Jim Jarmusch

Jim Jarmusch: Music, Words and Noise is the rst book to examine the lms of Jim Jarmusch from a sound-oriented perspective. Exploring the directors extensive back catalogue, including Stranger than Paradise (1984), Down by Law (1986), Dead Man (1995) and Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), Sara Piazza identies three acoustic elements that structure the lms: music, words and noise. This unique reading reveals how Jarmusch created a form of sound democracy in lm, in which sound is not subordinate to the visual. In his melting-pot method, sound and word - high and low culture - can coexist: from Schubert and Japanese noise bands to Marlowe and Betty Boop.
Using examples from music, cinema and literature, and identifying techniques from pre-sound-era lm in the directors work, this study investigates how Jarmuschs distinctive reputation, consolidated over the course of a 30-year career, is deeply connected to his treatment of sound. Based in New York, Jarmusch was able to develop a ercely personal vision far from the commercial pressures of Hollywood. This fascinating book also features illuminating interviews with many prominent gures from the lm world including Ennio Morricone, Luc Sante, Roberto Benigni, John Lurie and Jarmusch himself.
An innovative account of a unique and much-admired body of work, Jim Jarmusch will appeal not only to the many fans of the director, but also all those interested in lm techniques and lm-making in general.