Night on Earth
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Studio: Criterion
Year: 1991
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 128 minutes
Rating: R
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles: English, SDH
MSRP: $39.95
Release Date: September 4, 2007
Review Date: September 1, 2007
The Film
4/5
One of America’s most respected and acclaimed independent filmmakers, Jim Jarmusch, reached the height of his popular fame with
Night on Earth, an offbeat but generally endearing slice-of-life drama. As usual with Jarmusch films, the people are the whole show as he places these marvelously interesting and often mismatched individuals together in a location and lets things happen. Because of the structure of this particular piece, one only has to wait about 25 minutes if he’s unhappy with one set of players before another set takes over and we’re on to another story.
The events in the film take place simultaneously in taxis in five different worldwide locales: Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome, and Helsinki. In the early evening hours, cabbie Winona Ryder picks up movie casting agent Gena Rowlands and takes her home. In New York, inexperienced German immigrant Armin Mueller-Stahl gets an assist on how to operate a cab from Brooklynite Giancarlo Esposito. Prickly Parisian cabbie Isaach De Bankolé picks up a blind patron (Béatrice Dalle) who teaches him a lot about the nature of a true handicap. Motormouth Roman taximan Roberto Benigni desires confession while driving an ailing priest (Paulo Bonacelli) to his destination. And the film ends on a somber note with Helsinki driver Matti Pellonpää relating an emotional story of loss to three passengers who thought their lives were bad. Though the film is almost all talk from beginning to end, Jarmusch superbly directs the scenes so they’re never static talkfests. Instead, we get so involved with the characters and their situations that we’re hardly aware that most of the stories are playing themselves out inside a cab.
Individual viewers are going to have their own favorite segments, and I’ll admit to being drawn to four of the five episodes. Only the irritating, off-putting, and highly resistible Roberto Benigni’s segment, in effect a 25-minute yammering monologue which he does in his usual hyperbolic state, seems leaden and utterly predictable. With the others, each is a delight with unusual characters and surprising conclusions that leave one wanting more. The New York sequence is my own personal favorite with terrific, charismatic work by the two leading men and also Rosie Perez who steals the show once she’s tossed into the cab by brother-in-law Esposito.
Because the scenes were filmed on locations in real cars, there’s a vitality to the film that could never have been captured in a studio using process photography. Those Brooklyn neighborhoods, the frozen sidewalks of Helsinki, and the warmth of Los Angeles in general and Gena Rowlands in particular are palpable as one watches the movie. Jarmusch’s direction is a master class on handling actors of all types in their native habitats.
Video Quality
4/5
The film’s original 1.78:1 aspect ratio is presented in a pristine video transfer (supervised by the director). The Du-Art color, sad to say, is rather drab which gives the picture a slightly dated look and makes flesh tones appear ghostly pale. Shadow detail is limited despite good black levels. White subtitles on the three foreign language sections of the film are large and very easy to read. The film has been divided into 21 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The film’s Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track is decoded beautifully by Prologic so that music and minor ambient sounds filter wonderfully into the surrounds. There is occasional distortion in the Tom Waits vocals used during the movie, but otherwise, it’s a fine track with no hiss or crackle to spoil things.
Special Features
3.5/5
The director of photography Frederick Elmes and location sound mixer on the film (and on other Jim Jarmusch projects) Drew Kunindo participate in selected audio commentary that doesn’t run the length of the film but amounts to about an hour or so of illuminating comments on the production of the movie. The stories they share in this conversation give some wonderful background on the making of this unique feature.
There is a 58½-minute audio question and answer session with director Jim Jarmusch recorded in 2007. Questions were submitted to Jim through the Criterion website, and he answers dozens of them to very entertaining effect. The questions themselves are intelligent and thoughtful, and he handles answering them the best he can given that he hasn’t seen the film since its premiere. His responses make a terrific complement to the commentary offered by his two crew members.
“Alice: Magazine Européen” is a six-minute interview with Jarmusch conducted by a French magazine show shortly after the premiere of the film. As usual, the director presents himself well (in English with French subtitles) with reasonable and sensible answers to the questions posed to him. It’s presented in 4:3.
The enclosed 40-page booklet contains a marvelous collection of five essays, one for each city in the film and each one penned by a film teacher or critic well versed in Jarmusch’s oeuvre. The booklet is superbly illustrated with color plates featuring many of the film’s stars. It also contains the lyrics to the three Tom Waits songs which are featured in the background score of the movie.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
Jim Jarmusch’s
Night on Earth is among his most pleasing and accessible pictures. Its generally ingratiating cast of characters and the wonderfully fluid direction make it an easy recommend for fans of independent art films.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
