I really enjoyed "Down By Law" and am thinking about buying one of the following Jarmusch films:

Dead Man

Ghost Dog

Stranger than Paradise

I'm leaning towards Stranger than Paradise since it was made around the same time that Down by Law was made, but Dead Man and Ghost Dog also sound intriguing.

So, those of you who are familiar with Jarmusch's work, please recommend to me which of the three above films is the best!

I find jarmusch to be hit & miss...I enjoyed Down By Law, Mystery Train, and Stranger Than Paradise, but had mixed feelings about Night On Earth and disliked Ghost Dog and Dead Man.

I highly recommend Dead Man. I've got the Laserdisc and will definitely upgrade to DVD on this flick.

I saw Ghost Dog once in the theater and rented it once to see if it got better on second viewing like some movies do. It didn't really. It's not that it's crap, it's just no Dead Man, that's all.

I love Ghost Dog, but it is still the only Jarmusch film I've seen. Something about the film is just incredibly exquisite. It is pretty slow moving, so it isn't for everyone, but I highly recommend it.

I like everything the man's done, but my favories are Mystery Train and Dead Man. The latter is probably one of the half-dozen best American movies of the '90's.

I love them all. I suggest purchasing "Stranger Than Paradise" next.

Ok, so thus far the consensus seems to be "Dead Man". Since I'm a huge Depp fan, this might be the way to go. But please, keep the recommendations coming, and thanks to all who've contributed thus far.

Ghost Dog IMO is a masterpiece. It's one of my personal favorites. With Jarmusch there will never be consensus since his films are so different.

Dead Man is awful!!!! Stranger than Paradise is the way to go!

Dead Man all the way. Ghost Dog is great as well. Sorry I have not seen the others yet.

Out of your three choices, another vote for Dead Man. It seems to be a love it or hate it film, but I love it. The DVD is pretty good too, with some nice deleted scenes.

Ghost Dog is awesome... I recommend it.

Oh well... everyone has an opinon, so here's mine...

Dead Man is Jim's masterpiece and I feel that Ghost Dog was a mixed success in an attempt to do a more mainstream film.

All the rest of his films fit in between these 2.

Night On Earth and Ghost Dog are the two I liked the most. Dead Man just turns into a mess in its second half.

Mystery Train is my personal favorite, but you can't go wrong with Dead Man.

Highly recommend Dead Man, though you may want to rent it before you part with the hard earned.

JJ was great in Fishing with Jon as well.

Dead Man was my favorite movie of 1996. I actually got to see it in a theatre, before the big 24-theatre one opened. I was totally surprised it was playing there, and had to convince my friend that he also wanted to see it. I was only 16 at the time, so I didn't have a license. Actually, I'm surprised they let us in. They were really strict at that theatre about R-rated movies. Anyway, that's the only one of his movies that I own. Trust me, from one huge Depp fan to another, go with this one, definitely.

I also saw Ghost Dog when it came out, and I really liked it. I might have to pick that up too eventually. You should definitely give this one a rent sometime.

K

I really like Ghost Dog and Mystery Train. Night on Earth is great but isn't on DVD yet. I was so-so on Down By Law but I can see why some people really like it.

Night on Earth was recently on IFC and I think it was good. I definitly think you should see Dead Man IMHO this is a brilliant film. Ghost Dog is also exceptional, I still have not seen Mystery Train.

I would say Stranger than Paradise is his best and most accessible film.

Dead Man, on the otherhand, is probably his least accessible film. I don't know if I remember it correctly, but I remember the end is very bizarre and mesmorizingly strange yet intriguing. The whole flick is pretty dead pan and strange, but the end 15 or so minutes takes that to another level. It's a movie I'd like to watch again one day, but this time not sober.

I realize I'm saying more about Dead Man here, even though I'm recommending Stranger Than Paradise, but you should check out both, only IMO watch Dead Man after you've seen his other works.

EDIT - Good to see a Jim Jarmusch discussion finally. Not much discussion at all about him, so it's good to finally have a topic. Anyone have any idea what he'll direct next?

I really liked:

Mystery Train
Night on Earth
Dead Man

Dead Man had some wonderful moments, but it didn't do it for me overall.

I'd recommend Ghost Dog.

I really liked Ghost Dog.

Anyone hear anything about Night On Earth? I am anxiously awaiting its release.