Pssst, want to check out Dead Man in our new look?
Information
- Year
- 1995
- Runtime
- 121 min.
- Director
- Jim Jarmusch
- Genres
- Drama, Fantasy, Western
- Rating *
- 7.7
- Votes *
- 62,392
- Checks
- 11,601
- Favs
- 1,259
- Dislikes
- 113
- Favs/checks
- 10.9% (1:9)
- Favs/dislikes
- 11:1
Top comments
-
Siskoid
Jim Jarmush's Dead Man, a black and white, slightly surreal picaresque western, leaves a lot to interpretation, and I reveled in its ambiguities. Johnny Depp plays William Blake, not the poet but an accountant who becomes a Wild West outlaw after being shot. Is he as dead as the title suggests and are we witnessing a death of the self through the prism of a western? Likely, as the characters we meet are absurd and their deaths could be seen as either psychological resolutions as one reflects on one's death, or else terminations brought on by brain death (note the death of the film's central duality just at the end). But it's more than that. Creating a confusion between this character and the English poet and painter evokes the death of a certain kind of man. Imperialist England gave us poetry and art. In Imperialist America, the only poetry is gun violence. As we move West in the film, modernism seems to slip away. Slow-paced and reflective, Dead Man still remains an achievement in absurdist humor, and should spark some conversations. It's filled with stars and includes a simple, but memorable soundtrack by Neil Young. And full props too for its realistic portrayal of Natives. 5 years 1 month ago -
wetwillies
"do you know my poetry?" is one of the coolest lines I've ever heard 8 years 7 months ago -
Friends
Login to see which of your friends have seen this movie!Activity
-
matsen checked this movie 16 hours 53 minutes ago
-
png12 checked this movie 23 hours 3 minutes ago
-
Rada added this movie to their watchlist 1 day 17 hours ago
-
Ammarfawaz checked this movie 4 days 3 hours ago
-
ux21 checked this movie 5 days 3 hours ago
In 12 official lists
-
This movie ranks #16 in A.V. Club's The New Cult Canon
A.V. Club's The New Cult…
16 -
This movie ranks #16 in BFI's 100 Westerns
BFI's 100 Westerns
16 -
This movie ranks #46 in IMDb's Western Top 50
IMDb's Western Top 50
46 -
This movie ranks #86 in 366 Weird Movies
366 Weird Movies
86 -
This movie ranks #228 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
Time Out's 1000 Films to…
228 -
This movie ranks #237 in Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists
Cahiers du Cinéma's Annu…
237 -
This movie ranks #310 in Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films
Harvard's Suggested Film…
310 -
This movie ranks #434 in Jennifer Eiss's 500 Essential Cult Movies
Jennifer Eiss's 500 Esse…
434 -
This movie ranks #435 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…
435 -
This movie ranks #884 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
1001 Movies You Must See…
884 -
This movie ranks #915 in Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
Jonathan Rosenbaum's Ess…
915 -
This movie ranks #1113 in The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection
1113