Definitely! Jim Jarmusch is far superior to Wes Anderson on several levels, I seldom hear them compared yet I find them similar in some aspects. However, Anderson pales in comparison to Jarmusch
hate to say it, but i think a WHOLE lot of directors of the postmodern era, meaning generation x’ers, owe a great deal to jarmusch. and not the least is one of my favorites, mr. quentin tarantino.
I just want to say this: Anderson is for chicks and Jarmusch is for guys(dicks).
At least its easier for me to watch his movies. But I avoid anderson just because old girlfriends would like him.
haha! ok. i guess thats as good a reason as any to avoid a director! not mad at ya!
Stranger Than Paradise or Down By Law?
I still don’t know… I JUST DON’T KNOW!
for me, its no contest. “stranger than pradise”. there are some beautiful moments in that film. the opening shot of the airport with vast emptiness in front of it. the visit to lake erie (which mirrors the opening shot of the airport). the use of the song “i put a spell on you” as structuring motif. and the poetic ending, with the three friends going their separate ways for separate reasons, to met separate fates.
this film is a flat-out masterpiece. i’m not sure that there’s anything in “down by law” that can compare to the best moments in “stranger than paradise.”
I like both of them, but “Down By Law” had a better story and a great ending and overall it’s more interesting.
I couldn’t agree more, Jarmusch is amazing. Down by Law is my favorite, but they are really all so good.
“Mystery Train,” “Dead Man,” “Night on Earth” and “Broken Flowers” are all terrific minor classics. Can’t say I thought a helluva lot of “Year of the Horse,” though, and I’m a Neil Young fan.
“dead man” is my favorite jarmusch. there’s something really special about that film. not to mention, for me, its his most beautiful film in terms of visuals.
the only two i haven’t yet seen are “year of the horse” and “broken flowers”.
Jerome: It’s funny you say that since my girlfriend actually likes Wes Anderson a lot, whereas I really like Jarmusch.
I love just about everything I see by him; I especially like Mystery Train. His movies have a certain charm that I can’t really describe well but he never seems to disappoint.
Love Jim Jarmusch films. Especially the early ones but I still have to say Wes Anderson I like a little bit more.
are there any “night on earth” fans here? i think that’s one of his most underrated films.
I wouldn’t compare Wes Anderson to Jim Jarmusch. I love them both. I adore jarmusch’s films and I don’t think anyone has been ignoring him. We just haven’t gotten around to him yet. What’s someone to do when they’ve seen all his movies and it’s been 3 years since his last one? :(
“I just want to say this: Anderson is for chicks and Jarmusch is for guys(dicks).
At least its easier for me to watch his movies. But I avoid anderson just because old girlfriends would like him.”
That’s a great reason, I agree. There are places I don’t even eat at anymore cuz of old girlfriends. Curse them!
Um, am I a hermaphrodite since I like both??
Oh, boy. I gotta say, my favorite is “Down By Law”. But, after having seen “Broken Flowers” several times over the past couple of years, I might place it in the upper tier. It has a quiet beauty that is surprising, even for Jarmusch.
Concerning the last decade, and [in all likelihood] probably more, that is, with regards to modern film, Coffee and Cigarettes is the closest thing to Cinema I can think of. Unforgivably involving, euphoric, satire via scathing sketch humor and fantastic scenarios.
The Molina-Coogan bit… is… sheer… bliss.
I agree with R.S. Brown regarding the Molina-Coogan piece from “Coffee and Cigarettes”. One of my favorite scenes ever.
i love “coffee and cigarettes” in general. its an absolutely beautiful movie. my favorite scene is with the white stripes. and i had a special appreciation for the molina/coogan scene, because i worked in hollywood for a long time. i hate that hollywood “are you the important person in the room i need to be talking to” attiutude.
Love Jarmusch, one of my favorites. Every scene in each his movies (not just the obvious “Coffee and Cigarettes” and “Night on Earth”) are almost like short films that are good by themselves, but they build upon each other to create a cohesive and unique cinematic experience. His films are legitimately quirky and cool, unlike a good number of modern indie flicks that so self consciously try to construct cool, but ultimately fail.
Oh, and no love for the bad-assery that is “Ghost Dog”?
I suppose people are comparing Wes Anderson to Jarmusch because they are seen as the preeminent “independent directors” now? To me, there is very little link to draw between them, even if certain elements are present in both of their oeuvres, like their ability to select the perfect music at any given point. But the moods they establish in their respective oeuvres couldn’t be more different in my eyes. Whereas Anderson is a master miniaturist, shoving the maximum amount of detail into the smallest possible space, Jarmusch is a master with story structure, clearly blocking off pieces of his plot (whether through titles in Stranger Than Paradise, fades-to-black in STP and Broken Flowers, tri-partite narrative in STP and Down By Law, numerous “unrelated” stories in Night On Earth and Coffee And Cigarettes, or just the long fade-out of Dead Man) in a way that feels breezy and weighty at the same time.
I love ’em both, but Jarmusch is my favorite filmmaker. Period.
“Independent directors” in the United States, I should have said.
“ghost dog” deserves much love. especially the score by rza. jarmusch works with great composers. i’m also thinking neil young in “dead man”, which is my favorite score.
I’m trying to ignore the negative comments about Wes Anderson…especially since this thread is supposed to be about Jarmusch. Personally, I’m not interested in labelling any director as the “New American” anything, but I will say that Jarmusch is a fabulous director. I haven’t seen a film of his yet that I haven’t enjoyed. But of those films I’ve seen, some are slightly more enjoyable than others. I would place “Down by Law” at the top.
I was just talking about Jarmusch to a guy in my writing class yesterday. Funny how that works.
I love Jarmusch’s work. Especially Dead Man, which, besides The Proposition, is probably the best western ever made (if we include TV, I’d probably put it alongside Deadwood). That was the movie that epitomized the indie film for me when I first saw it in my “Film History After 1965” class when I was 16 (I started college a little early). I definitely agree w/ Bobby Wise on the score as well. Very cool.
The “Stupid fucking white man” line is great. I really liked that he brought it up again in Ghost Dog. That amused me.
But as to the argument at hand – I dig Wes, but Jim wins on this one.
I’ll join Grecco and Bobby. Those wonderfully directed fleeting encounters between Ghost Dog and Raymond, two men who seem to understand one another perfectly despite the barrier of spoken language. There’s hope for us all!
any jarmusch film would be a great addition to criterion. they need to release his whole output.
I would put Jarmusch up there, but along with Van Sant and Linklater and Lynch. For me, they’re the only ones doing things interesting enough (and on a consistent basis) cinematically to be considered as leaders of an American movement or generation.
My argument against the rest:
Wes Anderson needs to grow.
PT Anderson took his first leap out of his comfort zone (the Scorsese/Altman style) with There Will Be Blood. He’ll get there.
Tarantino “borrows” too much to be considered a filmmaker of his own.
Bobby Wise
ok. forget about wes anderson, pt anderson, lonnie anderson, or any other candidates that people are wanting to annoint as the best american director of the “new” generation, or at least recent years. there’s an elephant in the room that no one is paying attention to. and that elephant’s name is…JIM JARMUSCH.