Product Description

Rootless Hungarian émigré Willie (John Lurie), his pal Eddie (Richard Edson), and visiting sixteen-year-old cousin Eva (Eszter Balint) always manage to make the least of any situation, whether aimlessly traversing the drab interiors and environs of New York City, Cleveland, or an anonymous Florida suburb. With its delicate humor and dramatic nonchalance, Jim Jarmusch’s one-of-a-kind minimalist masterpiece, Stranger Than Paradise, forever transformed the landscape of American independent cinema. Also included in this special-edition release is Jarmusch’s legendary debut feature, Permanent Vacation, a time capsule of late-seventies Manhattan, on DVD for the first time in the United States

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15704 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2007-09-04
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Black & White, Digital Sound, Mono, NTSC
• Original language: English, Hungarian
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 89 minutes

Amazon.com
Back in the excess-is-best 1980s, the pared-down minimalism of 1984's Stranger than Paradise played like the product of another time--or even another planet. It was so "off," i.e. offbeat and off-kilter, it was (right) on. Now seen as a classic of American independent cinema, it compares favorably to other monochromatic first features, like Border Radio and Mala Noche (also lovingly restored by the movie mavens at the Criterion Collection). The acclaim was justified--except it wasn't Jarmusch's first film. That honor belongs to 1980's Permanent Vacation, making its long-awaited digital debut on this two-disc set. Shot by Tom DiCillo, Jarmusch's initial offering revolves around the name Parker: Chris Parker is Aloysious Parker, a ducktailed New Yorker with a jones for Charlie Parker. Allie's a drifter and a dime-store philosopher. "That's how thing work for me," he drawls in voice-over, "I go from this place, this person, to that place or person." And so he does. Fresh from NYU, where he assisted Nicholas Ray, Jarmusch displays an innate talent for framing and dialogue (Allie lives for "vibrating, bugged-out sound"). His touch with actors--Frankie Faison's raconteur aside--is less assured, but he learned quickly. Lounge Lizard John Lurie cameos as a sax player. DiCillo returns for Stranger than Paradise, in which he and Jarmusch trade color for black and white stock (donated by Wim Wenders). In this "semi-neorealist black comedy," as the filmmaker puts it in the production notes (included with this set), Hungarian teenager Eva (Eszter Balint) arrives in New York ("The New World") to stay with her cousin, Willie (Lurie). A drifter, like Allie, she continues on to Cleveland ("One Year Later") and Florida ("Paradise"). With nothing better to do, Willie and Eddie (Richard Edson) tag along. As opposed to the rapid-fire cutting of the day, Jarmusch uses static shots divided by black screen. He may have taken cues from Ozu and The Honeymooners--dig those porkpie hats--but the end product couldn’t be more idiosyncratic.

This director-approved double-feature comes complete with a German TV documentary (Kino '84: Jim Jarmusch), behind-the-scenes footage, US and Japanese trailers, and a 44-page booklet with essays by J. Hoberman and Luc Sante. Just as Stranger than Paradise stands as one of the defining films of the 1980s, this special edition represents one of the most essential DVD releases of the 2000s. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Not That Strange, and Not A Paradise
I love many Indie films, obviously with a two star rating I do not like Stranger Than Paradise. I'm not going to use my college term paper that I wrote to show how smart I am posting it here (I never went to film class in College, that's a joke), I'm just going to give a LITTLE balance to what I feel was a real rip off. This film is engaging the first time you watch it but if you value your time, it totally rips you off in the end leaving you hanging and felling like you just lost at three card Monty, a set up pool game, crooked craps, and whatever else you may have been physiologically raped in your past. Watch this all the way through and that's the feeling you may (or may not for all I know, so many people love it, but just not me) feel. One qualifying note, if you enjoyed Ghost World, this is in the same vein of entertainment. I actually liked this better then GW, because I liked the characters, but it just ended in the last 30 minutes like it was never based on a script. Rental material before you purchase. I doubt you will ever re-watch this after the first time.

Great DVD, but shipping was late
This is one of my favorite movies, this criterion collection is awesome !!! No problem with the dvd at all, but it arrived 2 weeks later.

The road to nowhere
This is a unique minimalist tale, more atmosphere than action, about America seen through the eyes of a winsome young Hungarian woman (Eszter Balint) who comes to stay with her deadbeat cousin (John Lurie) in a desolate area of New York City before moving on to an equally desolate Cleveland suburb. The pretty exile from then-Communist Eastern Europe finds a New World that is not the Promised Land of capitalism, but a vacant landscape of low-rent neighborhoods, motels, hot dog restaurants, bus stations, lonely highways, and TV dinners. The three young people in this film might be lost souls on an aimless road trip, but this is an America where there is no place to arrive. As one character observes, all places are the same. But the bleakness of the landscape is relieved by touches of warmth and gentle humor. The minimalist style and moody music fit the story well. Short individual scenes like snapshots are separated by a black screen. The silences in the conversation and the atmospheric noises become as important as what the characters say. "Stranger than Paradise" succeeds in being artful without being pretentious.

When this film appeared in 1984 it was well received in Europe but did not get much play in the U.S. outside the art house circuit. Now, more than twenty years later, it still holds up very well. In later films Jim Jarmusch has further explored America as seen by the stranger/foreigner ("Down by Law," "Mystery Train"), but without achieving the same magic. If you are receptive to that magic, you may find yourself quoting the characters of "Stranger than Paradise" or fondly recalling their humorous foibles.