Movie of the Month/LAMBcast #97: Dead Man

To steal a line from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which will come up on the LAMBcast devoted to this MOTM, it's quite possible that Jim Jarmusch, and this film in particular, are " Too weird to live, and too rare to die." Dead Man is some kind of neo-Western, a postmodern breed of film that's too strange and slow perhaps for most audiences, but is music to the heart of so many others. Filled with striking images and insane characters, it definitely keeps you (and its protagonist) on your toes. The IMDb summary, for those unfamiliar:

"Dead Man is the story of a young man's journey, both physically and spiritually, into very unfamiliar terrain. William Blake travels to the extreme western frontiers of America sometime in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Lost and badly wounded, he encounters a very odd, outcast Native American, named "Nobody," who believes Blake is actually the dead English poet of the same name. The story, with Nobody's help, leads William Blake through situations that are in turn comical and violent. Contrary to his nature, circumstances transform Blake into a hunted outlaw, a killer, and a man whose physical existence is slowly slipping away. Thrown into a world that is cruel and chaotic, his eyes are opened to the fragility that defines the realm of the living. It is as though he passes through the surface of a mirror, and emerges into a previously-unknown world that exists on the other side. "

First up, the links! Thanks to all of the LAMBs that sent in their posts for this edition of the MOTM (great turnout this month!).

* 1001 Plus
* Andy Buckle's Film Emporium
* Bonjour Tristesse
* Brian vs. Movies
* Cinema Funk
* Defiant Success
* Film Yarn
* gmanReviews
* Is It Better Than Avatar?
* The Motley View
* The Stop Button

It's also time to vote on next month's movie. I've included many of the choices from last month, but swapped a few out to keep it interesting. You have one week to vote.

Online Surveys & Market Research

As we do every month, the LAMBcast is tied in with the MOTM. Dylan, Nick, Fredo, Dan Heaton and Courtney tried to make sense of the film and took a gander here and there at the rest of Jarmusch's career.

Also on tap:

* Rants and Raves of the Week
* Last LAMB Standing



If you're interested, you too can be a LAMBcaster - we love new blood! For more information on the LAMBcast, check out the topic at the LAMB Forums. Music provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service. The LAMBcast loves feedback, too. Either here in the comments section or to dylan@manilovefilms.com or to our Facebook page. Also, we're on iTunes, and would still love a review, even if it's a bad one.

Thanks for listening!

MOTM Reminder: Dead Man

Reminder: The LAMBcast/MOTM blog-a-thon extravaganza for Dead Man happens Saturday! Send your links for posts/reviews to dylan@manilovefilms.com by 6:00 AM Pacific on Saturday the 17th.

Thanks!

The next Movie of the Month will be...

The poll results are in - thank you to the 98 voters who took part. That's a new record, though I suspect some non-LAMB funny business was afoot, what with the winning film's overwhelming last-minute takeover of the poll... Anyway, the next MOTM will be Dead Man, which destroyed the competition by taking in 34.7% of the votes. Here's what goes down from here:

* The first thing you need to know is that December 17th is the big day. You have about 3 1/2 weeks to watch the flick (if you haven't already) and to write up something, then send me the link (dylan at manilovefilms.com) to either what you write or something previously written. If you're planning on doing the former, please hold the post in draft until the 17th (you can send a link prior if you have the capability to do so).

* On December 10th, we'll be recording our MOTM-themed episode of the LAMBcast, where we'll dissect and discuss Dead Man. If you'd like to get in on it...sorry, that show is full. But keep an eye out at the LAMB Forums to for the future shows schedule, as people often have to bail before the day arrives.


* On the 17th, the LAMBcast will be posted, as well as all of the links to anything written. In addition, I'll include a poll to decide what the next MOTM flick will be. If you have suggestions, leave them in the comments here. I typically drop off the films that receive the lowest percentage of votes. That poll will run for a week, and then there'll be 3-4 weeks until the next event, and so on.

Here are the final results of the poll:



* Dead Man, Behind the Mask and Lethal Weapon will be removed from the next poll, to be filled by your previous suggestions.