Permanent Vacation (1980)

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch (written by)

Release Date:

26 July 1986 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young slacker wanders New York City searching for some meaning in life and encounters many idiosyncratic characters.

Plot Keywords:

Slacker | New York City | Mental Patient | Movie Theater | Tribeca

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Richard Boes	...	War vet
Ruth Bolton	...	Mother
Sara Driver	...	Nurse
María Duval	...	Latin girl
Frankie Faison	...	Man in lobby
Jane Fire	...	Nurse
Suzanne Fletcher	...	Girl in car
Leila Gastil	...	Leila
Chris Hameon	...	French traveller
John Lurie	...	Sax player
Eric Mitchell	...	Car fence
Chris Parker	...	Allie
Lisa Rosen	...	Popcorn girl
Felice Rosser	...	Woman by mailbox
Evelyn Smith	...	Patient
Charlie Spademan	...	Patient

Directed by
Jim Jarmusch

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jim Jarmusch		written by

Produced by
Jim Jarmusch	....	producer

Original Music by
Jim Jarmusch
John Lurie

Cinematography by
Tom DiCillo
James A. Lebovitz

Film Editing by
Jim Jarmusch

Production Management
Sara Driver	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sara Driver	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Kevin Dowd	....	sound
Mike Hessing	....	additional sound
Lisa Kaplan	....	sound mixer: final mix
Virgil Morefield	....	additional sound
Shi Sun	....	additional sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Howard Brookner	....	gaffer
Ken Kalb	....	gaffer
Louis Suckle	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Tim Brennan	....	negative matcher

Music Department
John Lurie	....	musician: saxes

Other crew
Philippe Hagen	....	title designer
Skeezo	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Cinesthesia Productions

Distributors

• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1987) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• King Record Co. (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (New Zealand) (all media)

Also Known As:

Diakopes diarkeias (Greece) [el]
Loputon loma (Finland) [fi]
Nieustajace wakacje (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

75 min | Argentina:80 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp | Sweden:Btl | Finland:S | Hong Kong:I | Switzerland:16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Cinesthesia Productions

Trivia:

The Doppler Effect mentioned by the man in the lobby ('Frank Faison'), is the change in a sound (frequency and wavelength) noticed by an observer as a sound source moves relative to the observer.

Goofs:

Continuity: The bed coverings are rearranged between shots in the apartment.

Quotes:

Allie: Some people, you know, they - they can distract themselves with ambitions and motivation to work, you know, but not me... They think people like myself are crazy, you know. Everyone does because of the way I live, you know.

Movie Connections:

References The Savage Innocents (1960)

Soundtrack:

Up There in Orbit

great film

The monologue in the middle of this film is just about the most beautiful story I have ever heard. The only fault in the whole of this film is the point at the end where he says "I guess I'm just... on a Permanent Vacation, " and the fault here is really the actor's for overplaying this line, not Jarmusch's.