File:Down_by_Law_(1986_film)_poster.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
*Down by Law* is a 1986 black-and-white film directed and written by Jim Jarmusch. The cast includes Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, and Nicoletta Braschi. Set in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the 1980s, the story follows a disc jockey, a pimp, and an Italian tourist who escape from jail. The film is classified as a buddy, comedy, prison, and independent film.
The production originated in the United States and Germany, with PolyGram Filmed Entertainment serving as the production company. Robby Müller was the director of photography, and John Lurie composed the music. The film has a runtime of 107 minutes and was distributed by Universal Pictures and Netflix. It has been added to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Audience reception includes an IMDb rating of 7.6 based on 58,768 votes and a TMDb average of 7.35 from 845 votes. The film’s budget was 1,100,000, with a revenue of 1,529,206. Its main subjects include imprisonment, male bonding, and fugitive themes.
Synthesized by Vinony from 40 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, IMDb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film · TMDB
7.3A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.
Cast
- Tom Waits as Zack
- John Lurie as Jack
- Roberto Benigni as Roberto
- Nicoletta Braschi as Nicoletta
- Ellen Barkin as Laurette
- Billie Neal as Bobbie
Themes
- prison
- prostitute
- escape
- fight
- pimp
- new orleans, louisiana
- louisiana
- prison escape
- bayou
- black and white
This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
Key facts
- Directed by
- Jim Jarmusch
- Written by
- Jim Jarmusch
- Produced by
- Alan Kleinberg
- Starring
- Tom Waits , John Lurie , Roberto Benigni , Nicoletta Braschi , Ellen Barkin
- Cinematography
- Robby Müller
- Edited by
- Melody London
- Music by
- John Lurie
- Production company
- Black Snake
- Distributed by
- Island Pictures
- Release date
- September 20, 1986 ( 1986-09-20 ) (Limited)
- Running time
- 107 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Languages
- English, Italian
- Budget
- $453,600
- Box office
- $1,435,668
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- film
- Genre
- comedy film
- Country of origin
- Germany
- Original language
- Italian
- Main subject
- fugitive
- Collection
- Museum of Modern Art
- Director
- Jim Jarmusch
- Screenwriter
- Jim Jarmusch
- Composer
- John Lurie
- Production company
- PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
- Cinematographer
- Robby Müller
- Narrative location
- New Orleans
- Filming location
- New Orleans
- Duration
- 107
- FilmAffinity ID
- 425271
- Distribution format
- video on demand
Show 9 more facts
- title
- Down by Law
- publication date
- 1986-09-25
- color
- black-and-white
- distributed by
- Netflix
- set in period
- 1980s
- different from
- Above the Law
- review score
- 75/100
- capital cost
- 453600
- box office
- 1435668
Sources (15)
via Wikidata · CC0
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Down by Law (Italian: Daunbailò) is a 1986 American independent Southern Gothic neo-beat noir comedy film. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, and stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni (in his first American film role).
The film centers on the arrest, incarceration, and escape from jail of three men. It discards jailbreak film conventions by focusing on the interaction between the convicts rather than on the mechanics of the escape. A key element in the film is Robby Müller's slow-moving camerawork, which captures the architecture of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou to which the cellmates escape.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Down by Law” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.