That haunting score. The bravado performances of Johnny Depp, Crispin Glover, Robert Mitchum, and of course, Gary Farmer, who is the absolute star of the film. So many great lines!
Every night and every morn Some to misery are born. Every morn and every night Some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to sweet delight, Some are born to endless night. We are led to believe a lie When we see not through the eye Which was born in a night to perish in a night, When the soul slept in beams of light. God appears, and God is light To those poor souls who dwell in night, But does a human form display To those who dwell in realms of day.
Gary Farmer's character, Nobody, understands that poem, but he doesn't understand why Depp's character, William Blake, doesn't know about his own poetry. He does know that the dead poet has come to be his spirit guide, and tells him, "You were a poet and a painter, William Blake. But now, you're a killer of white men."
GOD this film is f*cking brilliant! I have never seen anything like it! My wife, who loves epic westerns, and native culture, couldn't watch it at all, finding it "weird and pointless."
Why then, have I sat captivated through it so many times, as if in a dream, buoyed along by the surreal imagery, perfect cinematography, flawless acting, and inspired soundtrack?
This film goes so far beyond what film is supposed to do, in so many ways. It speaks to us of things many of us dare not learn, and so many of us dismiss it as pretentious pseudo-art. Trust me, this is REAL art, and it's FUNNY! This is the greatest deconstruction of a genre ever attempted, and it works on every level. God bless Jim Jarmusch for this visionary and profound work, and God bless actors like Depp and Farmer, for their bravery in executing it.
Lance Henrikson? Michael Wincott? John Hurt? IGGY POP????
Where do you find a cast like that? And don't forget Neil Young's soundtrack, which Roger Ebert described as sounding "like Young kept dropping his guitar," or something like that. That was truly the perfect soundtrack for this film.
Ah, the taste of REAL art!
Every night and every morn Some to misery are born. Every morn and every night Some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to sweet delight, Some are born to endless night. We are led to believe a lie When we see not through the eye Which was born in a night to perish in a night, When the soul slept in beams of light. God appears, and God is light To those poor souls who dwell in night, But does a human form display To those who dwell in realms of day.
Gary Farmer's character, Nobody, understands that poem, but he doesn't understand why Depp's character, William Blake, doesn't know about his own poetry. He does know that the dead poet has come to be his spirit guide, and tells him, "You were a poet and a painter, William Blake. But now, you're a killer of white men."
GOD this film is f*cking brilliant! I have never seen anything like it! My wife, who loves epic westerns, and native culture, couldn't watch it at all, finding it "weird and pointless."
Why then, have I sat captivated through it so many times, as if in a dream, buoyed along by the surreal imagery, perfect cinematography, flawless acting, and inspired soundtrack?
This film goes so far beyond what film is supposed to do, in so many ways. It speaks to us of things many of us dare not learn, and so many of us dismiss it as pretentious pseudo-art. Trust me, this is REAL art, and it's FUNNY! This is the greatest deconstruction of a genre ever attempted, and it works on every level. God bless Jim Jarmusch for this visionary and profound work, and God bless actors like Depp and Farmer, for their bravery in executing it.
Lance Henrikson? Michael Wincott? John Hurt? IGGY POP????
Where do you find a cast like that? And don't forget Neil Young's soundtrack, which Roger Ebert described as sounding "like Young kept dropping his guitar," or something like that. That was truly the perfect soundtrack for this film.
Ah, the taste of REAL art!