Dead Man

OK gang, the legions of fans that read this site have been clamoring for reviews of movies starring someone they actually recognize or at least have actually heard of. The Tapehead, always one to heed requests from the fans of this widely read blogsite, decided this was the time to cover a flick with major domo stars in it. However, I’ll bet most of you still have never heard of this classic. Read and hopefully enjoy.

Dead Man (1995) This very odd black and white western opens with a very long train ride that sets the pace for the rest of the movie. The flick is populated with lots of recognizable ‘stars’ in cameo roles. Some of the cameos are better than the movie as a whole and it is somewhat of an ‘arty-farty’ type of affair from Jim Jarmush. Starring academy award nominee Johnny Depp in the titular role of the deceased homo sapien, it is really a road movie with Johnny wandering around the entire west with his salty mouthed faithful Indian companion who is clearly not any relation to good ole Tonto.

The movie is a series of vignettes strung together to tell the story of how Depp got that way (dead, that is). Depp seems to spend most of the movie wounded, unconscious, resting, or sleeping which kind of slows down the pace a bit. But this is a Jarmush movie and they are not known for having a fast pace. With great cameos from Billy Bob Thornton and Iggy Pop as a couple of good ole boys who have been out in the wilderness far too long, the movie has some very good parts. Even old Robert Mitchum shows up in a too small roll as one of the villains. Beautifully shot in black and white, this is a rather surrealistic view of the old west. If you like your history spooned to you in great heaping bits of unreality; this may be a movie for you. The movie is rated R for: nekkid butts, gunshots with bleeding wounds, Native American oath hurling, discussions on hair care, and for the high level of unconsciousness by the star.