View source for The Straight Story

{{Short description|1999 film by David Lynch}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| image          = The Straight Story poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[David Lynch]]
| writer         = {{Plainlist|
* John Roach
* [[Mary Sweeney]]
}}
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* Mary Sweeney
* [[Neal Edelstein]]
* [[Alain Sarde]]
}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Richard Farnsworth]]
* [[Sissy Spacek]]
* [[Harry Dean Stanton]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Freddie Francis]]
| editing        = Mary Sweeney
| music          = [[Angelo Badalamenti]]
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* Les Films Alain Sarde<ref name="VarietyReview">{{cite web |last1=Levy |first1=Emanuel |title=The Straight Story |url=https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/the-straight-story-1117499811/ |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=26 September 2025 |date=24 May 1999}}</ref>
* [[Le Studio Canal+]]<ref name="VarietyReview"/><ref name="ACMI">{{cite web |title=The Straight Story |url=https://www.acmi.net.au/works/91314--the-straight-story/ |website=[[ACMI (museum)|ACMI]] |access-date=26 September 2025}}</ref>
* The Picture Company<ref name="VarietyReview"/><ref name="ACMI"/>
* [[Film4 Productions|FilmFour]]<ref name="ACMI"/>
}}
| distributor    = {{Plainlist|
* [[Buena Vista Pictures Distribution]]{{efn|name=Disney|Distributed under the [[Walt Disney Pictures]] banner.<ref name="Disney"/>}} (United States)
* FilmFour Distributors (United Kingdom)<ref>{{cite web|title=The Straight Story|url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/film-four-canal-plus-team-on-four-pix-1117488086/|website=Variety.com}}</ref>
* [[BAC Films]] (France)
}}
| released       = {{Film date|1999|5|21|[[1999 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|1999|10|15|United States}}
| runtime        = 112 minutes
| country        = {{Plainlist|
* United States
* United Kingdom
* France
}}
| language       = English
| budget         = $10 million<ref name="numbers">{{cite web |title=The Straight Story (1999) – Financial information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Straight-Story-The |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>
| gross          = $6.2 million (United States)<ref>{{mojo title|straightstory}}</ref>
}}

'''''The Straight Story''''' (stylised as '''''the Straight story''''') is a 1999 [[Biographical film|biographical]] [[Road movie|road]] [[drama film]] directed by [[David Lynch]]. It was edited and produced by [[Mary Sweeney]], Lynch's longtime filmmaking 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]]. It is Lynch's second and last [[family-friendly]], accessible and mainstream feature after ''[[The Elephant Man (1980 film)|The Elephant Man]]'' (1980), as largely contrasted with Lynch's own surrealist and violent films.

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 hold a driver's license, he hitches a trailer to a thirty-year-old lawn tractor, which has a maximum speed of {{convert|5|mph|m/s km/h}}, and sets off on the 240-mile (390&nbsp;km) journey from [[Laurens, Iowa]], to [[Mount Zion, Wisconsin]].

''The Straight Story'' was released by [[Walt Disney Pictures]]<ref name=AFI>{{cite web|title=The Straight Story (1999)|website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|access-date=9 February 2022|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61718-THE-STRAIGHTSTORY?sid=b9d2126e-1539-4e1c-ba73-6a0c6e1c1296&sr=7.913997&cp=1&pos=0}}</ref> in the United States and select international territories.<ref name="Disney">{{Cite news |last1=Petrikin |first1=Chris |last2=Dawtrey |first2=Adam |date=May 10, 1999 |title=Disney, Lynch go 'Straight' |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/1999/film/news/disney-lynch-go-straight-1117500191/ |access-date=April 23, 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=2775# | title=The Straight Story (1999) – JP Box-Office }}</ref> The film was a critical success;<ref name="The Straight Story">{{cite web|title=The Straight Story|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-straight-story/critic-reviews|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |work=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref> reviewers praised the intensity of the character performances, particularly the [[Realism (arts)|realistic]] dialogue which film critic [[Roger Ebert]] compared to the works of [[Ernest Hemingway]].<ref name="ebert"/> 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]], becoming the [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Oldest nominees 2|oldest nominee]] in the category at the time. 
{{David Lynch sidebar}}

==Plot==
In [[Laurens, Iowa]], elderly Alvin Straight is found lying on his kitchen floor after a fall. His daughter, Rose, takes him to see a doctor, who admonishes him to give up tobacco, improve his diet, and use a [[walker (mobility)|walker]], all of which he rejects. When Alvin's brother, Lyle, suffers a stroke, Alvin decides to visit Lyle, even though they have not spoken in ten years.

Lyle lives in [[Mount Zion, Wisconsin]], 240 miles away. As neither Alvin (due to his age) nor Rose (due to an unspecified disability) have a driver's license, Alvin decides to make the trip on his [[riding mower]]. His plan surprises his family, friends, and neighbors. The mower soon breaks down, forcing Alvin to accept a ride from a passing tour bus and call for help. However, he is determined to continue the trip, and buys a used 1966 [[John Deere]] 110 lawn tractor to continue his journey.

Alvin meets a variety of people on the road. He shares his dinner with a young girl hitchhiker, who ran away from home out of fear that her family would be upset with her pregnancy. Alvin reflects about the importance of family, comparing it to a bundle of sticks that is hard to break compared to a single stick. The next day, she leaves him a bundle of sticks tied together as a thank-you. Several passing [[RAGBRAI]] cyclists are amused to see him on the highway and welcome him to their campsite. He speaks with some of the cyclists about growing old. He also meets a distraught woman who hit a deer during her commute and tearfully rants about how she keeps on hitting deer despite her prayers. Alvin respectfully cooks and eats the deer.

Alvin's tractor begins to fail, throwing his journey into jeopardy. His transmission fails as he travels down a steep hill, but he manages to stop. Danny, a local, invites Alvin to camp in his backyard until the tractor is repaired. He offers to drive Alvin to Mount Zion, but Alvin declines, preferring to travel his own way.  

Running low on cash, Alvin calls Rose to send him his [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] check. Two bickering mechanics overcharge him for fixing his tractor, but he cannily bargains the price down. A fellow veteran invites Alvin for a drink, and they exchange traumatic stories about their experiences in [[World War II]]. Alvin, a sniper during the war, declines a beer but confesses that he is still haunted by killing an American in a [[friendly fire]] incident, and says that he became an alcoholic when he got back home, but is now sober.

After crossing into Wisconsin, Alvin chats with a Catholic priest who knows of Lyle and his stroke. The priest says that Lyle never mentioned a brother. Alvin admits that he wants to make amends. Although the exact cause of the estrangement is never stated, only that being the one to make the effort is hard on him, Alvin says alcohol was involved.

Alvin finally arrives in Mount Zion. To steel himself, he drinks his first beer in years. Tractor trouble stops him just short of Lyle's dilapidated cabin, but he persists. Lyle invites Alvin to sit together on the porch, without recrimination or bitterness. He asks if Alvin rode the tractor all the way just to see him. Alvin quietly confirms this, and Lyle's eyes well up with tears. The two men sit together silently and gaze up at the stars.

==Cast==
{{columnslist|
* [[Richard Farnsworth]] as [[Alvin Straight]]
* [[Sissy Spacek]] as Rose Straight
* [[Harry Dean Stanton]] as Lyle Straight
* [[Everett McGill]] as Tom the John Deere Dealer
* [[John Farley (actor)|John Farley]] as Thorvald Olsen
* [[Kevin Farley]] as Harald Olsen
* Jane Galloway Heitz as Dorothy
* Joseph Carpenter as Bud
* Donald Wiegert as Sig
* Ed Grennan as Pete
* Jack Walsh as Apple
* Dan Flannery as Doctor Gibbons
* Anastasia Webb as Crystal (the hitchhiking runaway)
* [[Barbara Robertson]] as Deer woman
* James Cada as Danny Riordan
* Sally Wingert as Darla Riordan
* [[Wiley Harker]] as Verlyn Heller
* John Lordan as Priest
* Russ Reed as Barkeeper in Mt. Zion
* Max the Wonder Dog as Farm Dog<ref>{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=David |title=The Complete Lynch |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLFA5-yjSIsC&pg=PT332 |publisher=[[Random House]] |date=April 30, 2014 |page=332 |isbn=9780753550335}}</ref>}}

==Production==

=== Development ===
In 1994, 73-year-old [[Alvin Straight]] rode a lawnmower across roughly 250 miles of the American Midwest to visit his ailing brother.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Patrick |date=14 April 2017 |title=How an old man and his lawnmower made David Lynch weep: the making of The Straight Story |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/old-man-lawnmower-made-david-lynch-weep-making-straight-story/. |url-access=registration |access-date=2022-11-14}}</ref> [[Mary Sweeney]], David Lynch's frequent collaborator, read about Straight's story in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that summer.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Fagerholm |first1=Matt |date=2022-08-04 |title=You Want People to Enter the Dream: Mary Sweeney on Lost Highway, Mulholland Dr. and The Straight Story |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/you-want-people-to-enter-the-dream-mary-sweeney-on-lost-highway-mulholland-dr-and-the-straight-story |access-date=13 November 2022 |website=RogerEbert.com}}</ref><ref name="Ebert.com">{{cite web |last1=Olcese |first1=Abby |date=February 18, 2021 |title=Getting to the Heart of America in David Lynch's The Straight Story |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/features/getting-to-the-heart-of-america-in-david-lynchs-the-straight-story |access-date=13 November 2022 |website=RogerEbert.com}}</ref> Said Sweeney, "Growing up in [[Wisconsin]], I easily connected with that kind of stoic, non-verbal, stubborn, idiosyncratic American character. I get how hard it is to have quiet pride and dignity when you're old and poor and are living in the middle of nowhere. I understand what these people's dreams and frustrations are. And I loved how much his journey captured the national imagination, so, wearing my producer's hat, I started trying to secure the rights."<ref name=":1" />

Producer [[Ray Stark]] had already acquired the rights to Straight's story and envisioned the project as a potential star vehicle for [[Paul Newman]].<ref name=":1" /> Straight died in 1996, and the rights to his story became available again. Sweeney co-wrote the script with John Roach, a childhood friend; the two retraced Straight's route in the process of writing.<ref name=":1" /> When Lynch saw the finished script he immediately took to it, saying "it became, for me, very real."<ref name=":1" />

=== Casting ===
For the role of Alvin Straight, producers cast their first choice, [[Richard Farnsworth]].<ref name=":1" /> Though he was reluctant to commit to the role as he was then terminally ill with metastatic prostate cancer, he took the role out of admiration for Straight.<ref name=":1" /> [[Sissy Spacek]], a longtime friend of Lynch's who had helped to finance his earlier film ''[[Eraserhead]]'', was cast as Alvin's daughter, Rose.<ref name=":1" /> [[Harry Dean Stanton]] was cast as Alvin's ailing brother.<ref name=":1" />

=== Filming ===
''The Straight Story'' was independently shot along the actual route taken by Straight, and all scenes were shot in chronological order in the autumn of 1998.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Hollywood invades Clermont – Rear recalls filming of 'The Straight Story' 20 years ago |last=DeBack |first=Chris |date=10 October 2018 |url=http://fayettecountynewspapers.com/articles/2018/10/10/rear-recalls-filming-%E2%80%98-straight-story%E2%80%99-20-years-ago#:~:text=Filming%20of%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Straight%20Story,filming%20of%20the%20movie%20commenced. |newspaper=Fayette County Newspapers}}</ref> Alvin Straight's real-life residence was used as his home in the film and Straight's neighbors in the film were his actual neighbors.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Mark and Bob Tell It Straight |type=Video |language=en |publisher=Imprint Films |year=2021 |edition=The Straight Story - Imprint Films |time=00:04:20}}</ref> Lynch would later call the film "my most experimental movie".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidlynch.de/empire2001.html |title=David Lynch interview Empire November 2001 |work=davidlynch.de |access-date=August 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716194021/http://www.davidlynch.de/empire2001.html |archive-date=July 16, 2012}}</ref>

During production, Farnsworth's cancer had spread to his bones, but he astonished his co-workers with his tenacity during production. The paralysis of his legs as shown in the film was real.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/richard-farnsworth-dies-of-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound-634900.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/richard-farnsworth-dies-of-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound-634900.html |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Richard Farnsworth dies of self-inflicted gunshot wound |website=[[The Independent]] |date=7 October 2000 |access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref> Farnsworth died by suicide on October 6, 2000, at the age of 80.<ref>{{cite journal |date=October 16, 2000 |title=Obituaries |journal=Variety |volume=380 |issue=9 |page=131}}</ref>

After a successful debut at [[1999 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]], [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures Distribution]] acquired distribution rights to the film in the United States, Australia and Scandivanian territories, where it would be released under the [[Walt Disney Pictures]] banner, while Le Studio Canal+ and Les Films Alain Sarde would share international sales.<ref name="Disney" /> It was [[Peter Schneider (film executive)|Peter Schneider]], Disney's president of production at the time, that got the idea to have the studio acquire the film after seeing it at Cannes, calling it "a beautiful movie about values, forgiveness and healing and celebrates America. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was a Walt Disney film." [[October Films]] also negotiated for the rights, but a deal never materialized.<ref name="Disney" /> The film was given a [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system|G rating]] by the [[Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] (the only Lynch film to receive such a rating).<ref name="Disney" /><ref name="Ringer">{{cite news |last1=Nayman |first1=Adam |date=May 23, 2019 |title=Remembering David Lynch's 'The Straight Story' |work=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]] |url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/5/23/18636764/david-lynch-the-straight-story-20-years-later-cannes |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>

===Music===

The [[film score|musical score]] for ''The Straight Story'' was composed by [[Angelo Badalamenti]], continuing a 13-plus year collaboration with Lynch that began with ''[[Blue Velvet (film)|Blue Velvet]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wilson|first1=Sean|title=Angelo Badalamenti: The Straight Story|url=http://www.mfiles.co.uk/reviews/angelo-badalamenti-the-straight-story.htm|website=mfiles|publisher=Music Files Ltd.|access-date=August 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403232305/http://www.mfiles.co.uk/reviews/angelo-badalamenti-the-straight-story.htm|archive-date=April 3, 2015}}</ref> A soundtrack album was released on October 12, 1999, by [[Windham Hill Records]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Straight Story Soundtrack (1999)|url=http://www.soundtrack.net/album/the-straight-story/|website=[[Soundtrack.Net]]|access-date=August 23, 2015}}</ref>

{{Infobox album
| name         = The Straight Story
| type         = soundtrack
| artist       = [[Angelo Badalamenti]]
| cover        = The_StraigthStory.gif
| alt          = 
| released     = October 12, 1999
| recorded     = Asymmetrical Studio, Hollywood
| venue        = 
| studio       = 
| genre        = 
| length       = 48:09
| label        = [[Windham Hill Records|Windham Hill]]
}}

{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-straight-story-mw0000253787|title=The Straight Story – Angelo Badalamenti|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=October 4, 2017|last=Phares|first=Heather}}</ref>
| rev2 = [[Q (magazine)|Q]]
| rev2Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |title=The Straight Story |date=March 2000 |page=109 |quote=Neatly complements David Lynch's images of endless highways and patchwork fields...with some suitably open-plained backing....A useful souvenir of the complete movie experience.}}</ref>
| rev3 = [[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]
| rev3Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |title=The Straight Story |date=January 2000 |page=104 |quote=One of those rare pieces of music which freezes time, warms your will and causes you to perceive everything around you as if it's bathed in shafts of dusty sunlight"}}</ref>
| width = 33%
}}

===Soundtrack===
All music composed and conducted by Angelo Badalamenti.

{{Track listing
| headline = The Straight Story: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
| title_width = 100
| title1 = Laurens, Iowa
| length1 = 2:45
| title2 = Rose's Theme
| length2 = 2:55
| title3 =  Laurens Walking
| length3 = 4:11
| title4 = Sprinkler
| length4 = 2:56
| title5 = Alvin's Theme
| length5 = 4:25
| title6 = Final Miles
| length6 = 4:06
| title7 = Country Waltz
| length7 = 2:46
| title8 = Rose's Theme
| length8 = 3:07
| title9 = Country Theme
| length9 = 3:38
| title10 = Crystal
| length10 = 4:07
| title11 = Nostalgia
| length11 = 6:51
| title12 = Farmland Tour
| length12 = 3:09
| title13 = Montage
| length13 = 7:24
| total_length = 48:09
}}

==Home media==
''The Straight Story'' was released on DVD on November 7, 2000 by [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment|Buena Vista Home Entertainment]] (under the Walt Disney Home Video label).{{cn|date=February 2025}} There are no chapter markers on the original North American DVD release, with a note written by Lynch inside the DVD case that reads, "It is my opinion that a film is not a book – it should not be broken up. It is a continuum and should be seen as such."<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Lynch, David (director) |title=The Straight Story |date=November 7, 2000 |publisher=Walt Disney Studios}}</ref> On April 3, 2020, the film became available to stream on [[Disney+]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/david-lynch-disney-plus-straight-story-1202218698/ | title=David Lynch is Coming to Disney+ in April, So Get Your Children Ready | date=March 18, 2020 }}</ref>

On September 17, 2021, ''The Straight Story'' received a limited edition [[Blu-ray]] release from Imprint Films.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Straight Story – Imprint Films Limited Edition Blu-ray Disc Details |url=https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/96601/thestraightstoryimprintfilmslimitededition.html |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=High-Def Digest}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Critical reception===
''The Straight Story'' was critically acclaimed upon its release, with critics lauding Lynch's uncharacteristic subject matter. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' described the film as a "celestial piece of [[Americana (culture)|Americana]]".<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://ew.com/article/1999/10/15/straight-story-2/|title=The Straight Story|date=October 15, 1999|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=August 12, 2017|last=Gleiberman|first=Owen}}</ref> The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' wrote of the film, "we see something American studio movies usually don't give us: the simple, unsentimentalized beauty of the [[Rural areas in the United States|rural American]] [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] landscape."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/10/15/straight-story-told-in-simple-beautiful-style/|title=''Straight Story'' Told In Simple, Beautiful Style|website=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=August 12, 2017|last=Wilmington|first=Michael|date=October 15, 1999|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812135550/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-10-15/entertainment/9910150002_1_straight-story-richard-farnsworth-american-pictures|archive-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>

Janet Maslin of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "the same bellwether quality that left ''Blue Velvet'' looking so prescient, and ushered in a whole cinematic wave of taboo-shattering, is at work once again. When a born unnaturalist like Lynch can bring such interest and emotion to one man's simple story, the realm of the ordinary starts looking like a new frontier."<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=Maslin |first1=Janet |title='The Straight Story': An Unlikely Filmmaker Takes on a G-Rated Challenge |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/101599straight-film-review.html |access-date=13 November 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=October 15, 1999}}</ref> Of Farnsworth's performance, Maslin wrote, "he automatically frees the film from any sense of artifice and delivers an amazingly stalwart performance that will not soon be forgotten."<ref name="NYT" /> Her review concluded, "''The Straight Story'' is...about gazing at the sky, about experiencing each encounter to the fullest, than it is about getting anywhere in a hurry. It's been too long since a great American movie dared to regard life that way."<ref name="NYT" />

[[Roger Ebert]] gave the film four out of four stars, the first positive review he had given to a film by Lynch. He wrote: "The first time I saw ''The Straight Story'' I focused on the foreground and liked it. The second time I focused on the background, too, and loved it. The movie isn't just about the old Alvin Straight's odyssey through the sleepy towns and rural districts of the Midwest, but about the people he finds to listen and care for him."<ref name="ebert">{{cite web|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-straight-story-1999 |title=The Straight Story (1999) |last=Ebert |first=Roger |work=RogerEbert.com |access-date=February 15, 2016|date=October 15, 1999}}</ref>

On [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "With strong performances and director David Lynch at the helm, ''The Straight Story'' steers past sentimental byways on its ambling journey across the American heartland."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/straight_story/|title=The Straight Story (1999)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|access-date=November 26, 2022}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 86 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref name="The Straight Story"/> 

===Awards and honors===
''The Straight Story'' was nominated for the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[1999 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name=cannes/> Richard Farnsworth earned an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for his portrayal of Alvin Straight.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://variety.com/2000/scene/people-news/best-actor-nominee-farnsworth-80-dies-1117787447/ |title=Best actor nominee Farnsworth, 80, dies |last1=Galloway |first1=Doug |last2=Higgins |first2=Bill |date=October 9, 2000 |access-date=July 31, 2018 |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=[[Penske Business Media, LLC.]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/10/08/richard-farnsworth-80-dies/0c9fa0b6-8abe-41e4-a5f2-6852a4b6106c/ |title=Richard Farnsworth, 80, Dies |date=October 8, 2000 |access-date=July 31, 2018 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731165238/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/10/08/richard-farnsworth-80-dies/0c9fa0b6-8abe-41e4-a5f2-6852a4b6106c/ |archive-date=July 31, 2018}}</ref> For 21 years he held the record as the [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Oldest nominees 2|oldest person]] (at 79) to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. Farnsworth also won the 1999 [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor]] for his performance in the film.<ref name=NY/>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ List of awards and nominations received by ''The Straight Story''
|-
! Award
! Category 
! Nominee(s)
! Result 
! {{Abbreviation|Ref.|References}}
|-
| [[72nd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Richard Farnsworth]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" | <ref>{{cite web|title=2000 Academy Awards |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2000 |website=Oscars.org |date=April 22, 2015 |access-date=2022-11-13}}</ref>
|-
| [[Bodil Awards]]
| [[Bodil Award for Best American Film#2000s|Best American Film]]
| [[David Lynch]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite news |title=One And Only cleans up at Denmark's Bodils |url=https://www.screendaily.com/one-and-only-cleans-up-at-denmarks-bodils/401712.article |access-date=13 November 2022 |work=Screen Daily |date=14 March 2000}}</ref>
|-
| [[British Independent Film Awards]]
| [[British Independent Film Award for Best International Independent Film#2000s|Best International Independent Film – English Language]]
| 
| {{won}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bifa.film/awards/2000/winners-nominations/ |title=Winners & Nominations 2000 |website=bifa.film |date=October 24, 2000 |access-date=2022-11-13}}</ref>
|-
| [[Cahiers du Cinéma]] 
| [[Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists|Annual Top 10 Lists]]
|
| {{draw|8th place}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=Cahiers Du Cinéma's Top Ten Films 1999 |url=https://mubi.com/lists/cahiers-du-cinema-s-top-ten-films-1999 |website=Mubi |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>
|-
| [[Camerimage]]
| [[Camerimage#Golden Frog winners|Golden Frog]]
| [[Freddie Francis]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite book |last=Ellis |first=David A. |title=Conversations with Cinematographers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uA8DdKZSD0YC&pg=PA109 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |year=2012 |page=109 |isbn=9780810881266}}</ref>
|-
| [[1999 Cannes Film Festival]]
| [[Palme d'Or]]
| David Lynch
| {{nom}}
| align="center" |<ref name=cannes>{{cite web|url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/festival/films/the-straight-story |title=The Straight Story |website=festival-cannes.com |access-date=November 13, 2022}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 1999|Chicago Film Critics Association Awards]]
| [[Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
|
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="3" align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=Awards/Nominations for 1999 Chicago Film Critics |url=http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/awards/display.cfm?awardsbID=2&awardsyear=1999 |website=Box Office Prophets |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>
|-
| [[Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Richard Farnsworth
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor|Best Director]]
| rowspan="2" | David Lynch
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[12th European Film Awards|European Film Awards]]
| [[European Film Award for Best Non-European Film|Screen International Award]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/film/the-straight-story.5550 |title=The Straight Story |website=European Film Awards |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>
|-
| Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
| Jury Award for Best Actor
| rowspan="2" | Richard Farnsworth
| {{won}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite news |title=FESTIVALS: Fort Lauderdale Fetes "War Zone," Attenborough, & Solid Shorts |url=https://www.indiewire.com/1999/11/festivals-fort-lauderdale-fetes-war-zone-attenborough-solid-shorts-81970/ |access-date=13 November 2022 |work=IndieWire |date=1999-11-17}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[57th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=Winners & Nominees 2000 |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/2000 |website=Golden Globes |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>  
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score – Motion Picture]]
| [[Angelo Badalamenti]] 
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Guldbagge Awards]]
| [[Guldbagge Award for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Film]]
|
| {{nom}}
| align="center" |
|-
| [[Humanitas Prize]]
| Feature Film Category
| John Roach, [[Mary Sweeney]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=Humanitas Prize Nominees |url=https://www.humanitasprize.org/prize-nominees |website=Humanitas Prize |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4" |[[15th Independent Spirit Awards|Independent Spirit Awards]]
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead|Best Male Lead]]
| Richard Farnsworth
| {{won}}
| rowspan="4" align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title="Election," "Limey" Up for Indie Oscars |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/39253/election-limey-up-for-indie-oscars |website=E! Online |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122050804/http://it.eonline.com/news/39253/election-limey-up-for-indie-oscars |archive-date=2013-01-22 |date=2000-01-13}}</ref>
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature|Best Feature]]
| John Roach, Mary Sweeney
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| David Lynch
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay|Best First Screenplay]]
| John Roach, Mary Sweeney
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1999|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]]
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Richard Farnsworth
| {{draw|2nd place}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite news |title=LA critics name The Insider best film of the year |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/dec/15/1 |access-date=13 November 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=1999-12-15}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1999]]
| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
|
| {{won}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1999/ |title=1999 Award Winners  |website=National Board of Review |access-date=2022-11-13}}</ref>
|-
| [[1999 National Society of Film Critics Awards|National Society of Film Critics Awards]]
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| Freddie Francis
| {{nom}}
| 
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[1999 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Richard Farnsworth
| {{won}}
| rowspan="4" align="center" |<ref name=NY>{{cite news |title=Critics Flip For Topsy-Turvy |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/critics-flip-for-itopsy-turvy-i/ |access-date=13 November 2022 |work=CBS News |date=December 17, 1999}}</ref>
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer|Best Cinematographer]]
| Freddie Francis
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| David Lynch
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| 
| {{nom}}{{efn|Tied with ''[[American Beauty (1999 film)|American Beauty]]'' and ''[[Being John Malkovich]]''}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | Online Film & Television Association 
| Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
| rowspan="2" | John Roach, Mary Sweeney
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=4th Annual Film Awards (1999) |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/film-awards/4th-annual-film-awards-1999/ |website=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>
|-
| Best First Screenplay
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[Online Film Critics Society Awards 1999|Online Film Critics Society Awards]]
| Top Ten Films of the Year
|
| {{draw|7th place}}
| rowspan="4" align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=1999 Awards (3rd Annual) |url=https://ofcs.org/awards/1999-awards-3rd-annual/ |website=Online Film Critics Society |date=January 3, 2012 |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref> 
|-
| [[Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Richard Farnsworth
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]
| Angelo Badalamenti 
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| Freddie Francis
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[4th Golden Satellite Awards|Satellite Awards]]
| [[Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture|Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama]]
| Richard Farnsworth
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=2000 4th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards |url=http://pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2000.shtml |website=International Press Academy |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218122348/http://pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2000.shtml |archive-date=2009-02-18}}</ref>
|-
| [[Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Drama]]
| [[Sissy Spacek]]
| {{nom}}
|- 
| [[Village Voice Film Poll]] 
| Best Film
|
| {{draw|7th place}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{cite news |title=Film Poll: Top 10 Movies by Year, 1999–2016 |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/02/13/film-poll-top-10-movies-by-year-1999-2016/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213213846/https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/02/13/film-poll-top-10-movies-by-year-1999-2016/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 13, 2018 |access-date=13 November 2022 |work=The Village Voice |date=2018-02-13}}</ref>
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20200920134232/https://movies.disney.com/the-straight-story}} – archived from [https://movies.disney.com/the-straight-story the original] on September 20, 2020
*{{DisneyAtoZ|title=''The Straight Story''}}
*{{IMDb title|0166896}}
*{{Mojo title|straightstory}}
*{{Rotten Tomatoes|straight_story}}
*{{Metacritic film}}

{{David Lynch}}
{{BIFA BestForeignFilm}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|1990s|Film|United States|United Kingdom|France|Biographies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straight Story, The}}
[[Category:1999 drama films]]
[[Category:1999 films]]
[[Category:1999 independent films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:1990s biographical drama films]]
[[Category:1990s British films]]
[[Category:1990s drama road movies]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s French films]]
[[Category:American biographical drama films]]
[[Category:American drama road movies]]
[[Category:American films based on actual events]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:BAC Films films]]
[[Category:British biographical drama films]]
[[Category:British drama road movies]]
[[Category:English-language French films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:European Film Awards winners (films)]]
[[Category:Film4 Productions films]]
[[Category:Films about atonement]]
[[Category:Films about brothers]]
[[Category:Films about father–daughter relationships]]
[[Category:Films about old age]]
[[Category:Films about veterans]]
[[Category:Films directed by David Lynch]]
[[Category:Films scored by Angelo Badalamenti]]
[[Category:Films set in Iowa]]
[[Category:Films set in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Films shot in Iowa]]
[[Category:Films shot in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:French biographical drama films]]
[[Category:French drama road movies]]
[[Category:John Deere]]
[[Category:Postmodern films]]
[[Category:StudioCanal films]]
[[Category:Walt Disney Pictures films]]
[[Category:English-language biographical drama films]]