Kevin's Watch

Did anyone else get as much of a buzz out of Dead Man as I did? Jarmusch's story of the bespectacled accounting clerk William Blake whose failed journey to the frontier town of Machine in search of a promised job with the local mining company ends in his becoming a wanted murderer, is a sureal mix of poetry, drug induced revelation and self-discovery. Depp's portrayal of Blake progresses from bewildered innocent through unlikely survivor to visionary mystic as the price on his head and the body count for which he is unwittingly responsible both rise exponentially. In his journey he is accompanied by the westernised native American 'Nobody' who idolises William Blake [the poet] who Blake has never heard off.

The film becomes increasingly haunted as it progreses and Blake becomes evermore 'native' in his appraisal of his situation. The musical score of Neil Young's brutal slide guitar refrain which echo's thoughout the film is worth the viewing alone, but in combination with Jarmusch's monochrome screenplay and hyperrealistic sets a true masterpiece of cinema is created. If you haven't seen it then do so; if you have then see it again.

Yes, I really liked the film.

I saw it in the theater when it first came out. I loved it.
Strangely enough, I went to a Halloween party a few years back with a bunch of film students in Boulder, and went as "No Face" from Spirited Away. Me and another guy commiserated on the fact that nobody seemed to know who we are except each other, as he was dressed as the Johnny Depp character from Dead Man.

It's odd that the film seems to be less well known than it should be - and less appreciated thereby.

I agree. It's a winning combination - Jim Jarmusch and Johnny Depp. Not to mention a funky Iggy Pop and the host of others briefly in the movie. But Nobody was the best character.

oh yeah. it's one of my favorite jarmusch movies (stranger than paradise being my favorite)

he who talks loud, say nothing

Navajo mud toy????!!!

lance hendriksen and Michael wincott are my favorites...besides nobody (gary farmer)

love love loved this movie!!

VGood, but doesn't beat Ghost Dog.

Yes - now that's an opinion I hear fairly frequently, but for me it has to be the other way around. In fact if I'm honest, I struggled a bit with 'Ghost Dog', but I do believe I need to see it again to see if it would 'gel' better for me on a second viewing.

Broken Flowers is also okay. As anything that Bill Murray lays his hands on