Rating: 
Summary: A Sleeper Classic
Review: This is one of my all time favorite movies! Not so much satire but rather a slice of life movie that takes you into the lives of ordinary people through an ordinary kind of celebration that leaves you with nothing ordinary in the end. Everyone can relate to someone in this movie on one level or another... haven't we all felt lonely, or outcasted, or unheard, or just plain ordinary? What I love best is the "drivin' through" appeal. The same kind of thing you may experience in people watching or while on vacation, when you hear snippets of other's conversations, observe a stranger's intereaction with another, etc. But here you have names and you're invited into their homes and you get to see what goes on after the fact, so to speak. Not smarmy... witty. Not outlandishly comical... quirky. A thinking person's movie.... definately!
Rating:
Summary: Another quiet hit for John Goodman
Review: Everyone has to admit that this movie is well, different. A special few who love it, like myself, love it immensely. It's a must se for anyone who considers themselves a Talking Heads or John Goodman fan. There are a bunch of great songs, excellent dialog, and interesting characters. The "Wild, Wild Life" scene remains one of my all-time favorites.
Rating:
Summary: comment on Contemporary American culture
Review: We used this movie in our class, Contemporary American Culture to great success. It comments on post-modernism, small town life, commercialism, the "lonely" culture and so much more. I can't see this movie now without those thoughts. Example line (paraphrased): "Freeways are the cathedrals of our age." Gives you a lot to think about, but can also be a lot of fun. You will never look at Karaoke in the same way. Be warned. =) When is this coming out in widescreen!
Rating:
Summary: Quite possibly one of the greatest movies ever!
Review: David Byrne has done it again. This man created this hip little movie that has become my all time favorite movie! It is not funny, per sé.. even though it has some humorous moments. It is an abstract film about a little town named Virgil in the state of Texas. Texas is about to turn 150 years old, so Virgil, a town whose main industry is computers, is celebrating its "specialness" with parades and talent shows. It is narrated by the one and only David Byrne (who drives around in a red convertable). The movie really has no real plot (except for Louis, played by John Goodman, trying to find a wife). It just explores the lives of people in Virgil. These are the people that everyone knows: the lazy person, the liar, and the love-looker... we know these characters and encounter them in our everyday lives. John Goodman does great acting, there is some great music, and David Byrne says some things that make us laugh... and some that make us think. As the tagline said, it is a completely cool multi-purpose movie. I love the indy approach to making it.. and the end, when Mr. Byrne talks about how by forgetting all the details we can see something as it really is.. that always makes me stop to think. Is it comedy, is it drama, is it musical... I guess you have to take it as what it means to you. To me, it is a life-changer!
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars easy- but
Review: The film is excellent..One of my favorites. I would like to have seen more extras, (Stop making Sense) has a lot of neat things in it. Wide screen would have been cool, but the big difference here is the dvd sound and clean video. most people dont notice the superiority of dvd until they go to a friends house and watch it on vhs.. despite any minor complaints, it is a definite keeper. Leonard maltin called it "depressing". I don't think so..Its a movie about people who play the cards they were dealt and played them well.
Rating: 
Summary: A Celebration For All Of Us
Review: Director and co-writer David Byrne takes us on a tour of Virgil, Texas (Population 40,000), in "True Stories," a whimsical and , at times, poignant look at the characters and characteristics of rural America. As the town (and this could be any town, anywhere) prepares for a "Celebration of Specialness," Byrne, the on-screen narrator and host, introduces us to a cross section of the somewhat singular citizenry, running the gamut from the common to the eccentric. We meet the well-to-do but lazy Miss Rollings (Swoozie Kurtz), who never leaves her bed; Ramon (Tito Larriva) who reads people's "tones;" a married couple, Earl and Kay Culver (Spalding Gray and Annie McEnroe) who never speak directly to one another, communicating instead through their children, who take it all in stride; a woman (Jo Harvey Allen) who claims, among other things, that she knows the real "Rambo," and has written songs for Elvis and Michael Jackson; and Louis Fyne (John Goodman), a lonely bachelor looking for a wife, "Just someone to love." This is a light-hearted character study of sorts, in which the town itself must be included; for the shopping mall, the factories and computers, the neighborhoods, empty lots and highways all factor into what defines who we are and where we come from. It's a premise rich with satirical possibilities, and Byrne must be given credit for not going there. He neither pokes fun at nor patronizes the people of Virgil, or their town; all is viewed objectively and taken at face value, the result being that the audience is left with a good, perhaps wistful, feeling, and an overall positive impression of the whole experience. Rounding out a likable cast are Alix Elias, Amy Buffington, Richard Dowlearn and Matthew Posey. From the parade down main street, which includes such things as a precision lawn-mower team, to the contest of identical twins and the talent show that culminates the celebration, all is done in good fun. Additional memorable characters include Mr. Tucker (Roebuck "Pops" Staples), who conjures up a love spell for Louis, and a preacher (John Ingle), who serves up a sermon of "Puzzlin' Evidence." The music is by David Byrne and his band, The Talking Heads, and features such songs as "Wild, Wild Life," "People Like Us," and "City of Dreams." "True Stories" is kind of like looking in a mirror; it reminds us that we all come from somewhere, and that place, wherever it is, probably isn't a whole lot different than Virgil. This film will take you home, and you're going to run into people you know. In the end, Virgil's "Celebration of Specialness" is an acknowledgement of the diversity that makes us all special. A tip of the Stetson to Byrne and co-writers Stephen Tobolowsky and Beth Henley for giving us a film that's both entertaining and enlightening.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Genious!
Review: This movie is perhaps a glimpse into the mind of David Byrne. It's characters are all part of a story that only Byrne could tell.
Rating:
Summary: Quirky brilliance
Review: This movie took me a few viewings to love, and love it characterizes my feelings exactly. I guess I wanted another "Stop Making Sense". That is a GREAT concert film. This is a movie that tells a story (actually several stories), but it does contain some wonderful music in it. The movie is appealing, and it grows on you. I have watched it about 10 times and am not tired of it. For a movie that was made in and about the 80s, the theme is still very current, although the computers shown in the film are dated. The movie is so full of little treasures that you must see it. And, if you are a fan of David Byrne, then this movie is a "must see".
Rating:
Summary: Quirkily entertaining, musically and sonically dazzling.
Review: It's inspiring to see music and film mixed so well. That the media are blended so well is thanks in part to David Byrne, who with Talking Heads, was partly responsible for the brilliance of the greatest live concert film of all time (you'd better believe it). Opening with a shot of a little girl walking down a seemingly infinite road waving her hands and singing in the oddest way, "True Stories" was apparently inspired by weird articles that Byrne read in newspapers and it shows. It has the colour, tone, and surrealism of an edition of a bizarre tabloid newspaper, and his observations of small-town life are similarly oblique. This is not a fault. On the contrary, it's probably what makes this film so damn good. The characterization, too, is nothing short of sensationally unique. John Goodman as the spinster, whereas the woman confined to her bed is just plain hilarious. Other oddly marvellous characters include a couple that don't speak directly to each other, and a Spanish guy that can read people's "tones" by feeling their nose. Culminating in a brilliant concert with music and songs by Talking Heads (one featuring John Goodman on "People Like Us"), "True Stories" is that rare thing, a film that has a real character, and, for Talking Heads fans, provides further insight into David Byrne's unique, obtuse worldview. Simply fabulous.
Rating:
Summary: A Celebration of Specialness
Review: Based on tabloid articles he collected while on tour with the Talking Heads in 1983, David Byrne's "True Stories" is a film revolving around the diverse citizens of Virgil, Texas, and the events leading up to their festival celebrating the state's 150th anniversary. This book features Byrne's complete screenplay with story boards, lyrics to all the songs in the movie, and tons of stills and on-set photos. He also includes the original clippings that inspired the different characters and storylines, most of them from the infamous "Weekly World News." The book's introduction explores the ideas that led up to the project, as well as the work of the photographers that influenced the look of both the film and the book (William Eggleston, Len Jenshel, Mark Lipson, and Byrne himself). For those who were intrigued by the movie but perhaps didn't quite understand the point of some of it, this will shed a little more light on just what he was getting at. It's an informative companion to the film, and a great introduction to David Byrne's non-music career in art and photography.
|
