Paris, Texas (1984)

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

L.M. Kit Carson (adaptation)
Sam Shepard (written by)

Release Date:

9 November 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A place for dreams. A place for heartbreak. A place to pick up the pieces.

Plot:

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his...

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Paris Texas | Reunion | Amnesia | German American

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Harry Dean Stanton	...	Travis Henderson
Sam Berry	...	Gas Station Attendant
Bernhard Wicki	...	Doctor Ulmer
Dean Stockwell	...	Walt Henderson
Aurore Clément	...	Anne Henderson (as Aurore Clement)
Claresie Mobley	...	Car Rental Clerk
Hunter Carson	...	Hunter Henderson
Viva	...	Woman on TV (as Viva Auder)
Socorro Valdez	...	Carmelita
Edward Fayton	...	Hunter's Friend
Justin Hogg	...	Hunter - Age 3
Nastassja Kinski	...	Jane Henderson
Tom Farrell	...	Screaming Man
John Lurie	...	Slater
Jeni Vici	...	Stretch

Also Known As:

Motel Chronicles (West Germany) (working title)
Paris, Texas (West Germany)

Runtime:

147 min

Country:

West Germany | France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | UK:12 (DVD rating) (2007) | West Germany:6 | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Norway:12 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:R | France:U | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

10060 Olivia Terrace, Sun Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Road Movies Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Composer Ry Cooder recreated blues guitarist Blind Willie Johnson's 1927 tune "Dark Was the Night" as the centerpiece of his Paris, Texas (1984) soundtrack.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Since Travis and Hunter are driving from L.A. to Houston, they would take I-10 going from west to east. When they arrive in Houston, the view of downtown is from I-45, which runs north/south from Dallas to Galveston.

Quotes:

Walt: We live in the suburbs, but I've got my business in town
Travis: Oh yeah? What's your business?
Walt: I make billboard signs for advertising.
Travis: Oh yeah? So *you*'re the one who makes those signs, I love those. Some of them are beautiful.
Walt: I'm not the only one who makes them, Trav.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Die Überraschung (2004)

Life-altering. The greatest film of all time.

I first saw this film almost fifteen years ago and thought about almost nothing else for at least a month. I have never seen a film before or since that presents the extremes of love, pain, and loss with such immediacy and ruthless candor. Watching this film with openness, identifying with the characters, made me wince and writhe in sympathetic agony. I didn't cry; rather, I was reminded of all the times I have wept in my life, and why.

Perhaps each person person has a film -- usually a masterpiece -- which affects him or her so strongly that it is beyond description. This is mine.