Jarmusch, Jim (1953– )

US film director and screenwriter. As a maker of low-cost experimental films, he established a reputation with Stranger Than Paradise (1984). Dead Man (1995) was a quirky Western starring Johnny Depp.

The hip urban humour and minimalist form that marked Stranger Than Paradise recurred in Down by Law (1986), a comedy set in the Louisiana bayou. Jarmusch's other films include Mystery Train (1989), about one night spent in a Memphis low-rent hotel by disparate characters; Night on Earth (1992), a film divided into five segments, each conducted in the back of a cab in different cities around the globe; Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), about a hit man who becomes targeted by the mob; and the collection of vignettes Coffee and Cigarettes (2003).

An influential voice in the independent sector, Jarmusch has also had cameo roles in a number of films, including a hilarious turn in Paul Auster and Wayne Wang's improvised Blue in the Face (1995).