Where to watch
Each link opens a search on that service. Checked 13 October 2026.
Streaming data from JustWatch
Down by Law
MEANRANK
79/100
Where it ranks
- Mean Score #815
- IMDb #912
- Rotten Tomatoes #670
- Metacritic #1143
- Letterboxd #437
- Rotten Tomatoes Critics #1603
+7 more
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience #274
- Metacritic Critics #1053
- Metacritic Audience #1481
- Criticker #272
- Kinopoisk #558
- AlloCiné #735
- Trakt #1417
Every rating
Mostly agreed
Lowest is Criticker on 69, highest is Rotten Tomatoes viewers on 93.
See the most agreed on films →Two down-on-their-luck men—a pimp and a disc jockey—are framed and land in a Louisiana parish prison. Their bleak routine is interrupted by the arrival of an eccentric Italian tourist who speaks in broken English and optimistic proverbs. The trio eventually orchestrate an escape into the surrounding bayous, embarking on an odd and meandering journey through the American South.
Details
- Director
- Jim Jarmusch
- Writer
- Jim Jarmusch
- Released
- 20 September 1986
- Country
- United States, Germany
- Language
- English, Italian, French
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rated
- R
- Budget
- $1.1M
- Box office
- $1.5M
- Awards
- 1 win, 0 nominations
This title elsewhere
Cast
Full cast (22) →
Awards & nominations
See all 1 →1 win from 1 nomination across 1 ceremony
| Amanda Award 1987 | Best Foreign Feature Film | Winner |
Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More like this
Beyond the numbers
All lists →
30 October 2026
Denzel Washington is more than an actor: a global Black cultural icon
How global visibility, artistic freedom and a commanding public presence gave his career a meaning that reaches beyond the films.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
29 October 2026
TV shows with the best song choices: five different ways to get it right
The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The O.C., Peaky Blinders and Euphoria: what their songs do beyond making a scene sound good.
29 October 2026
Five great TV scores—and the scenes that explain why
Twin Peaks, Succession, Game of Thrones, Westworld and Stranger Things, judged for what their original music does inside the drama.
9 October 2026
Sitcoms rated highest by Google users: our preserved scores
Twenty-five historical five-star records, with ties and recorded counts retained. An archive of collected responses, not Google's final official chart.
9 October 2026
The highest-rated sitcoms on Rotten Tomatoes: twenty-five critic favourites
The saved Tomatometer scores, what their ties conceal, and the comedy each show actually offers.
Just released
See all →
Coming soon
Trailer — Down by Law
×Full cast — Down by Law
×
1 awards — Down by Law
×| Best Foreign Feature Film | Winner |