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Mystery Train (1989)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
7 November 1989 (USA) morePlot:
Three stories are connected by a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis Presley. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
1 win & 8 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control Retro Poster (From FirstShowing.net. 11 March 2009, 2:41 PM, PDT)
FilmCouch 110: Movies That Should be Graphic Novels
(From Spout. 27 February 2009, 5:45 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Elvis Lives! moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Masatoshi Nagase | ... | Jun (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
| Youki Kudoh | ... | Mitsuko (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
| Screamin' Jay Hawkins | ... | Night Clerk (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
| Cinqué Lee | ... | Bellboy (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
| Rufus Thomas | ... | Man in Station (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
 | Jodie Markell | ... | Sun Studio Guide (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
| William Hoch | ... | Tourist Family (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
| Pat Hoch | ... | Tourist Family (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
| Joshua Elvis Hoch | ... | Tourist Family (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
| Reginald Freeman | ... | Conductor (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
| Beverly Prye | ... | Streetwalker (segment "Far From Yokohama") |
 | Nicoletta Braschi | ... | Luisa (segment "A Ghost") |
| Elizabeth Bracco | ... | Dee Dee - Charlie's Sister (segment "A Ghost") |
 | Sy Richardson | ... | Newsvendor (segment "A Ghost") |
| Tom Noonan | ... | Man in Arcade Diner (segment "A Ghost") |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
110 minColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Iceland:L | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | Sweden:15 | France:Unrated | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Finland:K-12 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:R | Germany:12Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The hotel where the three stories converge is no longer standing, so many fans of the movie have made pilgrimages to the site only to find that it no longer exists. It can, however, be seen in the background of the scene in Great Balls of Fire! (1989), in the scene where Alec Baldwin is preaching from his broken-down car. moreQuotes:
Mitzuko: Jun, why do you only take pictures of the rooms we stay in and never what we see outside while we travel?Jun: Those other things are in my memory. The hotel rooms and the airports are the things I'll forget.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Heimat 3 - Chronik einer Zeitenwende: Das glücklichste Volk der Welt - 1989 (#1.1)" (2004) moreSoundtrack:
The Memphis Train moreFAQ
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'Mystery Train' is probably the most entertaining, interesting and understated of indie-fave Jim Jarmusch's early work (i haven't seen 'Coffee and Cigarettes' yet). The films portrayal of Elvis' birthplace of Memphis, possibly one of the most featureless, gritty and desolate representations of urban America ever committed to film, is a deceptively clever and substantial take on American subcultures.
Without doubt, it is the first of the films three vignettes that makes the film stand out a little more than Jarmusch's other quirky offerings. Two Japanese tourists besotted with the King's legacy and 1950's American retro-culture in general, decide to visit Memphis, where they experience the superficiality his iconic status has been reduced to. The over-excitable and optimistic teenage girl, along with her more austere, cooler-than-cool boyfriend, are equally unimpressed with what the town has to offer. It's quite impressive that 15 years after its release, Jarmusch's depiction of alternative culture manages to capture the pretentious but proudly on-the-edges attitudes probably more apparent in today's retro-obsessed climate than ever before.
Jarmusch's signature eclectic cast is another reason for repeated viewing, the subtleties of, in particular, Steve Buscemi's stuttering and nervous performance, are worth looking out for. As is the linking theme of Elvis' ghost in all three vignettes, a brilliant example of how to take a simple theme, and continually parodize its implications until its every mention leads to some sort of in-joke. The cool, laid-back pace of the film allows the humour to hit you unexpectedly, and the timing is often genius. Very, very, very watchable.