Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Stranger Than Paradise Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 18, 2015

Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger Than Paradise" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Soda Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and behind-the-scenes Super 8 silent film shot by Tom Jarmusch. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Willie, Eva and Eddie

Willie (John Lurie, Down By Law) isn’t thrilled when he learns that his cousin Eva (Eszter Balint, Trees Lounge) from Budapest is coming to America and is going to stay with him for a week in his tiny apartment in New York. He has things to do and people to meet and he can’t see how Eva won’t be a distraction.

Soon after Eva knocks on his door and unpacks her bags, Willie gets seriously annoyed. In addition to asking too many questions, Eva just won’t stop listening to her Screamin' Jay Hawkins tape. The poor girl also can’t figure out why Willie would pay for a carry-out meal that looks like something a human being shouldn’t be eating.

But the two warm up to each other and Willie even lets Eva answer the phone for him. Later on, he buys her a dress -- though not an expensive one -- which he thinks would look great on her. When Eva heads to Cleveland to stay with Aunt Lotte (Cecillia Stark), Willie nearly sheds a few tears.

After they cheat a few suckers in a friendly game of poker, Willie and his sidekick Eddy (Richard Edson, Strange Days) decide to visit Eva and see how she has settled down in Cleveland. They like Aunt Lotte’s freshly cooked goulash, but the cold winter weather aggravates them. Then Willie suggests that Eva quits her job in the nearby fast-food restaurant and together they take a trip to sunny Florida.

Jim Jarmusch's second feature, Stranger Than Paradise, is a cheaply made minimalistic film whose heart is as big as the Grand Canyon. It quickly befriends you, lets you know that it can be trusted and then invites you to have a few laughs with its colorful characters. It is one of those films that are absolutely impossible to dislike.

Jarmusch divided it into three sections. The first is set in a shady area of Manhattan's Lower East Side, the second in Cleveland, and the third supposedly somewhere in Florida. It is incredibly relaxed and casual but unusually witty and cool. And it has to be said that it is not cool because Jarmusch kept trying until he got it right, the cool is part of the film’s DNA. Everything, from the attitudes to the jokes to the parallel tracking shots, naturally came together really well and made the film what it is.

The acting is wonderful. In fact, it is hard to tell if the actors are actually acting. For the duration of the film the two hipsters and the goofy girl are two hipsters and a goofy girl that you believe never noticed the camera that followed them. The film oozes that kind of lightness and sincerity.

Jarmusch’s initial intent was to shoot a short film, but later on the project was developed into a three-part feature. The entire film was lensed by Tom Di Cillo, who also collaborated with Jarmusch on his directorial debut, Permanent Vacation.

In 1984, Stranger Than Paradise was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Camera d’Or Award. Consequently, Entertainment Weekly placed it on its list of The Top 50 Cult Films.

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

Stranger Than Paradise Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Soda Pictures.

From start to finish detail and clarity are very good. Image depth is also very pleasing, though there are some minor fluctuations during a few of the darker/nighttime scenes. This is hardly surprising, however, considering the fact that the film was shot with a very small budget. (The production limitations actually make the film a lot more attractive). The blacks, whites, and the variety of grays appear natural and well balanced. There are no traces of recent sharpening adjustments. Grain is retained and remains prominent throughout the entire film. This said, the encoding should have been optimized so that it is better resolved -- during a couple of scenes it could appear a bit blotchy at times -- but the film still has a very nice organic appearance. Finally, there are no serious stability issues to report in our review. All in all, there is room for some improvements, but the Blu-ray release represents a very fine upgrade in quality over the old R1 DVD release of the film. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Stranger Than Paradise Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The film does not have a prominent music score. Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" is heard a few times, but even then dynamic intensity is limited. The dialog is very crisp, stable, and clean. Also, there are no pops, cracks, distracting background hiss, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Stranger Than Paradise Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Stranger Than Paradise. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Jim Jarmusch Trailers - original trailers for other Jim Jarmusch films released on Blu-ray by Soda Pictures. (11 min).

• Some Days in January 1984 - a behind-the-scenes Super 8 silent film shot by Tom Jarmusch. (16 min).

Stranger Than Paradise Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jim Jarmusch's second feature, Stranger Than Paradise, is a wonderful piece of Americana that desperately needs to be released on Blu-ray on this side of the Atlantic. Soda Pictures' Blu-ray release is quite nice, but the film deserves an excellent selection of supplemental features. Hopefully, Criterion will soon upgrade their DVD release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (Please note that in addition to the single Blu-ray release, Stranger Than Paradise is available as part of the Jim Jarmusch Collection six-disc box set).