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  True Stories is the only movie directed by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, released in October 1986, a time when - given the success of albums such as Remain In Light and the recent release of acclaimed concert film Stop Making Sense - the thirty-four year old pretty much had free rein to make whatever he wanted. Inspired by various tabloid articles he saw and scrapbooked while on tour around the US, Byrne decided to come up with a story based around the concept of them all being true, with Nashville writer Joan Tewkesbury suggesting Texas for the setting. He asked friends playwright Beth Henley and character actor Stephen Tobolowsky to write a script based around these ideas, and Tobolowsky came up with the idea of basing it around the upcoming Texas sesquicentennial celebration - one of the only elements from their script Byrne didn’t end up changing completely, with the final movie focusing on a “Celebration of Specialness” held for the anniversary in the fictional town of Virgil.  “I have something to say about the difference between American and European cities. But I've forgotten what it is. I have it written down at home somewhere.” Byrne cast himself as the narrator, a curious, cowboy hat-adorned visitor to the town who frequently makes wry observations about buildings, highways, and stores. Most of the other main characters come straight from the tabloid stories, including a woman who never gets out of bed (Swoosie Kurtz), civic leader Earl Culver (Spalding Grey, doing some amazing work with his hands) and his wife Kay (Annie McEnroe), who never speak directly to one another yet maintain a strong marriage, and a woman played by Jo Harvey Allen who cannot stop telling tall tales about her life to everyone around her, ranging from writing many of Elvis’ songs to saving “the real Rambo”’s life multiple times. Perhaps the heart of the movie, though, is John Goodman in his first major film role as Louis Fyne, a man perpetually unlucky in love, who advertises his availability on TV. His dating attempts are one of the film’s main running threads, and culminate in an incredible musical performance at the film’s climax.  “I’m six foot three inches tall, and maintain a very consistent panda bear shape.” Speaking of music, Byrne wrote several tracks for the film, drawing from a variety of influences. Some such as “Wild, Wild Life” were described as simply an attempt to write something similar to what was popular on MTV at the time, while “Puzzlin’ Evidence” is a screed by a conspiracy theorist preacher, “Dream Operator” is an angelic accompaniment to a bizarre fashion show, and “City of Dreams” is a surprisingly powerful ode to the interconnectivity of the modern world that caps off the movie perfectly. Many of the tracks were released on a Talking Heads album at around the same time with vocals from Byrne, and although they’re good, the versions featuring the actors’ voices - which were finally released as part of the film’s Criterion Collection release in November 2018 - are far superior.  However, there is more to True Stories than quirky set-pieces and great music. Part of this comes from director of photography Ed Lachman, who managed to make Texas’ largely flat and sparse landscapes look strangely beautiful, while also focusing largely on man-made structures such as prefab housing, shopping malls, and stages that Byrne’s narrator spends a lot of time talking about - as Ebert describes it: “His buildings look like parodies of buildings.” It could be a stretch to call this movie political, but Byrne clearly had a lot of thoughts about capitalism and contemporary life on his mind at the time. The biggest employer in the town is computer manufacturer Varicorp, while many downtown stores have closed due to the opening of the recent mall. There’s also a short history of the state of Texas that is almost entirely about the various conflicts settlers and natives were involved in before it became incorporated US territory. Yet Byrne chooses not to be overtly critical about anything, instead choosing to focus on the joy and connections between the townspeople, although it would be hard to argue that a lot of the lines about the virtues of commerce don’t contain a heavy dose of irony.  Perhaps the best description I’ve ever read of True Stories is that it’s the opposite of Harmony Korine's Gummo - where that movie is about a broken town in the aftermath of a tragedy, this is about the build-up to a celebration. Where that movie has sympathy and pity for its weird protagonists, this one simply loves them for their quirks. It’s a wholesome and affectionate celebration of the strange with a wonderful collection of offbeat characters, as well as some absolutely killer songs. There are so many great elements I haven’t even gotten to in this post, from the ridiculous amount of twins in the background to the spiritual voodoo elements to the unbelievable dinner scene at the Culver house. It’s a film full of warmth and wonder that fills me with love and that I would happily watch over and over.  “It seems though God was working around the earth here, trying to make it beautiful just like the rest of the world. He had to knock off because it was night-time. And he said, "I'll come back tomorrow and make it just as pretty as the rest of the world, with lakes and streams and mountains and trees." And he got back the next day, and he saw that the ground had completely hardened, like concrete. And he didn't want to begin all over again. No! In his infinite wisdom, he had an idea. He said: "I know what I'll do! I'll make some people that like it this way!”” True Stories is available on blu-ray (in regions A and B) from the Criterion Collection, as well as to buy and/or rent on iTunes, Amazon, and YouTube. Sources: True Stories: Everybody Has Tones on criterion.com True Stories: Tall Tales on moviejam.live Roger Ebert’s review of True Stories Letterboxd list of previous Movies of the Month IF YOU CAN THINK OF IT, IT EXISTS SOMEWHERE.
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Dec 1, 2019 18:11
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| # ? May 2, 2024 04:17 |
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Spalding Gray is unbelievable in this, just a perfect energy.
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Dec 1, 2019 18:27
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One of my all-time favorites. I'm so glad Criterion put out the soundtrack with it. It's just such a happy movie/soundtrack.
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Dec 2, 2019 20:09
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"Linda! Larry! There's no concept of weekends anymore!" One of my favorite movies. It's somehow both affectionate and critical - the system might be toxic, but humans are endlessly adaptable. This is no way to live, but you can't simply not live ("Big Country" is like the seed that became this movie). Also, one of the great fart jokes.
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Dec 7, 2019 05:05
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Just saw this for the first time and was floored at how much I enjoyed it. An impressively pleasant film that is a joy to watch. Despite being a string of somewhat related vignettes and narrated pieces by Byrne it never feels disjointed or slow, the pace kept fresh by great editing and the excellent Talking Heads/Byrne soundtrack. The Red Letter Media guys did a short video on the movie a while ago, regardless of their other work I think they had nice views on the movie. It's just a nice sincere movie that makes you feel good about the world despite its troubles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_vze4K-x5g
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Dec 7, 2019 06:25
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Magic Hate Ball posted:"Linda! Larry! There's no concept of weekends anymore!" what the gently caress when did I post in this thread? Kidding aside, I fell in love when Netflix had the movie for a while and it was the only widescreen version of it out there. Uhh, what else can I say that wasn't already covered... Louis Fine's date with The Lying Woman might be the single funniest bit of the bunch. I was disappointed "Weird" Al did not choose "Radio Head" as one of the 70+ songs to cover on his tour last year. Someone (CPL593H?) posted this a bit ago when we were Talkin' Talking Heads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db293GrsDjo Also, there's a short piece where David Byrne interviews... himself, the original context/usage/purpose of I forget, but done in promotion of Stop Making Sense and included on the Blu-ray/DVD release of that film, where he talks a little bit about his upcoming film project and says "it's like '60 Minutes' on acid." (CW: some, er, ill-advised impersonations): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-mxVxFXLg
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Dec 8, 2019 09:38
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My first exposure to the film was the Criterion Blu-ray back in 2018 - I pretty much immediately watched it. I love Talking Heads from their albums and obviously, Stop Making Sense. What I love about this film is that Byrne doesn't take the easy way out by taking a "look at these weirdos" approach, but rather showing that even these absurd people are people. It helps that he gets such infinitely likable personalities. Even as late capitalism looms over everything, this is about as conflict-free as a film gets. Add on top of that one great song after another and Ed Lachman's gorgeous cinematography, this is a film that everyone I've recommended it to has loved it. A bit more on the Criterion edition... It's not only a 4K remaster from the camera negative supervised by Byrne and Lachman, there's a new 5.1 remix (originally Dolby Surround). Also has a vintage making-of by Newton Thomas Segel, a new doc with Byrne, and even a great piece on Tibor Kalman (who designed the opening prologue and titles, as well as the poster/album art). The booklet is made to look like a miniature newsprint tabloid foldout (much like they did with Ace in the Hole and His Girl Friday). It also has a 27-track CD with the complete film soundtrack, including the versions of songs sung in the film instead of just the album re-records.
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Dec 8, 2019 18:27
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I just finished watching it. The film has a very strong sense of when to politely pull away from something emotional and when to linger.
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Dec 15, 2019 21:05
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Far and away my favorite movie. I've been toting around the Warner budget DVD (full-frame, several minor edits) of this since literally 2001 and begging for Criterion to take a crack at it, and it's fantastic that they finally have. It's a film that, even as it presents a parade of strange folk (who are thus exceedingly normal because of their oddities in ways movie characters often aren't), hovers between documentarian cool and being actively kind. I can't say enough good things about it, I could probably write an essay about any given scene or character or song. Supposedly there's a book that goes with the movie. I've never seen it. The internet is telling me it can be had for a reasonable price. Done deal.
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Dec 18, 2019 13:39
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| # ? May 2, 2024 04:17 |
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Hello I'm here to resurrect this (holy poo poo a year old) thread to tell you that one of the writers of True Stories, Stephen Tobolowsky, guested on the Talking Heads podcast "U TALKIN’ TALKING HEADS 2 MY TALKING HEAD". He goes over his meeting Byrne, writing the film, some cool behind the scenes stories (including some for Groundhog Day too). Overall a great listen. https://www.earwolf.com/episode/true-stories-the-movie-w-stephen-tobolowsky/
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Dec 4, 2020 17:32
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