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Dead Man is independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s sixth feature film, released in 1995 by Miramax Films.
It is a film about death and its meaning for humans; or, maybe, rather a description of the human condition, and reflections on the real meaning of life and death. Somehow Dead Man could be seen as a novel Pilgrim’s Progress, trying to strip life of its added meanings, in the light of the concept of death. Some of the dialogues, especially the parts spoken by Nobody, are clear references to works by William Blake, the main character’s namesake. Jonathan Rosenbaum defined this film an Acid Western.
The combination of black and white film and the rough, haunting score, improvised by Neil Young, render the work sharper and more in tone with the subject matter. The vast and still landscapes are shot superbly, and they render justice to the tradition of earlier Western cinema. Particularly vivid and realistic are the western village and the Native American settlement seen at the end.

Regarding the plot, did William Blake actually die when he was first shot? And if so, was the rest of the film just the tale of an imaginary voyage, forged upon the literary tradition including Divina Commedia and Pilgrim’s Progress? The character of Nobody, colourfully interpreted by the excellent Gary Farmer, fuels this suspects when, shortly after meeting him, he asks Blake: “Did you kill the white man who killed you?”
During the initial train trip ‘to hell’, the coal-stoker tells Blake about a ship; this will be understood only at the end of the movie. Dickinson Steel works is indeed an infernal place, reminiscent of Lang’s Metropolis factory, in a town called Machine (Pink Floyd, anyone?), at the end of the line. What does it stand for? The imposed mental hell man struggles to come to terms with?

(Originally written April 7, 2007)

“That weapon will replace your tongue. You will learn to speak through it. And your poetry will now be written with blood.”

What makes Jim Jarmusch’s films so memorable is the way in which the images burn into one’s mind. They resonate on the screen in a powerful way. Jarmusch takes the austere style of filmmakers such as Ozu and Bresson and perverts the content in a way that delves deeper into a darker side of human nature. In the film Dead Man, he uses his technique to examine the surreal and mystical aspects of the old West. The film is a loss-of-innocent tale of an accountant played by Johnny Depp who turns violent after murdering a man. He meets a Native American named Nobody, who mistakes Depp’s character for the poet William Blake, since both the poet and Depp share the same name. Meanwhile, three famous gunslingers are hired by a factory owner named Dickinson, the father of the man murdered by William Blake. Dickinson is played by Robert Mitchum in a very haunting way. The film then continues as the accountant assumes the position of an outlaw and as the poet William Blake.

Jarmusch is an intelligent man, paying close attention to his characterizations of the Native Americans and the old West and subtly making references to the poetry of William Blake. Someone like Quentin Tarantino wears his cultural references on his sleeve in a clever way while Jarmusch subtly hints at the poetry in a way that adds to the movie instead of distracting. One of the best aspects of this film is the fact that it does not glorify the violence. The violence is, actually, quite grisly in a way that allows the film to look more at the violent nature of humans. What makes the violence in this film so effective is that it is dispersed among Jarmusch’s otherwise very quiet style, so the gunshots cut through with full effect, typically accompanied by the violent-sounding electric guitar of Neil Young. Young’s score perfectly establishes the mood of the film. Something that is lost in much of contemporary cinema is the power of human faces. This film photographs the faces of the actors in a way such that their distinct features remain in our mind long after the movie. Dead Man is not so much about the events in the movie but about the characters involved and the way in which the old West drives them to violence.

i’ve only seen a few movies my jarmusch. down by law and ghost dog and mystery train and broken flowers.i just saw dead man tonight and it’s tough to say if i like it more than than the others. however it’s the movie that has opened my eyes to see his visionary style for what i feel it really is. the black and white and the music and the acting in this movie is so original. i don’t think i’ve ever seen the world this way. then i thought about his other movies. they’re referential, sure, this one is too, but the references are a means to express a simple note of cool, to make the movie a movie we can trust, then riffing off of that takes on a soulful jam about america that has got to belong to jarmusch and no one else. filmmakers like these are the kind that remind me how rich our cinema is and it’s strange how cast aside these artists are by a lot of film society. i read that jarmusch had gotten all sorts of hollywood invitations when he was a rock star filmmaker but that he wanted to remain independent. i guess it’s cool with him to just stick with the cool friends he has and keep doing what he’s doing but i don’t know i still think the man needs a little respect. real filmmakers need more credibility like this guy and we need more of his movies.