Not unlike his cigar shop patter with Harvey Keitel in Blue in the Face, the great American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch's feature length collection of café-style conversations consists of 11 segments, the first three of which were released as short films in 1986, 1989, and 1993, respectively. In each, various agents of cool meet at cafes for the title beverage and symbiotic smokes, with participants including Steven Wright, Roberto Benigni, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, Joie Lee, Steve Buscemi, Alfred Molina, Bill Murray, and Cate Blanchett. Nothing much holds the pieces together, other than similar bits of dialogue and the gorgeous black-and-white photography, and Coffee and Cigarettes is ultimately something far more akin to a jam session than a finished masterwork, but few American directors are talented enough to exhibit their bootleg tapes or private journals alongside more polished works by lesser filmmakers and still come out ahead. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a four-minute “Tabletops” montage, a four-minute interview with Taylor Mead, a brief “Bill Murray Outtake,” a soundtrack list, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a small but worthwhile film.] (J.M. Anderson)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Nov. 29, 2016—Olive, 97 min., R, DVD: $24.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 2003's Coffee and Cigarettes features a great transfer and DTS 5.1 audio on the Blu-ray release. Extras include an interview with costar Taylor Mead (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: this engaging Jarmusch film makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]
Coffee and Cigarettes
MGM, 96 min., R, VHS: $39.99, DVD: $29.98, Sept. 21 Volume 19, Issue 4
Coffee and Cigarettes
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