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A cult classic - and yet still relatively little known. Jim Jarmusch is a master when it comes to creating atmosphere (and nobody uses stretches of silence to better comedic effect than he does). Shot in beautiful black and white, this tale of three prisoners who make for very unlikely companions is all mood, deadpan humour and practically no action.

Don't expect a story - just enjoy the ride, the dialogues (consisting mainly of the word 'F***' - unless it's Benigni talking: his chaotic, broken English lines are another highlight of the film) and the fantastic soundtrack by John Lurie and Tom Waits. Perhaps the epitome of a cult movie, this one goes down like a cool beer on a hot summer evening (and as with all cult movies, it is best seen with an audience that already knows and loves the film). A minimalistic comedy masterpiece. 9 stars out of 10.

Favorite Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054200841/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

The story of three different men (Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni) in a Louisiana prison and their eventual journey.

This film is a natural progression from "Stranger Than Paradise". Lurie returns as a lead, and the music of Screamin' Jay Hawkins is replaced with Tom Waits. If Hawkins and Waits know each other, I have no idea, but their music styles are not far removed.

Although Waits is among my favorite actors (he excels at playing villains), the standout performance here is Benigni. How much English he knew at the time I am not sure, but he brings a comic mischief to the film, and is the most light-hearted despite being potentially the most dangerous.

Three men escape from jail and head out into the Louisiana bayous. What follows is their journey and their attempts to evade the law.

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, so you already know this is not going to be a conventional movie. Quirkily funny, with some great off-the-wall characters and good interplay between them. Plot is a bit random, though that's part of the movie's charm. The anarchy of the plot fits in well with the characters and general non-seriousness of the movie.

Good work by Tom Waits, John Lurie and Roberto Benigni in the lead roles.

I've been binging Jarmusch's filmography this week for the first-time knowing little about his films and style of storytelling. In my opinion, this is his greatest achievement. The cinematography is beautiful; all of the river-boating scenes looked incredible. The performances are all great, especially Benigni's who had me in tears from laughter. The pacing is also solid; how these three very different men form a bond is a marvel to experience. On the whole, the story is a unique take on the 'prison film' and operates in that perfect balance of quirky and realistic. If you're like me and you're ripping through Jarmusch films for the first time, I'd say this is a pretty great introduction to the man and his mind.

This may very well be a mans' journey film, actually literally, but philosophically, it's still one that serves to be a reminder of all of the things in life and about how our choices eventually need to come to a head. The three lead actors are very naturalistic, except Benigni who seems to overdo it at times. The writing and the directing are typical Jarmusch, and we are able to experience just what he is feeling in every frame. So typical that audiences themselves will be wondering what is going on, and seeing as how it's plot less besides the obvious already in the summary, only Jarmusch fans who know what they're getting into will not be surprised by its narrative. If anything, it's one of his plottier films.

One of the most frequently heard criticisms of Jarmusch's work is that the pace is slow. I would like to make a case for patience. After all, if true beauty and grace were delivered in one massive hit, our poor brains and hearts would not withstand the blow. In Down By Law, Jarmusch invites us to take some time, some real time and devote it to getting deeply involved with his characters. Men in crisis. Misfits, jailbirds, heartbreakingly human. We accompany them on their journey, their escape from their confines. It is a truly epic journey on a small geographical scale. We watch as they begin to mirror one another, as their individual egos become inextricably enmeshed in one another. We watch a friendship form. And how can we begrudge the time Jarmusch takes for this glorious exposition? How can we do anything but marvel at the fine detail in which the scenes are drawn, at the subtle movements of our heroes? Every gesture signifies worlds of meaning and consequence. And Jarmusch does it better, with more skill and with more compassion than anyone. If you are prepared to get involved, if you are brave enough to commit to the journey, you will be rewarded with a kind of epiphany that few films can offer.

One thing that I have always liked about Jim Jarmusch is that a lot of times he seems to use people whom you've either never heard of, or wouldn't expect to see acting in a film. His 1986 film "Down by Law" is no exception. The film tells the story of three men, Zack (Waits), Jack (Lurie) and Roberto (Benigni) who meet when they are put in the same jail cell at a New Orleans prison. All three men are different in terms of background; Zack is a serially employed radio DJ who is kicked out of the house by his girlfriend, only to run into a shady acquaintance that offers him $1,000 to drive a hot Jaguar to an undisclosed location in the city. Along the way he is stopped by the police and unfortunately, a body is found in the trunk of the Jag, which spells bad news for Zack and a quick trip to prison. Jack is a pimp who is set up by an associate of his; when he goes to meet a prospective "worker" in a hotel room, the police bust in, the lights go on and it turns out the woman is actually a young girl. Roberto's background is a little shadier, though murder factors into it. Roberto's command of the English language is comical and his naiveté and good mood are infectious, but the other two come to near blows either with each other or Roberto on more than one occasion, particularly after they manage to escape from prison, when they are forced to rely on one another to survive the swamps of Louisiana so they can escape prison, and one another, for good.

"Down by Law" is shot in wonderful black and white, which gives the film both a starkness and bare-bones feel. The music is also fantastic, with the instrumentals being performed by John Lurie and the songs by Tom Waits. Thirteen years before winning Best Actor for "Life is Beautiful", Beningi gives a great performance in this film; his charm and humor were incredibly apparent in this, his first American film. Tom Waits, a personal favorite of mine, most musically but also for his various movie roles, is a natural actor and did a great job in this film. John Lurie, whom I don't remember from other Jarmusch films I've seen, but apparently was in them gave a decent performance, though at times it was fairly wooden. I suspect that there was a good amount of improvisation throughout "Down by Law", but that didn't help some of its pacing problems. Though the photography of the film was wonderful, it couldn't help divert from the fact that there were times when the film really dragged for me, like Jarmusch had left the camera on and the principals were just kind of doing their thing, though not in a compelling manner.

Overall, however, I did enjoy "Down by Law" and it is a must-see for any Jarmusch fan. I would also recommend it for those who enjoyed Beningi's more recent performances, because he really seemed to have a lot of fun with this film, as did I, for the most part. 6/10 --Shelly

A prison film without an overt sense of morality? That comes as no surprise from Jim Jarmusch. One of the pioneers of independent filmmaking in the 1980s, Jarmusch cares little for plot or crafting a message for his audience and much more about drawing up scenarios for his characters that reveal nuances of the human condition.

"Down by Law" features three men in New Orleans who are guilty of their crimes though wrongfully imprisoned. Zack (Tom Waits) is a radio DJ who — after being thrown out by his girlfriend — agrees to a shady odd job driving a car that sets him up to take a fall. Jack (John Lurie) is a local pimp who ends up the victim of a sting operation. Both men feel unfairly hit just for letting their guard down. In prison they meet Bob (Roberto Benigni), an optimistic and overly friendly Italian immigrant with a similar story. The three men connect within confinement, but that bond is tested in new ways after they escape.

Aside from Zack and Jack's arrests, Jarmusch takes his laid back approach to most of the events in the film, choosing to show only the aftereffects of the major plot points that most filmmakers would want to depict on screen. He did the same thing in "Stranger Than Paradise" a couple years earlier, wanting to focus his film on how the characters respond to swings of fortune. The prison break, for example, is not explained. We only see the before followed by a cut to the three prisoners on the run.

Zack, Jack and Bob make for an interesting trio, particularly Bob. Benigni brings impeccable spirit and joviality to break up the somewhat slogging animosity between carefree cool guy Zack (Waits is spot-on casting) and the self-righteous, sarcastic Jack (deployed similarly to the way he was in "Stranger Than Paradise"). Benigni is specifically responsible for a couple of the film's best moments, one an ice cream protest and the other involving a rabbit. His comedy brings a dimension and energy to this film that "Paradise" was missing, and it fits within Jarmusch's style and framework.

"Down by Law" also feels more cinematic. Jarmusch includes more of the New Orleans setting and the Louisiana wilderness with dollying/trucking shots that help immerse his very intimate stories in something larger, in this case the lawlessness of NOLA and the swampland. Maybe Jarmusch doesn't have a neatly wrapped up moral to send us home with, his film clearly establishes a belief in an unpredictability to our world. And given the way his characters handle it, you can tell that he views humans as people who are eternally torn between self-interest and companionship.

Jarmusch's early work shows great vision of how he wants to tell stories, with less emphasis on what those stories are trying to say. It's as though he's running experiments with his characters, and what plays out in his films are the results. Fans of art films and theatre will surely appreciate these early offerings, while those who prefer a director take them on a ride rather than present them an experiment to observe will have trouble connecting.

~Steven C

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In Louisianan, the girlfriend Laurette (Ellen Barkin) of the WYLD DJ Zack (Tom Waits) a.k.a. Lee Baby Simms has an argument and breaks with him. The upset Zack drinks booze on the street and his acquaintance Preston (Vernel Bagneris) offers US$ 1,500.00 to him to drive a Jaguar to the other side of the city. However, there is a man locked up in the trunk of the car and Zack is arrested and sent to the Orleans Parish Prison. Meanwhile the pimp Jack (John Lurie) is framed by his acquaintance Gig (Rockets Redglare) and is arrested in the same cell of Zack. When the Italian Roberto (Roberto Benigni) a.k.a. Bob that does note speak English very well is locked up in the same cell, the trio develops a strange friendship. Sooner Bob proposes a means of escape from prison and the trio shares a journey through the swamps of Mississippi.

"Down by Law" is a cult-indie for the fans and a boring film for the others. The cinematography in black and white is stylish, but why? The plot is quite original but uninteresting. Further I do not like the actor Roberto Benigni that used the idea of the screenplay of "Train de Vie" of Radu Mihaileanu that was offered to him to the lead role to write his awarded "La Vita è Bella". Therefore, I do not laugh of his gags and jokes. Maybe if I had seen this movie in 1986, I might have enjoyed more. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Down by Law"

Wow, what a movie. Far away from Hollywood, Jim Jarmusch creates a world where you don't need drama, pathos and action to fascinate the watcher. Because fascinating is exactly what this movie is. A plot in the classical sense is almost completely missing; the scenes, in their simplicity sometimes reminding of theater, follow each other without ever creating real suspense; neither griping action nor complex dialogues are there to excite the spectator. And still, with ease Jarmusch fills more than a hundred minutes with a story you won't take your eyes off. It is hard to tell what the atmosphere of the movie is really based on, the characters, the setting, entirely in black and white, the music - probably all of it. Again, like in Jarmusch's later movie "Dead man", speed is an important factor: everything moves slowly, without haste, as there is no dramatic climax you could hurry towards; yet, boring is a word that certainly doesn't fit this piece of cineastic art. On the other hand, though some of the scenes seem quite surrealistic, it is not a really artistic movie breaking with all the traditional concepts of filmmaking; it is more a movie in classic shape with an unconventional story, not trying to shock, to confuse or even to make you think so much; this movie doesn't need all this to get your complete attention. You could probably speculate a lot about the meaning of the movie; to me, this seems highly unnecessary. Just let it unfold its atmosphere. Judge yourselves, but I was excited in a very special way by every scene of this motion picture, giving me one of my best cineastic experiences of the recent time.

Directed and written by Jim Jarmusch, this film was obviously never going to be a suspenseful action drama. The director seems to prefer something more subtle, favoring cinematography, with very good filming angles and framing and the use of good sets. That's precisely what we have in this film, where we follow a man in a bizarre story: he's unemployed, urgently needs some money and accepts a seemingly simple job. However, this work was nothing more than a trap: accused of a crime he never committed, he is arrested and ends up with another wronged man and an Italian, who barely speaks English, but who devises an escape plan where the three decide to cooperate.

The strong point of this film is the development of the characters. The possible crimes they committed and the injustices they experienced are never in question, all of this only serves to place the three of them in that penitentiary cell together. That's where the film really becomes better and more interesting, after a slow introduction, somewhat lengthy, but perhaps necessary. Each of the three main characters has the right to their time and space to develop and to show their character, personality and way of acting. With time and forced coexistence, and the creation of a common escape plan, they create a bond of trust that the film makes convincing and quite credible.

On a technical level, the strong points of this film are the black and white cinematography, the credible sets and costumes, a very well written script and excellent editing. It's a film that doesn't take much time, which we watch quickly in less than two hours. It doesn't have a very notable soundtrack, but it doesn't need it either. It is clear that Jarmusch's direction does a very solid job, despite the certain inexperience that the director still had, which inclines him more towards experimentalism than any kind of obvious insecurity. Tom Waits and John Lurie do an excellent job with their characters and actually manage to respond positively to the challenges they face. However, it is the Italian Roberto Benigni who shines most in the squad. He is currently a highly regarded filmmaker and actor, but at this time he was not well known to the general international public. With a gentle lightness and creativity that characterize him in almost all of his work, the actor dominates every scene in which he appears and it is truly pleasant to see him work here, with his dignified wife, Nicoletta Braschi, who has a smaller role close to the end of the movie.

Jim Jarmusch's 'neo-beat-noir' follow-up to his quirky debut feature 'Strangers In Paradise' was the in-film for the in-crowd when first released: a hip-to-distraction ersatz comedy in which the only joke is that there is no joke. With his deadpan disdain for the Hollywood mainstream Jarmusch might be accused of being a cinematic rebel simply for the sake of rebellion, offering as his only alternative a numb new form of motion picture in which most of the motion as been deliberately discarded. The result is either an exhilarating departure from convention or a supreme test of patience, filmed in handsome high-contrast black and white and bolstered by a trio of likable if not exactly memorable characters: Jack, Zack and Bob the Italian, three misfits who meet in jail and subsequently escape into the Louisiana bayous. That's about it. Recommended for aficionados of tongue-in-cheek obscurantism.

I've seen a couple of Jarmusch movies and except for Dead Man (which I thought was an incredible bore), they were all great.

Down By Law is probably one his best known flicks and is a very good low budget movie. It features Tom Waits, who's not only a fine musician but proves to be a decent actor as well; John Lurie, who also wrote the excellent soundtrack (Waits delivered the opening and end-credits track btw); Roberto Benigni, who nowadays is most famous for directing the Oscar-winning Italian film "La Vita E Bella".

The movie deals about three guys who meet in prison and escape. It reminded me of "O Brother Where Are Thou?" and, perhaps because of it being filmed in black and white, of old 40's movies about escaping prisoners (can't think of a good example, but you get the picture).

Three things I liked very much about this movie:

1. It's incredibly funny, especially Benigni made me laugh every time he opened his mouth - He irritated me highly in "La Vita E Bella" so that must mean something....

2. The frame of the camera is very well used. Look at the scene where Lurie counts the money and a hooker is laying behind him on the bed and the scene after that. Another example is when Benigni is dancing with a lady and the other two guys are continuing their breakfast in the back.

3. It's very hard to pinpoint when the story takes place; it's timeless in more than one way, obviously helped by the lack of color.

All in all, this one comes highly recommended.

This is one of the best movies ever made. I cannot begin to emphasize how much heart is in it. It is really a story that transcends even realism and belongs to the realm of literature, music and art. One cannot claim to know anything about movies without having seen this one. It´s like Chaplin reading the classics of American literature. Nietzsche breathing the fresh desert air. Milton creeping into the left foot of Blake. Watch it! Watch it! Watch it!

A black comedy about three men deceived by luck and given to their destiny, after a stint in prison and a daring escape.

Beautiful cinematography in black and white by Robby Müller, taking advantage of the photogeny of the decadent south and the Mississippi delta, excellent music, divided between the songs by Tom Waits and the soundtrack by John Lurie (from The Lounge Lizzards), both protagonists of the film, joined by the inimitable Roberto Benigni (and his wife and muse Nicoletta Braschi) adding a touch of chaos and humor to the story.

A cult film that looks even better as the years go by.

Jim Jarmusch's DOWN BY LAW is one of the art-house productions that the American independent director made his name with in the 1980s.

At this point in his career, Jarmusch wanted to depict not the glitzy, glamorous America of Hollywood films, but rather the side no one ever talks about: vacant lots overgrown with weeds, the ramshackle homes of the working poor, and empty suburban streets. As the film opens, Jarmusch sets the stage by depicting New Orleans from this angle in a series of shots made from a moving car. Only then we see how a small-town pimp (John Lurie) and an itinerant DJ (Tom Waits) get themselves arrested after they've each accepted a job from a seedy friend. They subsequently end up sharing a jail cell, into which one day an Italian immigrant (Roberto Benigni) is also placed. The plot of the film is the developing camaraderie between these three men. The Italian's bumbling antics act initially aggravate his cellmates -- Benigni's role serve as comic relief against the morose behavior of the other two characters. DOWN BY LAW begins as a drama portraying the underbelly of a Louisiana town, but by the end it has transformed into absurdist comedy.

Lurie's acting is fine, representing his character convincingly as a pathetic d-bag. Benigni might seem like he's playing himself, but his English is reputedly much better than the broken phrases he offers in the film. Nicoletta Braschi appears as the Italian's love interest, a role that must have been easy to play since Benigni and her are married in real life. I've never thought Tom Waits was a great actor, however.

In terms of cinematography, this is a major step forward for Jarmusch. Bringing on cameraman Robby Müller, most famous for his work with Wim Wenders in the 1970s, Jarmusch shot many scenes with blatant diagonals and claustrophobic framing that suggests the prison in which these characters do time. It's certainly the most geometrically striking film of Jarmusch's career.

This is an entertaining film, with many fine touches. If I give it less than a rave, it's just because I can't completely get into these black and white portrayals of contemporary lowlifes (I have a problem with early Kaurismäki for the same reason--his aesthetic was very similar to Jarmusch's.) But I think this film has held up pretty well three decades after its release, and I'd recommend it for anyone looking to explore Jarmusch's work.

This movie was a total surprise to me. I'm sure it's very famous, but somehow had never seen it before. From the beginning scenes, I was expecting a gritty low life, wind up in the gutter, down and out kind of crime movie and that was fine with me, especially if set in New Orleans. At the same time there was a surprising freshness about it, that caught my attention, like a wake up call. Literally, there was writing on the wall that signaled "this is not that kind of movie!" The opening scenes reminded me of the opening of Sopranos -- the rolling shot of a neighborhood with an ominous sounding song in the background. (Were the Sopranos producers inspired by this film?) But once Roberto Benigni appeared on the scene, announcing that "Life is Sad and Beautiful" the whole story began to feel more like a strange fairy tale. Throughout the film, I appreciated the way the director took his time, letting the story evolve slowly, giving the characters time to develop their tenuous bonds. I could watch this again and again, knowing I would keep discovering hidden meanings, references, and ironies. Loved it!!!!

It is true that "Down by law" is a film which has been made for his actor as well as musician friends, director Jim Jarmusch has been able to capture a certain type of melancholic mood. It is a mood which affects many capricious men.This film has been built around such American men who do not seem to realize the importance of American culture.It is for this reason that they do not have much to say when an Italian man with little knowledge of English speaks to them enthusiastically about his appreciation of icons of American literature Robert Frost and Walt Whitman.The excessive use of vulgar language especially the incessant use of "F" word might be difficult for some viewers to digest.However,Jarmusch has ensured that for his film a conventional story does not matter as despite the lack of a clearly defined narrative structure,strengths and weaknesses of all characters have been nicely revealed.This film boasts of a good soundtrack with some mellifluous tunes which can be hummed anywhere,anytime.Lastly,'Down by law' is a good film to watch even when the viewers get to know that the real action of the film starts after 1 hour.

I first saw Down By Law when it first came out, and loved it. I watched it again recently, and it really hasn't aged at all. In fact, it has gotten even better. I'm not sure there's another movie like it (unless the other Jarmusch ones are -- I haven't seen them). There are very few movies that spend so much time on character development that still have great plots. Like the "Big Easy" where it is filmed, this one takes its time but has an easy charm once the plot gets where it was going. The dialogue is wonderfully written, and better acted. Each scene is like a work of art in how it is staged. The soundtrack uses one of the best albums ever recorded, "Rain Dogs" by Tom Waits, who stars. One of my all time favorites.

Ever since "Stranger than Paradise," I have loved and sought out quirky filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. He has an unusual sense of humor and an unusual way of presenting his films. Sometimes they're episodic, like Coffee & Cigarettes, Mystery Train, and Night on Earth, and sometimes they tell the story of bizarre people brought together by bizarre circumstances.

"Down by Law" is about three men who meet in a New Orleans prison, Zack, Jack, and Roberto (Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni). Zack is a DJ who took $1000 to drive a car, but there was a body in the trunk. Jack is a pimp sent out to check out a new prospect who turns out to be underage, and the police are waiting. We only hear Roberto's story from his lips - he apparently threw a billiard ball at someone and the person died. The three men manage to escape into a swamp and woods.

Roberto quotes (in Italian) the man he refers to as "Bob Frost" and there is the symbol in the film of "The Road Not Taken" when a fork in the road is reached. One thing that cracked me up was the same thing that cracked me up in "Stranger than Paradise" - in that film, everywhere the characters went looked exactly the same as the crummy neighborhood and weather they left in Chicago. It didn't matter if it was in Florida or at the aunt's house - it was always overcast and awful. Here, the three men escape and wind up in a building to spend the night that looks just like their prison cell.

Benigni, as the cheerful, chatty one is hilarious, and what happens to him is even funnier - and could only have happened to that character. Waits and Lurie give solid performances in less showy roles - another element of Jarmusch is his unusual casting.

"Down by Law" is done in stark black and white; rarely does Jarmusch work in color. It gives this film a downbeat atmosphere, along with the garbage in the neighborhood streets, the swamp, and the woods.

There are slow sections but if you want to see this unique director's work, I recommend it. No one tells a story, or chooses what story to tell, quite like he does.

Jim Jarmusch trusts his camera, his directing, his writing, and most of all his performers. This is a gem of a film, without pretense. The story and film just move, sluggishly chugging forward to an ending that is really more of a dissolve. The story is ultimately of little importance, just enough movement to show us a bit of the big jokester in the skies irony. I was struck by the similarity's to Dead Man, similarities quite aside the black and white photography. The enigmatic character at the center, the drifting in and out of the main characters, the use of the boat, the disposal of the usual plot devices, the cutting away of obvious scenes (like the "how' of the escape) I wish more films displayed this sort of ease with themselves. Great stuff, 8/10.

Admittedly, "Down by Law" is definitely not for everyone. The movie is deliberately slow, there's no heart-pounding action or slapstick comedy, and certainly no "top stars" (although you could say that Roberto Benigni has since become one). Set in New Orleans, it portrays three men - Zack (Tom Waits), Jack (John Lurie), and Roberto (Benigni) - who get put in jail together. All these men were always sort of down on their luck: Zack was framed for murder, Jack was found with an under-aged girl, and Roberto was involved in a murder. Anyway, the three of them escape from jail and have to cooperate to survive while on the lam. But even when they manage to break free from each other, there remains the question of each man's future.

Like I said, this is not for everyone; Jim Jarmusch is certainly an acquired taste. Many people will probably find the movie boring. But for me, it's a good representation of American independent cinema. Also starring Nicoletta Braschi, playing an Italian woman named Nicoletta.

I guess something is wrong with me. I pretty much like Jarmush's movies, bit this one...I simply don't get. Having seen all the stellar ratings and having read all the reviews, I expected a good, ENVOLVING movie. Oh boy, was I wrong.

It is slow, so slow you can go and have some breakfast only to find out that it is still the same scene when you return. It's supposed to be deeply into character psychology -- but it's not. It's supposed to make you think deep thoughts, but it doesn't.

Indeed, you can sit in your bedroom, stare at the old white cracked ceiling and reminiscence, but that doesn't mean that the ceiling has any artistic value. The same goes for this movie. You can "read into" it as much as you want, but it's you, not Jarmush. This movie is, in fact, totally void of any content. And yes, the emperor is, in fact, naked.