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"Down by Law" is a movie about cheap whiskey and black coffee, all-night drunks and lost jobs, and the bad times you can have with good-time girls. It tells the story of a pimp, an unemployed disc jockey and a bewildered Italian tourist and how they escape from jail and wind up slogging through the Louisiana bayous looking for a decent place to ...
Funny, original, and thoroughly cinematic, Down by Law represents writer-director Jim Jarmusch at his most ingratiating and evocative. Read Critics Reviews
- (32)
- Jim Jarmusch
- R
- Tom Waits
In New Orleans, Radio DJ Zack (Tom Waits) is berated by his girlfriend Laurette (Ellen Barkin) for losing his job. He gets $1000 to drive a car across town but the cops stop him and find a dead body in the trunk. Jack (John Lurie) is a pimp who is offered a new young white girl.
- Synopsis
- Picture 9/10
- Audio 7/10
- Extras 8/10
- Closing
Director Jim Jarmusch followed up his brilliant breakout film Stranger Than Paradise with another, equally beloved portrait of loners and misfits in the American landscape. When fate brings together three hapless men—an unemployed disc jockey (Tom Waits), a small-time pimp (John Lurie), and a strong-willed Italian tourist (Roberto Benigni)—in a Lou...
Jim Jarmusch’s Down by Lawgets a Blu-ray upgrade from Criterion, who yet again present the film in the director’s preferred aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The transfer is presented in 1080p/24hz on a dual-layer disc. Upon first popping the disc in I was expecting to find Criterion simply reused the same high-definition transfer used for their 2002 DVD edi...
The film’s lossless linear PCM 1.0 mono track is also surprisingly strong. Heavy on dialogue, it’s clear and articulate for the most part despite some moments where it’s a little muffled, but I feel it has more to do with shooting conditions and nothing to do with the actual transfer to disc. Music, like Tom Waits’ “A Jockey Full of Bourbon” that p...
Though other aspects of this release received upgrades the supplements haven’t. Thankfully everything has been carried over from Criterion’s excellent 2002 2-disc DVD release. First the disc comes with a couple of alternate audio tracks, starting with an isolated score, which is simply a mono track presenting the film’s music and score with no dial...
The supplements are the same as the DVD’s with nothing new, but they’re all still entertaining to go through. But the disc is worth picking up or upgrading to simply for the new transfer, which manages to improve greatly over the DVD’s. It comes with a high recommendation. BUY AT:
Dec 9, 2023 · Jarmusch’s loveable rogues make Down By Law a classic. It’s extremely funny, has great characters and a light tone that makes it very entertaining.
- Reece Beckett
Sep 25, 1986 · Down by Law: Directed by Jim Jarmusch. With Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi. Two men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state.
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Described by Jarmusch as a “neo-Beat noir comedy,” Down by Law is part nightmare and part fairy tale, featuring sterling performances and crisp black-and-white cinematography by the esteemed Robby Müller.
