Dead Man (1996)

Studio: Encho Bridge/Miramax
Theatrical Release: May 10, 1996
Blu Ray Release: August 9, 1996
Rated R

Review by James Klein

Love him or hate him, director Jim Jarmusch is an interesting film maker. He has written and directed plenty of odd, independent films that have been either successful or flops. Trying his hand at various genres (comedy, romance, gangster) yet all of his films have a certain stamp on them that make him solely his. Dead Man is not an exception, but it is his most mainstream film and one that appeals to a broader audience. His take on the western genre is both fresh and captivating while still tackling certain subject matters that has always appealed to Jarmusch such as loneliness and race.

Before he became Hollywood's hottest actor, Depp was in a string of indie films back in the late 80's and 1990's. The more offbeat the story or project was, the more Depp enjoyed it and the man dove (and still does) into his various characters wherever it was Edward Scissorhands, Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood or Hunter S. Thompson. In Dead Man, Depp plays William Blake; a loner who has traveled via train across the country for an accounting job that he was offered.  With both parents deceased, he uses up his inheritance money on the train ride only to find out that the job that he was given is no longer. Blake meets a pretty young woman selling flowers and the two hit it off until her estranged fiancé comes back from a trip and kills her in cold blood. Blake, without thinking, kills the fiancé and goes on the run while the fiancé's father who was going to be Blake's employer hires three bounty hunters to kill him. While Blake is lost, he becomes friends with a Native American named Nobody who reluctantly helps Blake along in his adventure, helping Blake find his own existence and path in life.

Jarmusch shot the film in black and white which may seem pretencious at first but this gives the feeling of an old western but with a certain modern style. The film fades to black non stop during various scenes that do provide a kind of annoyance with the viewer but the story, while slow at times, does move along and is never boring. The film is also chockfull of numerous stars such as Crispin Glover, Gabriel Byrne, Billy Bob Thornton, John Hurt, Alfred Molina, Michael Wincott, Iggy Pop, Lance Henriksen, and Robert Mitchum in one of his final roles. But its Gary Farmer as Nobody who stands out among everyone that gives a humorous but yet subtly sad performance that is just simply amazing. With a strangely interesting score by Neil Young, Dead Man is a very strange but well done western that may appeal to some while others may consider it a bit too bizarre for their tastes.

Echo Bridge's blu ray looks fine while the grain is ever present due to the black and white cinematography. It does look much sharper than the previous VHS and DVD's however. The blu ray also supplies some deleted scenes and a music video which is a nice added edition. I can see some viewers being upset that the blu ray is just given a 2.0 mono soundtrack and could have benefited with a deeper 5.1 sound given the use of many sound effects and music cues. But if you can overlook that error, Dead Man is worth a look and is also worth upgrading on blu ray.