DVD
True stories
Call Number
- DVD MUSICAL (CEN)
Edition
Director-approved two-DVD special edition.
Languages
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Performers
John Goodman, Annie McEnroe, Swoosie Kurtz, Spalding Gray, Pops Staples, Tito Larriva, David Byrne.
Publication Information
[Irvington, NY] : Criterion Collection, [2018]
Physical Description
2 videodiscs (89 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Audience
MPAA rating: PG.
Summary
Music icon David Byrne was inspired by tabloid headlines to make his sole foray into feature-film directing, an ode to the extraordinariness of ordinary American life and a distillation of what was in his own idiosyncratic mind. The Talking Heads front man plays a visitor to Virgil, Texas, who introduces us to the citizens of the town during preparations for its Celebration of Specialness. As shot by cinematographer Ed Lachman, Texas becomes a hyperrealistic late-capitalist landscape of endless vistas, shopping malls, and prefab metal buildings. In True Stories, Byrne uses his songs to stitch together pop iconography, voodoo rituals, and a singular variety show-all in the service of uncovering the rich mysteries that lurk under the surface of everyday experience.
Notes
Title from container.
Originally released as a motion picture in 1986.
Special features: New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by director David Byrne and cinematographer Ed Lachman ; new documentary about the film's production, featuring Byrne, Lachman, screenwriter Stephen Tobolowsky, executive producer Edward Pressman, coproducer Karen Murphy, fashion-show costume designer Adelle Lutz, casting director Victoria Thomas, consultant Christina Patoski, actor Jo Harvey Allen, and artist and songwriter Terry Allen ; Real life (1986), a short documentary by Pamela Yates and Newton Thomas Sigel made on the set of the film ; No time to look back, a new homage to Virgil, Texas, the fictional town where True stories is set ; new program about designer Tibor Kalman and his influence on Byrne and work on the film, featuring Byrne and artist Maira Kalman, Tibor's widow ; deleted scenes ; trailer.