| The Straight Story | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Lynch |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Freddie Francis |
| Edited by | Mary Sweeney |
| Music by | Angelo Badalamenti |
Production companies |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million[2] |
| Box office | $6.2 million (United States)[3] |
The Straight Story is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the true story of Alvin Straight's 1994 journey across Iowa and Wisconsin on a lawn mower.
Alvin (Richard Farnsworth) is an elderly World War II veteran who lives with his daughter. When he hears that his estranged brother has suffered a stroke, Alvin makes up his mind to visit him and hopefully make amends before he dies. Because Alvin's legs and eyes are too impaired for him to receive a driver's license, he hitches a trailer to his recently purchased thirty-year-old John Deere 110 Lawn Tractor, which has a maximum speed of about 5 miles per hour (2.2 m/s; 8.0 km/h), and sets off on the 240-mile (390 km) journey from Laurens, Iowa, to Mount Zion, Wisconsin.
The Straight Story was released by Walt Disney Pictures[4] in the United States.[1] The film grossed $6.2 million in a limited theatrical release in the United States and sold 516,597 tickets nationwide during France's theatrical release.[5] The film was a critical success,[6] reviewers praised the intensity of the character performances, particularly the realistic dialogue which film critic Roger Ebert compared to the works of Ernest Hemingway.[7] It received a nomination for the Palme d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and Farnsworth received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
- ^ a b Petrikin, Chris; Dawtrey, Adam (May 10, 1999). "Disney, Lynch go 'Straight'". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ "The Straight Story (1999) - Financial information". The Numbers. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ The Straight Story at Box Office Mojo
- ^ "The Straight Story (1999)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ "The Straight Story (1999) - JP Box-Office".
- ^ "The Straight Story". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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