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Don't Come Knocking

Play trailer Poster for Don't Come Knocking R 2005 2h 5m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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41% Tomatometer 99 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Washed-up movie star Howard Spence (Sam Shepard) spends his days drowning his sorrows in an endless stream of drugs and alcohol, but news that he may have fathered a child offers him a ray of hope. He sets out to find his offspring and discovers a whole life that he has missed.
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Don't Come Knocking

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Critics Consensus

The cinematography conjures beautifully evocative landscapes, but aside from that, the film is meandering and pointless.

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Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 10/30/2017
Despite the film's false notes, its balladlike moods ring true. Go to Full Review Richard Falcon Sight & Sound 09/28/2006
[It has] a terrific sense of place, something missing from much contemporary US cinema. Go to Full Review Geoff Andrew Time Out 06/24/2006
By the time we get to the point where the camera is endlessly circling Shepard sitting on a sofa in the middle of the street, it feels as if he and his director were making things up as they went along. Go to Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion 08/30/2009
The bitterness of the playwright's vision is expanded by the director's fascinated fondness for American culture Go to Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 04/20/2009
C
Apart from an extraordinary scene of attempted reconciliation between Shepard and Lange "Don't Come Knocking" is an inflated drama that lies stagnate on the screen. Go to Full Review Jonathan Kiefer Sacramento News & Review 08/07/2008
3/5
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Audience Reviews

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Jerod S @jeroduptown 08/13/2023 There was a chance for "Don't Come Knocking" to have a point, especially when it comes to bringing family into focus after brokenness. Sam Shepherd doesn't have a lot of lines to deliver and the ones he does are lifeless. Even Jessica Lange can't save this script. See more 11/02/2020 I lile the photography,Good mood,Nice takes, music well choosen See more 07/11/2017 A man's journey into his past turns up a son he never knew that he had and small town living that clearly doesn't care if he's around or not. Wenders makes a pretty film, but an aging movie star who flees a set and goes on a journey of...personal discovery (?) just never fully engages the audience, as he doesn't seem to know why he's there either, y'know? It's an okay time-waster, but I would be hard pressed to say when I would revisit this one. A rental, at best. See more 10/16/2015 So underrated. It's a real shame nobody seems to get this wonderful film. See more 05/16/2015 It never really works, but Wim Wenders movie can't help but be a pleasure. It has the feel of something that might have been made in the '70's. As expected, Shepard and Lange are outstanding. Despite its flaws, fans of the three main artists will enjoy every moment. See more Frances H 07/18/2014 Quirky off beat story of a man who decides rather late in life that it's time to pick up the dropped threads of a life he abandoned a long time ago. Love Sarah Polley's role and the Hopper inspired camera work. See more Read all reviews
Don't Come Knocking

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Cast & Crew

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Wim Wenders

Director

Sam Shepard

Howard Spence

Jessica Lange

Doreen

Tim Roth

Sutter

Gabriel Mann

Earl

Sarah Polley

Sky

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Don't Come Knocking

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Movie Info

Synopsis Washed-up movie star Howard Spence (Sam Shepard) spends his days drowning his sorrows in an endless stream of drugs and alcohol, but news that he may have fathered a child offers him a ray of hope. He sets out to find his offspring and discovers a whole life that he has missed.
Director
Wim Wenders
Producer
Peter Schwartzkopff, Karsten Brünig, In-Ah Lee
Screenwriter
Sam Shepard
Production Co
Road Movies
Rating
R (Language|Brief Nudity)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Mar 17, 2006
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$438.7K
Runtime
2h 5m
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