[title]
Dead Man (1995)
This provocative and mesmerizing black-and-white Western from Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive) is arguably his masterpiece. A pre-Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp stars as meek accountant William Blake (yes, he shares his name with the famous Romantic Age poet), who travels to the wild, wild west for a job and instead gets a bullet to the chest. Slowly dying, he embarks on a spiritual quest with the aid of Nobody (Gary Farmer), a hilariously condescending Native American with a killer catchphrase ("Stupid fucking white man") and prime survival skills. Jarmusch's oddball humor is fully evident; ready yourself for the Iggy Pop/Jared Harris/Billy Bob Thornton campfire sequence with its cross-dressing shenanigans and sudden bursts of slapstick violence. But this is also his most trenchant film for the way it confronts America's troubled (and troubling) history. All that a killer Neil Young guitar score!
Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg is presenting the movie in 35mm on Fri 25 and Sat 26 at midnight, so you're sure to get an appreciative crowd for this cult classic.