Paris texas miseenscene analysis by stuart grenvilleprice. I didnt grow up in the sort of dusty nowhere in which wim wenders paris, texas begins, but i didnt grow up in the sort of place where a lot of people talked about wim wenders movies, either. May 30, 2017 paris, texas is a 1984 drama film directed by wim wenders and starring harry dean stanton, dean stockwell, nastassja kinski, and hunter carson. The film was a coproduction between companies in france and. In paris, texas there is that scene with travis, the protagonist, at his brothers home sitting to the table with his brother, sisterinlaw and their son.
Kit carson and playwright sam shepard, and the distinctive musical score was composed by ry cooder. The borrowings from paris, texas are apparent even in the credit sequence of lucky, which, like the wenders film, show the eponymous protagonist, played by stanton, wearing a hat and. It stars harry dean stanton in a rare leading man role, dean stockwell and nastassja kinski set in the vast mojave desert, the film tells the story of travis, a man found aimlessly wondering the empty roads while suffering from memory loss. Stan jones noted mark luprecht had classified paris, texas as a tragedy and had detected oedipal themes in its depiction of family. Overall, paris, texas is a great film that should be noted both for its photography and for its realistic look at family life. Paris, texas 1984 trailer the criterion collection film. Wim wenders paris, texas, the visually enticing road film that centers far more on emotion that action, that leans on subtlety and the inner world of its heroes. Paris, texas original motion picture soundtrack ry. Whether it exhausts these categories or expresses a contemporary condition. Wim wenders film paris, texas is a painfully emotive exploration of existential grief, and a love letter not only to a broken romance but to. The stories behind paris, texas and more of director wim. Shepard is the kind of writer who writes best when he writes fast. Its indeed a beautiful film, one that will surely convince doubters that muller is one of the cinemas best cameramen.
Until travis finally tells his story at the end of the film, most of his actions and feelings are left vague. Paris, texas follows the mysterious, nearly mute drifter travis a magnificent harry dean stanton, whose face is a landscape all its. Wim wenders paris, texas 1984 is the story of loss upon loss. This is a video essay explaining the themes and meaning behind the cinematography of wim wenders 1984 film, paris texas. Throughout, a form of dominance is attributed to the image itself. As part of our celebration of the year of the month, 1984, lynn lee revisits the winner of that years palme dor, wim wenders paris texas.
It is also, among other things, a road movie, a modern western, a near textbook perfect example of what an art film can be rather than should be, and also a rare example of an international coproduction whose poetic reach isnt handicapped by the lure of foreign sales. The beautiful brochureesque scenery, sustained acting, and symbolic eerilylit scenes contribute to a film with deep emotional. The origins of paris, texas lay in one of those earlier american films. Walt is shocked to hear about his brothers condition, since no one in the family has seen or heard from travis. Wim wenders film paris, texas is a painfully emotive exploration of existential grief, and a love letter not only to a broken romance but to america itself. Paris, texas 1984 the grizzled character actor harry dean stanton found a new stature as travis, a seeming amnesiac on a mission to reunite with the wife nastassja kinski and child he.
A hybrid of those two most iconically american genres, the western and the road tripdirected, natch, by a german and starring two european. The more he sees the family the more he feels that hunter belongs with his biological mother. Paris, texas isnt just the most enduringly beautiful and widely cherished title from that years respectable competition crop, but a film that remains, for this critic, the crowning. Apr 27, 2015 a selection of ry cooders music from the film paris, texas theres a goldhearted saloon girl in this western too. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay andor viewings of paris, texas. Sep 28, 2017 the borrowings from paris, texas are apparent even in the credit sequence of lucky, which, like the wenders film, show the eponymous protagonist, played by stanton, wearing a hat and. Paris, texas belongs in the road movie genre, but the guardian critic guy lodge suggested it could also be considered a western film. Paris, texas follows the mysterious, nearly mute drifter travis a magnificent harry dean stanton, whose face is a landscape all its own as he tries to reconnect with. Viewing the world through a windshield, it lingers on highways, roadside diners, grand canyons, gas stations, billboards, flickering neon signs, stretches of lonely desert, phone booths, and the gigantic dinosaur sculptures of cabazon, california.
I have been going to press screenings at the cannes film festival for more than twentyfive years, but only twice have i been absolutely sureblindingly, heartracingly certainthat i have just seen the future winner of the palme dor. Paris texas miseenscene analysis by stuart grenville. Paris, texas has the manner of something to which too many people have made contributions. Travis harry dean stanton traverses the american west in wim wenders paris, texas. We never actually visit the area of paris, texas in the film. A quiet yet deeply moving kind of western, paris, texas captures a place and people like never before or after. Jane, the strayed, mistreated wife and mother played by nastassja kinski. I have been going to press screenings at the cannes film festival for more than twentyfive years, but only twice have i been absolutely. Suggestive of both the imagery of wim wenders movie paris, texas and the desert itself, ry cooders score is a peaceful, poetic journey into the soul of an acoustic guitar. Jul 15, 2016 paris, texas 1984 the grizzled character actor harry dean stanton found a new stature as travis, a seeming amnesiac on a mission to reunite with the wife nastassja kinski and child he.
Mar 20, 2011 wjec film studies film analysis mise en scasne. Travis henderson, an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family. The man comes walking out of the desert like a biblical. Travis discusses it with his brother, showing him a photograph of a plot of land in paris. Gallery of 42 movie poster and cover images for paris, texas 1984.
This man, whose name is travis, was once married and had a little boy. Something like a perfect artistic union is achieved in the major components of paris, texas. Paris, texas knowingly reworks elements from both classical hollywood and european art cinema. A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. Finally, the paris, texas script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the wim wenders movie. Paris, texas wim wenders, 1984 is a wonderful example of new german cinema. A place to pick up the pieces a man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. This isnt a movie about missing persons, but about missing feelings. The images in the film show people framed by the vast, impersonal forms of modern architecture. Paris, texas 1984 wim wenders synopsis, characteristics. Paris, texas, as even the title hints, equals europe, u. Paris, texas, brothers, and nothing out there open the album as meditative blends of guitar twang and scratching ambient effects. Paris, texas is a 1984 drama film directed by wim wenders and starring harry dean stanton, dean stockwell, nastassja kinski, and hunter carson.
Revisiting paris, texas the best film of the 1980s. Jan 07, 2017 what does the color scheme mean in paris, texas. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked. Aug 02, 2015 dear reader, wim wenders movie paris, texas 1984 opens with harry dean stantons character travis henderson wandering through the american desert. He is wearing a red cap, wearing a white shirt, and walking in front of the blue sky. Travis views the open land of paris as a place of peace and innocence. This is a movie that seems most profound when its saying the absolute least, privileging iconography over psychology. It is also, among other things, a road movie, a modern. One thing i appreciate about paris, texas is how ambiguous or unexplained a lot of events are. Set to a bluesy soundtrack of ry cooder, there is a consistently aching melancholy to the film, which has become regarded as one of the most visually compelling narratives of all time.
The jury in 1984, which included english actor dirk bogarde, french actress isabelle huppert, and italian composer ennio morricone, was supposedly unanimous in its selection of wim wenders movie for the. Mar 28, 2016 we never actually visit the area of paris, texas in the film. I know, i know, i still need to get the cast names in there and ill be eternally tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to drop me a line. Paris, texas is a movie with the kind of passion and willingness to experiment that was more common fifteen years ago than it is now. In wim wenders 1984 with the release of paris, texas, which was cowritten by sam shepard. A film created in and about america by a german filmmaker, paris, texas was well received in many places globally. Jan 24, 2010 just as ry cooders soundtrack of plaintively metallic glissandos can ultimately only be appreciated only as a white academics soulful dissertation on authentic black pain, the tenderly talented look and feel of paris, texas provided by director wim wenders a german and cinematographer robby muller a dutchman elides spiritual resonance for human curiosity at every possible turn. Paris, texas is a film of extraordinary beauty and irresistibility. Now he will find his family and lose it again, this time not through madness but through sacrifice. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier. Then that all went wrong, and he lost his wife and child, and for years he wandered.
As i recently announced on my own everexpanding list of favorite films, and soon to be registered in the best films of the 1980s polling at wonders in the dark, wim wenders 1984 palme dor winning paris, texas is handsdown my pick for the greatest film of the decade. A german doctor of dubious credentials finds a phone number in travis wallet, which belongs to his brother, walt dean stockwell. These mysteries are at the core of paris, texas, and the films power lies in the hypnotic teasing out of the answers from its reuniting band of characters. The shepardwenders meeting creates a unique road movie that, 20 years after its theatrical release, stays as the masterpiece of the german director. Red, green, and the postmodern american illusion an analysis edited by chad david paris, texas is not only a fascinating dossier in scene composition and cinematic lighting but its also a film thats just as socially poignant now as when it was released. How paris, texas sold harry dean stanton short the new yorker. Travis harry dean stanton is wandering through the texas desert, a bit shaky and in desperate need of water, when he stumbles into a bar and collapses. Paris, texas is a 1984 road movie directed by wim wenders and starring harry dean stanton, dean stockwell, nastassja kinski, and hunter carson. Paris, texas script transcript from the screenplay and. Paris, texas script transcript from the screenplay andor. Wim wenders paris, texas is less about america than.
Oct 14, 1984 paris, texas has the manner of something to which too many people have made contributions. They have a dialogue with each other, after watching some super 8 films with each other. Paris, texas 1984 is a story about the prodigal son and his uneasy homecoming. Paris, texas suggests that the festival is just as enamored with nonamerican films that have something vague to say about america. Culbertson family shows many scenes from the city plus the actual dedication of the culbertson fountain most of downtown was only ten or eleven years old having been rebuilt after the 1916 fire. Paris, texas 1984 trailer the criterion collection. But paris, texas is less a spiritual successor to those countercultural milestones than a vision of our country from someone whose ideas about the place were shaped by them. Meanwhile america itself appears to be filtered through the processes of representation. Paris, texas is a 1984 film by german filmmaker wim wenders. Dayton, ohio had, and still has, an arthouse theater, but it wasnt always easy to get to from the suburbs, especially in the years before i drove. The movie, the winner of the grand prize at this years cannes festival, will be shown at 8. Three years later wenders received the bestdirector award at cannes for the read more. How paris, texas sold harry dean stanton short the new. New german cinema pioneer wim wenders wings of desire brings his keen eye for landscape to the american southwest in paris, texas, a profoundly moving character study written by pulitzer prizewinning playwright sam shepard.
The dvdbluray of the film is available from the criterion collection. These are people who are a real familyopinionated, angry, happy, sad, melodramatic, judgmental, highstrung, incommunicado, etc. The lyrical drama about a man in the american southwest who is physically and spiritually lost won the palme dor at the cannes film festival. Kit carson and playwright sam shepard, while the distinctive musical score was composed by ry cooder. Wea in 1985 containing music from paris, texas 1984. Written by sam shepard, paris, texas is a movie directed by wim wenders in 1984. Travis is hauled back from despair and reunited with his brothers family and hunter. Look carefully at the opening few minutes and then answer the. Paris, texas is more concerned with exploring emotions than with telling a story.
Sep 11, 2015 wim wenders film paris, texas is a painfully emotive exploration of existential grief, and a love letter not only to a broken romance but to america itself. In his greatest role, longtime character actor stanton plays a man brought back to his old life after wandering in the desert. Dear reader, wim wenders movie paris, texas 1984 opens with harry dean stantons character travis henderson wandering through the american desert. Paris, texas soundtrack from 1984, composed by ry cooder. Paris, texas original motion picture soundtrack ry cooder. It has more links with films like five easy pieces and easy rider and midnight cowboy, than with the slick arcade games that are the boxoffice winners of the 1980s. With harry dean stanton, nastassja kinski, dean stockwell, aurore clement. It is also, among other things, a road movie, a modern western, a near textbook perfect example of what an art film can be rather than should be, and also a rare example of an international coproduction whose poetic reach isnt. Its nice sometimes to have a film that lets us create our own interpretations, or asks us to.
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