John Lurie

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

An intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. This unflinching look at Anthony Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.

Release Date: 2021-07-16

Department: Crew

Job: Additional Music

Character: Self - Artist / Friend

Vote Count: 77

Painting With John

Part meditative tutorial, part fireside chat, each episode finds artist John Lurie ensconced at his worktable, where he hones his intricate watercolor techniques and shares his reflections on what he’s learned about life.

Release Date: 2021-01-22

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Character: Self

Episode Count: 6

Vote Count: 14

Blank City

In the years before Ronald Reagan took office, Manhattan was in ruins. But true art has never come from comfort, and it was precisely those dire circumstances that inspired artists like Jim Jarmusch, Lizzy Borden, and Amos Poe to produce some of their best works. Taking their cues from punk rock and new wave music, these young maverick filmmakers confronted viewers with a stark reality that stood in powerful contrast to the escapist product being churned out by Hollywood.

Release Date: 2011-04-06

Character: Self

Vote Count: 12

No Wave - Underground '80: Berlin - New York

the connections and energy flow between the various artists populating the 1980s sub-cultures of New York and Berlin. Features Jim Jarmusch, Lydia Lunch, Blixa Bargeld, Alex Hacke, Gudrun Gut, Nick Cave, and others. An important film. Bravo, Mr. Dreher.

Release Date: 2009-07-03

Character: Self

Vote Count: 1

Mobsters

Mobsters is an American documentary television series that profiles the lives of infamous individuals in history; the series puts the spotlight on some of history's most infamous gangsters and all that went on during their reigns. The series airs on The Biography Channel. Some episodes of Mobsters are rehashes of the similar TV Series American Justice as well as Notorious (TV series), both series that were originally broadcast on Biography Channel's sister channel, A&E Network; some episodes also rehash segments from another A&E series American Gangster, which began airing on the Black Entertainment Television channel. The only differences are the intro of the episodes and the lead-in's after commercials. Besides this, the rehashed episodes are no different in any way.

Release Date: 2007-06-05

Character: Narrator

Episode Count: 8

Face Addict

Face Addict tells the story of a unique and unrepeatable experience, that of the artistic community in New York between the late '70s and early '80s, known as the downtown scene.

Release Date: 2005-11-15

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Character: Himself

TV Party

From 1978 to 1982, Glenn O'Brien hosted a New York city public access cable TV show called TV Party. Co-hosted by Chris Stein, from Blondie, and directed by filmmaker Amos Poe, the hour long show took television where it had never gone before: to the edge of civility and "sub-realism" as Glenn would put it. Walter Steding and his TV Party "Orchestra" provided a musical accompaniment to the madness at hand, and many artists and musicians, from The Clash, Nile Rodgers, Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Bryne and Arto Lindsey were regular guests. It was the cocktail party that could be a political party. With 80 hours of disintegrating 3/4 inch videotape as a starting point, we tracked down the trend setting participants still living today and found out what they remember of the period and how the show influenced their lives. This, combined with clips from the orginal show, became the documentary "TV Party.

Release Date: 2005-08-03

Character: Self

Vote Count: 1

5 Sides of a Coin

"5 Sides of a Coin" is a comprehensive overview of the worldwide cultural movement of Hip-Hop.

Release Date: 2004-11-12

Tortured by Joy

A short film narrated by John Lurie comprised of still images La Jetee-style about the middle-aged rediscovering punk rock.

Release Date: 2004-01-19

Character: Narrator

Vote Count: 1

Downtown '81

The film is a day in the life of a young artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, who needs to raise money to reclaim the apartment from which he has been evicted. He wanders the downtown streets carrying a painting he hopes to sell, encountering friends, whose lives (and performances) we peek into.

Release Date: 2001-07-13

Character: Self

Vote Count: 24

Some Days in January, 1984

A short behind-the-scenes documentary shot and edited on Super 8 by filmmaker Tom Jarmusch, director Jim Jarmusch’s brother, during the filming of STRANGER THAN PARADISE.

Release Date: 2001-07-01

Animal Factory

Suburbanite Ron is spoiled, young and not overly worried about the marijuana charges leveled against him. But, after being made out to be a drug dealer, he faces a five-year jail sentence in San Quentin State Prison. Physically frail and unaccustomed to his rough surroundings, Ron is primed to fall victim to sexual predators and bullying guards – that is, until he's befriended by Earl, a veteran inmate who finds meaning in protecting the vulnerable new kid.

Release Date: 2000-10-13

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Vote Count: 235

Sleepwalk

At loose ends drifter stumbles upon a struggling painter as he searches for answers under the stars and rooftops of New York.

Release Date: 2000-03-10

Character: Frank

Vote Count: 1

SpongeBob SquarePants

Deep down in the Pacific Ocean in the subterranean city of Bikini Bottom lives a square yellow sponge named SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob lives in a pineapple with his pet snail, Gary, loves his job as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, and has a knack for getting into all kinds of trouble without really trying. When he's not getting on the nerves of his cranky next door neighbor Squidward, SpongeBob can usually be found smack in the middle of all sorts of strange situations with his best buddy, the simple yet lovable starfish, Patrick, or his thrill-seeking surfer-girl squirrel pal, Sandy Cheeks.

Release Date: 1999-05-01

Character: Fisherman

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 2994

New Rose Hotel

A corporate raider and his henchman use a chanteuse to lure a scientific genius away from his employer and family.

Release Date: 1999-03-19

Character: Distinguished Man

Vote Count: 127

Clay Pigeons

Clay is a young man in a small town who witnesses his friend, Earl kill himself because of the ongoing affair that Clay was having with the man's wife, Amanda. Feeling guilty, Clay now resists the widow when she presses him to continue with their sexual affairs. Clay inadvertently befriends a serial killer named Lester Long, who murders the widow in an attempt to "help" his "fishing buddy."

Release Date: 1998-09-25

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Vote Count: 125

Lulu on the Bridge

This film is about a famous jazz saxophonist, Izzy, whose life is forever changed after he is accidentally shot.

Release Date: 1998-09-06

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Vote Count: 38

Excess Baggage

A rich brat fakes her own kidnapping, but in the process ends up locked in the trunk of a car that gets stolen.

Release Date: 1997-08-29

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Vote Count: 243

Wrong Guys

Adapted from a novella by James Strahs (the author of “Queer and Alone”, as well as the Wooster Group’s play, “North Atlantic”), this unfinished 1997 film from the Wooster Group was first shown as part of the 1997 Whitney Biennial. Aside from a screening as part of Anthology’s tribute to the Group in 2012, it has rarely been seen since. A tale of smuggling and survivalists that adopts the tone and visual style of film noir, but with a narrative logic all its own, it stars Willem Dafoe as Jack Straw, a small-time operator who ran a “pharmaceutical outfit” before an accident changed everything. A rare instance of an extended moving-image work by the Wooster Group that was created independently of their theatrical productions, WRONG GUYS is a fascinating and little-seen work. — Anthology Film Archives

Release Date: 1997-01-01

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Just Your Luck

Six million dollars suddenly goes up for grabs when an aged diner's heart fails after he discovers that he has won the lottery. Which of the remaining late-night dining regulars will get the cash? How many will have to die to get the answer?

Release Date: 1996-11-29

Character: Coker

Vote Count: 3

Manny & Lo

A pregnant teen and her younger sister run away from foster homes and kidnap a woman whom they believe can help with the pregnancy.

Release Date: 1996-01-22

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Vote Count: 33

Get Shorty

Chili Palmer is a Miami mobster who gets sent by his boss, the psychopathic "Bones" Barboni, to collect a bad debt from Harry Zimm, a Hollywood producer who specializes in cheesy horror films. When Chili meets Harry's leading lady, the romantic sparks fly. After pitching his own life story as a movie idea, Chili learns that being a mobster and being a Hollywood producer really aren't all that different.

Release Date: 1995-10-20

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Vote Count: 1071

Blue in the Face

Auggie runs a small tobacco shop in Brooklyn, New York. The whole neighborhood comes to visit him to buy cigarettes and have some small talk. During the movie Lou Reed tries to explain why he has to have a cut on his health insurance bill if he keeps smoking and Madonna acts as a Singing Telegram.

Release Date: 1995-09-15

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Character: Saxophone player

Vote Count: 165

Brace Up!

The Wooster Group's production of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, translated by Paul Schmidt and directed by Elizabeth LeCompte, with performances from Kate Valk, Peyton Smith, Scott Shepherd, Ari Fliakos, Anna Kohler, Beatrice Roth, Ron Vawter, and Willem Dafoe. This presentation of the 2003 production of BRACE UP!, designed by Ken Kobland and LeCompte, incorporates close-up recordings of the performers simultaneously with continuous wide-angle footage.

Release Date: 1993-04-01

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Vote Count: 1

John Lurie and the Lounge Lizards Live in Berlin 1991

John Lurie and the Lounge Lizards performing live in Berlin.

Release Date: 1992-09-09

Character: Alto & Soprano Saxophone

Fishing with John

Musician John Lurie knows nothing about fishing, but that doesn't stop him from embarking on fishing in exotic locations with friends.

Release Date: 1991-11-20

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Character: Self

Episode Count: 6

Vote Count: 30

Keep It for Yourself

Sophie comes to New York from France with the intention of joining a man she met a few months before. She finds herself alone in the apartment of the guy, who left town because he was scared stiff at the idea of seeing her. Originally commissioned as one third of an omnibus feature showcasing the Figaro, a Japan-only retro throwback car.

Release Date: 1991-01-01

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Vote Count: 4

Death By Unnatural Causes

A visceral homage to those living and dying under the shadow of AIDS in a world run amok.

Release Date: 1991-01-01

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Figaro Story

An anthology film centering around the worldwide adventures of the Nissan Figaro.

Release Date: 1991-01-01

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Wild at Heart

Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.

Release Date: 1990-08-17

Character: Sparky

Vote Count: 1675

John Lurie: A Lounge Lizard Alone

"Lounge Lizard" John Lurie — actor, performer, and musician — talks about love and life and gives a gentle insight into modern time's hipster attitudes.

Release Date: 1990-01-01

Character: Self

Mystery Train

In Memphis, Tennessee, over the course of a single night, the Arcade Hotel, run by an eccentric night clerk and a clueless bellboy, is visited by a young Japanese couple traveling in search of the roots of rock; an Italian woman in mourning who stumbles upon a fleeing charlatan girl; and a comical trio of accidental thieves looking for a place to hide.

Release Date: 1989-09-06

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Vote Count: 448

Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of the Christ

Behind the scenes of 'The Last Temptation of the Christ'

Release Date: 1988-10-07

Character: Self

Vote Count: 2

The Little Devil

Father Maurice, a priest living in a residential college for priests in Rome, is called out one day to "exorcise" the devil from someone. The devil turns out to be in the form of a fun-loving man called Giuditta. What Father Maurice doesn't know is that this type of devil will turn his life around.

Release Date: 1988-07-01

Character: Cusatelli

Vote Count: 408

The Last Temptation of Christ

Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.

Release Date: 1988-05-28

Character: James, Apostle

Vote Count: 1076

Down by Law

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

Release Date: 1986-09-20

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Character: Jack

Vote Count: 754

The Kitchen Presents: Two Moon July

Two Moon July was a multidisciplinary event that featured experimental video, film, visual art, performance and music in a theatrical framework. More than thirty artists participated in the program, which was produced for the Kitchen by Carlota Schoolman and directed by Tom Bowes.

Release Date: 1986-09-03

Desperately Seeking Susan

A bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself and into a chaotic adventure of amnesia and self-discovery.

Release Date: 1985-03-29

Character: Neighbor Saxophonist

Vote Count: 441

Variety

A repressed young woman becomes obsessed with pornography and the mysterious rich patrons of the Times Square porn theater where she works selling tickets.

Release Date: 1985-02-27

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Vote Count: 36

The Ballad of Sexual Dependency

Nan Goldin's slide show “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” converted, mixed and screened as a film by the artist, portraying the American underground culture, the no wave scene, post-Stonewall gay subculture, among others.

Release Date: 1985-01-01

Stranger Than Paradise

A Hungarian immigrant, his friend, and his cousin go on an unpredictable adventure across America.

Release Date: 1984-10-01

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Character: Willie

Vote Count: 546

Paris, Texas

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.

Release Date: 1984-07-16

Character: 'Slater'

Vote Count: 1923

Kino '84: The Making of Jim Jarmusch

Documentary on American film director Jim Jarmusch made for German television. featuring interviews with cast and crew from 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦 and 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘝𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

Release Date: 1984-03-20

Character: Interviewee

Vote Count: 1

Stranger Than Paradise

30-minute short subject film that would become Stranger Than Paradise. This short was released as a standalone film in 1982, and shown as "Stranger Than Paradise" at the 1983 International Film Festival Rotterdam. When it was later expanded into a three-act feature, that name was appropriated for the feature itself, and the initial segment was renamed "The New World".

Release Date: 1983-01-31

Character: Willie

Vote Count: 25

Subway Riders

A psychotic saxophone player lures victims to deserted spots with his music and then guns them down.

Release Date: 1981-04-02

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Character: The Saxophonist

Vote Count: 4

Permanent Vacation

In downtown Manhattan, a twenty-something boy whose Father is not around and whose Mother is institutionalized, is a big Charlie Parker fan. He almost subconsciously searches for more meaning in his life and meets a few characters along the way.

Release Date: 1981-03-06

Department: Sound

Job: Musician

Character: Sax Player

Vote Count: 191

Underground U.S.A.

The Sunset Blvd. of underground cinema, and a suitably ambivalent retrospect on the star-game casualties of New York's upper depths, with Patti Astor statuesquely hysterical as a 20-year-old Norma Desmond, made up to recall Edie Sedgwick and surrounded by Warhol's lost children. We've been here before, but without the hindsight: a camera cruise along a hustler's meat-rack, kitchen-talk over cold canned spaghetti, Taylor Mead grimacing in a spastic dance, the silent stud a sullenly passive observer. Mitchell's ear for campy native wit and eye for figures in a loft-scape happily keep at bay the otherwise contagious NY ennui.

Release Date: 1980-11-06

Character: Jack Smith

Vote Count: 5

The Offenders

A punk savage satire about a kidnapping.

Release Date: 1980-01-02

Character: The Lizard

Sleepless Nights

New Cinema cofounder Becky Johnston recently described this little-seen feature as “an East Village reinvention of the Otto Preminger movie *Laura*” that plays “fast and loose with the noir detective genre.”

Release Date: 1979-06-05

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Character:

Men in Orbit

A “sci-fi povera” film shot on Super 8, Men in Orbit features musician Lurie and Eric Mitchell as chain-smoking astronauts in a decrepit New York living room that has been transformed into a spacecraft.

Release Date: 1979-04-10

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Character: Astronaut

Vote Count: 4

Red Italy

Second feature film by the French-born director is a Bertolucci-style story of a bored, rich woman looking for romance and adventure. She meets an American G.I., dumps him, then falls for a Communist worker.

Release Date: 1979-03-13

Vote Count: 1

Rome '78

Nares mocks up Ancient Rome by shooting in faux-classical sites including Tribeca's American Thread Building, where a decrepit penthouse loft with a peeling-paint dome serves as an echoey stand-in for the imperial palace. The latter location required ingenuity: Posing as potential renters, Nares and associates asked the manager to show them the apartment, then unlocked the windows on the way out; a few hours later, they broke back into the space, full cast and crew in tow, to shoot the necessary scenes.

Release Date: 1978-12-23

Vote Count: 7