Stranger Than Paradise - Criterion Collection
by Jim Jarmusch
List Price:
Our Price: $24.37
You Save: $15.58 (39%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eszter Balint, John Lurie, Richard EdsonDirector: Jim Jarmusch
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); Hungarian (Original Language)
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Digital Sound, Mono, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-09-04
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Criterion Collection
Movie Reviews of Stranger Than Paradise - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: What nature wishes on you.
Summary: 5 Stars
A good road film. Stripped down to the bare essentials. Natural, with none of the fake violence and nastiness that has to infect Hollywood films these days. Young people making there way in the world, the way many of us did. Roughing it.
Summary of Stranger Than Paradise - Criterion Collection
Rootless Hungarian ?migr? Willie (John Lurie), his pal Eddie (Richard Edson), and visiting sixteen-year-old cousin Eva (Eszter Balint) always manage to make the least of any situation, whether aimlessly traversing the drab interiors and environs of New York City, Cleveland, or an anonymous Florida suburb. With its delicate humor and dramatic nonchalance, Jim Jarmusch's one-of-a-kind minimalist masterpiece, Stranger Than Paradise, forever transformed the landscape of American independent cinema. Also included in this special-edition release is Jarmusch's legendary debut feature, Permanent Vacation, a time capsule of late-seventies Manhattan, on DVD for the first time in the United StatesBack in the excess-is-best 1980s, the pared-down minimalism of 1984's Stranger than Paradise played like the product of another time--or even another planet. It was so "off," i.e. offbeat and off-kilter, it was (right) on. Now seen as a classic of American independent cinema, it compares favorably to other monochromatic first features, like Border Radio and Mala Noche (also lovingly restored by the movie mavens at the Criterion Collection). The acclaim was justified--except it wasn't Jarmusch's first film. That honor belongs to 1980's Permanent Vacation, making its long-awaited digital debut on this two-disc set. Shot by Tom DiCillo, Jarmusch's initial offering revolves around the name Parker: Chris Parker is Aloysious Parker, a ducktailed New Yorker with a jones for Charlie Parker. Allie's a drifter and a dime-store philosopher. "That's how thing work for me," he drawls in voice-over, "I go from this place, this person, to that place or person." And so he does. Fresh from NYU, where he assisted Nicholas Ray, Jarmusch displays an innate talent for framing and dialogue (Allie lives for "vibrating, bugged-out sound"). His touch with actors--Frankie Faison's raconteur aside--is less assured, but he learned quickly. Lounge Lizard John Lurie cameos as a sax player. DiCillo returns for Stranger than Paradise, in which he and Jarmusch trade color for black and white stock (donated by Wim Wenders). In this "semi-neorealist black comedy," as the filmmaker puts it in the production notes (included with this set), Hungarian teenager Eva (Eszter Balint) arrives in New York ("The New World") to stay with her cousin, Willie (Lurie). A drifter, like Allie, she continues on to Cleveland ("One Year Later") and Florida ("Paradise"). With nothing better to do, Willie and Eddie (Richard Edson) tag along. As opposed to the rapid-fire cutting of the day, Jarmusch uses static shots divided by black screen. He may have taken cues from Ozu and The Honeymooners--dig those porkpie hats--but the end product couldn't be more idiosyncratic.
This director-approved double-feature comes complete with a German TV documentary (Kino '84: Jim Jarmusch), behind-the-scenes footage, US and Japanese trailers, and a 44-page booklet with essays by J. Hoberman and Luc Sante. Just as Stranger than Paradise stands as one of the defining films of the 1980s, this special edition represents one of the most essential DVD releases of the 2000s. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Art House & International DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Movies To Watch
![The Seventh Seal (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/The-Seventh-Seal-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray-B001WLMOG4-X.jpg)
The Seventh Seal (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]IMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2009-06-16; DVD
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops:
Band of Outsiders - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2003-01-07; DVD
Best price: $17.54
Price in other shops:
Solaris - Criterion CollectionSolaris; Release date: 2002-11-26; DVD
Best price: $23.31
Price in other shops:
La Strada - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2003-11-18; DVD
Best price: $21.04
Price in other shops:
![Wings of Desire (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Wings-of-Desire-The-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray-B002IVDLGE-X.jpg)
Wings of Desire (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $22.99
Price in other shops:
Yojimbo - Remastered Edition (Criterion Collection Spine #52)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2007-01-23; DVD
Best price: $24.39
Price in other shops:
Spirited AwayBUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2003-04-15; DVD
Best price: $17.63
Price in other shops:
Black Orpheus: The Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 1999-06-08; DVD
Best price: $18.67
Price in other shops:
The Umbrellas of CherbourgKoch International; Release date: 2004-04-06; DVD
Best price: $13.29
Price in other shops:
The 400 Blows - Criterion CollectionIMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2006-05-09; DVD
Best price: $11.00
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Breathless - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $25.50
Price in other shops:
Fishing With John - Criterion CollectionLURIE,JOHN; Release date: 1999-03-30; DVD
Best price: $18.66
Price in other shops:
Slacker - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2004-09-14; DVD
Best price: $26.00
Price in other shops:
The Limits of ControlUniversal Studios; Release date: 2009-11-17; DVD
Best price: $11.86
Price in other shops:
Broken FlowersUniversal Studios; Release date: 2006-01-03; DVD
Best price: $0.55
Price in other shops:
Dead ManDisney; Release date: 2000-12-19; DVD
Best price: $8.74
Price in other shops:
Ghost Dog - The Way of the SamuraiWHITAKER,FOREST; Release date: 2001-08-14; DVD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Mystery TrainRelease date: 2000-03-28; DVD
Best price: $4.23
Price in other shops:
Night on Earth - Criterion CollectionIMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2007-09-04; DVD
Best price: $24.02
Price in other shops:
Down by Law - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2002-10-22; DVD
Best price: $23.94
Price in other shops: