Synopsis

A master of Minimalist cinema Jim Jarmusch excels in this story of William Blake, who, having lost his parents, travels to far-west Machin with a few dollars and a letter promising a job, only to discover himself a month late for the post. There could be no other man more in the wrong place at the wrong time than William. Surprisingly William seems to make his career as a real westerner. As he shoots a man in self-defense, he needs to flee further westward - into the wilderness.

Credits

Directed by - Jim Jarmusch

Writing credits - Jim Jarmusch

CAST
Johnny Depp - William Blake
Gary Farmer - Nobody
Crispin Glover - Train Fireman
Lance Henriksen - Cole Wilson
Michael Wincott - Conway Twill
Eugene Byrd - Johnny 'The Kid' Pickett
John Hurt - John Scholfield
Robert Mitchum - John Dickinson
Iggy Pop - Salvatore 'Sally' Jenko
Gabriel Byrne - Charlie Dickinson
Jared Harris - Benmont Tench

Produced by
Karen Koch - co-producer
Demetra J. MacBride - producer

Original Music by - Neil Young

Cinematography by - Robby Müller

Film Editing by - Jay Rabinowitz

Influences

References to William Blake
There are numerous references to the poetry of William Blake in the film. Nobody quotes lines from several of Blake's poems, including "Auguries of Innocence" and "The Everylasting Gospel". When Cole Wilson warns against drinking from standing water, it references the Proverb of Hell, "Expect poison from standing water", from Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Thel's name is also a reference to Blake's The Book of Thel.

Portrayal of Native Americans
This film is generally regarded as being extremely well-researched in regard to Native American culture.

[1]Dead Man is also notable as one of the rather few films about Native Americans to be directed by a Non-Native and offer a nuanced and considerate details of the individual differences between Native American tribes, and furthermore free of common stereotypes. There are untranslated passages in several Native American Languages, and Jarmusch included several in-jokes aimed at Native American viewers, or at least those with a fluent knowledge of the languages used.[citation needed]

Response
In its theatrical release, Dead Man earned about $1 million for a budget of $9 million.

[2] It is the most expensive of Jarmusch's films, due to the expense of black-and-white film processing, and the costs of ensuring accurate period detail.Critical responses were mixed. Roger Ebert gave the film one-and-a-half stars (out of four stars maximum), noting "Jim Jarmusch is trying to get at something here, and I don't have a clue what it is".

[3] Desson Howe and Rita Kempley, both writing for the Washington Post, offered largely negative appraisals.

[4] Greil Marcus, however, mounted a spirited defense of the film, titling his review "Dead Again: Here are 10 reasons why 'Dead Man' is the best movie of the end of the 20th century."

[5] Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum dubbed the film an acid western, calling it "as exciting and as important as any new American movie I've seen in the 90s"

[6] and went on to write a book on the film, entitled Dead Man (ISBN 0-85170-806-4) published by the British Film Institute. The film scored a 'Fresh' 71% rating on website Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards & Nominations

2 wins & 5 nominations

• Nominee - Cannes Film Festival - Golden Palm
• Winner - European Film Awards - Screen International Award
• Winner - Independent Spirit Awards - Best Cinematography/ Best Feature/ Best Screenplay/ Best Supporting Male
• Winner - New York Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Cinematography

Comments

'I was held by Depp's transformation from white-man non-entity to the Jarmusch version of the affectless Man With No Name' - Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

Trivia

• The lines "The vision of Christ that thou dost see / Is my vision's greatest enemy" that Nobody says to the trading post missionary are from William Blake's "The Everlasting Gospel".
• The lines "Every night and every morn / Some to misery are born / Every morn and every night / Some are born to sweet delight" are from William Blake's poem "Auguries of Innocence".
• The names of the two marshals that Blake (Johnny Depp) kills are Lee and Marvin, an homage to Lee Marvin.
• The line said by Nobody, "The eagle never lost so much time as when he submitted to learn from the Crow," is also a William Blake quote, from the proverbs of Hell in "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell".
• Billy Bob Thornton's character is named Big George Drakoulious. George Drakoulias is a musician and has produced music for The Black Crowes and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Jared Harris' character is named Benmont Tench. Benmont Tench is a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
• Gary Farmer would reprise his role as Nobody in the later Jim Jarmusch film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).
• The character Thel is also taken from a William Blake poem called "The Book of Thel".
• The lines "Some are born to sweet delight and some born to the endless night" are also lyric of a song entitled "End of the Night" by The Doors.