Dead Man (1995)

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

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover

5 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Bringelson	...	Lee, Younger Marshal
John North	...	Mr. Olafsen

Storyline

Dead Man is the story of a young man's journey, both physically and spiritually, into very unfamiliar terrain. William Blake travels to the extreme western frontiers of America sometime in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Lost and badly wounded, he encounters a very odd, outcast Native American, named "Nobody", who believes Blake is actually the dead English poet of the same name. The story, with Nobody's help, leads William Blake through situations that are in turn comical and violent. Contrary to his nature, circumstances transform Blake into a hunted outlaw, a killer, and a man whose physical existence is slowly slipping away. Thrown into a world that is cruel and chaotic, his eyes are opened to the fragility that defines the realm of the living. It is as though he passes through the surface of a mirror, and emerges into a previously-unknown world that exists on the other side.

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Plot Keywords:

19th century | cannibalism | revisionist western | woman | weapon | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes it is preferable not to travel with a dead man.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Germany Japan

Language:

English Cree

Release Date:

10 May 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man

Filming Locations:

Hoover Dam, Arizona-Nevada Border, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

DEM 645,423 (Germany), 10 January 1996, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$104,649, 12 May 1996, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,037,847

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pandora Filmproduktion,JVC Entertainment Networks,Newmarket Capital Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The soundtrack album consists of seven instrumental tracks by Young, with dialog excerpts from the film and Johnny Depp reading the poetry of William Blake interspersed between the music.

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Goofs

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

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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?"

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Crazy Credits

In between the Set Production Assistants and First Assistant Editor is the "Hangin'-out Guy," Nemo Labrizzi.

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Connections

Referenced in Elav jõud (2003)

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Soundtracks

Billy Boy
Played in the saloon

User Reviews

Touching, well achieved work of art

This is Jim Jarmusch at his best. I re-watched this movie a week ago and I'm still amazed by how Jarmusch gets under my skin and makes me think. Jarmusch plays with one of his favorite themes here: death. But of course, he's not limiting himself to that. He's questioning the western as a genre, he puts music in this movie in a way that makes it necessary for the viewer. Without Neil Young's guitar, this movie just isn't the same.

Johnny Depp plays William Blake an accountant from Cleveland lost in the west after some strange quiproquo. Blake is shot and dying throughout the movie. Helped with an Indian named nobody, he finds himself on his way to the other world. Lots of resilience shown by Blake, getting stronger and stronger as the difficult times are approaching. As much as the accountant never seemed to have evolved, he's taking bigger and bigger leaps as death is overshadowing him. Touching tale of friendship, resilience, death and guns! This movie is an all time great