Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch (written by)

Release Date:

9 November 1984 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

This is about a self-styled New York hipster (John Lurie of the Lounge Lizards) who is paid a suprise...

Plot Keywords:

Road | New York City | Florida | Hungarian | Slacker

Awards:

8 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

John Lurie	...	Willie
Eszter Balint	...	Eva
Richard Edson	...	Eddie
Cecillia Stark	...	Aunt Lotte
Danny Rosen	...	Billy
Rammellzee	...	Man With Money
Tom DiCillo	...	Airline Agent
Richard Boes	...	Factory Worker
Rockets Redglare	...	Poker player
Harvey Perr	...	Poker player
Brian J. Burchill	...	Poker player
Sara Driver	...	Girl with Hat
Paul Sloane	...	Motel Owner

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English | Hungarian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:S | South Korea:15 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Company:

Cinesthesia Productions

Trivia:

Started out as a 30-minute short subject film (shot in 1982) and was later expanded into a 3-part feature. The first section, "The New World," takes place in New York, the second, "One Year Later," in Cleveland, and the last, "Paradise," in Florida.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the last cut, shot inside the vehicle on the way to Cleveland, camera on Willie, the vehicle they are riding in is no longer the 1965 Dodge Coronet, but a Ford Econoline van.

Quotes:

Eva: I'm choking the alligator.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Abouna (2002)

Soundtrack:

I Put a Spell on You

A modern Bande a part

Before I watched this movie, I had not expected that it would be one of my favorite movies. I do not remember ANY movie which tells us a story about two men and a girl who spend many time, but never fall in love with each other. You know that if a movie is about men and women, their friendship, always they fall in love with each other. In the movie, although the man with hat is interested in the girl, he cannot tell her the fact, because the movie is very realistic like the world we live. She may not like him, she may want to be alone or just things go wrong. In fact, they are just friends whose relationships do not turn into love. Stranger than Paradise is not like a movie, it is like a documentary about real people and their real lives. I cannot believe that it is fictional. Moreover, all snowy images are reposeful, there is a surprise in the end. The movie is a modern Bande a part. Honestly, I like Stranger than Paradise more than Bande a part. Bande a part is a classic I know, but this movie is really extraordinary.