Stranger Than Paradise (The Criterion Collection)
by Jim Jarmusch
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DVD details
Actor: Eszter Balint, John Lurie, Richard EdsonDirector: Jim Jarmusch
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); 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
DVD Reviews of Stranger Than Paradise (The Criterion Collection)
DVD Review: The Honeymooners by way of Ozu
Summary: 5 Stars
Stranger Than Paradise not only announced the arrival of an original filmmaker with Jim Jarmusch, but also signaled the arrival of a new wave of American independent cinema along with the Coen brothers' Blood Simple and Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It. Jarmusch's film came as a response to the impersonal commercial filmmaking of the Hollywood studios. His film was originally nothing more than a 30-minute short film shot from 40 minutes of extraneous film stock donated by German filmmaker Wim Wenders. Eventually, Jarmusch came into a small sum of money -- $120,000 worth -- and was able to complete the film.
Described by Jarmusch as The Honeymooners by way of Ozu, Stranger introduced his trademark style: minimal sets and long, uninterrupted takes with very little camera movement that are punctuated by the occasional fade to black. It is a funky mix of deadpanned American humour and a European visual sensibility. Stranger was made during the dawn of MTV and its success seems rather odd considering that it was the antithesis of most films being made in America at the time. The rather slow, meandering pace of Stranger did not conform to the quick cut, music video style that was fashionable at the time. His characters also lacked any sort of real ambition which was a world apart from most mainstream films. His approach seems downright revolutionary now as people's collective attention spans have gotten considerably shorter.
Stranger Than Paradise won the Camera d'or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival and was soon heralded by many critics as a watershed film in American independent cinema. Much has been written about the film's outsider view of America and to be fair, the sparse visuals and down-on-their-luck hipsters that populate this film certainly flies in the face of the materialism of the 1980s, making it just as unique and significant today as it was back then.
Fans of this film can finally toss the crappy, bare bones MGM DVD as Criterion has given Jarmusch's film their deluxe treatment.
Perhaps the most substantial extra is the inclusion of Jarmusch's feature film debut, Permanent Vacation (1980). It's about the story of Ally Parker (Chris Parker), the prototypical Jarmusch protagonist - an alienated outsider. Jarmusch's stylistic approach is intact but with an even more non-sensical narrative that seems avant garde in nature.
"Kino '84: Jim Jarmusch" was produced for German television in 1984 and features interviews with some of the cast and crew from Permanent Vacation and Stranger Than Paradise. They all look so young and were just starting out. It's a nice snapshot of the times with the normally media-shy Sara Driver (Jarmusch's significant other) recounting filming anecdotes.
"Some Days in January 1984" is a 14-minute, Super 8 behind-the-scenes silent film shot by Tom Jarmusch. It looks like home movies as we see cast and crew freezing in Cleveland.
"Location Scouting" is a collection of black and white photographs taken while Jarmusch was checking out locations to use in the film. Sadly, they don't say where in Florida they were but these stills do look excellent.
Finally, there are U.S. and Japanese trailers for the film.
Description of Stranger Than Paradise (The Criterion Collection)
Rootless Hungarian émigré 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
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