Arizona Dream

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Arizona Dream

DVD cover for Arizona Dream
Directed by Emir Kusturica
Produced by Claudie Ossard
Yves Marmion
Written by David Atkins and Emir Kusturica
Starring Johnny Depp
Jerry Lewis
Faye Dunaway
Music by Goran Bregović
Iggy Pop
Cinematography Vilko Filac
Editing by Andrija Zafranović
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) 1993, France
1994, U.S.A.
Running time 142 min
Language English
IMDb profile

Arizona Dream is a film directed by Emir Kusturica. It was filmed in 1991 and released in Europe in 1993.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Childhood friend Paul (Vincent Gallo) coaxes young Axel (Johnny Depp) from his job tagging fish in New York City to Arizona to attend his Uncle Leo's (Jerry Lewis) trophy wedding to a much younger woman (Paulina Porizkova). His uncle tries to persuade him to stay permanently and take over the family business of selling Cadillacs. Axel resists at first, but then lusts for Elaine (Faye Dunaway). Elaine's step-daughter Grace (Lili Taylor). He and Uncle Leo are both against the tryst for different reasons. Uncle Leo, who is about to marry someone Axel's age thinks that Axel should date someone younger. Grace, who inherited her father's fortune, has always been in jealous competition with her step-mother.

As the title suggests, this movie is about the dreams of the main characters and how they interact. Paul dreams to be a great actor; Elaine dreams of building a flying machine; Grace dreams of becoming a turtle; and Leo dreams of stacking Cadillacs all the way to the moon. Axel dreams of flying fish and Alaskan adventures.

The dreams interact with reality; with flying fish under a backdrop of music by Goran Bregović and Iggy Pop.

[edit] Trivia

  • It was not released in the U.S until September 9, 1994.
  • Although shown theatrically in the U.S. at its full length, the TV prints and VHS versions run 119 minutes.
  • It features a recreation of the Sherman & Sherman song, "Doll On A Music Box" originally from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
  • It is set in Arizona, New York City, and Alaska. Many of the Arizona scenes were filmed in Douglas, Arizona.
  • In an angry February 2006 voice mail message to the producer of a documentary of her life, which was widely circulated on the Internet, Faye Dunaway complained that this film (that she refers to as "the Kusturica film") which she "was brilliant in," was "not well sold in this country" despite that it was "the hit of all Europe and Cannes." She was unhappy that no mention was made in the documentary about her work in this film or in Don Juan DeMarco, which also co-starred Johnny Depp.[1]

[edit] Soundtrack

See Arizona Dream (soundtrack)

[edit] References

[edit] External links