Cheap Dead Man (Widescreen Edition) (Video) (Jim Jarmusch) Price

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Customer Reviews of Dead Man (Widescreen Edition)

Jarmusch's greatest film, and one of the best films from the 1990's
The critics hated this film when it was released. They were expecting a "quirky", Jarmusch type film I suppose. You have to watch this film a few times before you really get it, and when you do, it's a knockout. It does start out as a quirky, off the wall Jarmusch type film, but midway through it, it takes a serious turn towards a more spiritual, mystical level, and it works brilliantly. It has a Zen like transcendence that you usually only associate with the Japanese. In the hands of a lesser director, it could have come across as pompous and pretentious, but Jarmusch is one of the greats. The performances (especially by Depp and Gary Farmer as "Nobody") are superlative, and the cinematography should have won an award. Astonshingly beautiful... <
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DEAD ON ARRIVAL
There are some interesting scenes and a lot of work has obviously been put into the costumes and sets but this early Johnny Depp film doesn't really have much going for it. This may be a case where there is too much character development and too little meaningful plot. Director Jim Jarmusch seems intent on reviving every western sterotype from the dude accoutant in a plaid suit (Depp) to the evil rich guy who talks to a stuffed bear (Robert Mitchem). There is even a goofy Indian named Nobody who can quote poetry. If it wasn't for all the shootings and killings and serious, black and white filming and Finland-school ten-second shoot-and-cut scenes, I'd almost call DEAD MAN a comedy. But, instead, I'll just call it a joke. This is a boring, depressing, mindless film that seems intent on satirizing western films and slamming the western culture of violence. At one point when asked why she had a pistol, the girl says, "This is America." Not this is a wild-open, crime-ridden town where a gal needs a little protection, but this is AMERICA. So perhaps, DEAD MAN is a metaphor for violent America and its inevitable demise. The director and the writer might benefit from a study of European history: try PARIS IN THE TERROR (Stanley Loomis) to get some perspective on what a real culture of violence looks like. But there is little help for Mr. Jarmusch for this film: DEAD MAN is dead on arrival. <
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Depp Is Way Too Underrated!!
I was watching this movie on satellite late one night when I couldn't sleep and surprisingly made it through it all. I was so taken with Depp's performance that I actually went to Borders and picked it up. After watching it a second time and seeing all the characters in the movie I thought it was pretty good. Okay, it won't take Unforgiven, Open Range, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, or even none of the Magnificent Seven as one of the greatest Westerns but Jarmusch's direction and Depp's acting made it convincing enough. The fact that legendary Robert Mitchum played the villain looking to off Blake in the movie added much credibility to it. The film being in black and white added a creepy ghoulish effect to the movie. I didn't care for Neil Young's addition as I think his music was used waaay too much in the movie. The one thing that sets Depp apart from all other actors is that he will take on a whole variey of characters, and star in not only high budget films, but will surprise you by showing up in the low budget ones as well which will let him expand his range of acting. This wasn't a typical blockbuster western, but it was good enough that you wanted to watch it all the way through to see what was going to happen to Depp's character at the end. "Look At That Suit! Where Ya From, Cleveland?"