Night on Earth
Brief Synopsis
An anthology of 5 different cab drivers in 5 American and European cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Jim Jarmusch
Director
Gena Rowlands
Victoria Snelling
Winona Ryder
Corky
Armin Mueller-stahl
Helmut Grokenberger
Paolo Bonacelli
Mule Patterson
Performer
Film Details
Also Known As
Noche en la tierra, Une Nuit sur terre
MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
Comedy
Release Date
1991
Production Company
George Walden; Steve Carroll
Distribution Company
ALLIANCE RELEASING/FINE LINE/FINE LINE FEATURES
Location
Paris, France; Los Angeles, California, USA; Rome, Italy; Helsinki, Finland; New York City, New York, USA
Technical Specs
Duration
2h 8m
Synopsis
Five stories, each involving the relationship between a cab driver and his or her passenger, that take place simultaneously around the globe during the course of one night.
Director
Jim Jarmusch
Director
Cast
Gena Rowlands
Victoria Snelling
Winona Ryder
Corky
Armin Mueller-stahl
Helmut Grokenberger
Paolo Bonacelli
Mule Patterson
Performer
Giancarlo Esposito
Roberto Benigni
Isaach Debankolt
Lisanne Falk
Jaakko Talaskivi
Eija Vilpas
Voice
Antonino Ragusa
Btatrice Dalle
Alan Randolph Scott I
Pascal Nzonzi
Stephane Boucher
Kari Väänänen
Camilla Begnoni
Anthony Portillo
Rosie Perez
Nicola Facondo
Richard Boes
Tomi Salmela
Gianni Schettino
Klaus Heydemann
Matthew Brubeck
Performer
Matti Pellonpaa
Sakari Kuosmanen
Emile Abossolo-m'bo
Noel Kaufmann
Francis Thumm
Performer
Romolo Dibiasi
Donatella Servadio
Voice
Crew
Haije Alanoja
Production Coordinator
Davie Allen
Thanks
Nancy & Andrea
Thanks
Robert M Andres
Key Grip
Sebastiano Argentino
Transportation
Erkki Astala
Interpreter
Erkki Astala
Production Coordinator
Jean-charles Bachelier
Hair
Eric Bassoff
Production Assistant
Karl Baumgartner
Special Thanks To
Magda Bava
Costume Designer
Thomas Beattie
Driver
Gina Belafonte
Hair
Roni Ben-nevat
Assistant Director
Thomas Bernath
Interpreter
Beth Bernstein
Assistant Production Coordinator
Maria T. Bierniak
Location Assistant
Elisha Birnbaum
Foley Artist
Ray Blackburn
Best Boy Grip
Steve Blakely
Special Thanks To
Francis Boespflug
Special Thanks To
Felipe Borrero
Sound Recordist
Frédéric Bourboulon
Special Thanks To
Stefan Bremer
Photography
Kathleen Brennan
Song
Tim Brennan
Other
Josef Brinckmann
Other
Pam Brockie
Special Thanks To
Reinhard Brundig
Special Thanks To
Diana E Burton
Property Master
Jeff Butcher
Property Master
Spartaco Calanchini
Transportation
Jerry Capehart
Song
Ralph Carney
Other
Steve Carroll
Production Insurance
Seymour Cassel
Thanks
Moe Chamberlain
Boom Operator
Gilles Charmant
Production Assistant
Emanuele Chiari
Assistant Camera Operator
Elisabeth Chochoy
Continuity
Mark Hunshik Choi
Production Assistant
Anthony Ciccolini
Sound Designer
Eddie Cochran
Song
Giampiero Comanducci
Stunts
Vittorio Contino
Grip
Catherine E. Coulson
Assistant Camera Operator
Olivier Coutard
Assistant Director
Lino Damiani
Assistant Producer
Erja Dammert
Script Supervisor
Holly Davis
Wardrobe Assistant
Randy Day
Set Production Assistant
Jeanne Marie De La Fontaine
Assistant Director
Etienne Debaudringhien
Best Boy
Michele Delorimier
Production Assistant
Fabrizio Deluca
On-Set Dresser
Catherine Demesmaeker
Makeup
Claire Denis
Advisor
Alex Descas
Thanks
Alessandro Dinitto
Assistant Producer
Don Donigi
Special Thanks To
Sara Driver
Dailies
Richie Edson
Thanks
Terence J Edwards
Assistant Director
Simon Egleton
Production Assistant
Bernard Eisenschitz
Interpreter
Fred Elmes
Director Of Photography
Martine Etchegaray
Other
Didier Flamand
Thanks
Aili Flint
Interpreter
Sttphane Fontaine
Assistant Camera Operator
Claire Fraisse
Costume Designer
Matt Frazier
Production Assistant
Alice Fries
Special Thanks To
Carol Fries
Special Thanks To
Robert Gambardella
Gaffer
Sam Gardlin
Other
Eugene Gearty
Sound Effects Editor
Nathan Gendzier
Location Manager
Patrizio Giulioli
Other
Santiago Gomez
Other
Doc Gooden
Thanks
Barbara G Gordon
Costume Designer
Joe Gore
Music
Tony Grocki
Assistant Editor
Sandy Grubb
Assistant Production Coordinator
Prescilla Guastavino
Special Thanks To
Thomas A Gulino
Dialogue Editor
Varda Hardy
Script Supervisor
Terrell Hasker
Grip
Nathalie Herr
Production Assistant
Kathie Hersch
Production Manager
Eugene Hess
Production Assistant
Klaus Heydemann
Production Manager
Mark Higashino
Photography
Joe Hirata
Thanks
Masaaki Hisamatsu
Special Thanks To
Kaija Ilomaki
Makeup
Masahiro Inbe
Co-Executive Producer
Janet M Izzo
Interpreter
Moune Jamet
Photography
Jim Jarmusch
Producer
Jim Jarmusch
Screenplay
Tom Jarmusch
Thanks
Elizabeth Kaczmarczyk
Script Supervisor
Michael William Katz
Lighting
Danny Kaufman
Production Assistant
Aki Kaurismäki
Thanks
Mika Kaurismäki
Thanks
Kazuko Kayakita
Special Thanks To
Richard King
Foley Editor
Phil Kline
Thanks
Dan Kneece
Steadicam Operator
Mitsuru Komori
Photography
Robert Kriwicki
Special Thanks To
Lisa Krueger
Script Supervisor
Drew Kunin
Sound Mixer
Harri Laakso
Assistant Camera Operator
Kari Laine
Props
Leo Landa
Camera
Didier Landureau
Production Assistant
George Lara
Foley
Harry Leavey
Driver
Jim Leavey
Transportation Captain
Stefano Lentini
Transportation
Johan Letenoux
Set Decorator
Frederic Leve
Boom Operator
Colin Leventhal
Special Thanks To
Susan Littenberg
Apprentice
Jean Claude Lother
Production Assistant
Barbara Lucy
Special Thanks To
Erkki Lume
Location Manager
Jouko Lumme
Sound
John Lurie
Thanks
Demetra J Macbride
Coproducer
Charles Macdonald
Special Thanks To
Mairi Macdonald
Special Thanks To
Todd Macnicholl
Key Grip
Marie Christine Malbert
Special Thanks To
Isabella Mariano
Other
Pietro Marrocco
Transportation
Fabio Massimi
Gaffer
Bob Mastronardi
Special Thanks To
Alex Matchan
Special Thanks To
Mikko Mattila
Dolly Grip
Brian P Maxwell
Driver
Joseph Mcdougall
Location Manager
Howard Mcmaster
Assistant Director
Marco Melani
Thanks
Dianne Miller
Best Boy Grip
Gary Francis Minor
Production Assistant
John Mitchell
Electrician
Suzanne Moliere
Office Assistant
Enzo Monteleone
Interpreter
Peter Morello
Assistant Camera Operator
Robby Muller
Thanks
Richard W Murphy
Boom Operator
Morag Naylor
Special Thanks To
Bill Nisselson
Special Thanks To
Susan O'leary
Assistant Director
Susan O'leary
Production Coordinator
Giorgia Onofri
Interpreter
Giorgia Onofri
Continuity
Adolfo Onorati
Transportation
Corinne Oreal
Assistant Camera Operator
Ilkka Paloniemi
Electrician
Claire Parisot
Interpreter
Pierre Yves Parrinet
Unit Manager Assistant
Christine Parry
Photography
Pauli Pentti
Assistant Director
Rene Pequignot
Gaffer
Riccardo Petrazzi
Stunt Coordinator
Todd R Pfeiffer
Assistant Director
Zefferino Picciano
Other
Manuela Pineskj-berger
Production Manager
Giampaolo Pippa
Sound
Lucy Pollak
Production Assistant
Edward Pollard
Production Assistant
Antonio Ponti
Production Assistant
Guendalina Ponti
Special Thanks To
Raquel Quiroz
Boom Operator
Jay Rabinowitz
Editor
Joseph Rochlitz
Assistant Director
Bob Rodriguez
Special Thanks To
Dott Francesco Romanelli
Special Thanks To
Gianni Rosi
Special Thanks To
Tommy Rothman
Thanks
Dick Rude
Thanks
Gilles Sacuto
Production Manager
Laurent Saimond
Property Master
Ravil Salah
Production Assistant
Alberto Salandri
Electrician
Tom Salvatore
Other
Nicolas Sand
Electrician
Luc Sante
Thanks
Joe Santi
Special Thanks To
Leo Santos
Production Assistant
Louis Sarno
Thanks
Benno Schoberth
Assistant Sound Editor
Sandra Schulberg
Special Thanks To
Cornelius Schultze-kraft
Office Assistant
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Also Known As
Noche en la tierra, Une Nuit sur terre
MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
Comedy
Release Date
1991
Production Company
George Walden; Steve Carroll
Distribution Company
ALLIANCE RELEASING/FINE LINE/FINE LINE FEATURES
Location
Paris, France; Los Angeles, California, USA; Rome, Italy; Helsinki, Finland; New York City, New York, USA
Technical Specs
Duration
2h 8m
Articles
Night on Earth
An anthology of 5 different cab drivers in 5 American and European cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.
Night on Earth
An anthology of 5 different cab drivers in 5 American and European cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.
Night on Earth - Taxi Rides to Remember - Jim Jarmusch's NIGHT ON EARTH on DVD
Synopsis: Los Angeles. Casting director Victoria Snelling (Gena Rowlands) is taken from LAX to Beverly Hills, discovering on the way that her 19-year old cabbie Corky (Winona Ryder) would be perfect for a hard-to-fill role in a movie. Manhattan. YoYo (Giancarlo Esposito) has a tough time getting a ride home to Brooklyn, and is surprised when the cab that does stop is driven by Helmut Grokenberger (Armin Mueller-Stahl), an immigrant from East Germany who used to be a clown and really doesn't know how to drive. YoYo takes over, and picks up his sister-in-law Angela (Rosie Perez) on the way. Paris. A taxi driver from the Ivory Coast (Isaach De Bankolé) ejects two disrespectful African diplomats but becomes fascinated by a blind woman (Béatrice Dalle) who overturns all of his preconceptions about blindness. Rome. A crazy taxi driver (Roberto Benigni) picks up a nervous priest (Paolo Bonacelli) and proceeds to unnerve him with an impromptu confession of outrageous sexual sins. Helsinki. Dour taxi driver Mika (Matti Pellonpää) takes three drunken factory workers home after one of them has been fired. Just when the three are feeling sorry for themselves, Mika tells them about his own, far more devastating personal tragedy.
Jim Jarmusch has a loyal and enthusiastic following, and his droll films are unified by a recognizable personal style. Night on Earth is less experimental and probably less frustrating for average audiences than some of his pictures, and it has the saving grace of occasionally being very funny, once one adjusts to the concept. The only proviso is that one needs to be prepared to spend two hours doing nothing but prowling the night in taxicabs.
Jarmusch tailors each chapter to suit a particular city, and his choices run to stereotype. Los Angeles is the land of movie dreams, New York a destination for immigrants and Paris a place where personal styles run from rude to more rude. In Rome we find a priest and in Helsinki a resigned lost soul. Expectations and attitudes clash all over the world, and in most cases somebody learns a useful lesson. Or at least, strangers in the night make meaningful, if brief, contact with one another.
Linked by a Tom Waits song, the stories are introduced with inserts of international clocks and a spinning globe. The film starts with a nice pairing of Gena Rowlands and Winona Rider. Rider's character Corky is perhaps a little overstated. She smokes, swears and would like to be a mechanic, and the understanding Victoria is surprised when an offer of potential movie stardom doesn't get the response she expects. Jarmusch lets us know that he considers each city a special character, which becomes obvious when Corky takes Victoria to Sunset & Beverly by way of locations nowhere near any realistic route.
The New York episode gives us the film's most energetic characters. Armin Mueller-Stahl's incompetent cabbie drives his taxi in hopeless little jerks, braking and accelerating at the same time. The delightful Giancarlo Esposito finds everything about Helmut funny, starting with his name. Rosie Perez' Angela initiates an expected profane scream fest, but the trio finds a moment of harmony as they cross the East River. The charm of the actors overcomes the stock characters; it's impossible not to like Mueller-Stahl when he puts on his red clown's nose or plays two flutes at the same time.
The Paris episode is the most original. Silent cabbie Isaach De Bankolé resents being patronized by a pair of well-dressed Africans, and dumps them on the street. He then picks up Béatrice Dalle's unusual blind woman. Shocked that she can guess his specific nationality, Isaach wants to communicate his interest in her but keeps asking lame questions about blindness. His fare can't see, but she knows when the chosen route isn't the one she asked for, and seems to intuit a lot more than is possible.
The Rome sequence breaks with format and turns the antic motormouth Roberto Benigni loose on a one-joke gag. Benigni carries the entire episode with an unending monologue, first to himself and then to an uncomfortable priest. As they wind through the narrow streets, Benigni explains how, when he was a teenager, his sex life shifted from pumpkins to sheep.
The final episode in Helsinki edges closer to more familiar Jarmusch content. Matti Pellonpää's lonely cab seems to be the only moving object in the gloomy frozen capital. His deadpan expression never varies, as his passengers wail about boring jobs and a general hopelessness. The joke in this one is almost buried, and we're expected to find humor in the static, downbeat ending.
Criterion's DVD of Night on Earth will please insomniacs, as most of its night-crawling citizens feel right at home prowling through the quiet streets of famous capitals. Cinematographer Frederick Elmes' nighttime camerawork is consistently handsome. Most of the moving car angles shoot straight on through the front windshield. With the constant parade of new faces to watch, the minimalist style doesn't offend.
Disc producer Susan Arosteguy's extras are also unusual. The commentary track is shared by Elmes and audio man Drew Kunin and covers only selected scenes. Jarmusch is seen in a 1992 Belgian TV interview and in a separate audio interview answers a series of fan inquiries. The critical comment comes in the fat insert booklet, where Thom Andersen, Paul Auster, Bernard Eisenschitz, Goffredo Fofi and Peter von Bagh take one episode each in turn. Each assures us that Jarmusch has captured a special quality of the particular city and proceeds to describe what happens in minute detail. A couple of the writers were also once taxi drivers and are impressed at how well Jarmusch has captured the essence of the job.
For more information about Night on Earth, visit The Criterion Collection. To order Night on Earth, go to TCM Shopping.
by Glenn Erickson
Night on Earth - Taxi Rides to Remember - Jim Jarmusch's NIGHT ON EARTH on DVD
Criterion's DVD of Night on Earth would seem to be the first
Region 1 release of this amusing 1991 comedy, one of Jim Jarmusch's most
accessible films. Essentially five episodes taking place in and around taxicabs in
five American and European cities, the film presents five sets of characters in
free-standing skits, and allows Jarmusch to let loose a dozen or so actors in
situations that range from quirky to fall-down funny. The film helped introduce
American audiences to the Italian comedian Roberto Benigni, but each chapter
features memorable talent. The common factor is the taxi ride, a universal
experience uniting cities around the world.
Synopsis: Los Angeles. Casting director Victoria Snelling (Gena Rowlands) is
taken from LAX to Beverly Hills, discovering on the way that her 19-year old
cabbie Corky (Winona Ryder) would be perfect for a hard-to-fill role in a movie.
Manhattan. YoYo (Giancarlo Esposito) has a tough time getting a ride home to
Brooklyn, and is surprised when the cab that does stop is driven by Helmut
Grokenberger (Armin Mueller-Stahl), an immigrant from East Germany who used
to be a clown and really doesn't know how to drive. YoYo takes over, and picks
up his sister-in-law Angela (Rosie Perez) on the way. Paris. A taxi driver from the
Ivory Coast (Isaach De Bankolé) ejects two disrespectful African
diplomats but becomes fascinated by a blind woman (Béatrice Dalle) who
overturns all of his preconceptions about blindness. Rome. A crazy taxi driver
(Roberto Benigni) picks up a nervous priest (Paolo Bonacelli) and proceeds to
unnerve him with an impromptu confession of outrageous sexual sins. Helsinki.
Dour taxi driver Mika (Matti Pellonpää) takes three drunken factory
workers home after one of them has been fired. Just when the three are feeling
sorry for themselves, Mika tells them about his own, far more devastating
personal tragedy.
Jim Jarmusch has a loyal and enthusiastic following, and his droll films are unified
by a recognizable personal style. Night on Earth is less experimental and
probably less frustrating for average audiences than some of his pictures, and it
has the saving grace of occasionally being very funny, once one adjusts to the
concept. The only proviso is that one needs to be prepared to spend two hours
doing nothing but prowling the night in taxicabs.
Jarmusch tailors each chapter to suit a particular city, and his choices run to
stereotype. Los Angeles is the land of movie dreams, New York a destination for
immigrants and Paris a place where personal styles run from rude to more rude.
In Rome we find a priest and in Helsinki a resigned lost soul. Expectations and
attitudes clash all over the world, and in most cases somebody learns a useful
lesson. Or at least, strangers in the night make meaningful, if brief, contact with
one another.
Linked by a Tom Waits song, the stories are introduced with inserts of
international clocks and a spinning globe. The film starts with a nice pairing of
Gena Rowlands and Winona Rider. Rider's character Corky is perhaps a little
overstated. She smokes, swears and would like to be a mechanic, and the
understanding Victoria is surprised when an offer of potential movie stardom
doesn't get the response she expects. Jarmusch lets us know that he considers
each city a special character, which becomes obvious when Corky takes Victoria
to Sunset & Beverly by way of locations nowhere near any realistic route.
The New York episode gives us the film's most energetic characters. Armin
Mueller-Stahl's incompetent cabbie drives his taxi in hopeless little jerks, braking
and accelerating at the same time. The delightful Giancarlo Esposito finds
everything about Helmut funny, starting with his name. Rosie Perez' Angela
initiates an expected profane scream fest, but the trio finds a moment of harmony
as they cross the East River. The charm of the actors overcomes the stock
characters; it's impossible not to like Mueller-Stahl when he puts on his red
clown's nose or plays two flutes at the same time.
The Paris episode is the most original. Silent cabbie Isaach De Bankolé
resents being patronized by a pair of well-dressed Africans, and dumps them on
the street. He then picks up Béatrice Dalle's unusual blind woman.
Shocked that she can guess his specific nationality, Isaach wants to
communicate his interest in her but keeps asking lame questions about
blindness. His fare can't see, but she knows when the chosen route isn't the one
she asked for, and seems to intuit a lot more than is possible.
The Rome sequence breaks with format and turns the antic motormouth Roberto
Benigni loose on a one-joke gag. Benigni carries the entire episode with an
unending monologue, first to himself and then to an uncomfortable priest. As they
wind through the narrow streets, Benigni explains how, when he was a teenager,
his sex life shifted from pumpkins to sheep.
The final episode in Helsinki edges closer to more familiar Jarmusch content.
Matti Pellonpää's lonely cab seems to be the only moving object in
the gloomy frozen capital. His deadpan expression never varies, as his
passengers wail about boring jobs and a general hopelessness. The joke in this
one is almost buried, and we're expected to find humor in the static, downbeat
ending.
Criterion's DVD of Night on Earth will please insomniacs, as most of its
night-crawling citizens feel right at home prowling through the quiet streets of
famous capitals. Cinematographer Frederick Elmes' nighttime camerawork is
consistently handsome. Most of the moving car angles shoot straight on through
the front windshield. With the constant parade of new faces to watch, the
minimalist style doesn't offend.
Disc producer Susan Arosteguy's extras are also unusual. The commentary track
is shared by Elmes and audio man Drew Kunin and covers only selected scenes.
Jarmusch is seen in a 1992 Belgian TV interview and in a separate audio interview
answers a series of fan inquiries. The critical comment comes in the fat insert
booklet, where Thom Andersen, Paul Auster, Bernard Eisenschitz, Goffredo Fofi
and Peter von Bagh take one episode each in turn. Each assures us that
Jarmusch has captured a special quality of the particular city and proceeds to
describe what happens in minute detail. A couple of the writers were also once
taxi drivers and are impressed at how well Jarmusch has captured the essence of
the job.
For more information about Night on Earth, visit The Criterion Collection. To order
Night on Earth, go to
TCM Shopping.
by Glenn Erickson
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Spring May 1, 1992
Released in United States May 8, 1992
Released in United States on Video December 2, 1992
Released in United States 1991
Released in United States October 1991
Released in United States 1992
Released in United States January 1992
Released in United States January 1999
Shown at New York Film Festival (world premiere) September 20 - October 6, 1991.
Shown at MIFED in Milan October 20-25, 1991.
Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival April 23-May 7, 1992.
Filmed in the languages of each city, and end credits are also in each language.
Film noted: "In Memory of Catherine Demesmaeker."
Released in United States Spring May 1, 1992
Released in United States May 8, 1992
Released in United States on Video December 2, 1992
Released in United States 1991 (Shown at New York Film Festival (world premiere) September 20 - October 6, 1991.)
Released in United States October 1991 (Shown at MIFED in Milan October 20-25, 1991.)
Released in United States 1992 (Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival April 23-May 7, 1992.)
Released in United States January 1992 (Shown at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 16-26, 1992.)
Released in United States January 1999 (Shown in Los Angeles (Cecchi Gori Fine Arts Theater) as part of program "Beyond Beautiful: The Films of Roberto Benigni" January 6-14, 1999.)
