In association with

Mystery Train [1989]
from MGM Entertainment
starring Masatoshi Nagase, Youki Kudoh, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinqué Lee, Rufus Thomas
directed by Jim Jarmusch

Features:

• PAL
• Widescreen

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• Jarmusch's best film, in my humble opinion
  I'm not much of a fan of Jim Jarmusch, but 1989's Mystery Train (his fourth film and first one in color) is quite engaging in they way it tells three minimalist stories occurring in what is presumably the seedier side of Memphis. An Elvis motif runs through all the episodes, which are set mostly in a rundown hotel during one night (Blues legend Screaming Jay Hawkins plays the clerk). In the first episode, a young Japanese couple arrives in the town which gave birth to rock and roll (she is quirky, he is... more info

• Uninspired
  This film tried to be cute and ironic but it falls short on the cuteness and the irony was never more than facile. The fundamental problem is that the observations weren't sharp enough to carry the storyline which while quite clever in its use of time across the sequences is fundamentally weak.
  In the final sequence, there is nothing at all attractive or amusing about the characters or the situation but it doesn't have a sufficiently strong subtext or metaphorical backdrop either.
  I was... more info

• JJ at his finest
  This is a perfect film. Darkly funny, great direction, understated, wonderful lighting, sublime music, excellent performances. And the Japanese and Italian dialogue IS subtitled. Ignore the reviewer who claimed the DVD does not have subtitles in English. He also said he had not bought it, so how can we trust the reviwer's judgment? Go buy, you'll not regret it.

• Beware: Brilliant film, crap DVD release
  I'd give 'Mystery Train' an unreserved 5 stars as a film, but I have to reduce that to 3 stars on account of this DVD release (on MGM Home Ent) having no subtitles (the same is true of the 'Night On Earth' DVD, but thankfully I found that out before shelling out for it).

  I saw this fabulous film at the cinema when it came out, and the first mini-story with the Japanese couple is a wonderful and heartwarmingly deadpan bit of comedy; their dialogue is superb. My dissappointment at discovering this edition... more info

Similar Products:

More from Amazon