Ranking Indie Auteur Jim Jarmusch’s Movies, From ‘Broken Flowers’ to ‘Year of the Horse’

Every great director has their own irrevocable style–a signature element audiences associate with the director from the opening moments of a film. For Quentin Tarantino, it may be the expletive-filled language of his colorful protagonists. For Wes Anderson, it might be his symmetrical camera angles or the frequent fourth-wall breaks of his narrators.

Like any remarkable director, viewers can spot distinct directorial flourishes in the work of Jim Jarmusch, the revolutionary filmmaker who sparked the indie film movement of the late '80s and early '90s. A forward-thinking director able to subvert and reinvent contrasting genres on a regular basis, Jarmusch introduced a new degree of sophistication, realism, and artistry to his films, influencing an untold number of filmmakers in the process.

From his era-defining indie comedies to his later work in the Western, fantasy, and crime genres, check out every Jim Jarmusch movie, ranked from best to worst.

Down by Law (1986)

In the mid-1980s, Jarmusch reinvented the indie film as audiences knew it, thanks in large to his breakthrough work on Stranger Than Paradise and his 1986 follow-up, Down by Law. With the latter, Jarmusch chose to focus on the everyday life of a prisoner in a Louisiana detention center, built around the interactions between three radically different cellmates (Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni).

Like Stranger Than Paradise, the slower-paced narrative allowed for a deeper portrayal of friendship through shared hardship. An unconventional prison escape film with plenty of Jarmusch's absurdist comedy, it's one of the best independent films of the 1980s.

Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

In 1984, Jarmusch achieved his first significant career success in the indie film circuit with his deadpan absurdist comedy, Stranger Than Paradise. A love letter of sorts to Jarmusch's Midwestern upbringing and the Italian neorealist films that influenced him, Stranger Than Paradise established many characteristics that became commonplace in Jarmusch's movies.

With his off-kilter humor, minimal plotline, and idiosyncratic characters, Jarmusch forged his own unique place in the film industry, establishing himself as a director unlike any other in his generation. Like most of his movies, the finished film might not be for everyone, but avid fans of Jarmusch's works continue to single out Stranger Than Paradise as one of the most impressive Jim Jarmusch movie yet.

Paterson (2016)

A return to his earlier minimalist roots, some viewers might view Paterson as a mundane film, even by the standards of a Jim Jarmusch movie. In all honesty, though, nothing much happens in Paterson, the film follows the day-to-day life of a New Jersey-based bus driver who harbors a deep love for poetry (Adam Driver).

Perhaps the most realistic slice-of-life movie on record, Jarmusch's grounded portrayal of Paterson's life makes it exceptional. While some viewers might find its pacing slow and its story lacking in action, Jarmusch rewards more patient audience members with his tender treatment of romance, creativity, and finding joy in everyday existence.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

An ideal companion piece to Dead Man, what Jarmusch did for the Western genre he repeats with 1999's Ghost Dog–this time in the framework of the traditional crime film. Subbing out Neil Young for Wu-Tang Clan's RZA for his background soundtrack, Jarmusch creates a film that combines the meandering plot lines of the French New Wave film with the philosophical lessons of the Japanese samurai.

An updated take on Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï, it ranks among Jarmusch's more fast-paced films, yet still retains a more methodical outlook on its characters, action, and the unique world view of its protagonist (Forest Whittaker's modern samurai, Ghost Dog).

Dead Man (1995)

In the mid-1990s, Jarmusch set out to create his first genre-specific film with the existential acid Western, Dead Man. Blending his love for poetry and interest in Indigenous American culture, Jarmusch etches a jarring, nightmarish look at the Western genre, cross-referencing it with his own artistic temperament as a director.

Shot in startling black-and-white and with an atmospheric soundtrack from Neil Young, Jarmusch's vision of the West is unlike any other in the genre's existence, populated by eccentric bankers, cannibalistic bounty hunters, and William Blake-spouting Native American protagonists.

Broken Flowers (2005)

The standout collaboration between Jarmusch and his recurring star Bill Murray, Broken Flowers also provides Murray with one of his greatest roles to date. An almost comical reversal of Mamma Mia, it traces Murray's Don Johnston—an aging Lothario enjoying retirement—as he reconnects with the former loves of his life, one of whom has written him a letter revealing the existence of his estranged son.

Heartfelt and tender in its treatment of Johnston and his past romances, Murray makes Broken Flowers the seminal dramedy it is, handling his character and Jarmusch's unconventional dialogue with ease.

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

From a storytelling standpoint, Jarmusch has embarked on two major outings into the horror landscape, tackling vampires in Only Lovers Left Alive and zombies in The Dead Don't Die. In the case of both films, Jarmusch never seems interested in providing the feasible scares viewers might expect from said films, using these horror-based creatures to discuss more relatable humanistic issues.

With Only Lovers Left Alive, Jarmusch underscores the importance of seeing the world anew, glorying in the infinite possibilities associated with life and the disastrous consequences of growing bored with existence. An odd yet luminous spin on the age-old vampire story, it's a refreshing comedy drama loaded with references to some of Jarmusch's personal favorite subjects, from classical and contemporary music to Elizabethan literature.

Night on Earth (1991)

From the late 1980s onwards, Jarmusch began to focus more and more on the anthology format, releasing 1989's Mystery Train and its subsequent follow-up, 1991's Night on Earth. Regarding the latter film, Night on Earth takes place over the course of one night, with each segment oriented around five taxi drivers working in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome, and Helsinki.

With a jazzy soundtrack by Jarmusch regular Tom Waits, it's perhaps the strongest Jim Jarmusch movie in the anthology genre yet, with Jarmusch taking advantage of a massive international cast (Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Giancarlo Esposito, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Rosie Perez, Isaach de Bankolé, Roberto Benigni, and Matti Pellonpää).

Permanent Vacation (1980)

Jarmusch's directorial debut came with 1980's Permanent Vacation, a stylistic precursor to his later work on Down by Law and Stranger Than Paradise. Like those two aforementioned films, Permanent Vacation utilizes a minimalist plot, chronicling an ordinary character's (Chris Parker) Kafkaesque journey through New York and the odd inhabitants he meets along the way.

Like most of Jarmusch's movies, the sparse narrative offers a loose-knit portrait of life in New York (not unlike the snapshot of the Old West in Dead Man or contemporary New Orleans in Down by Law). It remains one of the filmmaker's most creative endeavors, an all-encompassing debut that demonstrated most of Jarmusch's endearing sensibilities as a director.

Gimme Danger (2016)

Jarmusch's second feature-length musical documentary, Gimme Danger details the exploits of the iconic rock band, the Stooges (a band Jarmusch has long since admired). A group truly ahead of their time in the music industry, Jarmusch shines a light on the Stooges' lack of critical and commercial success in the early '70s, prompting their eventual disbandment after three failed albums.

As the years passed, Jarmusch points out how the Stooges' music inspired the later punk rock movement of the late '70s and early '80s, with the band receiving a cult following that had eluded them in the previous decade. Like most musical documentaries, Gimme Danger won't appeal to everyone, but even those who lack fundamental knowledge of the Stooges' music will leave with a renewed appreciation for the group.

Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)

Jarmusch's most recent entry in the anthology genre came with 2003's Coffee and Cigarettes. A longtime passion project of Jarmusch's, the filmmaker spent a grand total of 17 years developing Coffee and Cigarettes, composing the various segments that eventually made their way into the film.

As entertaining as each of these vignettes is on its own, the film's lengthy production history offers the primary reason to watch this underrated 2003 anthology. With short films dating back to the 1980s, viewers can see Jarmusch's gradual growth since his formative early years, each new vignette demonstrating Jarmusch's evolution from an aspiring filmmaker to an established indie auteur.

Mystery Train (1989)

Exiting the 1980s, Jarmusch attempted to look at America's limited contributions to world culture with his 1989 film, Mystery Train. Jarmusch's first official anthology film, the movie follows the multiple characters' adventures through the dilapidated Southern city of Memphis.

With a specific integration of Southern folk music of the 1950s (especially the King of rock ‘n' roll himself, Elvis Presley), Mystery Train lingers on the surreal juxtaposition between the mystique of Presley, Sun Records, and Carl Perkins and the grim reality of the movie's settings.

The Dead Don't Die (2019)

On paper, a Jim Jarmusch movie about zombies featuring Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Iggy Pop, and Selena Gomez sounds like a literal dream come true. Perhaps because of the massive ensemble, Jarmusch went a bit too far in his absurdist takedown of the zombie film, sacrificing a cohesive story for meta-fictional jokes about the movie's narrative.

Clever? Yes. Yet such Brechtian humor comes at a cost, with The Dead Don't Die suffering from a splintered story, paper-thin characters, and jokes that are too smart to elicit any laughter from viewers.

Year of the Horse (1997)

Following his phenomenal collaboration with Neil Young on Dead Man, Jarmusch again teamed up with the folk music star for the 1997 documentary, Year of the Horse. Like most concert films or documentaries, the project gears more towards longtime fans of Young's work, documenting Young's 1997 musical tour with his band, Crazy Horse.

Though interesting to see how much passion the aging Young has left for his craft, Year of the Horse lacks the same vibrant energy as other, far more engrossing musical documentaries (like Jarmusch's own work on Gimme Danger almost 20 years later).

The Limits of Control (2009)

In several key ways, The Limits of Control shares a number of similarities to a previous Jim Jarmusch movie, Ghost Dog: The Way of Samurai, feeling almost like a dramatic successor to the latter. Drawing plenty of inspiration from the crime films of the French New Wave, The Limits of Control opts for a far more philosophical approach than Ghost Dog.

With its ambiguous narrative and slow pace, though, Limits fails to achieve the same thoughtfulness of its predecessor, leaving individual viewers to plug in their own interpretations around the movie's premise and characters.