Paris, Texas

R

Released Nov 18, 1984

2 hr. 28 min.

Drama

List

94%

53 Reviews

Tomatometer

93%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A disheveled man who wanders out of the desert, Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) seems to have no idea who he is. When a stranger manages to contact his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), Travis is awkwardly reunited with his sibling. Travis has been missing for years, and his presence unsettles Walt and his family, which also includes Travis's own son, Hunter (Hunter Carson). Soon Travis must confront his wife, Jane (Nastassja Kinski), and try to put his life back together.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Max

Apple TV

Watch Paris, Texas with a subscription on Max, rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

A quiet yet deeply moving kind of Western, Paris, Texas captures a place and people like never before (or after).

Read Critics Reviews

Jack G

Its strongest element was the cinematography. It's great. The dialogue was good. The acting was overrated. I find the film is overall overrated. It begged to be an hour shorter. The twangy score was nice on the ears but did not fit the deeply tragic mood of this film. The film left too many questions unanswered or with unsatisfying ones. There seemed to be a little too much emphasis on style over substance so we're left with little dialogue leaving plot holes unfilled.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/15/24

Full Review

Rich C

Paris, Texas draws you in slowly but completely. A master class of story telling by Sam Shepard and LM Kit Carson, containing one of the great monologues in movie history, allowed Wim Wenders to show a simple story in an extraordinary way. The characters are mysterious but not overly complicated, and you can feel the pain and loss in your gut as they wander through their individual anger and emptiness to an ending which is satisfying and yet disappointing at the same time. You find yourself, as I did when I saw it for the first time, talking to the screen and imploring the characters under your breath to come to the same conclusions about what they should do as you have....in vain as it turns out. The performances by Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski are absolutely mesmerizing and are backed by stellar performances by Dean Stockwell, Aurore Cement, and Hunter Carson, while haunting soundtrack by Ry Cooder only adds to the vastness of the picture. It's brilliance can not be over-stated.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/10/24

Full Review

Hao Ian L

For its runtime, you would expect the characters to be more fleshed out with motives more clear cut. Wenders' melancholic meditation on memory and loss boasts breathtaking cinematography, but suffers from a glacial pace an enigmatic lead whose journey feels emotionally hollow.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/16/24

Full Review

The D

I'm not usually into slow, introspectional movies but Paris,Texas is exceptional. Beautifully shot and fantastic acting all round. I think it resonated with me because my own father - who is very much like Harry Dean Stanton - was not present in my early years. The bond by between Hunter and his father begins to grow throughout the movie in a wonderful authentic way, and the whole story touches on so many human emotions like love, regret, lost opportunities and the heart wrench of being away from a past love and his own son. I cry every time I watch this classic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/14/24

Full Review

Blob 9

The impact this film has doesn't dawn on you until the end. The experience is dream like at times, as you soak in the environment from country to city, uncertain in where this odyssey leads.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/24

Full Review

Allen R

A slow burn that becomes more and more worth it as the movie reaches the end.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Wim Wenders

Director

Harry Dean Stanton

Travis

Nastassja Kinski

Jane

Dean Stockwell

Walt

Aurore Clément

Anne Henderson

Hunter Carson

Hunter

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

50%

63%

Less Than Zero

79%

81%

Wall Street

75%

74%

Brubaker

56%

80%

Savior

76%

80%

Rumble Fish

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Peter Dinklage’s Five Favorite Films

Colin Farrell’s Five Favorite Films

Five Favourite Films with Gael Garcia Bernal

View more photos

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

The panoramic vistas from the cinematographer Robby Müller are as breathtaking as any John Ford western, while the naturalistic performances and deft narrative structure make this the strongest movie in the career of its director, Wim Wenders.

Sep 14, 2023

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

... An eerie, sad story whose meaning disappears over the vast horizon as if on a highway heading away through the desert.

Rated: 5/5

Jul 27, 2022

Full Review

Joe Pollack

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

It's a striking, gripping film for most of its length, with Wenders and cinematographer Robby Muller showing a great love of and fascination for the land -- almost as if their European upbringings had made them slightly envious of the wide-open spaces.

Oct 7, 2021

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

It transcends [Wenders'] usual road movie archetypes and pressing alienation, and it enters the realm of an almost mythic quest for healing and reconciliation after the emotional fallout of masculine violence.

Rated: 4/4

Aug 31, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Most of the performances hit every right note especially Stanton, Kinski, and young Carson. All of this is brought together under the management of Wenders who tells a living, breathing story free of contrivances and artifice.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 24, 2022

Full Review

Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

A rare and fascinating experience for those patient enough to go with its slow flow.

Oct 7, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

A disheveled man who wanders out of the desert, Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) seems to have no idea who he is. When a stranger manages to contact his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), Travis is awkwardly reunited with his sibling. Travis has been missing for years, and his presence unsettles Walt and his family, which also includes Travis's own son, Hunter (Hunter Carson). Soon Travis must confront his wife, Jane (Nastassja Kinski), and try to put his life back together.

Director: Wim Wenders
Executive Producer: Chris Sievernich
Screenwriter: L.M. Kit Carson, Sam Shepard
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 18, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017

Most Popular at Home Now