A multi-layered film about the night life in taxi’s in different metropolitan cities. Jim Jarmusch takes us to 5 cities where people take taxi’s to meet up with each other and then when all's said and done take taxi’s to eventually go away from each other.


Overview
Jim Jarmusch's globe-trotting study of five cab rides taking place at the same time in five different cities gets a fresh presentation on DVD in this excellent release from the Criterion Collection, created with the participation and approval of the filmmaker. Night On Earth has been given a widescreen transfer to disc in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, which is letterboxed on conventional televisions and enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16x9 monitors. The subtly distinct look for each segment (created by cinematographer Frederick Elmes) is preserved in this transfer, and shows how masterfully Jarmusch can manipulate the color palate, despite his fondness for working in black and white. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo, and the lively sound mix is crisp and well-detailed on this DVD, with Tom Waits' musical score benefiting from the careful treatment. The dialogue for the various segments is in English, French, Italian and Finnish, and no multiple language options appear, though the disc contains two sets of subtitles -- one translating non-English dialogue, the other presenting the full dialogue track for the hard of hearing. The disc includes an optional audio commentary from cinematographer Elmes and location sound mixer Drew Kunin, who talk about the many logistical challenges presenting by the shooting of each segment; among the other bonus features are a profile of Jarmusch created for Belgian television in 1991, an audio-only feature in which Jarmusch answers questions submitted to him by film fans from around the world, and a booklet which includes a separate essay on each of Night On Earth's five stories. Night On Earth has never looked or sounded as good as it does on Criterion's DVD release, and fans of Jim Jarmusch will find it a worthy addition to their collections.

All Movie Guide - Jason Clark
Possibly the most mainstream film to date by the laconic, impressionistic filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, this agreeable (if overlong) project works in fits and starts, which is to be expected in a film that is so episodic in nature. However, Jarmusch's acute eye for detail and his offbeat casting choices (including a pre-fame Roberto Benigni) pay off. The tone of the film is more lighthearted and playful than Jarmusch's previous efforts, but still retains his trademark minimalist style. One of the main contributors to the film's unerring sense of time and place is ace cinematographer Frederick Elmes, whose previous work with David Lynch and John Cassavetes proves notable here, where even the inside of a cab has an strange and inviting veneer.