With Coffee And Cigarettes' indier-than-thou filmmaker Jim Jarmusch presents a series of vignettes in which stars ranging from Bill Murray to Cate Blanchett indulge in their favourites vices. It's "a mixed bag of entertaining genius and absolute rubbish," which adamantly defies the mainstream. But whatever your feelings are about his films, there's no denying Jarmusch's ability to get people talking.
Nuts About Nicotine
Ironically, Jarmusch isn't a big talker himself. He doesn't offer a feature commentary or even a single soundbite for this DVD, which for a film as idiosyncratic as this, is a glaring omission. Instead of creative insights we're offered a small selection of leftfield featurettes.
Tabletops is an arty montage of people drinking coffee and, yes, smoking cigarettes recorded using an overhead camera, with the occasional use of time-lapse. Yes, it's pointless, however there is something vaguely poetic about these mundane snippets of urban life backed with a languorous soundtrack by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. No, really.
For guaranteed laughs, you can always depend on Bill Murray. An outtake from his 'Delirium' segment with the Wu Tan Clan is priceless, showcasing his remarkable ability to take one innocuous line and spin it into comedy genius. We won't give it away, especially as this is the only glimpse you'll get into the anarchy behind the scenes. It really is a shame there isn't more footage like this.
Crazy About Caffeine
Doddery old actor Taylor Mead (of the 'Champagne' segment) provides the only interview about the film, but he really needn't have bothered. Aside from being a very brief dialogue, his observations are restricted to sweeping laudatory statements like, "It's a major movie!" and "It's a blockbuster" and "It's existential!" We're only given a small hint about Jarmusch's creative process when he reveals, "He doesn't care when you forget your lines - he said he loved the confused look on my face when I forgot my lines." It sounds like Mead could've used a cup of coffee and after watching this, you may feel the urge as well.
EXTRA FEATURES
