"Night on Earth" Jim Jarmusch's urban film that looks behind the scenes of cities on a global scale.

Music by Tom Waits & Cinematography by Fredric Elms

Although he does not show his face as a performer, Tom Waits , who is in charge of the original music, has a secret presence as part of the Jarmusch group.

“ Back in the Good Old World ” plays at the beginning and “ Good Old World ” plays at the end. These two songs actually have almost the same lyrics up to the middle, but it's interesting that they have completely different tones (these numbers were co-written with Tom's partner Katherine Brennan).

Tom is also in charge of the instrumental music that runs throughout the film, and it has a somewhat circus-like feel (sometimes with Japanese chindon-ya-style arrangements), and the sound perfectly expresses the strangeness of the people on the ground. ing.

Tom, who played one of the leads in "Down by Law" and also provided ready-made songs, now shows his own individuality with newly written music, adding depth to the movie (especially the ending "Good Old").・World" is a famous song with a taste).

As an actor, he has appeared in `` Coffee & Cigarettes '' and the latest film ` `The Dead Don't Die, '' but when he takes part in a Jarmusch film, he brings out the sense of humor that is typical of someone who knows the underbelly of the city. be done.

"Night on Earth" (c) 1991 Locus Solus Inc.

The director of photography was Fredrik Elms, and this was the first time he met Jarmusch. The director hired him because he liked the cinematography of David Lynch's films such as ` `Blue Velvet '' (1986) and ` `Reverse Edge '' (1986).

At the beginning of each vignette, a cityscape is shown in a snapshot-like manner, conveying the unique character of the area (a slightly deserted, backstreet-like landscape is chosen).

It is similar to ``The Dead Don't Die'' in that there are many night shots. He has worked with Jarmusch on five films so far, including ``Coffee & Cigarettes'', `` Broken Flowers '' (2005), and `` Paterson '' (16).

Robbie Muller ( Down by Law , Dead Man ) does a great job when it comes to black-and-white images, and Elms does a great job when it comes to color.

Although Jarmusch maintains a natural style, he is also particular about camera angles. His filmmaking is only possible if he has a staff that he knows well.

``Night on Earth'' is an urban film that looks behind the scenes of cities on a global scale, and can be called Jarmusch's version of ` `Taxi Driver .'' There are fortunes and misfortunes on earth, and it is impossible to predict what awaits us on the next street. But no matter how unlucky the night may seem, morning will eventually come. Through each "slightly boring day," we can see the flow of time on earth.

Text: Sawako Omori

Movie journalist. His books include "Lost Cinema" (Kawade Shobo Shinsha) and other books, and his translations include "Woody" (by D. Evanier, Kinema Junposha). Contributes to magazines such as ``Weekly Women'', ``Music Magazine'', and ``Kinema Junpo''. A research book based on the web series, `` Mini Theater Revisited, '' is also scheduled to be published.

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``Night on Earth''

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Publisher: Vap

(c) 1991 Locus Solus Inc.