Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89261 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-04
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Colour, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Finnish, French, German, Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 128 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Jim Jarmusch's 1991 ensemble comedy Night on Earth turns a gimmick into a revelation. The story begins in Los Angeles one evening at 7:07 pm A talent agent (Gena Rowlands) gets into the back of a taxi driven by a sullen, chain-smoking young woman (Winona Ryder), and over the course of their bumpy conversation, Rowlands' character becomes convinced that the cabby would be perfect for a particular part in a movie. Meanwhile, at that very moment, taxi drivers in New York, Paris, Rome and Helsinki are all having unique encounters with a variety of fares, breaking through that invisible social barrier between the front and back seats of their cars, often to absurd or touching effect. Among them are cabby Roberto Benigni's ranting confessions to a priest, Armin Mueller-Stahl's relinquishing of the wheel to a stunned Giancarlo Esposito and Isaach De Bankolé's relentless discussion of sight and sex with an angry blind woman (Beatrice Dalle). What emerges is a chain of brief intimacies (not always welcomed by the characters), like a number of matches lit simultaneously across the globe, flickering brightly for a few short moments. This popular work by Jarmusch helped confirm his reputation as a fiercely independent filmmaker of rare perception, rigour and classical sensibility matched with original thinking. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews

All roads lead to.....
Five film-lets tracking five unrelated simultaneous nocturnal taxi journeys in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome and Helsinki, in that order. 'Los Angeles' makes a fairly dull opening, 'New York' is funny, 'Paris' thoughtful and 'Helsinki' darkly humourous. However, it is Roberto Benigni's hilarious performance as the manic taxi driver of 'Rome' which steals this film entirely.

Simply Jarmusch at his most brilliant
Whenever You feel that life is against You, everything is gone and all You want to do is get lost in a bottle; listen to the Helsinki driver's story and You will realise that life is not so bad after all

Mellow & poignant and each taxi is funnier than the last!
Beautifully crafted tale of five simultaneous taxi rides, each in various cities around the world.

In each scene, driver and passenger are separated by more than the usual pane of glass - they are more like complete social, cultural and/or moral opposites. Jarmusch uses this clash to create side splittingly funny banter between the characters.

This film is laid back and there is no plot as such but it is definitely worth watching for the astutely observed dialogue.