NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

"True Stories" is a wild pastiche of a film, full of mixed media. Criterion have a wonderful newly restored 4K-restored Blu-ray transfer, supervised by director David Byrne and cinematographer Ed Lachman. The 1.85:1 1080P image is housed on a dual-layered Blu-ray with a maxed out bitrate. The level of detail in the picture is fantastic. The colors of the film have quite the range and they are faithfully represented in this transfer. Contrast levels are also strong here, with quite the spectrum of blacks. There is very, very little damage present here. Another jaw-dropping transfer from Criterion.

Criterion present "True Stories" in a 5.1 surround track that is 24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio. The separation is really nice, though the main attraction here is the always catchy music from Byrne / Talking Heads. This lossless transfer was also approved by Byrne. There are optional English subtitles on this Region A Blu-ray.

Criterion's Blu-ray is loaded with extras. First up is a brief introduction to the film from David Byrne. Next up is the 1-hour "The Making of True Stories", an all new documentary made by Criterion. This doc focuses on "True Stories" (Byrne's only feature-film-directing effort) from its conceptual origins through its production in Dallas, exploring the precise and singular vision that informed all aspects of its making, from writing to costumes to production design. The making-of features Byrne, actors Jo Harvey Allen and Spalding Gray, artist/songwriter Terry Allen, cinematographer Ed Lachman, costume designer Adelle Lutz, producer Karen Murphy, consultant Christina Patoski, executive producer Edward Pressman, casting director Victoria Thomas, and writer Stephen Tobolowsky. Next up is "Real Life", filmmakers Pamela Yates and Newton Thomas Sigel were invited to create a film about the making of David Byrne's True Stories in 1985. This is the resulting thirty-two-minute short, capturing members of the cast and crew interacting with locals and getting to know the Texas communities in which they were filming, and includes a tour of the Ewing house from the hit television series Dallas. This is an archival analog video presentation so the quality is a little rough. "Tibor Kalman" is a brand new 12-minute documentary exploring Kalman's legacy. Kalman is known for revolutionizing graphic design. His company, M&Co, was innovative in brand-identity work, and it created several album covers for Talking Heads. M&Co worked again with David Byrne on the opening montage and poster design for True Stories. This piece features Byrne and Kalman's widow, Maira Kalman. We are also treated to 14-minutes of deleted scenes, available individually or with a "play all" button. Just over thirty years after director David Byrne's journey to "Virgil, Texas," filmmakers Bill and Turner Ross returned to True Stories' shooting locations in search of its people and places. The film they made is a celebration of 182 years of the extraordinary special-ness of Texas, it is the 12-minute "No Time to Look Back" and is also included here. Rounding out the Blu-ray is the film's trailer and essays by critic Rebecca Bengal, journalist and author Joe Nick Patoski, and Byrne, along with a 1986 piece by actor Spalding Gray on the film’s production and a selection of Byrne’s preproduction photography, tabloid clippings, and writing about the film’s visual motifs. The set also includes the film's soundtrack, compiled here for the first time. Very cool!

Though I've always been a casual fan of Byrne and The Talking Heads, somehow the mere existence of this film has skipped by me. Well, no more! This is an awesome kaleidescope of America that could hold up to some of Altman's finest moments. And John Goodman, my god that is one fine thespian. Did I mention this comes with the complete soundtrack? Criterion's Blu-ray rocks, this film rocks, we all rock!

Colin Zavitz