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Down by Law

Down by Law

Crime · Drama · Comedy · 1986

A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.

Movie details

Down by Law

“It's not where you start - It's where you start again.”

1986 Crime · Drama · Comedy 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.7 / 10

56.3K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

88 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

75 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Down by Law?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jim Jarmusch

Written by

Jim Jarmusch

Tom Waits

Tom Waits

Zack

John Lurie

John Lurie

Jack

Roberto Benigni

Roberto Benigni

Roberto

Nicoletta Braschi

Nicoletta Braschi

Nicoletta

Ellen Barkin

Ellen Barkin

Laurette

B

Billie Neal

Bobbie

Rockets Redglare

Rockets Redglare

Gig

Court is in session

Put Down by Law on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.