Kings of the Road

Kings of the Road

1976 · 177 min · ★ 7.4 · Drama

Itinerant projection-equipment repairman Bruno Winter and depressed hitchhiker Robert Lander - a doctor who has just been through a break-up with his wife and a half-hearted suicide attempt - travel along the Western side of the East-German border in a repair truck, visiting worn-out movie theaters, learning to communicate across their differences.

Directed by Wim Wenders · Written by Wim Wenders

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Criterion Channel

Rent or Buy

Amazon VideoApple TV StoreGoogle Play MoviesYouTubeFandango At Home

Cast

Make it a double feature

4h 47m together

Kings of the Road

Alice in the Cities

Both from Wim Wenders.

More from Wim WendersSee all →

Paris, TexasParis, Texas · 1984
Paris, Texas
★ 8.11984
MovieDrama
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.
The Salt of the EarthThe Salt of the Earth · 2014
The Salt of the Earth
★ 8.12014
MovieDocumentary
During the last forty years, the photographer Sebastião Salgado has been travelling through the continents, in the footsteps of an ever-changing humanity. He has witnessed the major events of our recent history: international conflicts, starvations and exodus… He is now embarking on the discovery of pristine territories, of the wild fauna and flora, of grandiose landscapes: a huge photographic project which is a tribute to the planet's beauty. Salgado's life and work are revealed to us by his son, Juliano, who went with him during his last journeys, and by Wim Wenders, a photographer himself.
Perfect DaysPerfect Days · 2023
Perfect Days
★ 7.82023
MovieDrama
Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.
Wings of DesireWings of Desire · 1987
Wings of Desire
★ 7.81987
MovieDramaFantasy
Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.
Alice in the CitiesAlice in the Cities · 1974
Alice in the Cities
★ 7.71974
MovieDrama
German journalist Philip Winter has a case of writer’s block when trying to write an article about the United States. He decides to return to Germany, and while trying to book a flight, encounters a German woman and her nine year old daughter Alice doing the same. The three become friends (almost out of necessity) and while the mother asks Winter to mind Alice temporarily, it quickly becomes apparent that Alice will be his responsibility for longer than he expected.
Buena Vista Social ClubBuena Vista Social Club · 1999
Buena Vista Social Club
★ 7.51999
MovieDocumentaryMusic
In this fascinating Oscar-nominated documentary, American guitarist Ry Cooder brings together a group of legendary Cuban folk musicians (some in their 90s) to record a Grammy-winning CD in their native city of Havana. The result is a spectacular compilation of concert footage from the group's gigs in Amsterdam and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, with director Wim Wenders capturing not only the music -- but also the musicians' life stories.
The BluesThe Blues · 2003
The Blues
★ 7.52003
SeriesDocumentary
The Blues (2003) is a seven-part documentary series produced by Martin Scorsese that explores the history and influence of blues music. Each episode, directed by a different filmmaker, traces a unique aspect of the genre’s evolution—from its African roots to its global impact. Originally airing on PBS, the series includes Scorsese’s Feel Like Going Home, Wim Wenders’ The Soul of a Man, Richard Pearce’s The Road to Memphis, Charles Burnett’s Warming by the Devil’s Fire, Marc Levin’s Godfathers and Sons, Mike Figgis’ Red, White and Blues, and Clint Eastwood’s Piano Blues.
Songs of EarthSongs of Earth · 2023
Songs of Earth
★ 7.32023
MovieDocumentary
With Olin's 85-year-old father as guide, we experience Norway's most adventurous valley, Oldedalen in Nordfjord. He grew up here, and here generations before him have lived in balance with nature.
Stories We TellStories We Tell · 2012
Stories We Tell
★ 7.12012
MovieDocumentary
Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, interviewing a group of family members and friends whose reliability varies depending on their implication in the events, which are remembered in different ways; so a trail of questions remains to be answered, because memory is always changing and the discovery of truth often depends on who is telling the tale.
The American FriendThe American Friend · 1977
The American Friend
★ 7.11977
MovieDramaThriller
Tom Ripley, an American who deals in forged art, is slighted at an auction in Hamburg by picture framer Jonathan Zimmerman. When Ripley is asked by gangster Raoul Minot to kill a rival, he suggests Zimmerman, and the two, exploiting Zimmerman's terminal illness, coerce him into being a hitman.
Faraway, So Close!Faraway, So Close! · 1993
Faraway, So Close!
★ 6.91993
MovieDramaFantasy
A group of angels look longingly upon the life of humans. Berlin now is a very different place: unified in name but overrun with crime, corruption, and—in what turns out to be a key theme here—Americans.
City of AngelsCity of Angels · 1998
City of Angels
★ 6.81998
MovieDramaFantasy
When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.
Until the End of the WorldUntil the End of the World · 1991
Until the End of the World
★ 6.71991
MovieDramaScience Fiction
In 1999, a woman's life is forever changed after she survives a car crash with two bank robbers, who enlist her help to take the money to a drop in Paris. On the way, she runs into another fugitive from the law — an American doctor on the run from the CIA. They want to confiscate his father's invention – a device which allows anyone to record their dreams and visions.
Lumière & CompanyLumière & Company · 1995
Lumière & Company
★ 6.41995
MovieDramaDocumentary
40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.
HammettHammett · 1982
Hammett
★ 6.21982
MovieDramaThriller
Chinatown, San Francisco, 1928. Former private detective Dashiell Hammett, a compulsive drinker with tuberculosis who writes pulp fiction for a living, receives an unexpected visit from an old friend asking for help.
Don't Come KnockingDon't Come Knocking · 2005
Don't Come Knocking
★ 6.22005
MovieDramaWestern
Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and young women. If he were to die now, nobody would shed a tear over him, that's the sad truth. Until one day Howard learns that he might have a child somewhere out there...

More Like This

Million Dollar BabyMillion Dollar Baby · 2004
Million Dollar Baby
★ 8.02004
MovieDrama
Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.
Bad EducationBad Education · 2004
Bad Education
★ 7.42004
MovieDramaCrime
When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.
MagnoliaMagnolia · 1999
Magnolia
★ 7.71999
MovieDrama
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
Monsieur IbrahimMonsieur Ibrahim · 2003
Monsieur Ibrahim
★ 7.02003
MovieDrama
Paris, 1960s. Momo, a resolute and independent Jewish teenager who lives with his father, a sullen and depressed man, in a working-class neighborhood, develops a close friendship with Monsieur Ibrahim, an elderly Muslim who owns a small grocery store.
Harold and MaudeHarold and Maude · 1971
Harold and Maude
★ 7.61971
MovieComedyDrama
A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.
The WizardThe Wizard · 1989
The Wizard
★ 6.01989
MovieAdventureComedy
A boy and his brother run away from home and hitch cross-country, with help from a girl they meet, to compete in the ultimate video game championship.
Wilbur Wants to Kill HimselfWilbur Wants to Kill Himself · 2002
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
★ 6.52002
MovieComedyDrama
The strange comedy film of two close brothers; one, Wilbur, who wants to kill himself, and the other, Harbour, who tries to prevent this. When their father dies leaving them his bookstore they meet a woman who makes their lives a bit better yet with a bit more trouble as well.
Knockin' on Heaven's DoorKnockin' on Heaven's Door · 1997
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
★ 7.71997
MovieComedyCrime
Two young men, Martin and Rudi, both suffering from terminal cancer, get to know each other in a hospital room. They drown their desperation in tequila and decide to take one last trip to the sea. Drunk and still in pajamas they steal the first fancy car they find, a 60's Mercedes convertible. The car happens to belong to a bunch of gangsters, which immediately start to chase it, since it contains more than the pistol Martin finds in the glove box.
The White SoundThe White Sound · 2001
The White Sound
★ 6.92001
MovieDrama
Lukas, a young schizophrenic man, has to deal with a new town, a new relationship, and the paranoia in his head.
The ApartmentThe Apartment · 1960
The Apartment
★ 8.21960
MovieComedyDrama
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
The Wages of FearThe Wages of Fear · 1953
The Wages of Fear
★ 8.01953
MovieDramaThriller
In a run-down South American town, four men are paid to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin into the jungle through to the oil field. Friendships are tested and rivalries develop as they embark upon the perilous journey.
Girl, InterruptedGirl, Interrupted · 1999
Girl, Interrupted
★ 7.61999
MovieDrama
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous BreakdownWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown · 1988
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
★ 7.41988
MovieComedyDrama
After being dumped by her lover, Pepa finds her life and the lives of those around her spiraling out of control in a deliciously chaotic series of events.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter