Island Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Down by Law
It's not where you start - It's where you start again.
A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.
- Original title
- Down by Law
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US,DE
- Budget
- $1,100,000
- Revenue
- $1,529,206
Filipe Manuel Neto
Nov 16, 2023 · via TMDB
**It's not a film for those looking for suspense or action, but it's perfect for those who want a solid film with very well-developed characters.** Directed and written by Jim Jarmusch, this film was obviously never going to be a suspenseful action drama. The director seems to prefer something more subtle, favoring cinematography, with very good filming angles and framing and the use of good sets. That's precisely what we have in this film, where we follow a man in a bizarre story: he's unemployed, urgently needs some money and accepts a seemingly simple job. However, this work was nothing more than a trap: accused of a crime he never committed, he is arrested and ends up with another wronged man and an Italian, who barely speaks English, but who devises an escape plan where the three decide to cooperate. The strong point of this film is the development of the characters. The possible crimes they committed and the injustices they experienced are never in question, all of this only serves to place the three of them in that penitentiary cell together. That's where the film really becomes better and more interesting, after a slow introduction, somewhat lengthy, but perhaps necessary. Each of the three main characters has the right to their time and space to develop and to show their character, personality and way of acting. With time and forced coexistence, and the creation of a common escape plan, they create a bond of trust that the film makes convincing and quite credible. On a technical level, the strong points of this film are the black and white cinematography, the credible sets and costumes, a very well written script and excellent editing. It's a film that doesn't take much time, which we watch quickly in less than two hours. It doesn't have a very notable soundtrack, but it doesn't need it either. It is clear that Jarmusch's direction does a very solid job, despite the certain inexperience that the director still had, which inclines him more towards experimentalism than any kind of obvious insecurity. Tom Waits and John Lurie do an excellent job with their characters and actually manage to respond positively to the challenges they face. However, it is the Italian Roberto Benigni who shines most in the squad. He is currently a highly regarded filmmaker and actor, but at this time he was not well known to the general international public. With a gentle lightness and creativity that characterize him in almost all of his work, the actor dominates every scene in which he appears and it is truly pleasant to see him work here, with his dignified wife, Nicoletta Braschi, who has a smaller role close to the end of the movie.
talisencrw
Sep 23, 2016 · via TMDB
Jim Jarmusch's work can be either intimidating or off-putting, and in equal measure, to cinephiles because it feels so relaxed--almost as if it was a spur-of-the-moment, off-the-cuff precursor of reality-TV, an inside-joke with everyone involved slipping a nod and a wink, as if on a drunken dare, a mickey of JD passed back and forth along with a pack of Marlboros. This brought to mind many good memories of one of the oddest residents of The Criterion Collection: 'Fishing with John' (an exemplary and hilarious six-part mini-series in which John Lurie goes on fishing expeditions with five American cinematic greats, his partners-in-crime here, Jarmusch and Tom Waits amongst them; one that I'd love to see both get a blu upgrade as well as more episodes, now 25 years later). Also, clearly Jarmusch had a fine rapport with his actors, for this is by far the best and most restrained work I have ever seen from Roberto Benigni. One of Jarmusch's more atypical films, 'Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai', is still my personal favourite, but this is right up there alongside. It would also make an intriguing double-bill with Jeff Nichols' stellar, though more serious in tone, recent film, 'Mud'.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Fandango At Home
Tom Waits
Zack
John Lurie
Jack
Roberto Benigni
Roberto
Nicoletta Braschi
Nicoletta
Ellen Barkin
Laurette
Rockets Redglare
Gig
Vernel Bagneris
Preston
Richard Boes
Detective
Dave Petitjean
Cajun Detective
David Dahlgren
Guard #1
Eliott Keener
Guard #3
Robby Müller
Director of Photography
Pascale Ogier
In Memory Of
Claire Denis
Assistant Director
Jim Jarmusch
Director
Guido Chiesa
Second Assistant Director
Tom Rothman
Co-Producer
Cary Brokaw
Executive Producer
Lisa Krueger
Producer's Assistant
Lisa Krueger
Music Coordinator
Arto Lindsay
Musician
Curtis Fowlkes
Musician
Marc Ribot
Musician
Naná Vasconcelos
Musician
John Lurie
Original Music Composer
Tom Waits
Songs
Jim Jarmusch
Writer
Her Children
Shari al-bahlawan
An Unwilling Hero
Blossom in Midnight
The Unknown Past
Kickboxer Os Punhos da Revolta
The servant
And they said
The Happy Couple
American History X
Tokyo Story
The Beginning and the End
Metropolis
Inn of the Floating Weeds
The Eternal
The Unseen
Banat bahari
Citizen Kane
Before Sunrise
Million Dollar Baby
The Battle of Algiers
Before Sunset
Anatomy of a Murder
The Chaser
Brazil
Amores Perros
Cairo 30
All About My Mother
The Longest Day
Pretty Boy
My Man Godfrey
Police Story
Angels with Dirty Faces
Walk the Line
The Royal Tenenbaums
American Me
Scrooge
Kes
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
The Way of the Dragon
Lifeboat
Last Holiday
Kiss Me Deadly
An Inspector Calls
Midaq Alley
Destry Rides Again
Young Mr. Lincoln
The Captain
The Room
A History of Violence
The Merciless
Ariel
Buffalo '66
Max Manus: Man of War
The Keys of the Kingdom
3 Women
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
The Wolf Man
Christmas in Connecticut
Monkey Business
Knick Knack
Zeinab
Joys
Maria
Fosforlu'nun Oyunu: Kıtıpiyoza Tuzak
Ghost in the Cell
Block-Heads
Animal Crackers
The Dam Busters
Horse Feathers
Adam's Woman
Defiance
Now You See Me 2
A Chinese Ghost Story II
Brighton Rock
He Got Game
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Bottle Rocket
The Longest Yard
Big Stan
Traitor
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing
Linç
Home Team
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Kiss the Girls
The People Under the Stairs
Judgment Night
Sebastiane
Broken Lance
Dead Youth
Holiday
Soldier
Road to Singapore
The Man Who Knew Too Little
Roger Dodger
Zulu Dawn
The Dead Girl
Desperate Measures
Money Talks
The Scarf
The Craic
The Wash
Borderland
Enter the Ninja
Eating Cars
Männerpension
Animal 2
Creature from Black Lake
The Cricket
National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze
Black Eagle
Running Scared
Another 9 1/2 Weeks
Blonde on a Bum Trip
Blind Rain
Mom
Me, My Wife and My Lover
Broads
Time Wind
مجرم تحت الاختبار
Eghraa
Al-Haz Al-Sa'eed
شجرة العائلة
Mime
The Blue Shell Incident
Carlito's Way
The Blues Brothers
High Sierra
The Chase
Bad Boys
Nightmare Alley
The Woodsman
Seven Psychopaths
Klute
The Grissom Gang
Traitor
Alpha Dog
The Limey
The Disappearance of Alice Creed
Stir Crazy
Madea Goes to Jail
The Mack
Cut Throat City
Faster
Johnny Handsome
Animal Factory
Crimes of Passion
The Channel
Vice Squad
Stand Up Guys
Bad Asses on the Bayou
Money Talks
The Ice Harvest
London Boulevard
Analyze That
Sep 19, 1986
New York Film Festival
Sep 20, 1986
Oct 3, 1986
Los Angeles, California
