Don't Come Knocking

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Wim Wenders directs. Franz Lustig behind the camera. T Bone Burnett scores. Peter Przygodda cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Earned back only 42% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 2Released 21 years ago.
• 3International production across 4 countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.
• 4Directed by Wim Wenders, shot by Franz Lustig. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by T Bone Burnett. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Peter Przygodda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange and Tim Roth carry the top of the cast.
• 8IMDB entry: tt0377800 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Franz Lustig

Original score

T Bone Burnett

Editing

Peter Przygodda

Costume design

Caroline Eselin

Makeup / hair

Barbara Lamelza

Stunt coordinator

Hugh Aodh O'Brien

Runtime

123 min · 2h 3m

Status

Released

Budget

$11,000,000

Box office

$4,663,501

Return

42% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Don't Come Knocking (2005) ↗

Also by

Wim Wenders

• 
  Willie Nelson at the Teatro

  1998 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Paris, Texas

  1984 · ★ 8.1
• 
  The Salt of the Earth

  2014 · ★ 8.1
• 
  Perfect Days

  2023 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Wings of Desire

  1987 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Alice in the Cities

  1974 · ★ 7.7

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Don't Come Knocking (2005) - On DVD Trailer

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2018-07-23
  ★ 6/10

  Caught between Earth and Sky RELEASED IN 2005 and directed by Wim Wenders, "Don't Come Knocking" tells the story of a 60 year-old B-Western film has-been, Howard Spence (Sam Shepard), who is sick of his meaningless scandalous carnal existence. While on a film set in Utah he jumps ship and flees on a horse, searching for SOMETHING, like a reason to exist. He ultimately travels to Butte, Montana, where he gets reacquainted with an ex-girlfriend (Jessica Lange) and meets an angry young musician (Gabriel Mann) as well as a mysterious spiritual woman (Sarah Polley). Meanwhile the film company sends an eccentric bounty hunter (Tim Roth) to fetch Shepard for breach of contract. Although this is generally a quiet drama, it has a hip and likable artistic flair. The film is highlighted by magnificent Western locations and a nice modern Country/Western/Rockish score/soundtrack (non-twangy). We can all relate to Howard's search on some level; hence, despite the film's slow drama it generally maintains the viewer's attention throughout its runtime, unless you strictly favor fast-paced, quick-edited explosion-every-five-minutes thrillers. The two youths Howard meets in the story, Earl and Sky, represent two extremes. Earl's name is fitting because he's full of volcanic rage that spits out from deep within the Earth (Earl/Earth, get it?). Sky, on the other hand, is completely spiritual in nature (hence, sky/heaven). She's full of warmth, love, compassion and forgiveness. In fact, she's the crucial Christ figure without which there would be little reconciliation for anyone in the story. Take note of the scene where Sky meets Howard in his hotel room. Sky just looks at him with the understanding eyes of divine love. This naturally makes Spence uncomfortable; he's never experienced this before. He doesn't know what to do, so he asks her to leave. On a side note, Jessica Lange still looks good for being in her mid-50s but I found her character strange and annoying. Also, Earl's girlfriend (Fairuza Balk) is an entertaining free spirit who looks like she might be the daughter of Steven Tyler. The third act of "Don't Come Knocking" is too low-key for my tastes, but the movie’s worthwhile if you favor the cast and have a taste for eccentric indie dramas, as well as stories about the modern West with echoes to the past. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 51 minutes and was shot in Butte; Arches National Park and Moab, Utah; Elko and Wendover, Nevada; and Los Angeles. WRITERS: Sam Shepherd and Wim Wenders. GRADE: B-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• RE

  Reverse Angle International

• RE

  Reverse Angle Production

• 

  ARTE France Cinéma

  FR

• 

  EuroArts

  DE

• 

  Network Movie

  DE

• OC

  Océan Films Distribution

• 

  Road Movies

  DE

• 

  HanWay Films

  GB

• 

  ZDF/Arte

  DE

• WI

  Wim Wenders Stiftung

  DE

Key crew

• Set DecorationDavid Storm
• EditorPeter Przygodda
• Post Production ConsultingRenée Gundelach
• Costume DesignCaroline Eselin
• ProducerKarsten Brünig
• EditorOli Weiss
• Art DirectionNicole Lobart
• Executive ProducerJeremy Thomas
• CastingHeidi Levitt
• ProducerIn-Ah Lee
• Set DesignerNathan Amondson
• Art DirectionWilliam Budge
• Makeup ArtistBarbara Lamelza
• Associate ProducerPeter Nadermann
• Associate ProducerReinhold Elschot
• Associate ProducerMeinolf Zurhorst
• Key Makeup ArtistBarbara Lamelza
• Associate ProducerAndreas Schreitmüller
• Post Production SupervisorNiels Rinke
• Associate ProducerRémi Burah
• Associate ProducerManfred Zurhorst
• Key Hair StylistD. Garen Tolkin
• Post Production SupervisorDominik Bollen
• Executive ProducerSamson Mucke

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical (limited)2006-03-17R

Also known as

International titles

• La BúsquedaAR
• Non Bussare Alla Mia PortaIT
• Llamando a las Puertas del CieloES
• Bez klauvēšanas neienāktLV