Film · TMDB
7.3A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.
Released: 1986-09-20106 minDir: Jim JarmuschCrime, Drama, Comedy
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
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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
Key dates
- Published
- 25 September 1986
via Wikidata · CC0
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- film
- Genre
- drama 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
Article
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.