Down by Law

Down by Law

95% Liked It
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Down by Law

Billie Neal, Ellen Barkin, John Lurie, Joy N. Houck Jr, L.C. Drane

Jim Jarmusch follows his groundbreaking Stranger Than Paradise with another rambling, character-driven film with a twisted sense of humor. Set in a seedy New Orleans summer, Down By Law details the me...( read more  read more... )eting of three unlikely convicts and their just as unlikely escape. Zack (Tom Waits) is an out-of-work DJ who is accused of murder when a body is found in the trunk of a stolen car he was hired to drive across town. Jack (John Lurie) is a pimp set up for a fall by a competitor. These two sullen souls are locked in a cell with Roberto (Roberto Benigni), a cheerful Italian immigrant who happens to have killed a man. The chemistry between the members of this loosely bound team is fascinating: Zack and Jack are forever laughing at Roberto, yet they rely on his energy and good will to escape their dire situation. The three mismatched miscreants eventually bust out of jail and head into the Louisiana bayous. Tired and hungry, they separate to search for food: Waits goes one way, Lurie another, and the frightened Benigni decides to risk stepping into a ramshackle diner. Somehow or other, he winds up in the arms of gorgeous Italian girl Nicoletta Braschi -- and is even able to provide new clothes and escape routes for his astonished comrades! ~ John Voorhees, All Movie Guide

Id: 10905780

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Recent Reviews


  • August 27, 2009
    I scream, we scream, we all scream for ice cream! This is by far the funniest prison break film ever. The three leads are on impeccably good form and, I know I've said it before, but Jarmusch is the coolest filmmaker alive. I can't think of a more suitable word that could describ...( read more)e him as well.
  • September 24, 2008
    Not your average film. Jarmusch is the master of low-budget film making.
  • March 7, 2008
    Jim Jarmusch and Tom Waits all in one of the best prison movies of all time. Although now that I've mentioned those 2 names that just means anyone who liked 10,000 B.C will never see this movie in there life. You know what though I don't care any movie this brilliant in style and...( read more) storytelling doesn't deserve to have idiots complain about how boring it is.
  • December 2, 2007
    Endlessly watchable. Benigni is the shit in this movie.
  • May 25, 2007
    The thing I really like about Jim Jarmusch's films is that are almost always like contained worlds, completely down to earth and true to life, and he also excels at shooting in distinctly American settings. This film is no exception. In it is the story of three inmates; Tom Waits...( read more) as Zack, John Lurie as Jack, and Robert Benigni as, well, Roberto! It's the very cool, and often hilarious, story of three different people stuck in one place, who then have to work together when Roberto finds a way to escape the New Orleans prison they've been put in. Having Tom Waits starring in your film can never be a downside, and Roberto Benigni is absolutely hilarious - "I scream-ah, you scream-ah, we all scream-ah for ice cream-ah" - I really like John Lurie too, who also starred in the excellent Stranger Than Paradise; and like that film, Jarmusch's writing and directing excels when working with three main characters, it really is a perfect number to work with. If you like Jarmusch at all, check this sucker out.
  • December 13, 2009
    Hands down, Jarmusch's funniest film. Memorable characters are thrown into absurd situations. Tom Waits rocks my world. In typical fashion, there is very little plot, instead we get extended moments where characters are never sure what to say to each other. How does Jarmusch make...( read more) it all so entertaining? It helps when you have Muller as cinematographer.
  • November 30, 2009
    Pure joy! It's almost pitch perfect. Must be one of Jarmusch's best films and it will stay that way. Accompanied by Tom Waits' great songs and John Lurie's music as well as their superb acting it's nothing but a winner. Robert Benigni is impressing also.
  • November 23, 2009
    J.J, one of leading, the most respectful , independent American film makers. Very important one 4 me.
  • November 22, 2009
    and of course excellent songs in this underground film ...in the cast is the wife of Begnini , Nicolleta
  • November 13, 2009
    Dio, fa morir dal ridere.
    Tom Waits e Benigni insieme, cose dell'altro mondo.

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