Night on Earth (1991)
Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins
Synopsis: Director Jim Jarmusch's episodic slice-of-life drama follows the adventures of five different cabdrivers in five different cities all over the world. In Los Angeles, a young female driver (Winona Ryder) charms her snooty passenger--an agent (Gena Rowlands) who believes she's found her... Director Jim Jarmusch's episodic slice-of-life drama follows the adventures of five different cabdrivers in five different cities all over the world. In Los Angeles, a young female driver (Winona Ryder) charms her snooty passenger--an agent (Gena Rowlands) who believes she's found her latest star in the tomboyish cabbie. In New York, a man (Giancarlo Esposito) gets into a taxi only to find that his immigrant driver (Armin Mueller-Stahl) has no idea how to drive. The Paris segment features an angry sightless woman (Beatrice Dalle) who provokes her African driver (Isaach de Bankole). In Rome, Roberto Benigni stars as a hyperactive taxi driver who confesses his odd sexual practices to a clergyman (Paolo Bonacelli) and is shocked when the priest has a heart attack. The film's climactic scene in Helsinki follows a cabdriver who listens to a tragic and poignant tale from one of his three inebriated passengers only to top him with his own, sadder story. Colorfully photographed by Frederick Elmes, NIGHT ON EARTH features an original score by the masterful Tom Waits. Jarmusch handles his various stories--as well as actors--with his traditional lighthearted sincerity, resulting in another original tale from one of independent film's most distinct directors. [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Rosie Perez, Roberto Benigni, Giancarlo Esposito
DVD Info
Release:
Sep 30, 2007
DVD Features:
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, Italian
- Subtitles - English - Optional
Additional Release Materials:
- Audio Commentary - Frederick Elmes - Director of Photography; Drew Kunin
- Interview - Jim Jarmusch - Director
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Reviews
Jarmusch's most accessible exercise to date while also his least seen
Revisiting his interest in oblique comedy, Jarmusch explores a primal relationship, that of a passenger and taxi driver, using the cab as a temporary shared world, from which one party may emerge shaken up or feeling differently about himself/herself
Revisiting his interest in oblique comedy, Jarmusch explores a primal relationship, that of a passenger and taxi driver, using the cab as a temporary shared world, from which one party may emerge shaken up or feeling differently about himself/herself
A clever glimpse of the human condition via taxi drivers and their passengers in five different cities
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by: Jos van Kreij (jos@burtonsweet.zzn.com) 5/25/01

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