Does anyone know any other movies like this? As in movies that have a similar vibe or look. Movies that involve road trips, motels, deserts, bars and the strangeness of America and American life?
I get a certain feeling from Paris, Texas and I want more of it.
Zabriskie Point (1970)
Electra Glide in Blue (1973)
Alice in the Cities (1974)
The Straight Story (1999)
Simple Men (1992)
One From the Heart (1982)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Stroszek (1977)
California Split (1974)
Point Blank (1967)
Running on Empty (1988)
Cutter's Way (1981)
Mikey and Nicky (1976)
Straight Time (1978)
Mike's Murder (1984)
Breathless (1983)
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
Badlands (1973)
They Live By Night (1949)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
The Last Detail (1973)
I'm a big fan of these films, too. A ton of them were made in the 70s/early 80s. I would say that Antonioni's The Passenger (1975) is also extremely similar to Paris Texas, but it's not set in America. You may also want to check out the other German road movies by Wenders, Kings of the Road (1976) and Wrong Move (1975) -- these form what's called his "road movie trilogy" along with Alice in the Cities.
Thank you once again!
shareI love that you mentioned The Passenger. That movie has such a great feeling to it that, even though I can't explain it, it just means so much to me.
sharemotels, deserts, bars and the strangeness of America and American life?
I love his films, especially Broken Flowers.
shareOh, then you might want to have a look at Frank Perry's The Swimmer (1968). If it would be a bit far fetched to call Broken Flowers a remake of it, it certainly would feel right to call it a blood relative...
shareI love that film as well, although I'm not exactly sure how the two are similar.
shareBoth films come in the shape of a road-movie (swimming-pool-movie??) parable about a wealthy, selfish middle-aged man who revisits moments of his past life, each new one finding him facing more and more hostile behaviours, until he ends up utterly alone, forcing him (and the spectator) to re-evaluate his character and past actions.
Ultimately, both films are about the petty evils and common acts of treachery, cowardice, unfaithfulness, deceit, vanity, etc. ordinary people commit in their lifetime while living with the certainty they are model citizens.
Oh, I see. I never thought about it like that.
Ah, of course Jarmusch fits. Mystery Train and Down By Law were shot by the great Robby Muller, who of course shot Paris Texas. That's partly why I put To Live and Die in L.A. on my list, another Muller-shot masterpiece which is basically a nihilistic action film instead of a gentle road movie, but which captures a certain beautiful visual sense of the American West quite similar to Paris Texas.
sharethe lead walking in the desert looked a lot different after the makeover when he lost the cap got a shave and hairstyle, i've heard a lot of buzz about the other dean in this yet this is one of the few productions i've seen him in, and rare starring part for stanton, i guess this is rare casting but they have screen presence and work great together, wearing odd hawaiian shirts. what great soundtrack, imagery, funny look of plane flying low, as he walks the sidewalk and bumps into a trash can, if that had been shot another way it could have looked like bad slapstick, even before the opening view you can hear by the soundtrack it isn't a french movie π°, the scene changing look like a tv movie, i had already seen this years ago and as i rewatched it now i remember i liked how this started but as the story developed with more people and surroundings liked it less, after he cleans up and starts talking the mystery it began with goes away, i thought it was just me but this board is packed with this view, to answer your question, the strange vibe this movie starts with reminds me of the twilight zone episode "where is everybody" and in that the mystique remain. anyway as it develops i found his girl and the kids mother didn't look old enough to have a past with him and it would be more engaging if his long lost love was about the same age, i know she was the kids real mother but that kid was better off with the french lady and she wasn't even rude. movies from half a century ago taking place in small towns the car scenes could look like the wild west, but in this the kid rides at the back of a pickup truck on a major highway. cut one part of this it would've been family friendly.
π πΆβ
your forms packed in,
a dress as well my memory,
was lost in the land,
you placed smooth hand,
then began map scratch,
until strike fortune at,
your lips created storm hair blow,
as well my brain gone,
unique force capture my heart,
packed the world there n heaven you brought.