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James Robert Jarmusch ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films such as ''
Stranger Than Paradise ''Stranger Than Paradise'' is a 1984 American black-and-white absurdist deadpan comedy film directed, co-written and co-edited by Jim Jarmusch, and starring jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, an ...
'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' (1986), ''
Mystery Train "Mystery Train" is a song written and recorded by American blues musician Junior Parker in 1953. Originally performed in the style of a Memphis blues or rhythm and blues tune, it was inspired by earlier songs and later became a popular rockabil ...
'' (1989), ''
Night on Earth ''Night on Earth'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It is a collection of five vignettes, taking place during the same night, concerning the temporary bond formed between taxi driver and pas ...
'' (1991), ''
Dead Man ''Dead Man'' is a 1995 American acid Western film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, Gabriel Byrne, Mili A ...
'' (1995), '' Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'' (1999), ''
Coffee and Cigarettes ''Coffee and Cigarettes'' is a 2003 independent anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. The film consists of eleven short stories which includes the earlier three short films; themes are often comedic and depressed, share coffee a ...
'' (2003), ''
Broken Flowers ''Broken Flowers'' is a 2005 French-American comedy drama, comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and produced by Jon Kilik and Stacey Smith. The film focuses on an aging "Don Juan" who embarks on a cross-country journey to track ...
'' (2005), ''
Only Lovers Left Alive ''Only Lovers Left Alive'' is a 2013 Gothic film, Gothic Fantasy film, fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi and John H ...
'' (2013), and ''
Paterson Paterson may refer to: People *Paterson (surname) *Paterson (given name) Places Australia *Paterson, New South Wales * Paterson River, New South Wales *Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales * Paterson, Queensland, a loc ...
'' (2016). ''Stranger Than Paradise'' was added to the
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
in December 2002. As a musician, he has been part of the
no wave No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...
band
The Del-Byzanteens The Del-Byzanteens was a New York-based no wave band active in the early 1980s. The band comprised Phil Kline (vocals, guitar); Jim Jarmusch (vocals, keyboards); Philippe Hagen (bass); Josh Braun (percussion, drums); and Dan Braun (drums, percu ...
and in addition composed music for some of his films. He has released three musical albums with
Jozef van Wissem Jozef van Wissem (born 22 November 1962) is a Dutch minimalist composer and lute player In 2013 Van Wissem won the Cannes Soundtrack Award for the score of '' Only Lovers Left Alive'' at the Cannes Film Festival. Career Jozef van Wissem was b ...
.


Early life

Jarmusch was born in
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 51,114 at the 2020 census. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb in the Akron metropolitan ar ...
, the second of three children of middle-class suburbanites. His mother, of
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and Irish descent, was a reviewer of film and theatre for the ''
Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon Jo ...
'' before marrying his father, a businessman of
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
and German descent who worked for the
B.F. Goodrich Company The Goodrich Corporation, formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, was an American manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Benjamin Goodrich, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Go ...
. She introduced Jarmusch to cinema by leaving him at a local theater to watch matinee double features such as ''
Attack of the Crab Monsters ''Attack of the Crab Monsters'' is a 1957 independently made American black-and-white science fiction-horror film, produced and directed by Roger Corman (via his Los Altos Productions), that stars Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, and Russell Jo ...
'' and ''
Creature From the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...
'' while she ran errands. The first adult film he recalls seeing was the 1958 cult classic '' Thunder Road'', the violence and darkness of which left an impression on the seven-year-old Jarmusch. Another
B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
influence from his childhood was ''
Ghoulardi Ghoulardi was a fictional character created and portrayed by voice announcer, actor and disc jockey Ernie Anderson as the horror host of '' Shock Theater'' at WJW-TV, Channel 8 (a.k.a. "TV-8") the CBS Affiliate station in Cleveland, Ohio, from ...
'', an eccentric Cleveland television show which featured horror films. Jarmusch was an avid reader in his youth and acquired an enthusiasm for film. He had an even greater interest in literature which was encouraged by his grandmother. Though he refused to attend church with his
Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...
parents (not liking "the idea of sitting in a stuffy room wearing a little tie"), Jarmusch credits literature with shaping his metaphysical beliefs and leading him to reconsider theology in his mid-teens. From his peers, he developed a taste for
counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
, and he and his friends would steal the records and books of their older siblings—this included works by
William Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and ...
,
Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...
, and
The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...
. They made fake identity documents which allowed them to visit bars at the weekend but also the local art house cinema, which typically showed pornographic films but would occasionally feature
underground film An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing. Notable examples include John Waters' ''Pink Flamingos'', David Lynch's ''Eraserhead'', Andy Warhol's ''Blue Movie'', Rosa von Praunheim's ''Tal ...
s such as Robert Downey, Sr.'s ''
Putney Swope ''Putney Swope'' is a 1969 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Robert Downey Sr., and starring Arnold Johnson as the title character, a black advertising executive. The film satirizes the advertising world, the portrayal of ...
'' and
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
's ''
Chelsea Girls ''Chelsea Girls'' is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). I ...
''. At one point, he took an apprenticeship with a commercial photographer. He later remarked, "Growing up in Ohio was just planning to get out." After graduating from high school in 1971, Jarmusch moved to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and enrolled in the
Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism (branded as Northwestern Medill; formally the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications) is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduat ...
at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
. After being asked to leave because he had neglected to take any journalism courses—Jarmusch favored literature and art history—he transferred to
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
the following year, with the intention of becoming a poet. At Columbia he studied
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
and
American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...
under professors including New York School avant garde poets
Kenneth Koch Kenneth Koch ( ; February 27, 1925 – July 6, 2002) was an American poet, playwright, and professor, active from the 1950s until his death at age 77.) He was a prominent poet of the New York School of poetry. This was a loose group of poets inc ...
and David Shapiro. At Columbia, he began to write short "semi-narrative abstract pieces" and edited the undergraduate literary journal '' The Columbia Review''. During his final year studying at Columbia, Jarmusch moved to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
for what was initially a summer semester on an exchange program, but turned into 10 months. He worked as a delivery driver for an art gallery and spent most of his time at the
Cinémathèque Française A cinematheque is an archive of films and film-related objects with an exhibition venue. Similarly to a book library (bibliothèque in French), a cinematheque is responsible for preserving and making available to the public film heritage. Typically ...
. Jarmusch graduated from Columbia University with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in 1975. He was broke and working as a musician in New York City after returning from Paris in 1976. He applied on a whim to the graduate film school of
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
's School of the Arts (then under the direction of Hollywood director
László Benedek László Benedek (; March 5, 1905 – March 11, 1992; sometimes ''Laslo Benedek'') was a Hungarian-born film director and cinematographer, most notable for directing ''The Wild One'' (1953). He gained recognition for his direction of the film v ...
). Though he lacked experience in filmmaking, his submission of a collection of photographs and an essay about film secured his acceptance into the program. He studied there for four years; he met fellow students and future collaborators Sara Driver,
Tom DiCillo Thomas A. DiCillo (born August 14, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and musician. Early life DiCillo was born in Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina. His father was Italian and his mother was from New England. He stu ...
,
Howard Brookner Howard Brookner (April 30, 1954 – April 27, 1989) was an American film director. He produced and directed the documentary ''Burroughs (film), Burroughs'' about William S. Burroughs (1983), ''Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars'' on theatre direct ...
, and
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...
in the process. During the late 1970s in New York City, Jarmusch and his contemporaries were part of a
no wave No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...
cultural scene centered on the
CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...
music club which inspired the formation of his no wave band
The Del-Byzanteens The Del-Byzanteens was a New York-based no wave band active in the early 1980s. The band comprised Phil Kline (vocals, guitar); Jim Jarmusch (vocals, keyboards); Philippe Hagen (bass); Josh Braun (percussion, drums); and Dan Braun (drums, percu ...
. In his final year at New York University, Jarmusch worked as an assistant to the film noir director
Nicholas Ray Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Described by the Harvard Film Archive as "Hollywood's last romantic" and "one of postwar American cinem ...
, who was at that time teaching in the department. In an anecdote, Jarmusch recounted the formative experience of showing his mentor his first script; Ray disapproved of its lack of action, to which Jarmusch responded after meditating on the critique by reworking the script to be even less eventful. On Jarmusch's return with the revised script, Ray reacted favourably to his student's dissent, citing approvingly the young student's obstinate independence. Jarmusch was the only person Ray brought to work—as his personal assistant—on ''
Lightning Over Water ''Lightning Over Water'', also known as ''Nick's Film'', is a 1980 West German- Swedish documentary-drama film written, directed by and starring Wim Wenders and Nicholas Ray. It centers on the last days of Ray's own life, who was already known wor ...
'', a documentary about his dying years on which he was collaborating with
Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...
. Ray died in 1979 after a long fight with cancer. A few days afterwards, having been encouraged by Ray and New York underground filmmaker
Amos Poe Amos Poe is an American New York City-based director and screenwriter, described by ''The New York Times'' as a "pioneering indie filmmaker". Career Amos Poe is one of the first punk filmmakers and his film '' The Blank Generation'' (1976)†...
and using scholarship funds given by the Louis B. Mayer Foundation to pay for his school tuition, Jarmusch started work on a film for his final project. The university was unimpressed with Jarmusch's use of his funding as well as the project itself and refused to award him a degree.


Career


1980s

Jarmusch's final year university project was completed in 1980 as '' Permanent Vacation'', his first feature film. It had its premiere at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg (formerly known as Filmweek Mannheim) and won the Josef von Sternberg Award. It was made on a shoestring budget of around $12,000 in misdirected scholarship funds and shot by cinematographer Tom DiCillo on
16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...
. The quasi-autobiographical feature follows an adolescent drifter (Chris Parker) as he wanders around downtown Manhattan. The film was not released theatrically and did not attract the sort of adulation from critics that greeted his later work. ''The Washington Post'' staff writer Hal Hinson would disparagingly comment in an aside during a review of Jarmusch's ''Mystery Train'' (1989) that in the director's debut, "the only talent he demonstrated was for collecting egregiously untalented actors". The bleak and unrefined ''Permanent Vacation'' is nevertheless one of the director's most personal films, and established many of the hallmarks he would exhibit in his later work, including derelict urban settings, chance encounters, and a wry sensibility. Jarmusch's first major film, ''
Stranger Than Paradise ''Stranger Than Paradise'' is a 1984 American black-and-white absurdist deadpan comedy film directed, co-written and co-edited by Jim Jarmusch, and starring jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, an ...
'', was produced on a budget of approximately $125,000 and released in 1984 to much critical acclaim. A deadpan comedy recounting a strange journey of three disillusioned youths from New York through Cleveland to Florida, the film broke many conventions of traditional Hollywood filmmaking. It was awarded the
Camera d'Or A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...
at the
1984 Cannes Film Festival The 37th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 23 May 1984. British actor Dirk Bogarde served as jury president for the main competition. German filmmaker Wim Wenders won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film '' Paris, ...
as well as the 1985
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film The National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Picture is an annual award given by National Society of Film Critics to honor the best film of the year. History Since it was established in 1966, the Society has only agreed with the Academy Aw ...
, and became a landmark work in modern
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
. In 1986, Jarmusch wrote and directed '' Down by Law'', starring musicians
John Lurie John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including ''Stranger than Paradise'' and '' Down by Law''; has composed ...
and
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
, and Italian comic actor
Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni ( , ; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing, and starring in the Holocaust comedy drama film ''Life Is Beautifu ...
(his introduction to American audiences) as three convicts who escape from a New Orleans jailhouse. Shot like the director's previous efforts in black and white, this constructivist
neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...
was Jarmusch's first collaboration with Dutch cinematographer
Robby Müller Robby Müller, NSC, BVK, (4 April 1940 – 3 July 2018) was a Dutch cinematographer. Known for his use of natural light and minimalist imagery, Müller first gained recognition for his contributions to West German cinema through his acclaimed ...
, who had been known for his work with Wenders. His next two films each experimented with parallel narratives: ''
Mystery Train "Mystery Train" is a song written and recorded by American blues musician Junior Parker in 1953. Originally performed in the style of a Memphis blues or rhythm and blues tune, it was inspired by earlier songs and later became a popular rockabil ...
'' (1989) told three successive stories set on the same night in and around a small
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...
hotel, and ''
Night on Earth ''Night on Earth'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It is a collection of five vignettes, taking place during the same night, concerning the temporary bond formed between taxi driver and pas ...
'' (1991) involved five cab drivers and their passengers on rides in five different world cities, beginning at sundown in Los Angeles and ending at sunrise in Helsinki. Less bleak and somber than Jarmusch's earlier work, ''Mystery Train'' nevertheless retained the director's askance conception of America. He wrote ''Night on Earth'' in about a week, out of frustration at the collapse of the production of another film he had written and the desire to visit and collaborate with friends such as Benigni,
Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (; June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024) was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and ...
,
Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born ), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Having come to attention playing quirky characters in the late 1980s, she achieved success with her more dramatic performances in the 1990s. Ryder's L ...
, and Isaach de Bankolé. As a result of his early work, Jarmusch became an influential representative of the trend of the American
road movie A road movie is a film genre, genre of film in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the the ...
. Not intended to appeal to mainstream filmgoers, these early Jarmusch films were embraced by art house audiences, gaining a small but dedicated American following and cult status in Europe and Japan. Each of the four films had its premiere at the
New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...
, while ''Mystery Train'' was in competition at the
1989 Cannes Film Festival The 42nd Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 23 May 1989. West German filmmaker Wim Wenders served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh won the '' Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for his ...
. Jarmusch's distinctive aesthetic and ''auteur'' status fomented a critical backlash at the close of this early period, however; though reviewers praised the charm and adroitness of ''Mystery Train'' and ''Night On Earth'', the director was increasingly charged with repetitiveness and risk-aversion. A film appearance in 1989 as a used car dealer in the cult comedy ''
Leningrad Cowboys Go America ''Leningrad Cowboys Go America'' is a 1989 road movie by Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki about the adventures of the Leningrad Cowboys, an eccentric band that travels to the United States to become successful, and combines their brand of ...
'' further solidified his interest and participation in the road movie genre. In 1991 Jarmusch appeared as himself in Episode One of John Lurie's cult television series '' Fishing With John''.


1990s

In 1995, Jarmusch released ''
Dead Man ''Dead Man'' is a 1995 American acid Western film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, Gabriel Byrne, Mili A ...
'', a period film set in the 19th century American West starring
Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...
and
Gary Farmer Gary Dale Farmer (born June 12, 1953) is a Canadian First Nations ( Cayuga) actor and musician. He is best known for his Independent Spirit Award-nominated roles in '' Powwow Highway'' (1989), ''Dead Man'' (1995) and '' Smoke Signals'' (1998). ...
. Produced at a cost of almost $9 million with a high-profile cast including
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...
,
Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy L ...
and, in his final role,
Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...
, the film marked a significant departure for the director from his previous features. Earnest in tone in comparison to its self-consciously hip and ironic predecessors, ''Dead Man'' was thematically expansive and of an often violent and progressively more surreal character. The film was shot in black and white by Robby Müller, and features a score composed and performed by
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
, for whom Jarmusch subsequently filmed the tour documentary ''
Year of the Horse ''Year of the Horse'' is a 1997 American documentary film directed by Jim Jarmusch, following Neil Young and Crazy Horse on their 1996 tour. An accompanying live album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse was released in 1997. It offers a different trac ...
'', released to tepid reviews in 1997. Though ill-received by mainstream American reviewers, ''Dead Man'' found much favor internationally and among critics, many of whom lauded it as a visionary masterpiece. It has been hailed as one of the few films made by a Caucasian that presents an authentic Native American culture and character, and Jarmusch stands by it as such, though it has attracted both praise and castigation for its portrayal of the American West, violence, and especially Native Americans. Following artistic success and critical acclaim in the American independent film community, he achieved mainstream recognition with his far-East philosophical crime film '' Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'' (1999), shot in Jersey City and starring
Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...
as a young inner-city man who has found purpose for his life by unyieldingly conforming it to the ''
Hagakure ''Hagakure'' (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: ; meaning ''Hidden by the Leaves'' or ''Hidden Leaves''), or , is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the clerk Yamamoto Tsunetomo, former retainer to ...
'', an 18th-century philosophy text and training manual for samurai, becoming, as directed, a terrifyingly deadly hit-man for a local mob boss to whom he may owe a debt, and who then betrays him. The soundtrack was supplied by
RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name RZA ( ) or the RZA, is an American rapper, record producer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is the '' de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having pro ...
of the Wu-Tang Clan, which blends into the director's "aesthetics of sampling". The film was unique among other things for the number of books important to and discussed by its characters, most of them listed bibliographically as part of the end credits. The film is also considered to be a homage to '' Le Samourai'', a 1967 French New Wave film by auteur
Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Pierre Grumbach (20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973), known professionally as Jean-Pierre Melville (), was a French filmmaker. Considered a spiritual godfather of the French New Wave, he was one of the first fully-independent French filmmake ...
, which starred renowned French actor
Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...
in a strikingly similar role and narrative.


2000s

A five-year gap followed the release of ''Ghost Dog'', which the director has attributed to a creative crisis he experienced in the aftermath of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
in New York City. 2004 saw the eventual release of ''
Coffee and Cigarettes ''Coffee and Cigarettes'' is a 2003 independent anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. The film consists of eleven short stories which includes the earlier three short films; themes are often comedic and depressed, share coffee a ...
'', a collection of eleven short films of characters sitting around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes that had been filmed by Jarmusch over the course of the previous two decades. The first vignette, "Strange to Meet You", had been shot for and aired on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' in 1986, and paired Roberto Benigni with comedian
Steven Wright Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and film producer. He is known for his distinctive lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical j ...
. This had been followed three years later by "Twins", a segment featuring actors
Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...
and Joie and
Cinqué Lee Cinqué Lee (born July 4, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the younger brother of filmmaker Spike Lee. Acting Lee has worked in a number of different positions in his older brother's films, as a camera operator, video archivist, ...
, and then in 1993 with the
Short Film Palme d'Or Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known a ...
-winning "Somewhere in California", starring musicians Tom Waits and
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
. He followed ''Coffee and Cigarettes'' in 2005 with ''
Broken Flowers ''Broken Flowers'' is a 2005 French-American comedy drama, comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and produced by Jon Kilik and Stacey Smith. The film focuses on an aging "Don Juan" who embarks on a cross-country journey to track ...
'', which starred
Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...
as an early retiree who goes in search of the mother of his unknown son in attempt to overcome a midlife crisis. Following the release of ''Broken Flowers'', Jarmusch signed a deal with
Fortissimo Films Fortissimo Films is a Dutch entertainment company specializing in the production, presentation, promotion and distribution of feature films, founded in 1991
, whereby the distributor would fund and have "first-look" rights to the director's future films, and cover some of the overhead costs of his production company, Exoskeleton. The film premiered at the 58th Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the
Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...
and received the
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
. Film critic
Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...
for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' described the film as "Jarmusch's most enjoyable, accessible work for some time, perhaps his most emotionally generous film...a very attractive piece of film-making, bolstered by terrific performances from an all-star cast, spearheaded by endlessly droll, seductively sensitive Bill Murray." In 2009, Jarmusch released ''
The Limits of Control ''The Limits of Control'' is a 2009 American film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Isaach de Bankolé as a solitary assassin, carrying out a job in Spain. Filming began in February 2008, and took place on location in Madrid, Seville ...
'', a sparse, meditative crime film set in Spain, it starred Isaach de Bankolé as a lone assassin with a secretive mission. A behind-the-scenes documentary, ''Behind Jim Jarmusch'', was filmed over three days on the set of the film in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
by director Léa Rinaldi. Also in 2009, Jarmusch appeared as himself in an episode of the HBO series ''
Bored to Death ''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, ...
'', and the following year, Jarmusch helped to curate the
All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...
music festival in Monticello, New York.


2010s

In an August 2010 interview, Jarmusch revealed his forthcoming work schedule at that time:
I'm working on a documentary about the Stooges ggy Pop-fronted band It's going to take a few years. There's no rush on it, but it's something that Iggy asked me to do. I'm co-writing an "opera". It won't be a traditional opera, but it'll be about the inventor
Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
; 10 July 1856 â€“ 7 ...
, with the composer Phil Klein. I have a new film project that's really foremost for me that I hope to shoot early next year with Tilda Swinton and Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska, who was Alice in Wonderland in Tim Burton's film. I don't have that quite financed yet, so I'm working on that. I'm also making music and hoping to maybe score some silent films to put out. Our band will have an EP that we'll give out at ATP. We have enough music for three EPs or an album.
Jarmusch eventually attained funding for the aforementioned film project after a protracted period and, in July 2012, Jarmusch began shooting ''
Only Lovers Left Alive ''Only Lovers Left Alive'' is a 2013 Gothic film, Gothic Fantasy film, fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi and John H ...
'' with
Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. She is known for playing eccentric and enigmatic characters, often working with auteurs. Her accolades include an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Volpi Cup, in addit ...
,
Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is a British actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with ''Thor (film), Thor'' in 2011 and incl ...
,
Mia Wasikowska Mia Wasikowska ( ; born 25 October 1989) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut on the Australian television drama '' All Saints'' in 2004, followed by her feature film debut in '' Suburban Mayhem'' (2006). She first became known t ...
,
Anton Yelchin Anton Viktorovich Yelchin (March 11, 1989 – June 19, 2016) was an American actor. Born in the Soviet Union to a Russian Jewish family, he immigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of six months. He began his career as a child ...
, and Hurt, while Jarmusch's musical project Sqürl were the main contributors to the film's soundtrack. The film screened at the
2013 Cannes Film Festival The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place from 15 to 26 May 2013. American filmmaker Steven Spielberg was the Jury President for the main competition. French actress Audrey Tautou hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The French film ''Blu ...
and the 2013
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
(TIFF), with Jarmusch explaining the seven-year completion time frame at the former: "The reason it took so long is that no one wanted to give us the money. It took years to put it together. Its (sic) getting more and more difficult for films that are a little unusual, or not predictable, or don't satisfy people's expectations of something." The film's budget was
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
7 million and its UK release date was February 21, 2014. Jarmusch wrote and directed ''Paterson'' in 2016. The film follows the daily experiences of an inner-city bus driver and poet (
Adam Driver Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is an American actor, recognized for his collaborations with auteur filmmakers. Driver made his film debut in ''J. Edgar'' (2011) and played supporting roles in ''Lincoln (film), Lincoln'' (2012), '' ...
) in
Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' gave the film a positive review, writing: "A mild-mannered, almost startlingly undramatic work that offers discreet pleasures to longtime fans of the New York indie-scene veteran, who can always be counted on to go his own way." Eric Kohn, film critic of '' IndieWire'' wrote that the film was "an apt statement from Jarmusch, a filmmaker who continues to surprise and innovate while remaining true to his singular voice, and who here seems to have delivered its purest manifestation." Jarmusch wrote and directed his first horror film, the zombie comedy '' The Dead Don't Die'' featuring an ensemble cast which included performances from
Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...
,
Adam Driver Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is an American actor, recognized for his collaborations with auteur filmmakers. Driver made his film debut in ''J. Edgar'' (2011) and played supporting roles in ''Lincoln (film), Lincoln'' (2012), '' ...
,
Chloë Sevigny Chloë Stevens Sevigny ( ; born November 18, 1974) is an American actress. Known for her work in independent films with controversial or experimental themes, her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Acade ...
,
Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...
,
Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. She is known for playing eccentric and enigmatic characters, often working with auteurs. Her accolades include an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Volpi Cup, in addit ...
,
Carol Kane Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress. She gained recognition for her role in '' Hester Street'' (1975), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in ...
, and
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
. The film premiered at the
72nd Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president for the main competition. South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho won the , the festival's top prize, fo ...
and received mixed reviews. The film was distributed by
Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a unit of Universal Pictures, which is itself a unit of Comcast's division NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and fore ...
. Todd McCarthy of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote of the film, "At times, the
deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of Comedy, comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant t ...
of Murray and Driver becomes, well, a bit deadening, and true wit is in short supply, even though the film remains amusing most of the way."


2020s

Jarmusch directed and wrote a short film titled ''French Water'' for the Yves Saint Laurent House of Fashion to celebrate their spring/summer 2021 collection. It starred
Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg (; born 21 July 1971) is a British and French actress and singer. She is the daughter of English actress and singer Jane Birkin and French singer Serge Gainsbourg. After making her musical debut with her father on the ...
and
Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and children's author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent ...
, among others. In September 2021, Jarmusch published with Anthology Editions a hardcover book of his small-scale
collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...
art called ''Some Collages'' with texts by
Lucy Sante Lucy Sante (pronounced ''Sahnt''; formerly Luc Sante; born May 25, 1954) is a Belgian-born American writer, critic, and artist. She is a frequent contributor to '' The New York Review of Books''. Her books include ''Low Life: Lures and Snares of ...
and Randy Kennedy.


Music

In the early 1980s, Jarmusch was part of a revolving lineup of musicians in Robin Crutchfield's Dark Day project, and later became the keyboardist and one of two vocalists for
The Del-Byzanteens The Del-Byzanteens was a New York-based no wave band active in the early 1980s. The band comprised Phil Kline (vocals, guitar); Jim Jarmusch (vocals, keyboards); Philippe Hagen (bass); Josh Braun (percussion, drums); and Dan Braun (drums, percu ...
, a
No Wave No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...
band who released the LP ''Lies to Live By'' in 1982. Jarmusch is also featured on the album ''
Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture ''Dreddy Krueger Presents... Think Differently Music: Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture'' is a compilation album by American hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan and its affiliates. It was released on October 18, 2005 via Think Differently Music Group a ...
'' (2005) in two interludes described by Sean Fennessy in a
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
review of the album as both "bizarrely pretentious" and "reason alone to give it a listen". Jarmusch and
Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker and producer noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one o ...
each contributed a remix to a limited edition release of the track " Blue Orchid" by The White Stripes in 2005. He released three collaborative albums with lutist
Jozef van Wissem Jozef van Wissem (born 22 November 1962) is a Dutch minimalist composer and lute player In 2013 Van Wissem won the Cannes Soundtrack Award for the score of '' Only Lovers Left Alive'' at the Cannes Film Festival. Career Jozef van Wissem was b ...
: '' Concerning the Entrance into Eternity'' (
Important Records Important Records is an American independent record label based in Groveland, Massachusetts. History John Brien started Important Records in 2001 out of his Newburyport, Massachusetts apartment, initially as an online store. Important's first tw ...
); '' The Mystery of Heaven'' (
Sacred Bones Records Sacred Bones Records is an American independent record label founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Zola Jesus, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Spellling, Blanck Mass, Crystal S ...
) in 2012, and the 2019 release ''An Attempt to Draw Aside the Veil'' (Sacred Bones Records). Jarmusch and van Wissem also collaborated on the soundtrack of ''Only Lovers Left Alive''. Jarmusch first met van Wissem on a street in New York City's
SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...
neighborhood in 2007, at which time the lute player handed the director a CD. Several months later, Jarmusch asked van Wissem to send his catalog of recordings and the two started playing together as part of their developing friendship. Van Wissem explained in early April 2014: "I know the way armuschmakes his films is kind of like a musician. He has music in his head when he's writing a script so it's more informed by a tonal thing than it is by anything else." Jarmusch is a member of the avant-garde rock band Sqürl with film associate Carter Logan and sound engineer Shane Stoneback. The band formed to create additional soundtracks for Jarmusch's film ''The Limits of Control'', which they released together with two other songs on an EP called "Film Music from The Limits of Control" under the name Bad Rabbit. Sqürl's version of
Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American retired singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of Rock music, rock, Country music, country and Gospel music, gospel. She was among th ...
's 1961 song "Funnel of Love", featuring Madeline Follin of
Cults Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ha ...
on vocals, opens Jarmusch's 2014 film ''Only Lovers Left Alive''. On March 8, 2023, Sqürl announced its debut album '' Silver Haze'' and released lead single "Berlin '87". The album was released on May 5 by
Sacred Bones Records Sacred Bones Records is an American independent record label founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Zola Jesus, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Spellling, Blanck Mass, Crystal S ...
.


Legacy as a filmmaker

In 2014, Jarmusch shunned the "
auteur theory An (; , ) is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded and personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, thus manifesting the director's unique style or thematic ...
" and likened the filmmaking process to human sexual reproduction:
I put 'A film by' as a protection of my rights, but I don't really believe it. It's important for me to have a final cut, and I do for every film. So I'm in the editing room every day, I'm the navigator of the ship, but I'm not the captain, I can't do it without everyone's equally valuable input. For me it's phases where I'm very solitary, writing, and then I'm preparing, getting the money, and then I'm with the crew and on a ship and it's amazing and exhausting and exhilarating, and then I'm alone with the editor again... I've said it before, it's like seduction, wild sex, and then pregnancy in the editing room. That's how it feels for me.
Jarmusch recorded a Q & A in 2010 for the Criterion Blu-ray release of ''Mystery Train''. He explained at the beginning that he did this, instead of the usual practice of a director's commentary to be played over the film itself, because "I don't like looking at my films again--it's agony to me."


Style

Jarmusch has been characterized as a minimalist filmmaker whose idiosyncratic films are unhurried. His films often eschew traditional narrative structure, lacking clear plot progression and focus more on mood and character development. In an interview early in his career, he stated that his goal was "to approximate real time for the audience." His early work is marked by a brooding, contemplative tone, featuring extended silent scenes and prolonged still shots. He has experimented with a vignette format in three films that were either released, or begun around, the early 1990s: ''Mystery Train,'' ''Night on Earth'' and ''Coffee and Cigarettes''. ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' critic Sean P. Means wrote that Jarmusch blends "film styles and genres with sharp wit and dark humor", while his style is also defined by a signature deadpan comedic tone. The protagonists of Jarmusch's films are usually lone adventurers. The director's male characters have been described by critic Jennie Yabroff as "three time losers, petty thiefs and inept con men, all... eminently likeable, if not down right charming"; while novelist
Paul Auster Paul Benjamin Auster (February 3, 1947 – April 30, 2024) was an American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker. His notable works include '' The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), ' ...
described them as "laconic, withdrawn, sorrowful mumblers". Jarmusch has revealed that his instinct is a greater influence during the filmmaking process than any cognitive processes. He explained: "I feel like I have to listen to the film and let it tell me what it wants. Sometimes it mumbles and it isn't very clear." Films such as ''Dead Man'' and ''Limits of Control'' have polarized fans and general viewers alike, as Jarmusch's stylistic instinct is embedded in his strong sense of independence.


Themes

Though his films are predominantly set in the United States, Jarmusch has advanced the notion that he looks at America "through a foreigner's eyes", with the intention of creating a form of world cinema that synthesizes European and Japanese film with that of Hollywood. His films have often included foreign actors and characters, and (at times substantial) non-English dialogue. In his two later-nineties films, he dwelt on different cultures' experiences of violence, and on textual appropriations between cultures: a wandering Native American's love of
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
, a black hitman's passionate devotion to the ''
Hagakure ''Hagakure'' (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: ; meaning ''Hidden by the Leaves'' or ''Hidden Leaves''), or , is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the clerk Yamamoto Tsunetomo, former retainer to ...
''. The interaction and syntheses between different cultures, the arbitrariness of national identity, and irreverence towards ethnocentric, patriotic or nationalistic sentiment are recurring themes in Jarmusch's work. Jarmusch's fascination with music is another characteristic that is readily apparent in his work. Musicians appear frequently in key roles—
John Lurie John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including ''Stranger than Paradise'' and '' Down by Law''; has composed ...
,
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
,
Gary Farmer Gary Dale Farmer (born June 12, 1953) is a Canadian First Nations ( Cayuga) actor and musician. He is best known for his Independent Spirit Award-nominated roles in '' Powwow Highway'' (1989), ''Dead Man'' (1995) and '' Smoke Signals'' (1998). ...
,
Youki Kudoh is a Japanese actress and singer. She won the award for best newcomer at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival for ''The Crazy Family (1984 film), The Crazy Family''. She also won the awards for best actress at the 16th Hochi Film Award and at the 199 ...
,
RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name RZA ( ) or the RZA, is an American rapper, record producer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is the '' de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having pro ...
and
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
have featured in multiple Jarmusch films, while
Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...
and
Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, shouting vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...
appear in ''Mystery Train'' and
GZA Gary Eldridge Grice (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and the Genius, is an American rapper. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both the first member in ...
,
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
and
Meg White Megan Martha White (born December 10, 1974) is an American retired musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the rock duo the White Stripes. Though she typically performed backing vocals for the band, she occasionally sang le ...
feature in ''Coffee and Cigarettes''. Hawkins' song "
I Put a Spell on You "I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song recorded by "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins and co-written with Herb Slotkin. The selection became a classic cult song, covered by a variety of artists. It was Hawkins's greatest commercial success, reportedly su ...
" was central to the plot of ''Stranger than Paradise'', while ''Mystery Train'' is inspired by and named after
a song ''A Song'' is an album by the American musician Neil Sedaka, released in 1977. It was produced by George Martin and released in 1977 on the Elektra label in the US, marking the beginning of Sedaka's association with Elektra, which would run thr ...
popularized by
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
, who is also the subject of a vignette in ''Coffee and Cigarettes''. In the words of critic
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...
, "Jarmusch's movies have the tempo and rhythm of blues and jazz, even in their use—or omission—of language. His films work on the senses much the way that some music does, unheard until it's too late to get it out of one's head." During a 1989 interview Jarmusch commented on his narrative focus, "I'd rather make a movie about a guy walking his dog than about the emperor of China."


Filmography


Awards and legacy

In 1980, Jarmusch's film ''Permanent Vacation'' won the Josef von Sternberg Award at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg. In 1999, he was laureate of the
Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. However, he also directed comedies, westerns, and war f ...
Preis at
Filmfest Hamburg FILMFEST HAMBURG is an international film festival in Hamburg, the third-largest of its kind in Germany (after Berlin and Munich). It shows national and international feature and documentary films in eleven sections. The range of the program stret ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. In 1984, he won the
Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week). The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...
at Cannes Film Festival for ''Stranger Than Paradise''. In 2004, Jarmusch was honored with the "Filmmaker on the Edge Award" at the
Provincetown International Film Festival The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) is an annual film festival founded in 1999 and held on Cape Cod in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The festival presents American and international narrative features, documentaries and short film ...
. In 2005, he won the
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
of the
2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica served as jury president for the main competition. Cécile de France hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Belgian filmmakers D ...
for his film ''Broken Flowers''. Jarmusch is credited with having instigated the American independent film movement with ''Stranger Than Paradise''. In her description of the film in a 2005 profile of the director for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', critic Lynn Hirschberg declared that ''Stranger than Paradise'' "permanently upended the idea of independent film as an intrinsically inaccessible avant-garde form". The success of the film accorded the director a certain iconic status within
arthouse cinema An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...
, as an idiosyncratic and uncompromising
auteur An (; , ) is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded and personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, thus manifesting the director's unique style or thematic ...
, exuding the aura of urban cool embodied by
downtown Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is the historical birthplace of New York City and for its first 225 years was the ...
. Such perceptions were reinforced by the release of his subsequent features in the late 1980s, establishing him as one of the generation's most prominent and influential independent filmmakers. New York critic and festival director Kent Jones undermined the "urban cool" association that Jarmusch has garnered and was quoted in a February 2014 media article, following the release of his eleventh feature film:
There's been an overemphasis on the hipness factor—and a lack of emphasis on his incredible attachment to the idea of celebrating poetry and culture. You can complain about the preciousness of a lot of his movies, utthey are unapologetically standing up for poetry. is attitude is'if you want to call me an elitist, go ahead, I don't care'.
Jarmusch's staunch independence has been represented by his success in retaining the negatives for all of his films, an achievement that was described by the ''Guardians Jonathan Romney as "extremely rare." British producer
Jeremy Thomas Jeremy Jack Thomas (born 26 July 1949) is a British film producer. He is the founder and chairman of Recorded Picture Company. He produced Bernardo Bertolucci's '' The Last Emperor'', which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 20 ...
, who was one of the eventual financiers of ''Only Lovers Left Alive'' called Jarmusch "one of the great American independent film-makers" who is "the last of the line." Thomas believes that filmmakers like Jarmusch "are not coming through... any more." In a 1989 review of his work,
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...
of ''The New York Times'' called Jarmusch "the most adventurous and arresting film maker to surface in the American cinema in this decade". He was recognized with the "Filmmaker on the Edge" award at the 2004
Provincetown International Film Festival The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) is an annual film festival founded in 1999 and held on Cape Cod in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The festival presents American and international narrative features, documentaries and short film ...
. A retrospective of the director's films was hosted at the
Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during February 1994, and another, "The Sad and Beautiful World of Jim Jarmusch", by the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
in August 2005. While Swinton, who has worked with Jarmusch on numerous occasions, describes him as a "rock star", the director admits that "I don't know where I fit in. I don't feel tied to my time." Dutch lute player Jozef van Wissem, who worked on the score for ''Only Lovers Left Alive'' calls Jarmusch a "cultural sponge" who "absorbs everything." The moving image collection of Jim Jarmusch is held at the
Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of mot ...
.


Personal life

Jarmusch rarely discusses his personal life in public. He divides his time between New York City and the
Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...
. He stopped drinking coffee in 1986, the year of the first installment of ''Coffee and Cigarettes'', although he continues to smoke cigarettes. He has been a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
since 1987. Jarmusch has been a supporter of Pro-Palestine causes and was one of 55 celebrities to sign the
Artists4Ceasefire Artists4Ceasefire is a collective of actors, filmmakers, and other artists calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire during the Gaza war in Gaza, the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians, and the release of all hostages. The collec ...
letter calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The author of a series of essays on influential bands, Jarmusch has also had at least two poems published. He is a founding member of The Sons of Lee Marvin, a humorous "semi-secret society" of artists resembling the iconic actor, which issues communiqués and meets on occasion for the ostensible purpose of watching Marvin's films. In a February 2014 interview, Jarmusch stated that he is not interested in eternal life, as "there's something about the cycle of life that's very important, and to have that removed would be a burden".


Frequent collaborators

In the following table, entries marked with an a indicate collaborators who acted in a film; those marked c composed music for the film.


Discography

;Studio albums * '' Concerning the Entrance into Eternity'' (
Important Records Important Records is an American independent record label based in Groveland, Massachusetts. History John Brien started Important Records in 2001 out of his Newburyport, Massachusetts apartment, initially as an online store. Important's first tw ...
, 2012) (with
Jozef van Wissem Jozef van Wissem (born 22 November 1962) is a Dutch minimalist composer and lute player In 2013 Van Wissem won the Cannes Soundtrack Award for the score of '' Only Lovers Left Alive'' at the Cannes Film Festival. Career Jozef van Wissem was b ...
) * '' The Mystery of Heaven'' (
Sacred Bones Records Sacred Bones Records is an American independent record label founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Zola Jesus, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Spellling, Blanck Mass, Crystal S ...
, 2012) (with Jozef van Wissem) * ''An Attempt to Draw Aside the Veil ''(Sacred Bones Records, 2019) (with Jozef van Wissem) * ''Ranaldo Jarmusch Urselli Pandi ''(Trost, 2019) (with Lee Ranaldo, Marc Urselli, Balazs Pandi) * ''Churning of the Ocean ''(Trost, 2021) (with Lee Ranaldo, Marc Urselli, Balazs Pandi) * '' Silver Haze'' (Sacred Bones, 2023) (as Sqürl) ;Soundtracks * ''
Only Lovers Left Alive ''Only Lovers Left Alive'' is a 2013 Gothic film, Gothic Fantasy film, fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi and John H ...
'' (ATP Recordings, 2013) (as Sqürl, with Jozef van Wissem) * '' Paterson'' (Third Man Records, 2017) (as Sqürl) * ''The Dead Don't Die ''(Sacred Bones Records, 2019) (as Sqürl) * ''Some Music for Robby Müller'' (Soundtrack ''Living the Light''—documentary) (Sacred Bones Records, 2020) (as Sqürl) * ''Music for Man Ray'' (Score to Man Ray's short films) (Sacred Bones Records, 2024) (as Squrl) ;EPs * ''EP #1'' (ATP Recordings, 2013) (as Sqürl) * ''EP #2'' (ATP Recordings, 2013) (as Sqürl) * ''EP #3'' (ATP Recordings, 2014) (as Sqürl) * ''EP #260'' (Sacred Bones Records, 2017) (as Sqürl) Live albums
''Sqürl Live at Third Man Records''
(12" vinyl
A Third Man Records
2016) (as Sqürl) ;Guest appearances *
Jozef van Wissem Jozef van Wissem (born 22 November 1962) is a Dutch minimalist composer and lute player In 2013 Van Wissem won the Cannes Soundtrack Award for the score of '' Only Lovers Left Alive'' at the Cannes Film Festival. Career Jozef van Wissem was b ...
—"Concerning the Beautiful Human Form After Death" from ''The Joy That Never Ends'' (2011) *
Fucked Up Fucked Up is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band consists of guitarists Mike Haliechuk and Josh Zucker, bassist Sandy Miranda, lead vocalist Damian Abraham and drummer Jonah Falco. From 2007 to 2021, t ...
—"Year of the Tiger" (2012) ;Remixes *
The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...
—" Blue Orchid" (First Nations Remix) (2005)


See also

* No Wave Cinema


References

Other sources * * Gonzalez, Éric,
Jim Jarmusch's Aesthetics of Sampling in Ghost Dog–The Way of the Samurai
, ''
Volume! ''Volume! The French Journal of Popular Music Studies'' (subtitled in French: ''La revue des musiques populaires'') is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal, created in 2001, and "dedicated to the study of contemporary popular music". His ...
'', vol. 3, n° 2, Nantes: Éditions Mélanie Seteun, 2004, pp. 109–21. * * Ródenas, Gabri (2009), ''Guía para ver y analizar'' Noche en la Tierra ''de Jim Jarmusch'', Barcelona/Valencia: Octaedro/Nau Llibres. /978-84-7642-776-7 * Ródenas, Gabri (2009), "Jarmusch y Carver: Se ha roto el frigorífico" in Fernández, P. (Ed.), ''Rompiendo moldes: Discursos, género e hibridación en el siglo XXI''. Zamora/Sevilla: Editorial Comunicación Social; . Available at Google Books. * Ródenas, Gabri (2009), "Jarmusch Vs Reagan" in ''Revista Odisea''. Almería: University of Almería. December 2009. . * Ródenas, Gabri (2010), "Jim Jarmusch: Del insomnio americano al insomnio universal", in ''Comunicación y sociedad'', Navarra: University of Navarra, June 2010; . * Ródenas, Gabri (2011), ''Jim Jarmusch: Lecturas sobre el insomnio americano (1980–1991)'', Spain/Germany: –
Editorial Académica Española Omniscriptum Publishing Group, formerly known as VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, is a German publishing group headquartered in Riga, Latvia. Founded in 2002 in Düsseldorf, its book production is based on print-to-order technology. The company publi ...
– LAP Lambert Academic Publishing GmbH & Co. KG; . * Mentana, Umberto (2016), ''Il cinema di Jim Jarmusch. Una filmografia per un'analisi della cultura e del cinema postmoderno'', Aracne Editrice;


Further reading

* * * Rice, Julian. (2012). ''The Jarmusch Way: Spirituality and Imagination in'' Dead Man, Ghost Dog, ''and'' The Limits of Control. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. (hardcover); (ebook). * * Jarmusch, Jim (2021). ''Some Collages''. Brooklyn, NY: Anthology Editions. 264 pp. ISBN 978-1-944860-42-4


External links

* *
Jim Jarmusch
at the ''
Senses of Cinema ''Senses of Cinema'' is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, ''Senses of Cinema'' publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career ...
'' Great Directors critical database
The Jim Jarmusch Resource Page
curated by Jarmusch scholar Ludvig Hertzberg *
Limited Control
, Hertzberg's companion blog


The films of Jim Jarmusch
''Hell Is For Hyphenates'', May 31, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jarmusch, Jim 1953 births Living people American male screenwriters American people of Czech descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent Columbia College (New York) alumni Directors of Caméra d'Or winners European Film Awards winners (people) Film directors from New York City Film directors from Ohio Medill School of Journalism alumni Musicians from Akron, Ohio No wave musicians Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres People from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Postmodernist filmmakers Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Ohio Sundance Film Festival award winners Tisch School of the Arts alumni Writers from Akron, Ohio