On May 9th, 2017, actor Michael Parks, born Harry Samuel Parks, passed away. Among the many things he left behind, his entertainment-based legacy includes notable roles in television and cinema as well as a career in music. His performances were known to command attention, even going so far as to steal the light from his co-stars (or a lesser film entirely), while also having a reputation for being a generous scene-partner, providing shine where possible. In filmmaker Josh Roush’s (Wrong Reasons) latest project, the documentary Long Lonesome Highway: The Story of Michael Parks, now available on DVD, son James Parks tells of his first time performing in a scene during Kill Bill, Vol 2. (2004) in which his dad, knowing where the camera was, purposefully ducked his head while walking up steps so that his hat covered his face, thereby putting the attention on James while his character, Edgar McGraw, spoke. Director Robert Rodriguez spoke of working with Parks during From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and how higher-ups interested in seeing how the shoot was going (the first time George Clooney headlined a major release) found themselves dazzled by Parks during the introduction of the film. Roush uses talking head interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, and supports them with archival materials, seeking to honor Michael Parks, and he does so successfully, the emotional response growing even more powerful as the line between professional documentarian and mournful friend collide against expectation for a tale in this medium.
Archival photo of Michael Parks used in documentary LONG LONESOME HIGHWAY: THE STORY OF MICHAEL PARKS. Photo courtesy of Anti Current Multimedia.
Documentaries, like fiction narratives, are stories told through the lens of the filmmaker. Very often, this is forgotten, with the presumption being that documentaries don’t lie as they are based entirely on fact versus the whims of a screenwriter pulling from their imagination. Except documentaries possess a script like any other film in order to devise a skeleton from which to hang their story, requiring that the documentary make choices on what to show, in what order, and what to keep and what to remove. For Roush’s Long Lonesome Highway, a fairly detailed look at the Parks’s life and career, the entire production is viewed through a specific lens of friendship. In the opening of the doc, the audience is informed about where Roush and Parks first met, on the set of Tusk (2014), where Roush served as the actor’s bodyman. What the doc carries through the various talking head interviews and the snippets of television, films, and songs that play, is the way Parks connected with people and how his life left an impact on each person he touched. Because of this, Long Lonesome Highway (taken from a Parks song on his album of the same name and that played in the closing credits of his brief broadcast series Then Came Bronson) is more often a memorial with the best parts of Parks celebrated and (possibly) worst parts of Parks acknowledged in the ways only those who loved him could.
Actor Kurt Russell in documentary LONG LONESOME HIGHWAY: THE STORY OF MICHAEL PARKS. Photo courtesy of Anti Current Multimedia.
This is both a hindrance to the doc as well as its greatest strength as Roush maintains a strong pace for the majority of the doc, utilizing a flow that’s less chronological than one might expect and operating structurally more as it would in a conversation (especially at the start). With his inclusion as one of the interviewees, Roush maintains a sense of awe and wonder rather than a decided distance from subject and audience. For example, in Jessica Levin and Susan Lacy’s 2025 documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes or in Questlove’s 2025 documentary SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), the filmmakers are not part of the production, leaving the subjects, either in in-person interviews or archival material, to tell their story through the usual tools of the genre. Roush eschews this by placing himself inside of the doc, not as the lynchpin, but as the catalyst and, in so doing, provides an audience surrogate by which we can acknowledge that, however we’ve come to know Parks, it’s ok to delight and despair in these stories, as long as we remember to carry on remembering where Parks came into our lives. From stories about growing up as one of seven kids to riding the railways up and down California to work alongside migrants to being a theater kid at a college he likely wasn’t enrolled in to his big hits, his falling out in Hollywood, his time in music and on the road, and back into Hollywood, audiences are given the gift of learning about the man who didn’t look cool on screen. He was a man of integrity who tried his level best, even amid repeated personal tragedies. Although the film isn’t entirely comprehensive, leaving out several marriages and children, with the focus being more on the work than the man, one can forgive it somewhat. Again, Long Lonesome Highway is more of a memorial or wake, celebrating the actor/father/sibling rather than an exposé, opting to focus on the connections made through Parks’s work than entirely on his private life.
Archival photo of filmmaker Josh Roush and Michael Parks on the set of TUSK in documentary LONG LONESOME HIGHWAY: THE STORY OF MICHAEL PARKS. Photo courtesy of Anti Current Multimedia.
In this vein, Long Lonesome Highway will produce one smile after another. Whether it’s listening to actor Kurt Russell (Death Proof) discusses working with Park on an episode of Then Came Bronson early in his (Russell’s) career, coming to set on Death Proof to watch Parks work (though they shared no scenes), and how delighted he (Russell) was for his own son, Wyatt (Thunderbolts*), to work with Parks on 2013’s We Are What We Are. Or to hear filmmaker Robert Rodriguez discuss working on From Dusk Till Dawn and how they were able to pivot this charismatic (albeit fatal for the character) performance into additional stories of the same character across other films Rodriguez (Planet Terror) and Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Vol 1. And Vol. 2) would create. As we hear these stories and others about the various losses Parks suffered, especially late in his career, the delivery of the information softens the emotional blows to the audience. Again, that’s mostly due to Roush’s inclusion which empowers the film to carry its weight without being dragged down, allowing it to be more easily shared.
Mark Frost in documentary LONG LONESOME HIGHWAY: THE STORY OF MICHAEL PARKS. Photo courtesy of Anti Current Multimedia.
As stated, Long Lonesome Highway is available on DVD via MVD Entertainment Group and other retailers now, though the official website does imply that some screenings are still to come. However, as this review is based on a link provided by Roush, I cannot speak to any of the included features. According to the MVD Entertainment Group page, the DVD does include a commentary track from Roush and executive producer Kevin Smith (Tusk), who is quite active in this film, as well, sharing stories from the set of Tusk, from a podcast recording at SModcastle, and sharing what was intended for Parks in Yoga Hosers (2016) before Parks’s health made it too difficult to ask him to do anything.
Archival photo of Michael Parks used in documentary LONG LONESOME HIGHWAY: THE STORY OF MICHAEL PARKS. Photo courtesy of Anti Current Multimedia.
My introduction to Michael Parks is his first time as Earl McGraw in From Dusk Till Dawn, a film I loved immediately and will always feel slightly apologetic for over telling the parents of one of my best friends that it was totally appropriate for her to see when it probably wasn’t for our age. Seeing Parks appear in Kill Bill and the Grindhouse films didn’t fill me with surprise (Tarantino and Rodriquez both re-use actors they enjoy working with), but knowing it was the same character did, meaning that all of these films exist in the same universe and what a terrible existence that must be (McGraw survived the end of the world and then dies at the hands of pedophilic Richard Gecko (Tarantino) — that just sucks). However, there was nothing else I knew about Parks as an actor or a person, of how he persevered through tough times and it was the relationships he made that created the opportunities for a life well-lived. Through this perspective, Roush succeeds in honoring his friend, even if there are times where the film is a little too honorific to feel comprehensive. But that’s the entire point of this feature — to ensure that audiences know who Michael Parks was so that the battles he fought to work or the influence he carried with ease wouldn’t go forgotten. Memorial, wake, or eulogy, whatever word you choose to describe it, Parks would likely approve and that’s all anyone involved really needs. Screw everyone else.
Long Lonesome Highway: The Story of Michael Parks Special Features:
- Audio commentary with executive producer Kevin Smith and director Josh Roush
Roadshow beginning April 12th, 2025.
Available on DVD June 24th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Anti Current Multimedia Long Lonesome Highway: The Story of Michael Parks website.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Long Lonesome Highway: The Story of Michael Parks website.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
Share this:
Categories: Home Video, Reviews
Leave a Reply