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 (segment "Los Angeles")
Winona Ryder	...	Corky (segment "Los Angeles")
Lisanne Falk	...	Rock Manager (segment "Los Angeles")
Alan Randolph Scott	...	Rock Musician #1 (segment "Los Angeles")
Anthony Portillo	...	Rock Musician #2 (segment "Los Angeles")
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Helmut (segment "New York")
Giancarlo Esposito	...	YoYo (segment "New York")
Rosie Perez	...	Angela (segment "New York")
Richard Boes	...	Cab Driver #1 (segment "New York")
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Driver (segment "Paris")
Béatrice Dalle	...	Blind Woman (segment "Paris")
Pascal N'Zonzi	...	Passenger #1 (segment "Paris") (as Pascal Nzonzi)
Emile Abossolo M'bo	...	Passenger #2 (as Émile Abossolo-M'bo)
Stéphane Boucher	...	Man in Accident (segment "Paris") (as Stephane Boucher)
Noel Kaufmann	...	Man on Motorcycle (segment "Paris")

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:

Finland

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

Much of Roberto Benigni's dialogue was unscripted and was spontaneously improvised by the actor.

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Goofs

Winona Ryder's character opens the trunk through the missing rear window, but from the inside of the car it appears that the window is not missing.

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Quotes

Angela: Fuck you, too! You know what you like? You like a fuckin' chihuahua always gnawin' at my fuckin' ankles.
Yoyo: Yeah? Well, I'm gonna take a big fuckin' bite outta your fuckin' ass, then. So, you better watch out for this little dawg. Shit.

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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

Featured in At the Movies: Lethal Weapon 3/The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish/The Waterdance/Night on Earth/All the Vermeers in New York (1992)

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Soundtracks

Cycle-Delic
Performed by Davie Allan & The Arrows
Written by Davie Allan
Courtesy of Capital Records, Inc.
By Arrangement with CEMA Special Markets and Curb Records, A California Corporation
Mike Curb Music (BMI)

User Reviews

The most under-rated film in history!

No one I ever mention this film to has heard of it, let alone seen it! I actually tried to see Thelma and Louise at the cinema when Night on Earth came out, but as it was sold out, I saw this instead - what a lucky break! The film is actually 5 short films of around twenty minutes, each one a taxi journey, taking place at the exact same moment in 5 cities across the world, from LA to Helsinki, via New York, Paris and Rome.

Without ruining the surprises contained (its unexpectedness is one of its delights) the film covers numerous emotions. At times it is utterly hilarious, at others it's sad and moving. It is pacy and yet considered, the characters are well painted, both by the writing and the acting, and the story lines engrossing yet punchy. There are some sub-titles, by the way, but please don't let that put you off. It's not one of those intellectual "aren't I clever" films.

If you like your films classy, well written, well acted, intelligent, thought provoking yet accessible, and with a great soundtrack (Tom Waits), then Night on Earth is for you! Share it!