Cheap Dead Man (DVD) (Jim Jarmusch) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Dead Man

Artistic and Odd
I read a lot of the reviews before watching this movie. I am a Depp fan, so I decided to see for myself what it's all about. <
> <
>It's artsy, and you have to get used to the format. The black and white cinematography, I thought, was very good. The format is more of a series of vignettes than a continuous flow of story and dialogue. You get the hang of it pretty quickly. The music isn't your normal kind of score. Sometimes it fits the scene really well, and other times it borders on being annoying. The acting is very good. Don't expect some sort of "Ocean's Thirteen" cast with witticisms and glitzy movie-making. It's not that kind of film. If you're familiar with much of Depp's work you won't be too surprised that this film is avante garde. <
> <
>In terms of the story, I'd recommend relaxing and taking the journey. Each person will find something different in it, I think. The story isn't hard to follow. The choices that Depp's character makes result in the twists and turns of the story. Don't waste time trying to figure out logic - you'll figure out pretty quickly that logic isn't part of the random sorts of things that happen. Why does Depp's character do what he does? He just does. Could he do otherwise? Yes. But he doesn't. He seems swept away by his circumstances - that's part of the interest of the story. Obviously Native American spiritualism guides Farmer's character. If you have any understanding of Native American myth you'll be able to figure Farmer's character, "Nobody," out. As to whether he's "real" or imaginary, that's part of the individual interpretation involved in watching the film. That's part of what makes it artsy instead of "hollywood." Everything isn't spelled out and spoonfed to the viewer. <
> <
>If you want to walk away with a resolved ending and a happy feeling don't waste your time. Likewise if you're sensitive to things that are dark and logic that is more random than systematic, you won't like this film. In my opinion those who are very critical of this movie either try too hard to find the "meaning," or are frustrated by the dark mood and random manner of the events because they're trying to order things and find the natural flow. There isn't a natural flow here. If you're able not to take things too seriously and you're interested in something that will make you think a little bit, wonder a little bit, and philosophize a little bit you'll like this movie. Likewise students of film will appreciate the format and other aspects of the non-traditional way this film is constructed.

Well worth the 2 hour playing time
I am not a huge fan of westerns, but I gave this one a shot and I wasn't disappointed. The first 10 minutes sets the scene as Johnny Depp, playing a staid accountant from Cleveland, Ohio, William Blake, makes his perilous way by train to the Old West. His situation in the hellish town of Machine becomes dire rapidly, and his urbane sensibilities become hardened with the issues of mortality, violence, escape, and mysticism, with the aid of an Indian friend, Nobody, who thinks he's the real poet William Blake. It's a Western road movie, filmed in glorious black and white and scored musically by Neil Young. Seems many folks here didn't care for Neil's guitar-based soundtrack; I thought it mesmerized. Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man is an atmospheric, almost spooky Western that doesn't fail to entertain.