Arizona Dream

R

Released Sep 9, 1994

1h 59m

Comedy

Drama

List

87%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Axel (Johnny Depp) gets caught up into the family car business when his cousin, Paul (Vincent Gallo), coaxes him to come to Arizona to attend the wedding of their Uncle Leo (Jerry Lewis). As Axel makes the decision to try selling Cadillacs with his family, he meets an eccentric woman named Elaine (Faye Dunaway) and her equally quirky stepdaughter, Grace (Lili Taylor). Their lives become inextricably intertwined through romance, dreams -- and death.

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Critics Consensus

Inscrutably strange, yet undeniably compelling, Arizona Dream is anchored by magnetic performances from Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway.

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Aender S

I usually like Emir Kusturica's films, but this one's even too weird for his standards.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/11/24

Full Review

S R

Bizarre, tacky and ridiculous. It has some moments, but it doesn't make a whole movie. Jerry Lewis was my favorite part. I saw it for the director and cast. RUS.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/28/24

Full Review

Nisha Y

The director's aesthetic delights in many artful scenes that escape Hollywood norms while evoking familiarity and wonder. The interesting mix of actors is enough pull on its own, and all the performances are fine. The plot unfolds surreptitiously under the whimsical distractions and includes contradiction and critique, much like a Lynch film, but there is something about this film that makes you wonder why there even has to be one frame, let alone one scene where a woman is getting slapped around, and it makes you realize that Dunaway has been slapped around in so many films. But its hard to condemn the writing/directing because the film ultimately spirals into entropy to any solution, the older woman gets the younger man but it's violent and unstable, the younger guy has a somewhat sweeter encounter with a woman nearer his age, but she is fatal, the older man marrying the younger woman is shown in his hypocrisy in criticizing the older women, and then he dies before his young fiancé has to marry him, so she gets to be free from a marriage that was making her weep. Good vs bad definitions get blurred and spiral down the plug hole via the magnetic pull the Depp character speaks about when relating what his mother had told him. It is rich, interesting but does lose its momentum and reason at times, to a degree where it loses the connection to the viewer, in other words it becomes boring. Well worth the watch for movie lovers, but I think it needs to be kept in mind that this director's controversy includes his support of Putin and Russia's treatment and action in the Ukraine, a dark and destructive streak that runs through his films.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Bizarre, eclectic, unpredictable. At times classy but more often crude. Creative chaos.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie was great . Probably coulda be 30 minutes shorter tho Thats my only complaint at all 3.7

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/29/21

Full Review

Audience Member

An absolute pinnacle of artistic achievement. Less colossal than Underground, but more piercingly personal; the heavier lyricism, along with the perfect score by Goran Bregovic, is what makes this film unforgettable, and the best by Kusturica.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

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Emir Kusturica

Director

Johnny Depp

Blackmar

Jerry Lewis

Leo Sweetie

Faye Dunaway

Elaine Stalker

Lili Taylor

Grace Stalker

Vincent Gallo

Paul Leger

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Variety Staff

Variety

Kusturica grafts his sometimes unwieldy Europe-inflected concerns onto brash American landscapes with mixed results. Much is made of dreams that, either spoken of at length or illustrated, are offered in lieu of character development.

Dec 1, 2008

Full Review

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

The first 'American' film by the director of Time of the Gypsies is every bit as bizarre and imaginative as his earlier work, although it's also maddeningly indulgent and erratic.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Janet Maslin

New York Times

Even at its full length, showing off a more seductive rhythm and the buoyant humanism that is this director's calling card, it remains as ripe a subject for therapy as for criticism.

Aug 30, 2004

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Though entertaining at times, it's not everyone's dream pic.

Rated: B-

Jun 27, 2015

Full Review

TV Guide

Lewis is only slightly awful, and he and Depp have a nice rapport; Dunaway gives a particularly juicy performance; and Taylor is simply amazing, seemingly able to transform herself physically for every role she plays.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 19, 2009

Full Review

Film4 Staff

Film4

A peculiar and entrancing gem.

Jun 19, 2009

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Axel (Johnny Depp) gets caught up into the family car business when his cousin, Paul (Vincent Gallo), coaxes him to come to Arizona to attend the wedding of their Uncle Leo (Jerry Lewis). As Axel makes the decision to try selling Cadillacs with his family, he meets an eccentric woman named Elaine (Faye Dunaway) and her equally quirky stepdaughter, Grace (Lili Taylor). Their lives become inextricably intertwined through romance, dreams -- and death.

Director: Emir Kusturica
Producer: Paul R. Gurian
Screenwriter: David Atkins, Emir Kusturica, David Atkins
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Constellation
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 1994, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: LC-Concept Digital Sound, Dolby, Stereo

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