Permanent Vacation (1980 film)
1980 American drama film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Permanent Vacation is a 1980 No Wave film directed, written and produced by Jim Jarmusch.[2] It was the director's first release, shot on 16 mm film shortly after he left film school.[3] Jarmusch came to New York City from Akron, Ohio to study at Columbia University and NYU's film school.
| Permanent Vacation | |
|---|---|
| |
| Directed by | Jim Jarmusch |
| Written by | Jim Jarmusch |
| Produced by | Jim Jarmusch |
| Starring | Chris Parker, John Lurie, Eric Mitchell, Sara Driver |
| Cinematography | Tom DiCillo James A. Lebovitz |
| Edited by | Jim Jarmusch |
| Music by | Jim Jarmusch John Lurie |
| Distributed by | Cinesthesia[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$12,000 |
Music by John Lurie, Earl Bostic and Jim Jarmusch. Sound by Kevin Dowd and Virgil Moorefield. Cinematography by Tom DiCillo.
Premise
In downtown Manhattan, a twenty-something troubled hipster named Allie (Chris Parker), whose Father is gone and whose Mother is institutionalized, is a big Charlie Parker fan.[4] He aimlessly wanders around the dingy Downtown of New York City[5] and is confronted by a number of intriguing characters as he ponders the questions of life and searches for a better place[6][7]—always keeping just ahead of whatever it is that seems to be chasing him.
Cast
- Chris Parker (Allie)
- Richard Boes (War vet)
- Ruth Bolton (Mother)
- Sara Driver (Nurse)
- María Duval (Latin girl)
- Frankie Faison (Man in lobby)
- Jane Fire (Nurse)
- Suzanne Fletcher (Girl in car)
- Leila Gastil (Leila)
- Chris Hameon (French traveller)
- John Lurie (Sax player)
- Eric Mitchell (Car fence)
- Lisa Rosen (Popcorn girl)
- Felice Rosser (Woman by mailbox)
- Evelyn Smith (Patient)
- Charlie Spademan (Patient)
Reception
It currently receives a weighted average score of 69 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 4 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]
Vincent Canby proclaimed this film as a "must-see for anyone who shares the belief that Mr. Jarmusch is the most arresting and original American film maker to come out of the 1980s".[9] Eric Eidelstein of IndieWire called it "a touching vision of what it was like to be head over heels with art, love, and oneself in late 1970s New York".[10]
Soundtrack
- Up There in Orbit - Written and performed by Earl Bostic
- My Boyfriend's Back - Written by Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer, performed by The Angels
- Sally, Go 'Round the Roses - Written by Zell Sanders and Abner Spector, performed by The Jaynetts[11]
Availability
The film was released by the Criterion Collection as a special feature on the DVD for Jarmusch's Stranger than Paradise on September 4, 2007.[12]
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray formats in the United Kingdom via Soda Pictures on March 23, 2015.[13][14]
References in culture
- A frame from the film was used on the cover of Velvet Rye's EP "Revol".
