991)

An anthology of 5 different cab drivers in 5 American and European cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch

Stars:

Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Lisanne Falk

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gena Rowlands	...	Victoria Snelling
Winona Ryder	...	Corky
Lisanne Falk	...	Rock Manager
Alan Randolph Scott	...	Rock Musician #1
Anthony Portillo	...	Rock Musician #2
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Helmut Grokenberger
Giancarlo Esposito	...	YoYo
Rosie Perez	...	Angela
Richard Boes	...	Cab Driver #1
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Driver - Paris
Béatrice Dalle	...	Blind Woman
Pascal N'Zonzi	...	Passenger #1 (as Pascal Nzonzi)
Emile Abossolo M'bo	...	Passenger #2 (as Émile Abossolo-M'bo)
Stéphane Boucher	...	Man in Accident (as Stephane Boucher)
Noel Kaufmann	...	Man on Motorcycle

Storyline

A collection of five stories involving cab drivers in five different cities. Los Angeles - A talent agent for the movies discovers her cab driver would be perfect to cast, but the cabbie is reluctant to give up her solid cab driver's career. New York - An immigrant cab driver is continually lost in a city and culture he doesn't understand. Paris - A blind girl takes a ride with a cab driver from the Ivory Coast and they talk about life and blindness. Rome - A gregarious cabbie picks up an ailing man and virtually talks him to death. Helsinki - an industrial worker gets laid off and he and his compatriots discuss the bleakness and unfairness of love and life and death.

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Plot Keywords:

taxi | episodic structure | immigration | night | anthology | 

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Taglines:

Five Taxis. Five Cities. One Night.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language, and some drug use

Details

Country:

France UK Germany USA Japan

Language:

English French Finnish Italian German

Release Date:

12 December 1991 (Germany)

Also Known As:

LANewYorkParisRomeHelsinki

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,015,810

Company Credits

Production Co:

Victor Company of Japan (JVC), Victor Musical Industries, Pyramide Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

You may all rest easy about Helmut's fate. Before he drops Yo-Yo and Angela off, he drives down Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. In the last shot, though, he is driving up 4th Avenue toward the Williamsburg Bank clock (you can see it in the middle of the screen), so he is, indeed, going in the right direction to get back to Manhattan.

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Goofs

This film takes place sometime during the winter, and the opening story takes place in Los Angeles starting at 7:07 PM. At no time during the winter would Los Angeles be this sunny at 7:07 PM. In fact, the latest time of day the sun would set during the winter would be at 6:07 PM on March 20, the last day of winter. (Currently, March 20 would occur during Daylight Savings Time, but, in 1991, Daylight Savings Time did not begin until April.)

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Quotes

[Mika has just dropped off last of his drunken passengers]
Mika: Are you sure you know where you are?
Man #3: Yes. Helsinki.
[Mika nods and drives away]

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, the titles of the crew members are in the language of the place/unit they worked in (ie the Helsinki unit's credits are in Finnish, and so on).

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Connections

References L.A. Story (1991)

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Soundtracks

Back in the Good Old World
Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
Produced by Tom Waits
Arranged by Tom Waits and Francis Thumm
Jalma Music, Inc.
Administered by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
Tom Waits performs courtesy of Island Records, Inc.

User Reviews

One of My Favorite Films!!

Since I have almost seventeen years of experience in the taxi business as a dispatcher and driver, I have to say that "Night on Earth" is one of my favorite movies! This movie gives a very real and comical portrayal of life in this line of work. I've known people who were given great opportunities, and rejected them. I've personally kicked drunk idiots out of my cab. I've had blind people tell me which route to take. I've had people who were so "down and out" tell me their life story. This is a film that portrays what taxi driving is all about, and it is not limited to the USA. People are the same all over the world! This movie is not yet available on DVD in the USA, but I really hope it will be soon!