Wanderlust (2006) (TV)

Directors:

Shari Springer Berman
Robert Pulcini

Writers:

Robert Pulcini (written by) &
Shari Springer Berman (written by)

Release Date:

12 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Tagline:

On the Road with American Road Movies

Plot:

A documentary on road movies and their effect on American culture. |

Plot Keywords:

Interview | America | Biker | Film Clip | Freeway

Cast

Allison Anders	...	Herself
Jeanine Basinger	...	Herself
Robert Benton	...	Himself
Karen Black	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Peter Bogdanovich	...	Himself
Jeff Brouws	...	Himself
William S. Burroughs	...	Tom the Priest (archive footage)
Alfonso Cuarón	...	Himself (as Alfonso Cuaron)
Kat Dennings	...	Lila
Matt Dillon	...	(voice) (also archive footage)
Chris Eyre	...	Himself
Monte Hellman	...	Himself
Arthur Hiller	...	Himself
Dennis Hopper	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Callie Khouri	...	Herself
László Kovács	...	Himself (as Laszlo Kovacs)
David Laderman	...	Himself
Adriane Lenox	...	Herself (voice)
Barry Levinson	...	Himself
Thomas McCarthy	...	The Director (as Tom McCarthy)
Mira Nair	...	Herself
Hal Needham	...	Himself
Pat Nixon	...	Herself (archive footage)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alexander Payne	...	Himself
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Paul Reubens	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Peter Riegert	...	Himself (voice)
Paul Rudd	...	The Editor
David O. Russell	...	Himself
Walter Salles	...	Himself
Richard C. Sarafian	...	Himself (as Richard Sarafian)
Jerry Schatzberg	...	Himself
Sam Shepard	...	Himself
Stephen Shore	...	Himself
Gary Sinise	...	Himself (voice)
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Himself
Lili Taylor	...	Herself (voice)
James Urbaniak	...	Himself (voice)
Gus Van Sant	...	Himself
Wim Wenders	...	Himself
Rudy Wurlitzer	...	Himself
Vilmos Zsigmond	...	Himself

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Company:

Tailslate Pictures

Trivia:

The endings of many films featured in the documentary are shown, which may act as spoilers for some viewers.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Several films are shown with an incorrect year of release, such as Detour (listed as 1946), Easy Rider (listed as 1968), Badlands (listed as 1974), Rain Man (listed as 1987), Pee-wee's Big Adventure (listed as 1986) and Y tu mamá también (listed as 2002).

Movie Connections:

Features Get on the Bus (1996)

Soundtrack:

Guess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Heart

Fascinating, Moving Documentary

The road film is the subject of the fantastic documentary "Wanderlust" by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. They had previously made the semi-documentary "American Splendor" which starred Paul Giamatti. Given these two examples, they are certainly filmmakers to watch. With "Wanderlust" they focus their attention on the seemingly American fascination with the open road and by association the road film. Using innumerable clips from nearly seventy years of film, excerpts from the likes of Jack Kerouac and Robert Pirsig, and interviews from filmmakers and cultural historians, the documentary presents an effective case for the road film as an echo of the social or political situation of their given time. It's a very watchable, interesting piece of film-making that succeeds at evoking an emotional response at unexpected points, mainly because this is more than just a clip show. It's a well-made film that leaves the viewer longing for the freedom of the open road with no particular destination in mind.