LONE STAR (1996)

Another #Noirvember is upon us, so The Unenthusiastic Critic is sitting down for her first viewing of an underrated neo-noir masterpiece from writer-director John Sayles: Lone Star (1996), starring Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Matthew McConaughey, Kris Kristofferson, and Joe Morton.

A multi-generational, multi-layered murder-mystery, Lone Star—like the best noirs—becomes an investigation into the dark truths beneath the surface of American life. John Sayles' Oscar-nominated screenplay, set in a small border town in Texas, moves between White, Chicano, Black, and Native cultures—and back and forth across complex borders of nationality, race, and class—to examine the ways communities intersect, and interrogate the lies people and societies tell themselves to justify their crimes.

Join us for a discussion of a film Roger Ebert called "a great American movie, one of the few to seriously try to regard with open eyes the way we live now."

Program

0:00: Prologue: from Lone Star
01:01: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Disc
09:07: Interlude: Original Trailer for Lone Star
10:31: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discus
49:36: Outro and Next Week's Movie

Notes and Links

—Movies Reviewed: Lone Star (dir. John Sayles, Castle Rock, 1996).
—Links and Sources: "John Sayles: An American Cinematheque Tribute," American Cinematheque; “Forget the Alamo: The Silver Anniversary of Lone Star,” Matt Zoller Seitz, Rogerebert.com; “Where to Begin with John Sayles,” Matthew Thrift, BFI; Review by Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com;  Review by Janet Maslin, New York Times; Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, Gloria Anzaldúa, Aunt Lute Books, 1987.
—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation to support the podcast at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
Email us, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (Suggestions of movies to watch for future episodes are very welcome.)
—"Warm Duck Shuffle" by Arne Huseby is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

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1 thought on “LONE STAR (1996)”

  1. Great to see some love for this gem! As an added bonus, one of the very few films on this list that my wife enjoys as well –

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