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The Straight Story

1999

A true story that proves a little determination goes a very, very long way.

A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.

Richard Farnsworth Sissy Spacek Jane Galloway Heitz Joseph A. Carpenter Donald Wiegert Tracey Maloney Dan Flannery Jennifer Edwards Ed Grennan Jack Walsh Gil Pearson Barbara June Patterson Everett McGill Anastasia Webb Matt Guidry Bill McCallum Barbara E. Robertson James Cada Sally Wingert Barbara Kingsley Jim Haun Wiley Harker Randy Wiedenhoff Jerry E. Anderson Kevin Farley John Farley John Lordan Garrett Sweeney Peter Sweeney Show All…

Alternative Titles

Una Storia Vera, Um História Real, Une histoire vraie, The Straight Story (Una historia verdadera), Prosta historia, Eine wahre Geschichte – The Straight Story, Straight story - Az igaz történet, Az igaz történet, The Straight Story - Eine wahre Geschichte, Una storia vera, Una historia verdadera, Basit Bir Hikaye, Простая история, Uma História Simples, 史崔特先生的故事, Příběh Alvina Straighta, Straight Story - Az igaz történet, סיפור פשוט, 스트레이트 스토리, Uma História Real, ストレイト・ストーリー, Историята на Стрейт, Проста історія, 路直路彎, Povestea lui Alvin Straight, Una Historia Verdadera, Resnična zgodba, Câu Chuyện Của Straight

Genre

Drama

Themes

Humanity and the world around us Moving relationship stories Surreal and thought-provoking visions of life and death Touching and sentimental family stories Emotional and touching family dramas Powerful stories of heartbreak and suffering Heartbreaking and moving family drama Show All…

Premiere

21 May 1999

FranceU Cannes Film Festival

03 Sep 1999

USAG Telluride Film Festival

11 Oct 1999

USAG Hollywood, California

05 Nov 1999

Japan Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival

29 Sep 2000

Iceland Reykjavik Film Festival

Theatrical limited

15 Oct 1999

USAG

Theatrical

03 Nov 1999

CanadaG
France
Switzerland0

24 Nov 1999

Belgium
PortugalM/12

02 Dec 1999

Germany6
Netherlands6

03 Dec 1999

Austria
UKU

09 Dec 1999

Hungary

25 Dec 1999

Denmark7
SwedenBtl

31 Dec 1999

NorwayA

07 Jan 2000

Poland

11 Feb 2000

FinlandS
GreeceK
ItalyT

17 Feb 2000

Czechia12+

18 Feb 2000

SpainA

09 Mar 2000

New ZealandG

10 Mar 2000

BrazilL

24 Mar 2000

South Africa

25 Mar 2000

Japan

20 Apr 2000

ArgentinaATP
AustraliaG

05 Oct 2000

Croatia

02 Dec 2000

Taiwan

21 Jun 2001

Hong KongI

30 Nov 2001

South KoreaAll

04 Apr 2002

Chile

16 Oct 2020

Turkey10A

27 Jun 2024

Greece
Netherlands6

Physical

02 Dec 2000

USAG

28 Apr 2005

Netherlands6

31 Aug 2008

Czechia

TV

02 Jun 2006

Netherlands6

Argentina

20 Apr 2000

TheatricalATP

Australia

20 Apr 2000

TheatricalG

Austria

03 Dec 1999

Theatrical

Belgium

24 Nov 1999

Theatrical

Brazil

10 Mar 2000

TheatricalL

Canada

03 Nov 1999

TheatricalG

Chile

04 Apr 2002

Theatrical

Croatia

05 Oct 2000

Theatrical

Czechia

17 Feb 2000

Theatrical12+

31 Aug 2008

Physical DVD, FilmX

Denmark

25 Dec 1999

Theatrical7

Finland

11 Feb 2000

TheatricalS

France

21 May 1999

PremiereU Cannes Film Festival

03 Nov 1999

Theatrical

Germany

02 Dec 1999

Theatrical6

Greece

11 Feb 2000

TheatricalK

27 Jun 2024

Theatrical Re-Issue (25th Anniversary)

Hong Kong

21 Jun 2001

TheatricalI

Hungary

09 Dec 1999

Theatrical

Iceland

29 Sep 2000

Premiere Reykjavik Film Festival

Italy

11 Feb 2000

TheatricalT

Japan

05 Nov 1999

Premiere Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival

25 Mar 2000

Theatrical

Netherlands

02 Dec 1999

Theatrical6

28 Apr 2005

Physical6 DVD

02 Jun 2006

TV6 Nederland 3

27 Jun 2024

Theatrical6 25th anniversary, 4K restored

New Zealand

09 Mar 2000

TheatricalG

Norway

31 Dec 1999

TheatricalA

Poland

07 Jan 2000

Theatrical

Portugal

24 Nov 1999

TheatricalM/12 Lisbon

South Africa

24 Mar 2000

Theatrical

South Korea

30 Nov 2001

TheatricalAll

Spain

18 Feb 2000

TheatricalA

Sweden

25 Dec 1999

TheatricalBtl

Switzerland

03 Nov 1999

Theatrical0

Taiwan

02 Dec 2000

Theatrical

Turkey

16 Oct 2020

Theatrical10A

UK

03 Dec 1999

TheatricalU

USA

03 Sep 1999

PremiereG Telluride Film Festival

11 Oct 1999

PremiereG Hollywood, California

15 Oct 1999

Theatrical limitedG

02 Dec 2000

PhysicalG VHS

112 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by #1 gizmo fan ★★★★½ 9

I can't believe Lynch made a film that actually filled my heart with love and comfort instead of dread and confusion.
Review by David Sims ★★★★★ 10

SIG: What do you need that grabber for, Alvin?
ALVIN: Grabbin'.
(a perfect movie)
Review by Karsten ★★★★½

a david lynch movie about an old guy who grew up on a farm in minnesota? are you kidding me? obviously, ofcourse, definitely. disney world should make a ride based off this.
Review by Josh Larsen ★★★★ 12

I love how Lynch teases us with the possibility that this could go full Blue Velvet at any moment.
Review by tyler ★★★★ 4

walt disney pictures presents a film by david lynch is by far the best opening credit of all time
Review by Logan Kenny ★★★★★ 2

people who don't think this is lynchian through and through are simply wrong honestly, it taps into the core themes of his work, the love and empathy that human beings can share with each other in spite of or because of trauma and pain, and that there is beauty all around us, even if it takes a 300 mile lawnmower ride to fully witness this. cried about 50 times, but one of those movies that makes your soul heal, that gives you the elixir to your suffering, a film that only david lynch could have made and legitimately one of the most moving cinematic or just artistic experiences i've been fortunate enough to experience. also a few other things, the handling…
Review by Sean Fennessey ★★★★½ 5

Still so pure. I love you David Lynch.
Review by Ciara ★★★★★ 26

Angelo Badalamenti's score swells with pure emotion. Similar to another brilliant and beautiful story, Paris, Texas, (there's way too many commas there) this is about a man on the path to redemption. Similar to that movie, this is a pure mannered, unmelodramatic weeper.
Little by little, this curious man is unpacked like a Russian doll. Across Iowa to Wisconsin, cornfields galore on his small lawn mower, we're truly in the midwest. And as the film unfolds, we're confronted with a man whose crippled old frame belies his brutal past: a past of war and alcoholism and brotherly love and loss and children reared amidst violence and tempers. It's almost unbearably close to home.
I think Forrest's stellar review sums it…
Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 10

It is sometimes easy to forget what a versatile director Lynch really is as he lately only deals in vagueness and weirdness. The Straight Story is a gentle reminder of what Lynch is also capable of. Delving into a character and placing him into the real world through us, his viewers.
The title is far from a clever play on words but its ambiguity serves the film really well as this really is a simple story told in the straightest way imaginable by a director who can find the realness in a performance and a character, be they big or small. Just look at the faces of the people our hero encounters, they are real people, heck, look at our…
Review by russman ★★★½

My new favorite Olsen Twins movie
Review by Robert Franco 1

"The worst part of being old is remembering when you was young."
Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★★ 15

"The worst part of being old is remembering when you was young."
Alvin Straight goes to the doctor, and the doc doesn't say he's going to die, at least not in so many words, but he says there will be consequences if he doesn't change his lifestyle. Pretty sure the changes he had in mind didn't include driving a lawn mower a hundred miles from Iowa to Wisconsin to see his ailing estranged brother, but you know, sometimes you say one thing and people hear another.
And listen, I'm 31 years old, I'm not gonna pretend to be able to talk to y'all about aging, but if I heard that my sister had a stroke and all I had was…

Where to watch

The Straight Story

Synopsis

A true story that proves a little determination goes a very, very long way.

Cast

Director Director

Producers Producers

Writers Writers

Casting Casting

Editor Editor

Cinematography Cinematography

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Lighting Lighting

Camera Operator Camera Operator

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Production Design Production Design

Art Direction Art Direction

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Special Effects Special Effects

Stunts Stunts

Composer Composer

Sound Sound

Costume Design Costume Design

Makeup Makeup

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Studios

Countries

Language

Alternative Titles

Genre

Themes

Premiere

21 May 1999

03 Sep 1999

11 Oct 1999

05 Nov 1999

29 Sep 2000

Theatrical limited

15 Oct 1999

Theatrical

03 Nov 1999

24 Nov 1999

02 Dec 1999

03 Dec 1999

09 Dec 1999

25 Dec 1999

31 Dec 1999

07 Jan 2000

11 Feb 2000

17 Feb 2000

18 Feb 2000

09 Mar 2000

10 Mar 2000

24 Mar 2000

25 Mar 2000

20 Apr 2000

05 Oct 2000

02 Dec 2000

21 Jun 2001

30 Nov 2001

04 Apr 2002

16 Oct 2020

27 Jun 2024

Physical

02 Dec 2000

28 Apr 2005

31 Aug 2008

TV

02 Jun 2006

Argentina

20 Apr 2000

Australia

20 Apr 2000

Austria

03 Dec 1999

Belgium

24 Nov 1999

Brazil

10 Mar 2000

Director

Producers

Writers

Casting

Editor

Cinematography

Assistant Directors

Executive Producers

Lighting

Camera Operator

Additional Photography

Production Design

Art Direction

Set Decoration

Special Effects

Stunts

Composer

Sound

Costume Design

Makeup

Hairstyling