Jim Jarmusch Movies Ranked Worst to Best

Jim JarmuschJames's best films prove that he has always taken risks as a director, even if those risks are necessarily pronounced or bold compared to other filmmakers. Over more than 30 years in the business, Jarmusch has dominated the independent scene as a director concerned with the everyday, the existential, the unusual, the confrontational, the bland and everything in between. A typical Jarmusch plot presents itself as a polite, logical affair no matter how extraordinary the circumstances, choosing to focus on how the characters that populate the film operate within the established rules of the world.

As such, Jarmusch has emerged as a director capable of moving from genre to genre, be it a crime thriller, a comedy or a supernatural drama, infusing it with his unique sensibility. With 13 feature films and two documentaries to his name (not to mention the large number of short films), Jarmusch has produced an astonishing body of work since his first film, Permanent Vacationcame onto the scene in the early 1980s.

15

Permanent Vacation (1980)

A young hipster wanders Manhattan in search of the meaning of life

Not Jarmusch's first film, 1980s Permanent Vacationit's bad. That's all Permanent Vacation it's the result of a director with vision trying to navigate the demands of shooting a feature film for the first time. Made on a shoestring budget of $12,000, It is 75 minutes long, filmed on 16mm and stars an unknown actor, Chris Parker. Permanent Vacation is an independent film in every sense of the word.

It has an aimless plot – a young man wandering around New York City in search of answers about the meaning of life – that doesn't work. There is no value in thoughtful or listless pacing, but actively believing that you are achieving your goals. However, where Permanent Vacation aesthetically and thematically flawed, Jarmusch returned to these foundations in future films to unravel it further and achieve a greater degree of success.

14

Year of the Horse (1997)

A documentary about Neil Young and Crazy Horse

One of Jarmusch's first documentary ventures was in 1997 Year of the Horse. Jarmusch's documentation of Neil Young and Crazy Horse's 1996 tour comes complete with archival footage from the 1970s and 1980s, plus in-depth interviews with the band members. But where Jarmusch's attention and appreciation for Young's music are felt in the attention to the representation of his theme, Year of the Horse it still feels like a rote, by-the-numbers documentary.

A separate live album of the same name was also released, but the track list is different. Critics weren't as impressed, giving the documentary a 48% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Most critics said viewing is only necessary for hardcore fans of Neil Young or Jim Jarmusch. For fans of mainstream music or for Jarmusch fans who aren't as interested in Neil Young, critics have stated that it could “test your patience' from viewers.

13

Give Me Danger (2016)

A documentary about the rise and fall of the Stooges

Give me danger focuses on the rise and fall of 1960s punk band The Stooges. Jim Jarmusch has always been a director interested in music, whether incorporating musicians into his films, leaving his mark on a soundtrack, or, in case of Give me dangertaking a break from narrative fiction to explore the truth of something that happened.

The subject of Give me danger might be interesting and intriguing to illuminate these days, but there's barely a whiff of Jarmusch's touches in this documentary, as if he were following the standard route to crafting a documentary without any of the auteur touches he became known for in 2016 However, when Amazon launched Give me danger on Prime Video, critics loved it, giving the film a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The main point of interest was that Jarmusch smartly focused on Iggy Pop and his art and wasn't as interested in the band's antics.

12

The Limits of Control (2013)

An assassin wanders around Spain awaiting your instructions

Jarmusch is halfway through his 30-year career when he brings 2013 The limits of control for the masses. In the film, a lone hired gun waits in Madrid for further instructions on a job. The film is opaque in the most alienating way, shifting from the man's time spent in cafes, drinking espresso and playing with matchbooks, to moving around the city and surrounding countryside for work.

The limits of control tries to merge populist plots (a calmer side of the criminal underworld with pulp coming out of the ears) and characters with more interior and contemplative actions (criminals with hearts of gold, searching for connection and meaning in their work). Critics were unimpressed, rating the film just 42%, considering its slow pace and inaccessible dialogue. It also wastes a stellar lineup of actors – including Issach de Bankole, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal and Paz de la Huer – all immersed in their roles.

11

Night on Earth (1991)

International taxi drivers connect with their fares

Throughout Jarmusch's career, he has always been a fan of the vignette structure and has created several films with this structure, allowing large casts to come together in a variety of stories, all linked by a common thread. 1991 Night on Earth brings together Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez and Roberto Benigni (one of Jarmusch's most frequent collaborators) to play a series of international taxi drivers and their fares, all connecting during the short time together.

Jarmusch does what he usually does best: brings together an ensemble of eclectic characters and turns the camera on them as their personalities collide. However, the claustrophobic nature of placing the majority of each vignette inside a taxi and filling it with combustible encounters makes for an intriguing watch. The locations spread across Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome and Helsinki also feature a good variety of personalities.

10

Mystery Train (1989)

Several strangers show up in Memphis to honor Elvis Presley

Mystery Train begins Jarmusch's appreciation for the vignette-as-anthology format, which emerged throughout his career. However, where future installments in this format become lengthy, Jarmusch is focused on Mystery Train, bringing together three stories set in Memphis with characters linked by location in the same hotel and their love for Elvis Presley.

One story follows two Japanese teenagers who love Elvis and wander around town hoping to retrace his steps; another follows an Italian widow who makes an unexpected friend and encounters Presley's ghost. The final story follows an Englishman hiding out in the bars of Memphis as he waits out the trouble of a robbery gone wrong. Jarmusch makes the disparate and divided feel connected and coherent, filtering his love of Americana and mid-century nostalgia through three sets of international eyes, all to a curiously exhilarating effect.

9

Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)

The most accessible of Jarmusch's vignette films is Coffee and Cigarettesbringing together the glorious black and white Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, Cate Blanchett, Iggy Pop, rappers GZA and RZA and frequent Jarmusch collaborators Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni and Bill Murray. Jarmusch makes three previous short films – 1986 Coffee and Cigarettes, 1989 Coffee and Cigarettes IIand 1993 Coffee and Cigarettes III – in a feature film focused on pairs or groups of characters, all talking while having a cup of coffee and a cigarette.

The lightest of the anthology films and the easiest to unpack, each vignette offers small character studies and big existential questions – Jarmusch's favorite territories. It remains an esoteric work, but one of the most accessible, making it a perfect Jarmusch work for newcomers to his world. The film received mixed reviews, but even detractors praised the quirky and engaging dialogue.

8

Dead Man (1995)

An assassin is sent on a spiritual journey across the Great Plains

Dead Man is a notable moment in Jarmusch's career, serving as the first of many roles in young Johnny Depp's career, where he attempts to break the mold of the late '80s teen heartthrob and plant himself inside strange, gothic, contemplative characters. Dead Man follows Depp's William Blake, a mild-mannered accountant sent across the American Great Plains on a vision quest after murdering a man. Depp's performance is memorable, establishing him as the '90s and '00s character he's poised to become by the time of this film.

Jarmusch utilizes Depp's atypical instincts well in the performance, comparing them to the spiritual and mystical elements of a story in which a man is compelled to complete a mission by a Native American spirit. Of course, Jarmusch goes down the line of problematically deploying tired tropes surrounding magical minorities while only seeming to serve white characters. Still, he manages to thread the narrative needle without delving too far into this delicate territory.

7

Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

Two cousins ​​with different cultural backgrounds try to connect

Jarmusch's second film, 1984 Stranger than paradisecontains the seeds of what would become familiar narrative terrain for the director: examining international-American cultural clashes through potentially uncomfortable but often entertaining circumstances. In Stranger than paradiseA New York hipster is unexpectedly visited by his cousin from Budapest. The two are wary, if not somewhat hostile, towards each other during their initial moments together, but eventually find common ground as they are taken through the city, meeting unusual people along the way.

The film was Jarmusch's thesis, confirming that he was a director interested in trying to translate the interior to the exterior. He fused the more philosophical aspects of life with characters who were equally caught between the world and their own minds and rummaged through the little absurdities and mysteries of their daily lives.

6

Below the Law (1986)

Three men escape from prison on Louisiana Bayou

Starring Benigni, Waits and John Lurie, Below the law is another ode to Elvis Presley while also using the Presley film Prison stone as a sort of basis for this jailbreak movie. Benigni, Waits and Lurie's characters are three criminals who manage to escape the confines of their cells, escaping and trying my best not to get caught. Jarmusch's affection for character studies over action-based narratives comes into sharp relief here, noting how the personalities of these three characters attract and repel each other in the high-stakes nature of a prison break.

The film is notable for cinematographer Robby Mueller's slow, intense camerawork. This meticulous filming allows Louisiana Bayou to almost become a character in the film. Critics praised the film for its humor and original story, with the performances of the three characters leading what was considered a poetic fable in the world of film noir.

5

Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999)

A Mafia hitman lives by the Samurai code of honor

Jarmusch admittedly returns to the tricky territory of co-opting another non-white culture for a story not focused on that culture. But Ghost Dog: Way of the Samuraithe representation of a mob hitman, Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker), who lives (and hopes to die) by the ancient codes of samurai warriors perfectly juxtaposes the existential questions posed by a samurai's moral code with Ghost Dog's own lifestyle choices and the resulting situation of being targeted by members of the mafia.

Jarmusch is arguably the most populist with Ghost Dogrefusing to get too deeply lost in the contemplative weeds of its plot, whilst remaining true to its roots. For any budding Jarmusch fans, consider Ghost Dog as the next stepping stone to a new level in the director's body of work.

4

Broken Flowers (2005)

A man goes in search of the son he never knew existed

Part of the most commercial corner of Jarmusch's work is the 2005 Broken Flowers. He joins forces with Hollywood veteran and godfather of sarcastic comedic actor Bill Murray to tell the story of a withdrawn man, Don Johnston (Murray). When a lover leaves him, he receives a letter from an ex-lover informing him that they had a child together. Don's journey to meet his now-adult son comes with many misunderstandings and awkward reunions. while Don's path takes him on a tour of his past loves.

The familiar premise, the wry comedy of Murray's performance, and a standout female cast including Julie Delpy, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, and Sharon Stone firing on all cylinders make Broken Flowers deeply enjoyable. The Cannes Film Festival nominated it for the Palme d'Or, and critics at Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 87% fresh rating. Critics compared it to Alexander Payne's look at elderly men, but praised it for being more forgiving.

3

The Dead Don't Die (2019)

Zombies attack a small town

Jarmusch's The dead don't die is his take on the zombie genre. Just like a new cook in a well-established kitchen, Jarmusch is cooking with familiar genre ingredients – set in a small town, focusing on a circle of colorful characters who experience the outbreak in interesting ways, showing how the undead came back to life – while organizing them into a new recipe and delivering something entirely new and invigorating.

The dead don't die reminds viewers of the macabre side Jarmusch has shown in previous films such as Dead Man, who is obsessed with death and how it infiltrates the lives of the living. But this film also brings its sense of humor to the forefront, as dry as the Sahara desert, delivered as deadpan as possible, creating a fun and inventive take on a genre that has recently undergone serious fatigue.

2

Paterson (2016)

A bus driver spends his free time writing poetry

paterson it's Jarmusch slowing down at a snail's pace and going as inward as possible, all while telling the story of Paterson (Adam Driver), a New Jersey bus driver who spends his spare moments during his shift and his evenings writing poetry. Driver is the perfect avatar for Jarmuschexpressing the gentleness and sweet melancholy of previous characters created by the director, but channeling it into a character that many people interact with but cannot connect with. The story takes place during just one week of Paterson's life.

If viewers want to delve into the deep waters of Jarmusch's psyche, paterson is the way to do it. At the Cannes Film Festival, it competed for the Palme d'Or and won the Palme Dog Award (best performance by a dog). Critics almost universally praised the film with a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews calling it a beautiful and meditative work.

1

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Vampire lovers separated by centuries reconnect

Only lovers remain alive It's a triumph. It combines all parts of Jarmusch's established personality as a director, fusing his interests in the esoteric with the existential and the macabre. Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston star as a century-old vampire couple who reunite after spending many years apart. and find themselves searching for meaning in their existence as vampires.

The film moves in the best fashion for a Jarmusch film, showing the couple living in a world where vampires are pop culture fodder rather than feared creatures, and finding blood to satisfy their desires is getting more complicated as the Humans pollute their bodies with new and strange substances. Jarmusch's love of rock music and the dark, all-encompassing specters of love and death envelop Only lovers remain alive. Paired with stellar performances from Swinton Hiddleston and supporting cast members Mia Wasikowska Anton Yelchin John Hurt and Jeffrey Wright Just lovers and Jim Jarmusch as the most essential and pleasant.