The Sleepless Cinematic Podcast

Goin' Out West: Tom Waits on Film in 'Down By Law' (1986), 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' (1992), and 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' (2018)

The Sleepless Cinematic Podcast Episode 65

Julian, Madeline, and Emilio wrap up their cycle of Musicians on Film by diving into the filmography of Tom Waits, once dubbed a "performer, singer, actor, magician, spirit guide, changeling" by the great Neil Young. Joined by Madeline's dad Richard, the trio kick off the conversation by discussing Waits' starring role in Jim Jarmusch's "Down By Law", and ponder the similarities between his character Zack and his well-known boozy troubadour persona. The group then pivots to Francis Ford Coppola's campy classic "Bram Stoker's Dracula", and agree that Waits' interpretation of R. M. Renfield is the necessary constant in such a sprawling film. And although our subject only appears in one of the six vignettes that make up Joel and Ethan Coen's "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", the conversation would not be complete without taking the time to appreciate Waits' magnetism as the prospector in "All Gold Canyon".

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