Welcome to ‘Paradise’: ‘Stranger Than Paradise’ turns 40, while ‘Phantom of the Paradise’ is 50

Celebrating the anniversary of two very different cult movies from major directors, with “Paradise” in the title.

This month marks the milestone anniversaries of two odd, early-career auteur projects from major directors, which have since emerged as cult classics. Those films are Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise, which arrived at the beginning of October 1984, and Brian De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise, which came out at the end of October 1974. 

Both films — neither of which I had ever seen until preparing to write this — are weird and wonderful in their own ways. 

Stranger Than Paradise was the pioneering indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch's major directorial debut. Like Kevin Smith’s Clerks a decade later, it sported a unique black-and-white look from cinematographer Tom DiCillo,, and looked nothing like any other movie. Adding to that style, Jarmusch shot the entire film in long takes. 

Jarmusch directed and co-wrote the film with John Lurie, who also co-starred. 

In the Seinfeldian sense, Stranger Than Paradise is a movie about nothing. Not much happens plot-wise, and the closest thing to a continuing motif is the use of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You.” 

The film has three main characters and takes place over three acts in three locations. There’s Willie (Lurie), Eddie (Richard Edson), and Willie’s Hungarian cousin Eva (Eszter Balint). 

Stranger Than Paradise begins in Brooklyn, with Willie established as an immigrant who likes to gamble and watch football and old sci-fi movies with his buddy Eddie. Eva arrives and seems to be cramping their style, but later the cousins bond .

The film continues a year later, with the two men visiting Cleveland, reuniting with Eva, and then the three deciding to take off for Florida. Once again, not a lot happens there, but as long as you’re on the film’s wavelength, it’s a joy. 

Stranger Than Paradise won an award at Cannes that year for best first feature, although whether Jarmusch’s 1980 Permanent Vacation counts as a release is up for grabs. Jarmusch spent the ‘80s, ‘90s, and early 2000s making films like Down by Law, Dead Man, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and Coffee and Cigarettes before getting some major acclaim with Paterson and Only Lovers Left Alive. 

The star-studded The Dead Don’t Die, from 2019, remains Jarmusch’s last released film to date; I had the opportunity to interview him then, and he remains one of the coolest film people I’ve had the opportunity to meet. He said in that interview that movie financing has gotten harder over time, although I was happy to read that he has wrapped a new film, Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, that is awaiting release, probably next year. 

Stranger Than Paradise is streaming on Max.