Dead Man
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Movie Reviews of Dead Man
Movie Review: Most overlooked film of the last decade!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Try finding this DVD in a store. Go ahead, try. I could not find it anywhere. If it wasn't for Amazon I'd still be looking.This film is about an easterner named William Blake ( Johnny Depp ) who goes out west in the late 1800s for a promised accounting job, but instead becomes a wanted outlaw traveling up the West Coast with an Indian called Nobody ( Gary Farmer ). It's in black-and-white and features the music of Neil Young. Now, before you get turned off right there, we're not talking about Neil Young singing. It's all Neil Young guitar work.
The film features a lot of familiar faces in cameos or supporting roles : Michael Wincott and Lance Henriksen ( as gunslingers sent to kill Blake ); Robert Mitchum; John Hurt; Billy Bob Thornton; Iggy Pop; Crispin Glover; Alfred Molina. In one solitary but crucial scene, Gabriel Byrne appears, portraying in thematic terms the same role he assumed in the crucial scenes of Miller's Crossing : the role of Death. Also worked into the plot is the poetry of the famous William Blake, who is somehow confused ( reincarnation? ) with Johnny Depp's character in the mind of Nobody.
This film is due for a comeback, however brief.
Movie Review: Filmmaking at its best.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is definitely one of the most ambitious and original works that I have seen from the nineties, a time when film (especially horror) was slipping into a trend of over-hyped sensationalism. Out of the mass of special effects ridden blockbusters came a gritty, odd film in black and white. This is a western in the style of Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time In the West." Slow-moving and with surprisingly little dialogue, with chartacters that are so utterly believable and flawed, it captivates the viewer from the very beginning. The film moves like a dream, with slow fades that separate each scene, and a musical score from Neil Young that is driving and apocalyptic. The acting is extremely good from even the most menial roles to those of Depp and Farmer. The plot seems intentionally thin, leaving time and room for the viewer to think about what he or she is seeing (I'm going to spare you my thoughts on the symbolism and meanings and let you draw your own conclusions). The camera work is also stunning, probably more effective in stark black-and white. What results is a very effective, thought-provoking and excellent film.Movie Review: Surreal, Atmosphere and Aesthetics
Summary: 5 Stars
For the more artistic and existentialist type, this is a great watch. If you don't know what that is, then watch it and you may find out. With Neil Young on soundtrack, Depp, the chemistry of Billy Bob and Iggy Pop appearing briefly in one scene (well worth the short time and hilarious), and a great list of other characters, one cannot miss it. A very intriging film done with style and lots of atmosphere and aesthetics. I purchased this film, and I'm not likely to buy anything because I am so cheap, and I never tired of watching it. It's probably more of a guy film, so gals, you might want to skip this one unless you're a huge Depp fan. There's not much dialogue at times, which attracts me. It's a film that doesn't say much, but when it does, its sublime. A very surreal watch by all means. At times you wonder about what just happened, but just go with it. You can really get the feel of the wild West when watching this, but for anyone who lives out west and is experienced with the diverse terrain, you'll notice a few mistakes in the sequencing of landscapes. Still worth watching and buying due to it's uniqueness and aesthetics.Movie Review: Dead Man - Jarmusch
Summary: 5 Stars
Dead Man is the extraordinary story of William Blake (Johnny Depp) caught up in a series of unlikely events that turn him into a killer and an outlaw. Having travelled from the Midwest to the most western frontier of America (Machine), his world is turned on its head.
True to the genre of Western, this film draws on symbols and images connected to the foundation myth of the USA, however, Jarmusch inverts these icons throughout. White people become debauched barbarians, whereas Blake (Depp) with the help of his companion Nobody (a native American who was taken into the white world) gradually turns into a killer of white colonialists - he becomes a militant version of the poet cum painter William Blake. Furthermore, Jarmusch makes use of an excellent soundtrack, namely Neil Young's recurring motif on the electric guitar. The recurrence symbolises continuity, but at the same time the viewer becomes mesmorised and is dragged into Blake's inverted world.
With Dead Man Jarmusch created an excellent post-colonial critique of the fondation mythology of America and, what is more, an extremely beautiful film.
Movie Review: A Western That Defies The Stereotype
Summary: 5 Stars
The fine art in film is almost nonexistant in these times, but Dead Man is truly an exception. I saw it recently for about the ninth or tenth time (and I'm not one to view a film more than once) and still saw things I hadn't before. It's suprisingly multi-layered and innovative - filmed in black and white not unlike the dramatic lighting of silent films. Johnny Depp as William Blake seems to be aware of this silent film quality as his acting is more about body language - a glance, a stare, a studied gaze than dialogue. There is a pulp fiction feel to it as well as can especially be seen in the scene with Iggy Popp and Billy Bob Thorton.
The soundtrack is beautifully dark and compliments the plot thanks to Neil Young's understated guitar playing. Dead Man is a movie that surpasses any mainstream mediocrity and defies any stereotypes of Westerns by far. Not for movie-goers who embrace the cliche that Hollywood is unfortunately so good at rehashing, but is a film for those who appreciate great art. I haven't seen a Western this unique since Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter. A masterpiece!