--- title: "Paris, Texas: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/paris-texas/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/paris-texas" critics_score: 89 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Paris, Texas (1984): what the critics said Critics' score 89 from 10 reviews: 9 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Paris, Texas, with praise clustering around Wim Wenders’s patient direction, Robby Müller’s landscape photography and Harry Dean Stanton’s restrained performance. The reviews repeatedly find that its images of America give loneliness and separation a concrete, affecting setting, while Ry Cooder’s score deepens the emotion without overwhelming it. Several also admire the naturalistic acting and the way the story gradually reveals its characters’ pain, finding considerable feeling in sparse dialogue and quiet observation. The disagreement concerns how well the writing sustains that promise, rather than how the film looks. The New York Times supplies the sole mixed assessment, admiring the opening road-film passages and Müller’s photography but finding Sam Shepard’s contribution diluted by too many hands. That reservation stands apart from a strongly positive consensus: other reviews praise the narrative’s structure, emotional intensity and willingness to take its time. ## Radio Times — Tom Hutchinson Rating 5/5. The critic praises this emotionally charged road movie about a drifter seeking to reunite his family. Ry Cooder's score and Wenders' outsider perspective on rootless America are singled out. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-700jam/paris-texas/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 1 January 1984. The critic praises the film's defiantly individual exploration of loss, loneliness, and eccentricity through unforgettable images and a spare American idiom from Sam Shepard. He singles out its passion, willingness to experiment, and links to earlier road movies as making it Wenders's best work so far—true, deep, and brilliant. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/paris-texas-1984) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★★. 29 July 2022. This is a welcome re-release of Wim Wenders’s strongest work and an iconic Eighties heartbreaker. The naturalistic performances, deft narrative structure and panoramic vistas make it easily the strongest movie in the director’s career. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/paris-texas-1984-review-a-welcome-re-release-of-wim-wenderss-strongest-work-n8dw68jtq) ## Empire — William Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic hails the film as a hypnotic masterpiece and one of the great films about America, praising its European perspective on the Texan landscape and its exploration of grief, separation and human disconnection. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/paris-texas-review/) ## The AV Club — Keith Phipps Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 March 2009. Phipps finds the film a rewarding discovery years later, praising its alien yet beautiful vision of America through Wenders and Müller's cinematography. He singles out the extended, devastating monologue scene between Stanton and Kinski for its emotional intensity and cinematic elegance. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/paris-texas-1798216399) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 July 2022. Wim Wenders’s Euro-Americanist masterpiece feels as richly mysterious and mesmeric as ever. It is a beautiful-looking, beautiful-sounding film whose enduring impact comes from the sordid loneliness and weird alienation in its peep-show sequences. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/27/paris-texas-review-harry-dean-stanton-unforgettable-in-haunting-classic) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 1984. Festival review. The review finds the film initially promising as a road movie with great photography by Robby Müller but ultimately extremely diluted Sam Shepard. It singles out the strong opening scenes and American landscape for praise while noting the contributions of too many hands. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/14/movies/paris-texas-from-wim-wenders.html) ## Collider — Cathal McGuinness Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 August 2024. The critic praises the film's exquisite neo-Western qualities, particularly the cinematography by Robby Müller and the restrained performances, especially Harry Dean Stanton's. They highlight it as a transcendent, must-see experience that captures emotional depth through visuals and minimal dialogue. [Read the review](https://collider.com/paris-texas-western/) ## Eye for Film — Niall McCallum Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2011. The critic praises Wim Wenders' assured, calm direction that lets the story's emotional revelations unfold naturally. They single out the strong performances, especially Harry Dean Stanton's damaged Travis and the child actor Hunter Carson, along with the evocative Ry Cooder score and Robby Müller's cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/paris-texas-film-review-by-niall-mccallum) ## Paste — Andy Beta Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 2010. The critic calls it a cinematic masterpiece that showcases Wenders' bleak, unique vision of America, highlighting the harrowing yet nuanced emotional power and career-redefining performance by Harry Dean Stanton that has not dimmed over time. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/andy-beta/paris-texas) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/paris-texas.md