Stranger Than Paradise

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Stranger Than Paradise

Directed by	Jim Jarmusch
Produced by	Sara Driver
Written by	Jim Jarmusch
Starring	John Lurie Eszter Balint Richard Edson Cecillia Stark Danny Rosen
Music by	Drew Kunin John Lurie
Cinematography	Tom DiCillo
Editing by	Jim Jarmusch
Release date(s)	1984
Running time	95 min.
Country	USA West Germany
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Stranger Than Paradise is an absurdist comedy film written and directed by American director Jim Jarmusch in 1984. It starred jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint.

Shooting was begun using leftover film stock from the production of Wim Wenders' Der Stand der Dinge in (1982). It started out as a 30-minute short subject film and was later expanded into a 3-part feature. This short film was shown as "Stranger Than Paradise" at the 1983 International Film Festival Rotterdam. When it was used for the 3-part feature it was renamed "The New World".

The first section, "The New World," takes place in New York, the second, "One Year Later," in Cleveland, and the last, "Paradise," in Florida.

The film tells the story of a self-identified "hipster" (John Lurie) living in New York City when his Hungarian cousin comes to visit. Her visit makes up the first section. The next section focuses on Lurie and his friend (played by Richard Edson) going to visit the cousin at her new home in Cleveland, Ohio. The final section focuses on the journey the three of them make from Cleveland, to Florida.

The entire film consists of long takes; each of the film's scenes is contained within a single shot, followed by a few seconds of black leader.

The song "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins features prominently in the soundtrack.

Jim Jarmusch's wife Sara Driver is on the production credits as the producer and she also appears in the movie as 'the woman with a hat.'

In 2002, Stranger Than Paradise was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".