FILMS. 4th EDItION PARIS. TEXAS Roberto Rossellini's Paisa, along with his Roma, citta aperta PARIS. TEXAS (1945), introduced post-war American audiences to Italian neo- realism, which proved to be th influences that altered the shape of American cinema. Neo-realism, West Germany-France, 1984 a movement that emerged from the shattered Italian film industry mmediately after World War Il, concerned itself with an almost Director: Wim Wenders documentary-like depiction of the hardship and suffering of the Italian people during and after World War Il. Directors like Rossellini, Production: Road Movies Filmproduktion(West Berlin)Argos Films ittorio De Sica, and Luchino Visconti took to the streets in order to ( Paris). in association with Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Channel 4, and make their films. In the process they articulated an aesthetic of Project Film; in color; running time: 148 minutes; length: 13,320 feet cinematic realism that called for the use of non-professional actors, Released 1984 on-location shooting, the abandonment of slick "Hollywood". duction values, and a self-conscious rejection of commercial consid- Executive producer: Chris Sievernich; producers: Don Guest, erations. What emerged was a fresh and energetic film style which Anatole Dauman: screenplay: Sam Shepard; assistant director: largely rejuvenated the pre-war stagnation of the Italian cinema Claire Denis: photography: Robby Muller; assistant photogra- to understand the events of the fascist years, which had overwhelanet phers: Agnes Godard, Pim Tjujerman; editor: Peter Pryzgodda' Years later Rossellini wrote that he used this new approach to attemp ssistant editor: Anne Schnee; sound editor: Dominique Auvray him personally and the Italian people generally. He chose the particu- sound recordist: Jean-Paul Mugel; sound re-recordist: Hartmut lar film style he did for its morally neutral approach; he simply wante to observe reality objectively and to explore the facts that implicated Eichgrun; art director: Kate Altman; music: Ry Cooder his country in the fascist horror of the war. He also wanted to create balance sheet on the experience so that Italians could begin to live Cast: Harry Dean Stanton(Travis Anderson); Dean Stockwell life on new terms ter R. Anderson): Aurore Clement(Anne Anderson): Hunter Paisa contains six episodes that trace the American invasion of (Hunter Anderson): Nastassja Kinski (Jane): Bernhard wicki(Doc Italy from the Allied landing in Sicily in 1934 until the Italian tor Ulmer); Sam Berry(Gas Station Attendant): Claresie Mobley surrender in the spring of 1944. Rossellini does not present the war in ( Car Rental Clerk): Viva Auder(Woman on TV): Socorro Valde terms of armies, strategies, and grand plans but rather as a traged (Carmelita): Edward Fayton(Hunter's Friend): Justin Hogg(Hunter, involving the death and the suffering of human beings caught in the age 3); Tom Farrell(Screaming Man); John Lurie("Slater"):Jeni crush of forces beyond their control. Although some of the critics, Vici ("Stretch"): Sally Norwell ("Nurse Bibs"); Sharon Menzel among them Robert Warshow, found the film too sentimental in (Comedienne ) The Mydolls(Rehearsing Band) places, Paisa received good reviews outside of Italy, and it has retained its place as one of the classics of neo-realism, especially in Awards: BAFTA Award for Best Director, 1984. Palme d' or at the United States Cannes. 1984 Neo-realism and Rossellini's remarks concerning Paisa raise some interesting questions about the mimetic nature of film and about the significance of a point of view of doctrine in shaping the final publications cinematic product. Paisa is neither a doctrinaire film nor, as rossellini some critics have rather simple-mindedly suggested, nor is it a film Scnpt guided by a manifesto. It is a film which provides a new beginning, to borrow Rossellini's balance sheet metaphor, and does so by strippin Shepard, Sam, Paris, Texas (in English, French and German), edited film of the appurtenances of the pre-war studio world. Rossellini was by Chris Sievernin, Berlin, 1984. triving for a basic sincerity in his films, and it was primarily toward that end that he made Paisa with a truthful simplicity which is so Devillers. Jean-Pierre. Berlin. L.A. Berlin: Wim Wenders. Paris. 1985 -Charles L. P Silet Boujut, Michel, Wim Wenders, third edition, Paris, 1986 Wenders, Wim, Written in the West: Photographien aus dem Amerikanischen Western. Munich. 1987 Geist, Kathe, The Cinema of Wim Wenders: From Paris, France, to PANDORAS BOX Paris, Texas, Ann Arbor. Michigan, 1988 See dIe buchse DEr pandora Kolker, Robert P, and Peter Beicken, The Films of wim Wenders, New York, 1993. Cook, Roger F, and Gerd Gemunden, editors, The Cinema of wim Wenders: Image, Narrative and the Postmodern Condition Detroit. 1997. PAPER FLOWERS Wenders, Wim, The Act of Seeing: Essays and Conversations See KAagaz KE phool translated by Michael Hofmann, New York, 1999 17FILMS, 4 PARIS, TEXAS th EDITION 917 Roberto Rossellini’s Paisà, along with his Roma, città aperta (1945), introduced post-war American audiences to Italian neo￾realism, which proved to be the first wave in a series of European influences that altered the shape of American cinema. Neo-realism, a movement that emerged from the shattered Italian film industry immediately after World War II, concerned itself with an almost documentary-like depiction of the hardship and suffering of the Italian people during and after World War II. Directors like Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, and Luchino Visconti took to the streets in order to make their films. In the process they articulated an aesthetic of cinematic realism that called for the use of non-professional actors, on-location shooting, the abandonment of slick ‘‘Hollywood’’ pro￾duction values, and a self-conscious rejection of commercial consid￾erations. What emerged was a fresh and energetic film style which largely rejuvenated the pre-war stagnation of the Italian cinema. Years later Rossellini wrote that he used this new approach to attempt to understand the events of the fascist years, which had overwhelmed him personally and the Italian people generally. He chose the particu￾lar film style he did for its morally neutral approach; he simply wanted to observe reality objectively and to explore the facts that implicated his country in the fascist horror of the war. He also wanted to create a balance sheet on the experience so that Italians could begin to live life on new terms. Paisà contains six episodes that trace the American invasion of Italy from the Allied landing in Sicily in 1934 until the Italian surrender in the spring of 1944. Rossellini does not present the war in terms of armies, strategies, and grand plans but rather as a tragedy involving the death and the suffering of human beings caught in the crush of forces beyond their control. Although some of the critics, among them Robert Warshow, found the film too sentimental in places, Paisà received good reviews outside of Italy, and it has retained its place as one of the classics of neo-realism, especially in the United States. Neo-realism and Rossellini’s remarks concerning Paisà raise some interesting questions about the mimetic nature of film and about the significance of a point of view of doctrine in shaping the final cinematic product. Paisà is neither a doctrinaire film nor, as Rossellini would have it, a neutral one. The film is not a long documentary, as some critics have rather simple-mindedly suggested, nor is it a film guided by a manifesto. It is a film which provides a new beginning, to borrow Rossellini’s balance sheet metaphor, and does so by stripping film of the appurtenances of the pre-war studio world. Rossellini was striving for a basic sincerity in his films, and it was primarily toward that end that he made Paisà with a truthful simplicity which is so effective. —Charles L. P. Silet PANDORA’S BOX See DIE BUCHSE DER PANDORA PAPER FLOWERS See KAAGAZ KE PHOOL PARIS, TEXAS West Germany-France, 1984 Director: Wim Wenders Production: Road Movies Filmproduktion (West Berlin)/Argos Films (Paris), in association with Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Channel 4, and Project Film; in color; running time: 148 minutes; length: 13,320 feet. Released 1984. Executive producer: Chris Sievernich; producers: Don Guest, Anatole Dauman; screenplay: Sam Shepard; assistant director: Claire Denis; photography: Robby Muller; assistant photogra￾phers: Agnes Godard, Pim Tjujerman; editor: Peter Pryzgodda; assistant editor: Anne Schnee; sound editor: Dominique Auvray; sound recordist: Jean-Paul Mugel; sound re-recordist: Hartmut Eichgrun; art director: Kate Altman; music: Ry Cooder. Cast: Harry Dean Stanton (Travis Anderson); Dean Stockwell (Wal￾ter R. Anderson); Aurore Clement (Anne Anderson); Hunter Carson (Hunter Anderson); Nastassja Kinski (Jane); Bernhard Wicki (Doc￾tor Ulmer); Sam Berry (Gas Station Attendant); Claresie Mobley (Car Rental Clerk); Viva Auder (Woman on TV); Socorro Valdez (Carmelita); Edward Fayton (Hunter’s Friend); Justin Hogg (Hunter, age 3); Tom Farrell (Screaming Man); John Lurie (‘‘Slater’’); Jeni Vici (‘‘Stretch’’); Sally Norwell (‘‘Nurse Bibs’’); Sharon Menzel (Comedienne); The Mydolls (Rehearsing Band). Awards: BAFTA Award for Best Director, 1984. Palme d’Or at Cannes, 1984. Publications Script: Shepard, Sam, Paris, Texas (in English, French and German), edited by Chris Sievernin, Berlin, 1984. Books: Devillers, Jean-Pierre, Berlin, L.A., Berlin: Wim Wenders, Paris, 1985. Boujut, Michel, Wim Wenders, third edition, Paris, 1986. Wenders, Wim, Written in the West: Photographien aus dem Amerikanischen Western, Munich, 1987. Geist, Kathe, The Cinema of Wim Wenders: From Paris, France, to Paris, Texas, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1988. Kolker, Robert P., and Peter Beicken, The Films of Wim Wenders, New York, 1993. Cook, Roger F., and Gerd Gemunden, editors, The Cinema of Wim Wenders: Image, Narrative and the Postmodern Condition, Detroit, 1997. Wenders, Wim, The Act of Seeing: Essays and Conversations, translated by Michael Hofmann, New York, 1999