Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Paris, Texas 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 26, 2024

Wim Wenders' "Paris, Texas" (1984) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include arhcival audio commentary by the director; archival interviews; deleted scenes; archival segment from the French television program Cinema cinemas; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton), who has been missing for four years, suddenly reappears in a vast Texas desert. Exhausted and quite possibly on the verge of suffering a heat stroke, he collapses in a rundown bar, where a German doctor (Bernhard Wicki) picks him up and phones his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), who lives in Los Angeles.

Some hours later, Travis is picked up by Walt and the two head back to Los Angeles. Initially, Travis refuses to speak, but later, after Walt becomes visibly frustrated by his uncanny behavior, confesses that to him that he has spent the last four years walking. Travis also shows Walt a picture of Paris, Texas, the place where many years ago their parents made love for the first time, which he now calls home.

In Los Angeles, Travis meets Walt's wife, Anne (Aurore Clément), and reunites with his son, Hunter (Hunter Carson), who has been living with them and has no memories of him. As the father and son quickly warm up to each other, the former announces that he must travel to Huston where, apparently, his ex-wife and the latter's mother (Nastassja Kinski) lives.

Written by Sam Shepherd and directed by Wim Wenders, Paris, Texas may well be the most American film ever made by a non-American director. Indeed, it is a deeply emotional character study of a man and region done with terrific emphasis on detail. In a way, it is also a political film, one that examines American values and the manner in which Americans communicate their feelings.

There are two key characters in Paris, Texas. The first is Travis, the heartbroken loner who has embarked on a seemingly endless journey through the deserts of the American South, hoping to forget the woman he loves and no longer has in his life. Walking, like a machine and in complete silence, is the only therapy that is helping him accomplish his goal.

The presence of the second character, the American South, is what transforms Paris, Texas into an unforgettable film. Like Travis, the American South looks lonely, numbed by the scorching heat, perhaps also lost.

It is fascinating to see that a German managed to capture so persuasively a part of America that even today many Americans are largely unfamiliar with. Indeed, every scene, object, and color in Paris, Texas adds convincingly to a truly special cinematic portrait of an area with a unique pulse and culture.

The unforgettable atmosphere that permeates this special cinematic portrait would not have materialized without Ry Cooder's masterful soundtrack. It is a collection of simple yet astonishingly rich guitar solos that blend perfectly with the great visuals.

In 1984, Paris, Texas won the prestigious Palme d'Or and FIPRESCI awards at the Cannes Film Festival. A year later, the film won the Critics Award for Best Foreign Film granted by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, as well as the BAFTA Film Award for Best Direction.

Paris, Texas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Paris, Texas is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of Paris, Texas sourced from the film's original camera negative, which was scanned at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The color grade was finalized at BASIS BERLIN Postproduktion under the supervision of Donata and Wim Wenders.

The 4K makeover is every bit as frustrating as the one that was recently prepared for the cult film The Hitcher. Here's why:

The entire film looks immaculate and boasts visuals with incredible new density levels. This particular upgrade in quality is immediately obvious and exceptionally easy to appreciate if one compares the new 4K makeover to the first presentation of the film from 2010. Also, the surface of the visuals is smoother and a lot more even, which is to be expected considering that the original camera negative was scanned in 4K. Image stability is outstanding. Unfortunately, the new 4K makeover introduces a new color scheme. For example, in many areas primary blue and some nuances are either shifted toward or replaced by turquoise/neon-esque green. As a result, the native color temperature of entire sequences is altered. The new cooler temperature that emerges is not part of the film's theatrical appearance. There are other much smaller alterations in darker sequences, but they do not have the same effect, so the visuals there are a lot more pleasing. Regardless, now the film does not have the consistent period appearance that was defined by a wide range of natural primaries and supporting nuances. In many areas, and especially where the turquoise/neon-esque green becomes prominent, it has the appearance of a carefully stylized contemporary production. I did not encounter any age-related imperfections or encoding anomalies.

The 4K makeover can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I viewed it in its entirety with Dolby Vision. I thought that the Dolby Vision grade handled darker areas very well. The darker outdoor footage, which has the widest ranges of darker nuances, looked particularly strong. I took screencapture #4 to demonstrate this. Ultimately, considering the terrific quality of the 4K files, I think that a great opportunity was missed to deliver the definitive presentation of Paris, Texas.

Paris, Texas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I could not hear anything different on the 5.1 track to report in our review. All of Ry Cooder's terrific music sounds as lush as it does on the original Blu-ray release of Paris, Texas. I thought that all dialog was as clear as it is on the original Blu-ray release, too. So, if there is anything new on the 5.1 track, I missed it. While revisiting the film in native 4K, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies.

Paris, Texas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by Wim Wenders. It is a very technical commentary, one that focuses on a number of the key sequences from Paris, Texas, the specific locations that were chosen for them, the production process, etc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by Wim Wenders. It is a very technical commentary, one that focuses on a number of the key sequences from Paris, Texas, the specific locations that were chosen for them, the production process, etc.

• The Road to Paris, Texas - presented here are archival interviews with Wim Wenders, cinematographer Robby Muller, composer Ry Cooder, actors Harry Dean Stanton, Peter Falk, Dennis Hopper, and Hanns Zischler, director Samuel Fuller, author Patricia Highsmith, and film critic Kraft Wetzel conducted in 1989 by director Paul Joyce for Lucida Productions. In English, not subtitled. (43 min).

• Wim Wenders - this archival interview with Wim Wenders was conducted by German journalist Roger Willemsen in 2001. In German, with optional English subtitles. (29 min).

• Claire Denis and Allison Anders - Claire Denis and Allison Anders, who would go on to become renowned directors in their own right, served as first assistant director and production assistant, respectively, on Paris, Texas. Denis appears here in conversation with critic Kent Jones. And as part of her discussion, Anders reads from the diary she kept during the film's production. These interviews were filmed in October 2009. (47 min).

• Cinema Cinemas - this segment from the French television program Cinema cinemas features Wim Wenders and Ry Cooder working on the score for Paris, Texas. The segment was directed by Claude Ventura and first broadcast on April 2, 1984. In French, with optional English subtitles. (13 min).

• Deleted Scenes and Super 8 - presented here is a collection of deleted scenes from Paris, Texas, which can be viewed with an optional commentary by Wim Wenders (24 min), as well as Super 8 footage set to music (7 min).

• Galleries -
  
  1. "Written in the West" -- it features photos from director Wim Wenders' journey through Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California in 1983.
  2. "Robin Holland" - it features behind the scenes photos taken by Robin Holland.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Paris, Texas. In English, not subtilted. (3 min).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film critic Nick Roddick; interviews with Harry Dean Stanton, Sam Shepard, Nastassja Kinski, and Dean Stockwell; and excerpts from Wenders' book of photos Written in the West; and technical credits.

Paris, Texas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is not a mystery how Paris, Texas should look because it was screened theatrically in many different places before the mainstream push for all-digital projection began in the late 1990s. Because it is one of my favorite films, during the years I have attended several old-fashioned screenings of it. This upcoming combo pack introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration that was supervised and approved by Wim Winders. It makes Paris, Texas look immaculate, but it also changes its native appearance. I suppose I could say that not all of it looks different now because some parts are managed very well, but this seems like an irrelevant detail to me. Fortunately, the combo pack will have a copy of the first presentation of Paris, Texas, also endorsed by Wenders, which may appear slightly dated now but reproduces the theatrical appearance of the film quite well.