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greggster59 wrote:I don't recall too many westerns, aside from Dead Man, that conveys the violence white men perpetrated on this land and it's indigenous population as effectively. And it accomplishes this without forfeiting Jarmusch's sense of irony and humor. One of Jarmusch's best, IMO.

There's been a lot of westerns (including ones from the classic era) that have done that. I like this film a lot and would call it one of the best I've seen, but outside maybe the Iggy Pop scene it doesn't offer anything new. Just in Jarmusch's voice which for me is good enough praise.

It never once occurred to me that the film might have been better served if it had been shot in color...until I saw this image from the set:

barnyard078 wrote:"Rarely seen footage of Neil Young composing and performing the film's score" has now been added to the list of extras.

cdnchris wrote:I recall hating that score as well, though have no memory of it now (but Ebert's comment about the dropping guitar makes me chuckle).

I always imagined this score to be the result of some kind of silly bet where the Composer/Performer couldn't take his guitar out of it's case. So if this "rare footage" isn't that of an old fart with an insane THC blood-level, a lot of effect pedals and a guitar still in it's case, I will be slightly disappointed.

It's not a score I think I'd like to listen to on its own, but it serves the picture well, contributing to a subtly hallucinatory mood -- the sounds you hear when seeing through the eyes of a dead man.

Rosenbaum's monograph on the film is excellent, and really situates the film in the context of different Western traditions and its treatment of Native American beliefs and culture and how the protagonist relates to it (e.g., the importance of tobacco, and William Blake's resistance to it). Excerpts from Rosenbaum interviewing Jarmusch are interwoven into the text.

I do think it's Jarmusch's masterpiece to date. It contains everything he does well, all his different tones and textures as well as a visual beauty that I think is often underdiscussed in his work. There's even a slight bit of eroticism, which is otherwise rather absent from his work, imo. It's one of my favorite Westerns, too, and my vote for the best since McCabe & Mrs. Miller (though I guess the only real points of competition there are Little Big Man, Unforgiven, and, if you want to count it, Blazing Saddles) and I'd be open to arguments that it's the best since Once Upon a Time in the West.

I don't remember any other western to treat spirituality like this film does; that ending where Blake sets off on the boat is one of the most beautiful scenes I remember. I don't remember any other western using this Native "afterlife" and spirituality, but would be glad to be proven wrong.
As for other westerns since OUaTitW, I would add Eastwood's three other directed westerns as great representatives (Unforgiven is the best of the four), but let's not forget the brilliant The Proposition and The Assassination of Jesse James, the later one of my favorites of all time.
As for Jarmusch, I love this but Paterson has to rank as my favorite of his and the best encapsulation of his philosophy and themes.
i.e the Ebert review is a joke

For me Dead Man and Stranger Than Paradise are his masterpieces, most everything else is pretty good to great (the notable exceptions being portions of Night on Earth and Coffee & Cigarettes... oh, and his docs). And I love the soundtrack (even picked it up on vinyl when it was reissued a few years ago), it's Neil Young's new-age/doom album (my favorite music of his since Rust Never Sleeps)

and since we're naming great neo-westerns, I have to add my current fave: Meek's Cutoff, which definitely has a grittier intent, and pulls off a darker (I would say more realistic) look at the "west" than Dead Man

I just got notified that my question to Jim Jarmusch will be featured on this release!

swo17 wrote:I just got notified that my question to Jim Jarmusch will be featured on this release!

Congratulations! Wait...was it a pithy one-line joke that will just make Jarmusch roll his eyes?

Hey, sometimes I also compile statistics.

What was the question?

I don't entirely recall--something about the casting reflecting the feel of the afterlife.

Not surprisingly a tremendous upgrade in picture.

FrauBlucher wrote:Beaver

Always make sure you get the money shot/screencap

4K upgrade in January 2026

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Jim Jarmusch, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Q&A in which Jarmusch responds to questions sent in by fans
Footage of Neil Young composing and performing the film’s score
Interview with actor Gary Farmer
Readings of William Blake poems by members of the cast, including Mili Avital, Alfred Molina, and Iggy Pop, accompanied by Jarmusch’s location-scouting photos
Selected-scene audio commentary by production designer Bob Ziembicki and sound mixer Drew Kunin
Deleted scenes
Trailer
Color photos from the film’s production
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: Essays by film critic Amy Taubin and music journalist Ben Ratliff