Paris, Texas (1984)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

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 | Hotel | Train | Boots | Husband Wife Relationship

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
Sally Norvell	...	Nurse Bibs
Sharon Menzel	...	Comedienne
The Mydolls	...	Rehearsing Band
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sam Shepard	...	(unconfirmed)
Brandy Tipton	...	Hunter's Girlfriend (scenes deleted)

Directed by
Wim Wenders

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

Produced by
Anatole Dauman	....	producer
Pascale Dauman	....	associate producer
Don Guest	....	producer
Chris Sievernich	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ry Cooder

Cinematography by
Robby Müller		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Peter Przygodda

Casting by
Gary Chason

Art Direction by
Kate Altman

Costume Design by
Birgitta Bjerke

Makeup Department
Karoly Balazs	....	hair stylist (as Charles Balazs)
Karoly Balazs	....	makeup artist (as Charles Balazs)

Production Management
Udo Heiland	....	post-production manager
Karen Koch	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Claire Denis	....	assistant director
Michael Helfand	....	trainee assistant director

Art Department
Lorrie Brown	....	assistant art director
Kimberly Buckley	....	property master (as Kim Buckley)
Craig Busch	....	assistant props: Texas
Anne Kuljian	....	set decorator: Los Angeles

Sound Department
Dominique Auvray	....	sound editor
Douglas Axtell	....	boom operator
Hartmut Eichgrün	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lothar Mankewitz	....	sound processor
Jean-Paul Mugel	....	sound mixer (as Jean Paul Mugel)

Camera and Electrical Department
Arthur Blum	....	best boy grip
Robert K. Feldmann	....	key grip (as Robert Feldman)
Kevin Galbraith	....	electrician
Greg Gardiner	....	gaffer
Agnès Godard	....	first assistant camera
Scott Guthrie	....	best boy electric
Robin Holland	....	still photographer
Martin Schäfer	....	camera operator: additional photography, second unit
Pim Tjujerman	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
Sheila Possner	....	casting coordinator: Los Angeles

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Roberta Elkins	....	wardrobe assistant: Texas

Editorial Department
Anne Schnee	....	assistant editor
Joachim von Mengershausen	....	commissioning editor: WDR (as J. Von Mengershausen)

Transportation Department
Homer Albin	....	driver
Lynn Brisbin	....	driver
Al Cantu	....	driver
Charles Griffith	....	driver (as Charlie Griffith)
Carl Johnson	....	driver
Tom Kelton	....	driver
Richard Padgett	....	driver
B.C. Smith	....	driver

Other crew
Allison Anders	....	production assistant
Helen Caldwell	....	script supervisor
Walter Donohue	....	story editor: Channel 4
Susan Elkins	....	location manager: Texas
Sarah Fitzsimmons	....	office coordinator: New York
Scott Kirby	....	production assistant
Patric Kreuzer	....	production assistant
Dean Lent	....	production assistant
Barbara Lucey	....	accountant
Dianne Mapp-Cheek	....	production coordinator (as Dianne Lisa Cheek)
Sherry McBride	....	caterer: Texas
Bonna Newman	....	production assistant
Lilyan Sievernich	....	office coordinator: New York
James Thompson	....	location manager: Los Angeles (as Jim Thompson)
Susanna Virtanen	....	post-production office

Thanks
Lotte Eisner	....	dedicatee (as Lotte H. Eisner)
Barbara von Weitershausen	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Road Movies Filmproduktion
• Argos Films
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) (in association with)
• Channel Four Films (in association with)
• Pro-ject Filmproduktion (in association with)

Distributors

• Argos Films (1984) (France) (theatrical)
• ELKE (1984) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tobis (1984) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK) (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Axiom Films (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Lii-Filmi (1984) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Look Vídeo (Brazil) (video)
• Madman Entertainment (2001) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2004) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Palace Video (1984) (UK) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1984) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Palace Video (1984) (UK) (video) (video 2000)
• Primer Plano Film Group (1999) (Argentina) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Ripley's Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• SBP (1999) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1984) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• T:mi Pekka Pietislä (19??) (Finland) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1989) (Finland) (TV)
• marketing-film

Other Companies

• Warner Bros. Records  soundtrack

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: When Travis and Hunter are following the red Chevrolet from a downtown bank, they merge onto US HWY 59 northbound, just south of interstate 45 and north of the HWY 288 interchange with US HWY 59. After a few moments pass the next shot shows them approaching the HWY 59 and HWY 288 interchange (going northbound on HWY 59). This interchange is located about 1/2 mile south of the onramp they took in the previous shot so there is no way they would have been able to approach this interchange going north on HWY 59 had they taken the northbound onramp in the previous shot.

Quotes:

Travis: He didn't even notice it at first. She started to change. From the day the baby was born, she began to get irritated with everything around her. She got mad at everything. Even the baby seemed to be an injustice to her. He kept trying to make everything all right for her...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gossip Girl: The Ex-Files (#2.4)" (2008)

Second American best film of the eighties

It might seem odd to call this an "American" film, as its director, Wim Wenders is a German film director, who , unlike his predecessors, Lang, Murnau, Pabst, Von Sternberg , and Billy Wilder, has chosen to remain aloof from the Hollywood film industry. But Paris Texas is as much an American film as Tocquevillle's "Democracy in America" is an American book. Sometimes it takes a foreigner ( In Wim Wenders' case, a foriegner who loves American music, American movies and American literature.) to look into the American soul. In this case,it helps that he is working with a great-and misunderstood- American writer, Sam Shephard, and a great-and under appreciated- American actor, Harry Dean Stanton. I can not begin to convey who poetic, how haunting, and how beautiful this film is, and how artfully it probes the American heart. The scene where Stanton confronts his wife, and tells what he did and why he did it, must rank among the supreme scenes, not just of film, but of human life. It echoed the great scenes of our literature, such as Ulysses meeting with Penelope, and the return of the prodigal son. In short, the only film which goes beyond it in the eighties is Raging Bull, and that is largely because of the volcanic power of Scorsese, that most self-crucifying of auteurs. in short, I would go so far as to say that Paris Texas is more than a "ten'...Like Citizen Kane, like 2001, like Andrei Roublev, like Raging Bull , like the Searchers, like Pickpocket, Tokyo Story, Seven Samurai and Ordet,it is an ELEVEN. Sublime AND beautiful.