Paris, Texas: Wim Wenders' Marvelous Character Study Turns 40 (Criterion 4K/Blu-ray)

The Film:

We once again return to beloved writer/director Wim Wenders, the man behind such highly-regarded narrative features as "Wings of Desire" and most recently "Perfect Days, as well as acclaimed documentaries like "Pina" and "Buena Vista Social Club." However, perhaps the most cherished film in his prolific career has been his little Palme d'Or & BAFTA-winning gem "Paris, Texas," a marvelous work that reached its 40th anniversary this year. To celebrate, Criterion is giving it their incredible 4K upgrade (the film has been in the collection since 2006), making it the perfect time to go back and explore what has made it such an enduring classic.

The film begins with Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) wandering through the Texas desert, where he eventually comes upon a convenience store and collapses inside. A doctor examines him and tries to find out who he is, but Travis won't speak. The doctor finds a card on him that has a number for Travis' brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), who travels from LA to pick him up. Due to Travis not wanting to fly, they end up having to drive all the way back, during which Travis finally starts to talk, though not about what he's been doing since he disappeared four years ago.

Along the way, we learn that he was married to a woman named Jane (Nastassja Kinski) and has a kid named Hunter (Hunter Carson), who has been in the care of Walt and his wife Anne (Aurore Clément) and is about to turn eight. Travis and Hunter spend the next several days trying to get to know each other again, eventually forming a pretty strong bond. When Anne informs Travis that Jane (who also went missing) has been making monthly deposits at a bank in Houston to help with raising Hunter, Travis and his son decide to set out on a quest to find her.

"Paris, Texas" is a very sweet, quiet, and meditative film that's in no rush to get anywhere quickly. Divided into three sections, the first centers on Travis reconnecting with his brother Walt after the former has been missing for the last four years. Travis is in pretty rough shape, but eventually comes out of his shell, and while he remains a little eccentric and isn't quite ready to talk about what happened, he still attempts to bond with his brother on their trip back to LA.

The second portion has Travis reuniting with his son Hunter and attempting to reconnect with him as his father, which is a little complicated after having thought Walt and Anne were his parents for so long. Finally, the last part has Travis & Hunter strengthening their new-found bond through their quest to find Jane, whom Travis must confront after all that's happened in a masterfully-executed scene that lays everything out.

This is exactly the kind of emotionally-rich material that's at the heart of Wim Wenders' classic, which is, at its core, a study of these relationships, many of which have to be reforged or faced due to events that we are never privy to until they are explained in a heart-breaking monologue given to us by Travis near the film's conclusion. It's fair to say that the plot of the film is really rather simple, but as a character study, we find that there's much more to it than what we're seeing on its surface.

The entire cast is wonderful, but it's particularly driven by Harry Dean Stanton's stunning performance, which at first consists of mainly body language & expressions, but then opens up quite a bit as he, in a sense, regains his humanity and rebuilds his familial relationships. All of this builds to the aforementioned monologue, which is dazzling in its simplicity, but spellbinding in the delivery as we learn and try to comprehend what these two have gone through.

When it comes right to it, it's not hard at all to see why it's one of Wim Wenders' most cherished works. Over the course of these two and a half hours, we watch as Travis regains his family, while a mystery is slowly uncovered little by little throughout to give us a better sense of how things got where they are. It's deceptively plain, but strangely & hypnotically compelling, ultimately making for a remarkably satisfying journey that has held up marvelously well over the last 40 years, and will continue to do so for many more to come.

Video/Audio:

This edition comes with the film on both 4K (2160p UHD) and Blu-ray (1080p HD) in 1.66:1 transfers of outstanding quality. The film is presented in a new 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by Wenders himself, and looks absolutely stunning, with a perfectly sharp & clear picture throughout the entire two and a half hour duration. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue and music in excellent quality. Overall, as usual, Criterion has done a marvelous job in both areas for this new release.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with Wim Wenders

Wim Wenders (29 Minutes)

The Road to Paris, Texas (43 minutes)

Claire Denis (20 Minutes)

Allison Anders (25 Minutes)

Cinema Cinemas (12 Minutes)

Deleted Scenes (24 Minutes)

Super 8 Footage (7 Minutes)

The 4K/Blu-ray edition comes with all the fantastic extras from the previous release, including a commentary and over two and a half hours of fascinating featurettes. These primarily consist of interviews with Wenders and many others, but also includes an incredible 24 minutes of deleted scenes. Definitely plenty of material here for anyone looking to go deeper into this wonderful film.

Conclusion:

Even after 40 years, Wim Wenders' "Paris, Texas" remains a quietly powerful, emotionally rich character study that explores its relationships and central mystery in a remarkably compelling fashion. Criterion's new 4K/Blu-ray edition is absolutely fantastic, featuring the film in beautiful quality and with plenty of fascinating extras, making it a must-own for film collectors or those who simply enjoy a well-told & captivating tale.

Score: 4.5/5

Now available on Criterion 4K/Blu-ray.

Follow me on Twitter @BeckFilmCritic.