True Stories
Warner Bros. (1986)
Comedy
In Collection
#268
0*
Seen ItYes
085391165422
89 mins USA / English
DVD  Region 1   PG (Parental Guidance)
David Byrne
John Goodman
Spalding Gray
Swoosie Kurtz
Tito Larriva
Anne McEnroe
Pops Staples
Director
David Byrne
Producer Gary Kurfirst
Writer David Byrne
Beth Henley

Truly quirky, this mock documentary is part musical, part farce, and completely, oddly innocent. This is a one-man-band job for David Byrne (lead singer of the Talking Heads), who writes, stars, and directs, It's ostensibly about the sesquicentennial celebration of a small Texas town, but it's really about strange characters and strange attitudes. Byrne is our guide, driving us around and giving tour information about Texas in an innocuous patter, frequently running into Louis Fyne (John Goodman), a lonely man looking for love. At various times, and with little provocation, the film swoons into a Talking Heads number with preachers and bar patrons belting out tunes. If you make room for it, however, True Stories can surprise and delight with its inventiveness and its unconventional treatment of the residents. A scene in which a construction worker launches into an aria, on a makeshift stage when no one else is around, is but one example of numerous such moments in this bizarre, delightful, and benign film. Any Talking Heads fan who doesn't own it should. --Keith Simanton
Edition Details
Release Date 3/30/1999
Packaging Snap Case
Screen Ratio Fullscreen (4:3)
Subtitles English; English (Closed Captioned)
Audio Tracks Dolby Digital Surround [English]
Dolby Surround [English]
Layers Single Side, Single Layer
No. of Disks/Tapes 1

Features
Color Closed-captioned