Novelist turned Roger Corman screenwriter (Alligator) turned indie auteur (Return of the Secaucus Seven; City of Hope; Matewan), John Sayles has enjoyed a long and distinguished career on the margins of the industry. In 1996, Lone Star proved to be one of his most successful movies, a modern day Western which is also a murder mystery, set in Frontera, Texas. When a skeleton is discovered on the edge of town, sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) reluctantly concludes that it’s the corpse of a predecessor, corrupt lawman Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson), supposedly run out of town by Sam’s own father Buddy (Matthew McConaughey) 40 years previous. But who put the bullet hole in his cranium?
The investigation opens up old wounds, both personal, and political. Indeed, Sayles’ scope is vast, giving this relatively low budget movie an epic import.
The film is both timeless and specifically of its era (particularly in the border crossing scenes conceived and shot before the wall that eventually went up in Sayles’ location), a complex consideration of cultural conflicts and generational divides that seem hardwired into the American consciousness. A great American epic.
Jim Hemphill, IndieWire
Epic cinematic poetry. It’s resplendent with border-town atmosphere, heated by torrid weather and searing emotions.
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News
John Sayles’ Lone Star contains so many riches, it humbles ordinary movies. And yet they aren’t thrown before us, to dazzle and impress: It is only later, thinking about the film, that we appreciate the full reach of its material.
Roger Ebert
John Sayles
Chris Cooper, Matthew McConaughey, Kris Kristofferson, Elizabeth Pena, Joe Morton, Stephen Mendillo, Frances McDormand
USA
1996
English
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Credits
Producer
R. Paul Miller, Maggie Renzi
Screenwriter
John Sayles
Cinematography
Stuart Dryburgh
Editor
John Sayles
Original Music
Mason Daring
Production Design
Dan Bishop
90s, Baby!
Ten years. 11 weeks. 90 films from the 1990s. This summer, 90’s Baby! takes a deep dive into a defining decade of cinema.
GoodFellas
The ultimate crash and burn movie, Scorsese's exhilarating gangster film is infused with the excitement of fast cash, girls, guns and drugs. Yet this brazenly amoral movie also captures the brutality, betrayal, and spiritual void of the criminal world.
Madonna: Truth or Dare
A year in the life of Madonna at the height of her fame, touring Blonde Ambition through 1990. There's concert footage, but the movie is also daringly truthful about life behind the scenes — not that Madonna is every really off-stage.
Pulp Fiction + The ReViberators
In the spirit of Quentin Tarantino, we're going to launch our summer series 90s, Baby! smack in the middle, with 1994's Pulp Fiction, the most exciting and influential movie of its era. On 35mm. Preceded by surf guitar sensations The ReViberators live!
Jacob's Ladder
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Reservoir Dogs
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Total Recall
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True Romance
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The Company of Strangers
In this Canadian gem, seven elderly women find themselves stranded when their bus breaks down in the wilderness. With only their wits, memories and some roasted frogs' legs to sustain them, this remarkable group of strangers share their life stories.
Boyz n the Hood
Twenty-three-year-old writer-director John Singleton's groundbreaking portrait of three young men growing up in South Central is a film of integrity and compassion. It's a far richer portrait of Black lives than Hollywood's gangsta exploitation pics.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
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Thelma & Louise
In this iconic feminist road movie BFF Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon take off for a weekend getaway that turns violent when one of them is attacked. The stakes get higher as they flee the scene. Winner: Best Original Screenplay (Callie Khouri).
Julio Avila Cuban Band Live + The Mambo Kings Film Screening
Feel the heat! Shake your booty as we combine a live set of exhilarating Cuban music followed by a rediscovered 90s barnstormer of a movie starring Latin heartthrobs Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas alongside the likes of Tito Puente and Celia Cruz.
The Silence of the Lambs
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Delicatessen
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