Movies-TV

My Favorite Film....bar none!

I can't begin to express just how much this film touches my soul. I really feel as though I'm watching a sort of surreal home movie of my childhood. I can personaly relate to the 'Hunter' character, even as an adult.

The basic plot: Harry Dean Stanton's 'Travis' is a lost soul who slowly redeems himself of past mistakes throughout the story. Also stars Nastassja Kinski as his estranged wife and Dean Stockwell as his brother.

I had no idea Sam Shephard was even involved in this movie until I recently visited Wim Wenders' website and saw that he wrote it, what a great surprise to me, especially since Jessica Lange's my favorite actress...it seems very cosmic.
Every actor in 'Paris, Texas' is superb! The scenery is unbelievable and the commentary by Wim Wenders on the DVD extra's is wonderful. Included on the DVD are deleted scenes (watch with commentary ON); photo stills; and scenes from the Cannes Film Festival of 1984 when it premiered, which is a hoot to watch and the original trailer.

I believe this film will touch your soul as well!! It's just plain beautiful.

The describer of eternity and way where love can lead...

I was just 9 or 10 years old when i saw this movie - parents said that too serious even for them but i was so affected and felt like i have some undescribable connection with this movie - the look of color combination in farmes , the way it was directed and the feeling of movie made me feel like i'm having some "splashes of memory from sort of my previous life or some other beeing in some other dimensions" that made me discover it like most delightful and eternal love story.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Before you rush out and buy the "Paris, Texas" (1984) DVD based on the many glowing reviews and comments, you may want a bit of a reality check. The film is 145 minutes long, that's almost two and a half hours. And not much happens during this time. The pacing is about on the level of "The Straight Story" (1999), which was only 112 minutes; so if that film had you climbing the walls you should probably steer clear of this one.


On the other hand "Paris, Texas" is a technical masterpiece with great photography, excellent directing, and solid performances from the entire cast (although that cast is small). And it's a lyrically told story about loss, loneliness, and eccentricity; a look America and American values from an outside perspective (in this case European). I'm not sure that the film's message(s) is gotten across (unless you listen to the commentary feature on the DVD and maybe not even then) but it is certainly more coherent than when Michelangelo Antonioni tried to do the same thing in the early 1970's.

The film opens with a wanderer walking alone in the desert. You eventually learn that this is not Howard Hughes but Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton), that he has been missing the past four years, has semi-amnesia (a lot is made of this but the condition is never adequately explained), has a seven year-old son name Hunter (Hunter Carson), and a wife named Jane (Nastassia Kinski). Kinski fans will be somewhat disappointed as she does not even appear until the last third of the film (except briefly in some grainy home movies).

The film could actually be classified as a "buddy picture-road movie" or two buddy picture- road movies. The first third features Travis and his brother's (Dean Stockwell) journey from Texas to LA, the final third Travis and his son's journey back to Texas. The weakest part is the middle third which serves little purpose other than providing some background details and linking the two journey segments.

Because "Paris, Texas" is not your standard pre-sold commercial product, most of its suspense comes from the viewers themselves, who have little idea just where the film is headed. So if you watch a lot of films and are jaded because everything is so predictable, this movie viewing experience should be a nice change of pace.


Because you haven't met these characters in other films, it takes a lot of storytelling to flesh them out, which is probably the biggest reason for the film's extended running length. Sam Shepard's script is not so much elliptical as it is evasive, somehow the characters tell us their most basic beliefs and deepest fears without really revealing anything about themselves (insert "Two Lane Blacktop" here).


German New Wave director Wenders gets an astonishingly unaffected performance from young Hunter Carson, as convincing as any you are likely to find. Carson never did much after this amazing debut.


The most intriguing sequences take place between Stanton and Kinski. The actors are never face-to-face as their characters speak to each other from opposite sides of one-way mirror. Travis has found Jane working in a seedy shop where lonely men pay to talk to women on the telephone.?

The DP fills the screen with images of people dwarfed by vast, distant, and impersonal land/ cityscapes. The most effective and original is a sequence of Travis walking along a bridge over a LA interstate with the audio supplied by an unseen (until the end) and rambling derelict addressing the bumper to bumper traffic rushing by below.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Magnificent!

In the sixties Antonioni made a similar work about the hopeless , the loneliness of the human being . This tragic mood in a certain way was released again in this work in the eighties with Paris Texas where the sense of the search is bay far , much more important that the search in itself . In the opening shot we see an incredible scene in the vastity of the desert where the wind and the sand seem to be the only friends of our desperate man .
Slowly the camera will show us with merciless focus the nucleus , the dramatis personae . The mirror dialogue sequence with Natasha Kinski is one of the saddest and best achievements ever made for any other film maker. And it is really amazing that all along the years the style of Wenders ran parallel to Antonioni concerns . That is why both of them decided to work togethetr in that film titled Beyond the clouds (1995) with the master of the great silences Michelangelo Antonioni.

This is (in my personal opinion) the second best movie of Wenders , since I consider The wings of desire his most powerful and artistic issue .
Wenders is a poet who inspires in the little concerns of citizen without importance . But the form in which he tells the citizen story is what it really counts . Deeply introspective , the most of their pictures are inmersed in a nosthalgical mood but never conclude in a pesimist conclusion .

One of the most controversial films in the eighties but also powerful and convincing .

Watch it !

I'm Physically Nausious

I just saw this movie for the first time and I am sickened by the positive reviews it has gotten. Are we living on alternate planets? This was a HORRIBLE movie. The storyline and the characters were all completely unbelievable. The acting was so bad I sometimes didn't believe they were professional actors on the screen. I muscled through it hoping that something would eventually happen to redeem the movie. Even though I spent no money to watch this I am going to send a bill back to the makers of this movie for compensation for wasting my time and brain cells. I hope I will be able to keep my dinner down tonight. Do yourself a favor if you see it on cable, keep flipping channels. The shopping channel would be more interesting.

An experience

A truly great movie in which everything comes together perfectly: a remarkable script, great acting, beautiful cinematography, a haunting soundtrack, and a one-of-a-kind director. No review of mine can do justice to this movie: you have to see it, you will not be disappointed (unless you think movies should only entertain: this is not one of them)

The movie that makes you lost.

Been working as a bus driver, Ive been on the road most of the time. I really love this movie. Pictures, landscapes, and that guitar sound lingers on my mind whenever Im driving. When I first saw it on TV I was hooked, I got lost to its absolute beauty, I think now I found the movie that ive been longin for for a long time. You spend most of the time wondering what really happen to travis while at the same time enjoying the picture perfect cinematography, and of course the always beautiful Nastassja Kinski delivers it most when its needed, and who would ever forget that poetic dialogue between travis and jane, whom many considered the highlight of the film.
Watch it and enjoy.

lovely directing, cinematography, and acting.

Ozu meets Edward Hopper in the modern American Southwest. Lots of luscious greens and reds in cinematographer Robby Mueller's palette. Long-overdue starring role for great character actor Harry Dean Stanton. Beautiful score by blues guitarist Ry Cooder. Great transfer in widescreen format, with excellent commentary by director Wenders. The disc is a bargain at twice the price, so grab it up now.

Moored and broken.

It's not surprising that Wim Wenders production company is called 'Road Movies'. In the vast majority of his films geography is just as important as characterization and plot. So it is with 'Paris, Texas', where the remarkable vista shots give some sense of the awe and wonder the average European must feel when confronted with this vast American landscape. Originally, Wender's vision was much larger in scope. He wanted the Harry Dean Stanton character to zig-zag his way across the entire country hoping to capture the enormous contrasts of the landscape. In the end though screenwriter Sam Shepard persuaded the German director to base the core of the movie in Texas as this could easily represent the U.S. as a whole.

It's rather unusual to see America through the eyes of a European film crew. The film has a slow, observant quality that contrasts sharply with prevailing American dramas where constant close-ups try to make you feel more involved with the characters. In 'Paris, Texas', Wenders lets the quality of the acting speak for itself without recourse to sentimentality.

The last part of the film was unscripted and tends to drag a bit, but Stanton's understated performance keeps you glued to the screen as the story unfolds. Ry Cooder's score adds a traditional American soundtrack that somehow manages to be something much more ethereal. A poigniant score that colours the film's theme of hope and longing.

Paris, Texas

This was an unusual story, unraveling as it progresses and memory returns, feelings surface, and it builds up to an ending that I am still not sure I care for.

A MASTERPIECE...

Wim Wenders' picture is simply one of the most memorable of the 80's "Me Generation". When the American populace was busy indulging, this insightful little film from Europe reminded us that the traditional values of love, family and the responsibilities of fatherhood are what unite us all. The scene near the end when Travis finds Jane at the seedy peep show brings a tear to my eye every time. Yes, the pace is deliberately slow. If you're a fan of Jerry Bruckheimer-type movies then stay away. If you're looking for a rewarding film with lots of heart and a great message, this is it! Come on 20th Century Fox (or Image Entertainment), lets get the ball rolling on this one! How about a nice Anamorphic DVD for 2002, huh?

Few equals as a cinematic chronicle of American myths and ways

Is is possible to ever possess another? Is America (ancient and modern) alien to human life? Are we, as humans, ultimately alone? These ideas - trite, maybe, but psychologically powerful - are ideas that inhabit the work of one of America's great writers - Sam Shepard. PARIS, TEXAS may be one of Mr Shepard's greatest collaborations. Certainly, visually, it may be one of the most beautiful films of America ever made, DAYS OF HEAVEN and KOYAANISQATSI notwithstanding. The richness of the colours, the framing, represent a wondrous manifestation of Mr Shepard's vision, a vision that is reminiscent of Edward Hopper - humans isolated in a landscape albeit a stunningly beautiful one. And whether that landscape is the Mojave Desert or suburban L.A. or urban Houston, it is a landscape that is strangely cold, and clean, eerie and unwelcoming. Robbie Muller may be a master cinemaphotographer in the way he is able to give reality to Mr Shepard's and Mr Wender's vision. Let's face it - a story is really a platform to launch off into exploring the wider questions.

One striking and memorable moment among many, is when the searching anti-hero, Everyman, Travis is walking purposefully (he is on a mission) across a sidewalk on a freeway cloverleaf interchange bridge - in the background beyond the steel safety rail in the middle distance are the freeways and the cars. Travis is the only animal, human, organic thing visible, and he walks purposefully on ignoring all vistas, and then we and he become aware of a ranting male voice which increases as we get closer and closer until it overcomes the hum and occasional whoosh of traffic. THe voice gets louder declaiming the destruction of the world - Travis pauses when he gets to the man, listens a sentence or two, then continues on his way, edging past the "mad" orator.
Yes the film does tell a story. And the story does hold our interest. Our dreams may be pathetic, and romantic, and we may have to painfully learn that we cannot possess the thing we love the most or we will destroy it. The joy of Travis is that he learns this, and through a wonderful act of redemption and generosity, achieves a kind of grace.
But it is the visual splendour and cinematic power of Wim Wenders,and Robbie Muller giving expression to Sam Shepard that makes this one of the greatest films about America.
Brilliant and captured stunningly well on DVD. I offer no comment on any extras.

ranks one of the greatest film ever

I just want to be honest with what I've saw, the picture is excellent, the soundtrack is great, the slide guitar fits so well in every scene, the actors did a superb job and what else can I say, I haven't seen a movie yet this good and has an excellent cinematography. The long conversation between Travis(Stanton) and Jane(Kinski)is difinitely the best and very memorable that until now, no matter where I go it lingers on my mind just that scene alone, its very touching that Ive tried so hard not to cry, but tears just roll down, kinski's role here is short but it seems to me that her presence seems to be in the whole movie. Its difinitely the best road movie ever, that I was so surprise that it wasn't even nominated for an Oscar but thank God it won the grand prize in the Cannes Film Festival coz it deserves more than that.

great movie

Paris, Texas. I've got a friend who lives on a boat near a little hamlet in Holland. It was a quiet summer day 14 years ago. He went away to get something small to eat. In the meantime the gently rocking boat made me sleepy so, why not, I took a little nap. I awoke with music of Ry Cooder. I hazily ask my friend what it was. This music, from the LP Paris, Texas, which filled the boat's space, was hitting the right spot. In that particular way that now, 14 years later, this music crossed my mind again. Somewhere in my head it was nagging that there was a film too. So I surfed on the internet. A few days later I saw the movie.

Now, about the movie: The mystic surroundings at the start of the movie is very promising. What strikes me the most is, aside of the music, the impressive photography. The story goes very slow but therein lays its power; resulting in very convincing acting work combined with comprehensive dialogues. A gentle tough of "Linchy" surrealism makes it more subtle and catches your attention the entire film. It proves that he has a firm knowledge of how to write a good story. The plot is a bit disappointing though. One longs a different end here in my opinion. But on the other hand; by leaving one at this particular point of view (I won't give any clues away) it transforms the picture to a well composed painting. This in combination with, as mentioned, the music makes this picture on of the most precious moments in your live.

Paris, Texas. P R O F O U N D, B R I L L I A N T & S U P E R B.

Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski are two of my very favourite actors; there are few who are as earthy and 'real' as they. As always, their acting is unparalled, which I think is due to the fact that they are earthy and real.


In this movie you will be taken on a journey unlike any other and one which I have experienced personally in very similar circumstances so I may be a little bias but only a tad, the movie is excellent in its' own right.


This movie is not for every one (there are many dead heads out there) but in any case it deseves 5 stars for it's brilliance and uniqueness. It is refreshing to see 'something different' and not the usual same ol'. This is truly a work of art. If you know excellence when you see it, you MUST SEE this movie.


Every one else has given you the story line, I just want to tell you just how brilliant it is. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. The sound track is also brilliant and fitting. I own both: dvd movie and the soundtrack.

A movie you must see before you die.

Love from me in Melbourne.

Haunting ... and I mean that in a nice way.

Of all the films I've seen in my 40 years, none haunts me more than this one. And really ... what more can we ask of our best art? I only saw it once, but my memory of it is so sublime, so complete, so visceral, that I can almost taste the dust in my mouth. And I'll be damned if Ry Cooder's isn't among the best -- as in most perfectly suited AND eminently listenable -- soundtracks ever.

Sublime

I hope they put this back in print on video and/or DVD. It's a true masterpiece of pacing and mood. Performances of Harry Dean Stanton & Dean Stockwell are amazing. Even the boy who plays the young son is amazing.
I think it is interesting to see the international influences on this picture. A colloboration between French, German, and American talents, it bears the markings of all three cinematic traditions. It is particularly interesting to see it as a very American movie (alieniation within wide open spaces, lonliness withing families, and so on) made by someone who isn't American.

Amazing!

This is an amazing film! (Not for those interested in explosions and fast cars, etc.) I can't praise Kinski and Stanton highly enough. I watch this film about once a year. There's one scene that's about as (psychologically) intense as anything in film.

A Beautiful Movie

Paris, Texas is a real place. Supposedly, the main character, Travis, claims his old father once said he was conceived in Paris, Texas, some tiny dusty ghost of a town blistering in the dry heat of the Mojave somewhere in the center of Texas. Hardly the Paris we'd all first assume.

We find Travis lost, depressed, mute and alone in the center of the hot summer Texan drylands.


Like an egg cooking, we are slowly introduced into this shy and sad character's life. A doctor finds him with only a single clue, a business card in his pocket. The name of the person on the card happens to be his brother (Dean Stanton) in Los Angeles.

From here, the story develops when Travis'es brother's character is developed. We see how his brother took care of his son and then we are introduced into his brother's household where we meet his son Sullivan who vaguely remembers his biological father, Travis and refers to his uncle and aunt as "mom and dad."

The movie slowly unpeels Travis'es life like a gentle emotional nostalgic striptease, until nearly 1 hour and 50 minutes into the film, we finally discover who Travis's lover and who Sullivan's true biological mother is.

It's a slowly developing movie that is patient and true to the nature of our protaganist who has gone 4 years without talking and who has changed as a result of the path in life he's taken.

Wim Wenders, director of "Wings of Desire" has his signature cinematographic touches and as always, patiently introduces us to new characters in an intriguing manner.

The late introduction of Natasha Kinski's character was beautifully done as we develop a picture of her and finally are introduced to her mystically in a red car riding through through tributary freeways of Houston, Texas. So much development is made of her character, that, when we are finally introduced to her, in a seedy joint with "pay to talk to chicks booths", she portrays the very goddess like appeal and attraction that Travis'es character has for her. The sordid location served little significance.

Her acting is convincing and angelically portrayed, and beautifully written.


Visually, the movie is ethereal. The night colors of Los Angeles are remarkable. The landscapes invinceable. There is also an intriguing interpretation of America from a German Director. Sometimes the character mannerisms, behaviors and dialogues are too European and unAmericanly directed. But all and all, I love this movie as I appreciate most Wim Wenders movies.

My favorite scene was easily the scene with Sullivan and Travis chasing mom on the freeways of Houston. It was an exciting, romantic artistic creation.

The scene of the man screaming above the noisey, apathetic Los Angeles traffic was gripping too.

Travis aria to Kinski beyond the dark barrier of a peepshow booth in the third person was oscar award winning.

This is a Perfect Film

This is my very favourite movie of all time. This is a perfect film. From Robbie Mueller's breathtaking cinematography, to Ry Cooder's haunting score everything is an excercise in beauty. (Lead actor) Harry Dean Stanton conveys a disturbing yet gentle portrayal of desire, fatherhood, and loss with great lucidity and pathos. Also noteworthy is Nastasja Kinski, whose chemistry with Stanton is unparalleled in recent cinema. The story is certainly one of Sam Sheperd's finest, as is L.M Kit Carson's nuanced adaptation (he wrote the screenplay--and his son plays Hunter, the child star of the film). While this film is a fine achievement in every aspect it is not for the impatient. Some have called it "slow moving," and it is definitely slow in its pace, but one needs time to savour a film of such subtlety as this. Paris Texas is a film that should not be left out of any serious collection, and is a must see for anyone who still regards filmmaking as a craft. I have lost count of how many times I have watched this film and shared it with others.