PARIS, TEXAS is considered Wenders’s best-known and internationally most successful film. Celebrated by critics, it won a series of important international awards, including the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Out of nowhere, a gaunt man in a dark suit and a red baseball cap appears in the burning heat of the desert between the US and Mexico. Travis. He drinks the last sip from his water bottle, then he moves on, doggedly, into the inhospitable area that the locals call “The Devil’s Playground”. Travis might seem to be mute and amnesiac, but he’s driven by the desire to reconnect with his family.
Wim Wenders’ iconic Cannes winner from 1984, exquisitely photographed by Dutch master Robby Müller, is a powerful statement on self-discovery, loss, redemption and the unbreakable bonds of love. Outstanding performances by Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski, a masterful screenplay by Sam Shepard and Ry Cooder’s haunting soundtrack have contributed to PARIS, TEXAS’ cult film status and its spell, even 40 years later. The new 4K restoration makes it shine more than ever.
4K-Restoration in 2024
The digital restoration of the film was done in 2024. The original 35mm negative was scanned in 4K at L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, with financial support by the CNC. Restoring and color-correction took place at Basis Berlin Postproduktion, with the support of Chanel and the German Film Heritage Funding Program (FFE).
Premiere
The restored version of PARIS, TEXAS will premiere as part of Cannes Classics on May 24, 2024.
Format
West Germany/France 1983/1984
Length: 146 min, 4189 m
Format: 35mm colour; 1:1.66; Stereo
Original Language: English
4K Scan L’Immagine Ritrovata and 4K Restoration Basis Berlin in 2024, 4K DCP
Festivals & Awards
1984 • Cannes International Filmfestival: Palme D’Or, FIPRESCI-Prize, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
1984 • German Camera Award (Category Feature Film: Robby Müller)
1985 • British Academy Awards (Best Director)
1985 • German Film Award in Silver (Best Fiction Film)
1985 • Bavarian Film Awards (Best Camera: Robby Müller)
Cast and crew
Production: Road Movies Filmproduktion GmbH (Berlin), Argos Films S.A. (Neuilly-sur-Seine), Pro-ject Filmproduktion im Filmverlag der Autoren GmbH (Munich) Director: Wim Wenders Producer: Wim Wenders, Chris Sievernich Screenplay: Sam Shepard Director of Photography: Robby Müller Editor: Peter Przygodda Sound: Jean-Paul Mugel Cast: Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clément, Hunter Carson, Bernhard Wicki
Assistant Director: Claire Denis Adaption: L.M. Kit Carson Script: Helen Caldwell Music: Ry Cooder In Cooperation with: Westdeutscher Rundfunk (Cologne), Channel Four (London), Grey City Inc. (New York) Assistant Camera: Pim Tjujerman, Agnès Godard, Martin Schär Assistant Editor: Anne Schnee, Barbara von Weitershausen Still Photographer: Robin Holland Sound Editor: Dominique Auvray Sound Assistant: Douglas Axtell Re-recording: Lothar Mankewitz Re-recording Mixer: Hartmut Eichgrün Light: Greg Gardiner, Scott Guthrie Set Design: Kate Altman Assistant Set Design: Lorrie Brown Set: Robert K. Feldmann Set Assistant: Arthur Blum Set Decorator: Kim Buckley (Los Angeles), Anne Kuljian (Texas) Wardrobe: Birgitta Bjerke, Roberta Elkins Make-up: Charles Balazs Hairstyle: Charles Balazs Music Execution: Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Jim Dickinson Production Manager: Karen Koch Production Assistant: Bonna Newman, Allison Anders, Scott Kirby, Dean Lent, Patrick Kreuzer Co-Producer: Anatole Dauman, Pascale Dauman Production Coordinator: Dianne Lisa Cheek Location Manager: Susan Elkins (Texas), Jim Thompson (Los Angeles) Produced by: Don Guest Editorial Office: Joachim von Mengershausen (WDR); David Rose, Walter Donohue (Channel 4) Casting: Gary Chason, Sheila Possner Office: Lilyan Sievernich (New York), Sarah Fitzsimmons (L.A.) Primary Distribution: Filmverlag der Autoren GmbH & Co. Vertriebs KG (Munich) Shooting: 29.09.1983 – 11.12.1983 in Big Bend, Marathon, Fort Stockton, El Paso, Houston, Nordheim, Port Arthur (Texas), Four Corners, Los Angeles, Burbank, Ocean Way Studios/L.A. (California), Deming (Mexico) Premiere (FR): 19.5.1984, Cannes International Filmfestival; (DE): 24.10.1984, Hof Filmfestival First Release (DE): 06.03.1988, ARD World Sales: HanWay Films
Book to the film
Paris Texas
Wim Wenders, Sam Shepard
Road Movies & Greno, Berlin 1984
511 pages, Softcover
ISBN: 3921568110
Out of print
Press Sheet (PDF)
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