Lynch. David Lynch’s case is really strong. Lynch has made ten features- I have nine of the ten films in my archives. I’ve given Dune a few chances and probably have another one left in me but it’s pretty bad. His filmography ranks him 22nd overall and he’s a style-plus director. He creates his own cinematic world- surrealism- a nightmare of a world. He’s wildly stylish and concerned with reoccurring imagery (both in-film and throughout his oeuvre) which plays so well formally. There’s still potential upside with me even if Lynch never creates anything else worthy of the archives. I’ve got him as #18 all-time despite being much lower than lower on Eraserhead and Inland Empire – I’m itching to get to them and Lost Highway again to revisit and evaluate.
Best film: Blue Velvet. Man, this is close with Mulholland Drive For now I’ll say Blue Velvet still.
total archiveable films: 9
top 100 films: 2 (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive)
top 500 films: 7 (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, Wild At Heart, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, The Elephant Man, Eraserhead)
top 100 films of the decade: 7 (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, Wild At Heart, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, The Elephant Man, Eraserhead)
most overrated: Eraserhead– It’s #278 of all-time (his 3rd ranked film) and I’m just not there yet (I’ve only seen it once- not enough). I have it as his 7th best film. Inland Empire is also overrated by TSPDT at #531 all-time—I hope the next viewing for me is a major revelation because I can’t figure on what planet this is better than Cuaron’s Children of Men.
most underrated : Fire Walk With Me at #1000 on TSPDT is a travesty. I have it at #423 and that feels underrated- haha.
gem I want to spotlight: Wild at Heart is about as good a time as you can have watching a movie. Nic Cage at his Nic Cageyest (or nearly), a Laura Dern matching him step for step, Willem Dafoe and other supporting actors wonderfully chewing scenes (Diane Ladd and Harry Dean Stanton among others), David Lynch doing his own nightmare remake of The Wizard of Oz?
stylistic innovations/traits:
Lynch often explores the gulf between the seedy underworld and the hokey veneer or small town (or small town embodied like Watts in Mulholland). Voyeurism (Hitchcock), surrealism, transformation and role switching—often doppelgängers (Bergman’s Persona) are also pet themes and as I said he makes absolutely beautiful films (less so his television work and Inland Empire). His world often has reoccurring (firm form) shots of people driving or behind cars, people on stage or holding a microphone singing, the lines in the street while driving, red fabric rooms, the blurring/distortion of objects, close-up of objects (ears), back of heads during dialogue.
top 10
- Blue Velvet
- Mulholland Drive
- Lost Highway
- Wild at Heart
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
- The Elephant Man
- Eraserhead
- The Straight Story
- Inland Empire
By year and grades
| 1976- Eraserhead | HR |
| 1980- The Elephant Man | MS |
| 1986- Blue Velvet | MP |
| 1990- Wild At Heart | MS |
| 1992- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | MS |
| 1997- Lost Highway | MS |
| 1999- The Straight Story | HR |
| 2001- Mulholland Drive | MP |
| 2006- Inland Empire | R |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
hell this mans a genius. i know this isnt film but have you heard or acquired an opinion on his musical ventures.
@m — he is absolutely a genius- agreed. But no- I haven’t sought out his other forms of art– I think he’s a musician and he paints, too I believe.
I think Lost Highway might be underrated here and may be a masterpiece too, but I’d have to watch it again to make certain. Are you confident in its MS status?
@Matt Harris– I’m confident it’s at least that. I’m not confident it isn’t a masterpiece. When doing the Lynch page I was actually struck by how many of Lynch’s greatest images were from Lost Highway (a trait shared by Ikiru and Playtime by the way)
Ikiru snow scene may be the most beautiful and best scene in cinema history. It sticks with you days after.
Shimura close ups triggered by the song also form really nice images/scenes.
It’s a good moment along with Vertigo kiss scene, ending of 2001, ending of cinema paradiso, ending of in the mood for love, Do the Right thing racist chant scene and many many more.
This question is for all the readers on the blog. What are some of your favorite scenes in movies?
@Azman – that’s a hard one to narrow down but I guess there are a few that come to mind. The dancing scene in Pulp Fiction, Anna Magnani running after that vehicle while yelling “Francesco” in Rome Open City, Jeanne Moreau wandering around Paris in Elevator to the Gallows, the museum chase in the Grand Budapest Hotel, the finale of Chinatown, Dustin Hoffman calling out Mrs. Robinson for trying to seduce him in the Graduate, nearly every scene in Manhattan (especially the ending), definitely the ending of the Marriage of Maria Braun, Amelie in its entirety, the café philosophical conversation in Vivre sa Vie, the ending of Dogville, the reunion scene in Sounder, “Give my daughter the shot!” from Terms of Endearment, the monologue in which Bibi Andersson describes her and her friend’s sexual encounter with two strangers in Persona, the 17 minute uncut dialogue between Michael Fassbender and Liam Cunningham in Shame, the “faith and chance” scene from Possession (as well as the possession scene from the same film), absolutely the finale of the Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover, and many more that I probably can’t recall right now. Actually I just realised that I didn’t narrow it down at all, haha.
This is list is perfection. Loved Chinatown, Vivre sa vie (the dance scene and the prostitution narration scene are also great) and your other mentions too..
How about the ‘cool’ and ‘spiritual’ Matrix finale? The final moment of anagnorisis/realization for Neo when he stops the bullets and realises he is ‘the one’. The fight with the agent at the end and the epic warning to the machines with the song ‘rage’ playing in the background…. incredible.
I saw Matrix recently and I can’t get it out of my head. It was a phenomenal movie experience.
Obviously there are many more cinematic moments missing too!
@Azman – definitely Matrix has some iconic scenes and moments – great choice! I guess the one with the bullets and the pills should be my favourite, though I haven’t watched the movie in quite a long time and I probably need a revisit. There are just so many unforgettable moments in cinema history, it’s incredible what awe a film or simply a scene can inspire!
Obviously, you are only focusing on feature films in these rankings, but I don’t know if that’s fair to somebody like Lynch because “Twin Peaks” is possibly his best work. I totally understand that it is a different field and if you argue not to mix apples and oranges, I wouldn’t say you are wrong. It just seems off not to include such a big part of somebody’s work, especially when it’s about his place in history. I’ve seen that you consider “Dekalog” and “Scenes from a Marriage” feature films which certainly makes way more sense, but if we are being honest it’s still kinda cheating, at least in my opinion. Now, if “Dekalog” didn’t count, I suspect that would make Kieslowski go way down in the rankings, but on the other hand, if you count every episode as a separate film, which you easily can, that would make Kieslowski’s filmography very, very strong. I guess my point is that a metric choice shouldn’t decide somebody’s greatness and I would try to somehow include everything when making an evaluation. Luckily these situations are not that frequent so the list is not affected in a major way, but it’s for sure not in favor of somebody like Lynch. 18th all time sounds about right though, but I don’t have enough knowledge to be overly confident.
@ Chief Keef– thanks for the comment. I’ve seen both Twin Peaks but wouldn’t put it on the level of Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive or even Lost Highway– so it wouldn’t change his rankings much..
There’s a visual stylistic focus in Lynch’s features that isn’t there in his television work. I’m open to revisiting the television work but if an auteur is working in television and essentially making a longer movie- I’m in.
@Drake Ok, that makes things easier haha. Of course, I disagree and I would put only Mulholland Drive above it. I don’t know what exactly you are aiming at visually because I think it’s very strong visually. The whole aesthetic, cinematography, use of light and color, visual symbolism, soundtrack. It’s TV so there’s some filler and it can’t be as saturated with weirdness as his other work, Why do you think Blue Velvet is better? I would argue there are some similarities both thematically and visually.
@Chief Keef– It would be tough to break down as I didn’t put it in the archives and didn’t take notes- sorry but I think the “filler” is the problem. I was hours in and don’t remember being impressed with much visually. The weirdness is there- and I love that — clearly this could only come from the mind of David Lynch- haha.
I will, at some point, give it another shot and may reconsider. Have you seen the original tv series and movie Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me?
@Drake
Yeah, by “Twin Peaks” I mean the whole thing, although most of the season 2 was really bad due to Lynch leaving because studio made him reveal Laura’s killer. It’s actually one of the best examples to show importance of a director because the difference was so noticeable. What’s funny is that I didn’t think much of the film and remember thinking that it doesn’t work on its own if you never watched the series. Haven’t seen it in a long time though.
@Drake & Chief Keef— This is a chance for me to “sneak” into the discussion here since I revisited Twin Peaks: The Return during the quarantine period, which I believe is one of the most challenging and groundbreaking pieces of moving – image art the medium has witnessed in the past decade. I’d have to say that it features arguably a use of storytelling and narrative mastery that challenges the viewer as few have in the past years. It experiments with visual splendor and inventive imagery, it features scenes and sequences of pure Lynchian auteurism and exercises formal execution that still blows my mind, I’d go as far as to say that it’s one of the most interesting uses of film form I’ve seen in the last years. I’d add that there are some impressively striking compositions. The 8th episode is up there with the best Lynch has ever directed and I’d encourage anyone to see it, even without watching the others, it’s up there with the most surprising and visually awe-inspiring hours from 2017. Without overrating the film at all, I want to say that the finale is one of the best I’ve seen, ever.
@Cinephile
Yeah I share the sentiment although I think the narrative is even stronger than the visual aspect. Lynch showed a high level of self awareness and understanding of the human nature. I remember not liking the show in the beginning because I was expecting the same things I liked about the original but felt like a fool later when I understood that he is mocking that mindset. I feel that’s exactly what he wanted to achieve and it’s a brilliant storytelling. I wouldn’t go as far as you in your praise but it’s a great work.
@Cinephile and Chief Keef– thanks for sharing. I would encourage you to see Fire Walk Me With. It’s vastly superior to the television show– season 1 or 2.
I’ll try again at some point to see The Return (season 3). Appreciate your thoughts. I had a hard time getting past the first few hours. Maybe it is because I watch so many feature films that are 2-4 hours long max— when I’m that far in and haven’t seen much cinematically– i have a hard time plowing through.
@Drake— Yep, I completely understand you. I also don’t watch tv series in general but when something is directed by freakin David Lynch I think I must see it. It’s true that the visual power is rare and i think that made you lose interest. As I said I believe the storytelling and form to be the main attraction of the film/TV Series ( I think it’s a combination of film & TV series, It’s a category of its own). I think to appreciate the storytelling and form you need to see the show till the end while the visual beauty is visible from the start, but I think if you finish it it’s a rich and rewarding experience. Only then you see the scope, ambition and formal prowess.
Hell, I should have seen his warning before, today i saw Dune
for the premiere of the new Dune, i saw it was from Lynch and i was excited, but i agree, it is very bad.
Drake, have you seen the twin peaks television show. i’ve seen that you have some miniseries in the archives and long form television by an auteur counting as a whole film. i wonder what you think of peaks. i am watching it and almost done with season 2 and it is great for sure. the melodrama like blue velvet (one of my favorite movies) and hokeyness always makes me smile because it is obviously intentional. the writing acting and directing are excellent and so is the music. kyle maclachlan among others is brilliant. do you think you’ll ever archive it as one movie. to me it is already the best television show and i’d rank it most assuredly as a masterpiece. the lighting alone makes for a spectacular lynchian ‘film’
@D.W.Griffith– I’ve caught most of twin peaks– I’ll get to it again when I do a Lynch study– look forward to it. I’m a big admirer of Lynch’s work but am not as high on the miniseries and Inland Empire as many critics.
Okay, since we’re talking about Peak this is my chance to ask.
In my theater they have Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With me, but from what i have read in the comments on this page i must see the series before the movie (thing that i have not done)
My question is, can i watch Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With me without having seen the series? or i won’t understand anything
@Aldo- others may disagree but I think you can fire away with Fire Walk With Me without seeing the series. One, it is technically serves as both a prequel and a sequel to the series– and two, Lynch isn’t a director where “understanding” anything or everything is possible or even, haha, encouraged — again- my two cents
How weird is it that I think Blue Velvet is the best film of the 80s (along with Die Hard and Blade Runner), and I’d put it in my top 10 or top 20, but I absolutely can’t stand any of his other movies? I haven’t seen Dune, Twin Peaks, Inland Empire, or the straight story though. Anytime I try lost highway or mulholland drive or wild at heart I can’t stand them, I’d say The Elephant Man is his 2nd best to me, but I didn’t care for it when I saw it, but I could atleast stand to watch it. Blue Velvet by far his best film, for me. I do think mulholland drive is a lot better than lost highway though, even though I didn’t like either
Don’t agree with you bashing everything lynch has made but definitely agree on blue velvet being a masterpiece. Thst has got to be roger ebert’s worst opinion on film, along with hating clockwork orange, raising arizona, and rope.
I hated raising arizona and Rope myself, but not a fan of hitchcock or coen’s (other than NCFOM). I have a clockwork orange in the top 3 of the 70’s though (Apocalypse now/Taxi driver).
Dylan what are your favorite films may i ask? My favorites are a wide range of films like star wars, blue velvet, 2001, ferris bueller, la strada, and jurassic park.
fight club, seven, the departed, terminator 1+2, pulp fiction, american history x, blue velvet, apocalypse now, the dark knight, heat, american beauty, eyes wide shut, nightcrawler, both blade runners, die hard, boogie nights, there will be blood, LOTR to name a bunch
@Dylan some great movies in there. I rewatched for like the twentieth time t2 judgement day recently and that movie is great. I remember just smiling during the bad to the bone scene remembering this movie defines badass
David Lynch is quite famous for his unique worldbuilding. His Lynchian (having your own adjective is a good sign you are unique) twisted mysteries, nightmares, and situations are not something one can find anywhere else.
Who are some other filmmakers especially proficient in creating a cinematic world? I think of Gilliam, Wes Anderson, Kubrick, and Ridley Scott right away. Over the decades I might mention Murnau, Dreyer, Welles, Carol Reed, Bergman, Fellini, Antonioni, Leone, Bertolucci, George Lucas, Malick, Tarkovsky, Coppola, Greenaway, Fincher, Spielberg, Aronofsky. and Cuaron as some who have done incredible worldbuilding in one or more films. I could mention a myriad of other great filmmakers, but there comes a point where I would just be listing everyone regardless of whether their worldbuilding is a major strength. Who are some that I have missed or those for whom you enjoy the worlds they create?
@Graham– great share here- thanks. I certainly get what you mean- if your list gets too big then it seems like you’re just listing good filmmakers. haha. Certainly you hit Wes Anderson, Malick, Fellini– some of the big ones. I’d maybe add Tati, Michael Mann, Tarantino, Roy Andersson feel like filmmakers in which the world looks different than anything else.
Drake, have you heard that a new David Lynch series is being brought to Netflix? The title is Wisteria. I don’t really know any of the details about it but it’s more Lynch content so that’s more than enough to be excited about.
@Zane- I saw the article as well. I’m thrilled. Hope it comes to fruition.
I wish there were at least other 30 David Lynch’s movies out there. Is there really no one else with that dreamy/nightmarish imagery elsewhere? Some may say Buñuel but i don’t think it applies
@Alejandro – certainly Lynch is a one of a kind– a true original. I know he respects the work of Kubrick, Fellini and others but he’s just so different as you said. Maybe a little Jonathan Glazer?
No filmmaker is defined by that sensation as much as Lynch. I think you can find that dreamlike/nightmarish quality in films like Apocalypse Now, Eyes Wide Shut, and Black Swan, but it’s a remarkably rare thing.
just did a lynch marathon today of mulholland drive, elephant man, wild at heart. take back what i said about mulholland drive – its a masterpiece, not as good as blue velvet though, and i dont really understand it if there were really 2 girls or if it was only naomi watts and she was imagining her, even if i understood it blue velvet would be better still, frank booth is one of my favorite characters. i still don’t like his other movies, and i dont understand how he could go from blue velvet to wild at heart, big drop in quality, and true romance is a way better version of it imo of course! i really want to try Twin Peaks one day, i’ve only seen the pilot a while ago, apparently its one of his best work, and Lost is my favorite tv show and twin peaks influenced it. i think theres a big gap between his big 2 masterpieces and his other movies. i will watch the straight story, fire walk with me and inland empire soon. hopefully i wont need Twin Peaks knowledge to understand fire walk with me
Ok so inland empire was long, stupid and a waste of time, the straight story is boring also. Fire walk with me was incredible and i will definitely be watching twin peaks when i start watching tv series again, how the hell does lynch come up with this stuff?
@dylan- very happy to hear it on Fire Walk With Me– thanks for sharing
So I watched Wild at Heart tonight and really enjoyed it except for the first 10 minutes or so, which I felt was so tonallg inconsistent with the rest of Lynch’s work I’ve seen so far (Twin Peaks Seas. 1, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive) I almost stopped watching the movie there, and I also just thought that bit was badly directed, but finished and was happy I did since the rest of the film was absolutely wonderful. Anyway, I was wondering why you haven’t done any Lynch retrospectives yet? No articles on any of his films, just a director’s page. I would love to hear your thoughts on some of his films unless you’re deep in other years and directors at the moment.
To clarify, I assumed from that first scene that the entire movie was going to be Nicolas Cage beating people grusomely to death as heavy metal weirdly played in the background, which didn’t sound too terribly interesting to me. Of course, that was not the case, and as an opener I actually think it’s pretty fun but misleading.
@Zane– I’m glad you stuck with Wild at Heart— yeah- so just sort of a coincidence I haven’t had a chance to catch up with any David Lynch films in the past few years. I’d like to get to him soon– there are just so many films and filmmakers. I did run my final numbers and I watched 619 movies (including rewatches) in 2020. I hope I can keep that pace or increase in 2021– and hopefully have a few Lynch films in there!
Got to Lost Highway—incredible!—I guess I can’t really say I don’t understand why it was so hated upon release, though I do disagree with that opinion very strongly lol. Not convinced it isn’t a masterpiece but I am almost certain it plays a third wheel to Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. Anyway it felt to me plotwise like a mixture of his 3 other films I’ve seen: the two above and Wild at Heart, not that I’m complaining of course since I love all those movies and this one. Dying to see more of his stuff, would probably watch Fire Walk With Me next but I haven’t finished (or really even started, just seen the first episode) the second season of Twin Peaks and I don’t know about watching FWWM until I see it. Next film of his I see will probably be Eraserhead but it could just as easily be The Elephant Man.
I notice that since you don’t seem to have GIFs on your site that a lot of the images that are in motion in the films are stills on the page. The picture of the “Lost Highway” in Lost Highway is a great example of this. Watching it in the film you’re focused on the rapid movement down the road and since you can’t really see the darkness move you don’t focus on it very much but looking at a still of the road creates a different atmosphere entirely, since the lack of movement forces the mind to take a different perspective of the image. Very interesting and striking imagery from Lynch.
You have a typo in your most overrated section here: “I have it ass his 7th best film”
@Harry- thank you for the cleanup
Really appreciate your love for Lynch and glad to see him get this much love on your rankings. However, I think in some ways he could (and should) be even higher. I will start off by saying that I am definitely biased as he is my favorite director of all time. Having said that I will offer my case for why he should be higher. First, I think you have Mulholland Drive ranked way too low. I love Blue Velvet but I don’t think it comes close to Mulholland Drive, that’s just how incredible of a movie it is. I don’t know if you saw but on the most recent rankings by TSPDT they have Mulholland Drive all the way up to Number 50 and even more impressive is that it is ranked as the 3rd highest movie on the list after 1981 and the 2nd highest of the 21st Century. I think that it will only continue to climb as time goes by and appears even more incredible with age, much like some of his works from the 90s have as well. My second point is a little bit of nitpicking but you gave Elephant Man a higher rating on your scale (MS) than Fire Walk With Me (HR) but have Fire Walk With Me ranked higher on your list of his movies. I’m glad to see you like Fire Walk With Me, I think it is criminally underrated and that too is only starting to be more appreciated as time goes by. It is definitely an MS scale movie and I have it as his 4th best movie, ahead of Wild At Heart, and honestly it approaches Lost Highway on my list too although I would give the slight nod to Lost Highway. My final critique is that you haven’t seen or talked about Twin Peaks: The Return, which I know other people have also talked about in the comments. The Return is absolutely incredible and it was shot as one 18 hour movie and then broken up into 18 hour parts. Because of this there are other critics who have argued that it counts as a movie and have gone as far as to the say that it is the best “movie” of 2017 and even one of the best movies of the 2010s. I have seen you yourself make a similar argument that the Lord of the Rings trilogy is really one movie instead of 3 because it was shot together. So I think you definitely have to watch The Return and review it and count it among his filmography, which would also move his ranking up. Part 8 in particular has been hailed as the single greatest “episode” of television of the 21st Century and is among one of the greatest things that Lynch has ever directed. Hopefully this didn’t come across as arrogant. I’m a huge Lynch fanboy and I agree with a lot of the things you said. But wanted to bring these things to mind!
@Matthew- this is great- thanks for visiting the site and the comment. You don’t come across as arrogant- you are passionate and I think make some good points. Thank you for pointing out the error on The Elephant Man vs. Fire Walk With Me. It is my error– it should be “MS” for Fire Walk With Me. My records have it correct- I even have it rated as such here http://thecinemaarchives.com/2017/11/03/1992/ but for some reason it was an HR here on Lynch’s page. I fixed it. Thanks again.
That’s great to hear! I was just wondering: What are your thoughts on TDSPDT having Mulholland Drive so high? It’s never gotten as much love as it has before their new 2021 update and they usually have a bias towards older movies so I was pleasantly surprised.
@Matthew Teti- I support the ranking for sure. I have it in my top 70 myself.
My ranking for Lynch films would be (didn’t include Dune because I think it’s terrible):
1. Lost Highway (MP)
2. Mulholland Drive (MP)
3. Blue Velvet (MS)
4. The Elephant Man (MS)
5. Eraserhead (MP)
6. Wild At Heart (MS)
7. TP: Fire Walk With Me (HR)
8. The Straight Story (R)
9. Inland Empire (R)
I think Blue Velvet is kind of overrated, but not bad, very good actually. The dialogue I think is kinda cheesy at times and the story is nothing new and it feels like a familiar story with a murderer/psychopath/criminal in it. Acting in it however is great, Dennis Hopper gives an Oscar worthy performance (and in my opinion he should have been nominated and rewarded the best supporting actor that year) and I have nothing bad to say about the other cast. The movie is also beautifully shot and performed.
How is Eraserhead a MP and his 5th best? Also I do disagree with you on Blue Velvet, it is absolutely a MP and I think one of the 50 best films of all time. Just look at the mise-en-scene pictures above and, as one example of this film’s excellence (and there are many), the scene where Ben sings “In Dreams,” ending with the jump cut. You can say the story is nothing new, but it’s not about the story; it’s the direction that’s important. And stories about psychopaths and murderers are some of the best; so captivating. Is Aguirre a bad movie because Klaus Kinski’s character is insane?. Furthermore, I think you overrate Lost Highway, it’s an excellent film but it’s not his best; it’s a very imperfect film and I think MS is a great rating but I could get behind MP on a second viewing, but I cannot get behind it being his best film; Mulholland Drive (my #1 choice) and Blue Velvet both are too much better.
Eraserhead is a MP because in my opinion it’s the second best film of 1977 which i have seen (after Star Wars, haven’t seen Annie Hall yet and some other films that are in the archives). I think Eraserhead is one of it’s kind. It’s in my opinion a masterpiece of cinematographic work, Jack Nance’s performance as Henry Spencer is masterful and the mixed themes in it are great, so is the surrealism.
You got me kind of wrong. No, stories about psychopaths and murderers are very good in my opinion too (Taxi Driver, Zodiac, Se7en, Natural Born Killers, Silence of the Lambs and No Country for Old Men for example), but Blue Velvet wasn’t anything unique in my opinion, compared for example to Se7en and Silence of the Lambs.
Yes, I agree that the mise-en-scene scenes in Blue Velvet are great, but mis-en-scene scenes, cuts and camerawork etc. in movies aren’t the most important thing for me. Dialogue, the story, pacing (which is great in Blue Velvet and other Lynch films), music and good characters etc. are more important to me. Don’t get it wrong, i don’t dislike slow-paced films, for example Once Upon a Time In America is one of my favorite films althrough it’s not fast-paced. It has great music, story, dialogue and characters in it. Movies don’t need action etc. to be good, for example Glengarry Glen Ross is a great film, and what makes it great is the dialogue and characters in it.
And no, Aguirre is not a bad film because of Kinski’s character is insane, the movie is a masterpiece and Kinski gives a masterful performance in it.
Nice to see that we’re on the same page with Mulholland Drive. If Blue Velvet is in your top-50 and you have Mulholland Drive above it, it’s common sense that Mulholland Drive is in your top-50, right? I have it in my top-50 too.
I think Lost Highway is a perfect film. The story is perfect, so are the performances, characters and the themes in it. The story in it about split personality, human imagination and jealousy is masterful, the performances are all great in it, especially Arquette and Blake and Badalmenti’s music is once again great, like in other Lynch films. I think it has overall the best and the most interesting characters compared to other characters in other Lynch films. It deals greatly with the darkest aspects of the human mind: jealousy, anxiety, fear and it masterfully views feelings tinged with anxiety. (Sorry for short analysis why i think Lost Highway and Eraserhead are great, i’m not good at explaining why I like some movies more than other movies, why I don’t like some movies and why I think some movie is a masterpiece etc.)
(And by the way, sorry for possible misspelled english, as it’s not my native language)
I disagree 100% . A movie is not defined by its uniqueness , its defined by its ability to give you an experience and man everytime i watch blue velvet it takes me on a ride like nothing else. It’s completely a director’s show because the leads kyle and laura dern have simple straightforward characters so its the direction that takes you on a journey.
**Dennis hopper’s frank booth (or sometimes by mistake i say frank booth’s dennis hopper) is arguably my favorite performance/ character of all time.**
So I watched Eraserhead last night and I think it’s a very low-level MP. Not unlike The Night of the Hunter, it shows a lot of imperfection from a first-time feature film director but you also clearly see the birth of a great talent. At times it notably feels more like Cronenberg than Lynch as well. I do think I could go down to MS upon a rewatch in a few years though but I’m certain it’s no lower than that. I’m conflicted about whether to rank it as his 3rd or 4th because I’m fairly certain it’s better than Wild at Heart (which I love) but I can’t say for sure if I think it or Lost Highway is his #3.
What’s a good place to start with David Lynch?
I am intrigued from a viewing of Mulholland Drive (2001) from a few years ago.
I might even revisit that one but aside from that one what’s a good starting point?
Suggestions from anyone are welcome
Blue Velvet > Mulholland Drive > Wild at Heart > Lost Highway > Eraserhead has been my Lynch journey so far.
@James Trapp- three ways to go about a Lynch study in my eyes… First off, I’m always in favor of going of the chronological arc of the auteur– so start at the beginning if you’re going to do them all. That’s ultimately the way to go. If you are only going to do 2-3 or something go with the best- Blue Velvet, Mulholland, Lost Highway…. if you’re looking to ease into Lynch, I’d recommend The Elephant Man actually. I think it is sort of a gateway drug to the bizarre world of David Lynch
@ Zane and @ Drake
– appreciate the input, watched Blue Velvet last night and was very impressed, I think I’m going to do the entirety so might go to the beginning and work my way through.
Yeah Mulholland Drive is a great sort of Capstone to an exploration of Lynch’s work. I’m not sure about The Straight Story which I haven’t yet seen but I’d probably go straight from Lost Highway to Mulholland Drive due to the large amounts of connective tissue between those films. On a similar note, I probably won’t be seeing Fire Walk With Me for some time due to my desire to finish Twin Peaks’ 2nd Season… which will happen one of these days… one of them…
On a last note, are you planning to rewatch Blue Velvet as you go along, or go straight from The Elephant Man to Wild at Heart?
@Zane – I’ll rewatch it along with Mulholland Drive, I was just curious to see Blue Velvet given it’s extremely high ranking on so many lists (including this site) but after that and Mulholland Drive I am convinced in giving a full viewing of the Lynch Filmography. Excited…
Straight Story is, IMO, a nearly perfect film. It just seems atypical for David Lynch, so it tends to get shunted to the side. Paradoxically, it’s the oddball in his output because it’s the least oddball.
Of course, it isn’t all *that* atypical. He loves small towns; he loves the road; he loves stubborn old eccentrics (he is one now), and he’s been tender elsewhere in his handling of characters in physical decline and near the end (e.g., Merrick in The Elephant Man, The Log Lady in TPTR).
If you read the anecdote in his book about his hospital visit with Fellini two days before Fellini died, and the talk they had, you get a sense of where this film comes from, why he chose to direct Ms. Sweeney’s script himself. As Alvin says to the bicyclist, “The worst thing about being old is remembering when you was young.”
Watched Inland Empire finally along with rewatches of Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive last night and here’s my list:
1. Mulholland Drive – MP
2. Blue Velvet – MP
3. Lost Highway – MP
4. The Elephant Man – MP
5. Eraserhead – MS/MP
6. Inland Empire – MS/MP
7. Wild at Heart – MS
Inland Empire can be pretty difficult for a while though, the low-resolution digital cinematography starts out pretty ugly, though eventually Lynch shoots mostly in close-ups that make the bad resolution much more tolerable. I’m admittedly leaning towards MS because of the poor camera quality (I think this goes above Lost Highway if he shoots this like he shot Mulholland Drive), and there ARE parts where the film just fucking dies – two scenes at 100 and 145 minutes (long movie) of shot-reverse shot conversations that last far too long – but the brilliant formal moments such as the reveal of the camera at the end of that second conversation (somewhat excuses its poor style) and not to mention that “holy fuck!” formal atom bomb of Dern finding Room 47 that I just can’t ignore.
I wasn’t expecting to move Lost Highway from MS to MP, I thought it was too flawed to make it and there are periods (most of the first half of the second act with Balthazar Getty) that are kinda empty stylistically but the high points, like the transitions from Pullman to Getty and back, not to mention the formal repetition (such as the repeated image of the titular road) are hard to shake. Reminds me a lot of fellow David director Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch in a lot of ways actually.
Mulholland Drive… I was actually caught off guard by this one with a second watch. I wasn’t prepared for so much of the film to be so… feeble. I was getting to the point of putting Blue Velvet ahead of it but I had some assurance that the final 30 minutes (when they find the cube and enter it) would bail out the rest of the film and I definitely think it did. There were moments where the form didn’t hit me the same way it had with the first viewing, because I knew the film really well and everything that would happen, like that Betty is Diane and Rita is Camilla and many other things of course, something that didn’t really happen to me with Lost Highway (though the “Dick Laurent is dead” had less impact than the first time), but overall that ending, the last 10 minutes especially are some of the best cinema you will ever watch, even if the rest of the film can be a bit of a chore to get through.
I think I might be underrating Wild at Heart at this point and of course I still haven’t seen Fire Walk With Me or The Straight Story; really itching to get to those now.
@Zane- this is excellent work! No Dune? haha
Haha. I mean the reception of it is so bad that I’m a bit scared to invest my time into watching it, but I might just do it eventually anyway (not for some time though) since I love Lynch and Kyle MacLachlan. I’m really excited for Villeneuve’s film actually but I had to read the book for 10th grade and I just hated it back then, though I remember segments from the book that I think I would appreciate a lot more now.
My br0ther and I b0th l0ved Dune ! And as I recall Frank Herbert liked the film and Harlan Elliss0n l0ved it !
Not to be rude, but do you have an issue with your O key?
You should seriously think about doing a David Lynch study
@Finn- I agree. Never seems to be enough time. It has been five years since I’ve seen any of Lynch’s films– way too long.
Given it is to soon be re-released by Criterion, I thought of writing a few words with regards to what David Lynch’s masterpiece, Mulholland Drive, is all about. The following comment will be a subjective but specific analysis of the film’s themes and plot, and thereby a spoiler alert is issued anyone who hasn’t yet watched it.
Mulholland Drive’s merits do not simply lie in its evasive and obscure plot or psychedelic themes, but more so in its atmosphere and form. Form, huh? How can a film as messy and elliptical be characterised by its formal rigor? Well, as little sense as it makes, Mulholland Drive would be even more incomprehensible without any connective tissue, in the shape of formal repetition. Think of the coffeeshop, the monster, the blue key, the cowboy, the red lamp, silencio. Names, places, objects, faces – they all serve their purpose in the process of mapping out Lynch’s visceral and deeply disturbing vision.
In my mind, Lynch ponders on two themes throughout: desire and the Hollywood nightmare, or the American dream in general. Discounting the American mythos and the perfection it promises and projects has often been on top of Lynch’s mind, as Blue Velvet may suggest, and this time he takes arms against Hollywood, a place of deception, decay and broken dreams. The Hollywood machine is run by the little man who makes the necessary phone calls, decides who lives and who dies. More so than the sickly dwarf or the men in black, everything is run by the monster behind the wall, best remembered for giving us what is one of the best uses of the jump-scare technique in the history of cinema. As evident in the opening sequence, the monster is responsible for everything. What it embodies, in the context of Lynch’s film, is a question of more than one answer. Grit. Desire. Deception. Death. Dirt. (So many D’s, I promise it was by chance). Hollywood’s dirt, the dirt of a rigged system, a game in which defying the rules is the only rule. The monster is a kind of siren, luring lost, wandering souls into its web, and slowly but surely assailing and devouring them. The monster is the land of unfulfilled dreams and long forgotten Fausts, T.S. Eliot’s Wasteland disguised as the Land that was Promised.
In masterfully undressing the American dream, exposing it as the American nightmare, David Lynch tells us a story, that of a Faust named Diane Selwyn, and her alterego, Betty, both played by an earth-shuttering Naomi Watts in the lead. Most people watching the film have figured out a couple of things: the first two acts are Diane’s dream. Diane, frustrated and losing her grip on reality, arranges for her beloved, Camilla, to be killed. Finding the blue key that was supposed to mean that the job was done on her table, Diane suffers a breakdown. Distraught, she kills herself, an act which she had predicted, feared and projected in her dream.
There is more to it as well. Lynch blurs the lines between “it was all a dream” and the reality of his world (if there is such a thing) by giving us a few more hints: Camilla does not escape her assassins driving the car, that simply happens in Diane’s dream. When they call Diane to tell her of this, she does not answer the phone, having already taken her own life (this is the first appearance of the red lamp, in the beginning of the film’s first act).
And here, we witness David Lynch’s genius in setting this all up. His film, profoundly Freudian in nature, is structured on the idea of projection, the suppression of our inner fears and greatest disappointments and the creation, in our minds, of a world far different from that which we’ve known. When Diane pays the hitman, in the known coffeeshop, the waitress’ name is Betty. In her fever dream, Diane recreates her world as she’d want it. She is a talented, hopeful, up and coming actress. Her name is Betty. In her world, Diane Selwyn has already killed herself and given way to Betty.
Diane’s love, in her carefully calibrated dreamworld, can’t of course be Camilla, the manipulative vixen who sleeps with the director. Diane cannot possibly accept that the woman she loves and the shrew who steals her parts are one and the same. So, in classic Freudian fashion, dream-Camilla is split in two people: Camilla the vixen, a beautiful blonde, whom the director is forced to cast, and Rita, the empty vessel. Rita is not Camilla. What Rita is, however, is all that Diane ever wanted. A woman of no personality whatsoever in the body of a voluptuous Rita Hayworth. That woman, Rita, is so desperate for guidance, so helpless and vulnerable, she clings onto Betty (aka Diane) and eventually merges with her, in a vision of total and boundless union that can only be described as unsettling. It’s the all consuming love Diane is yearning for, two people becoming one, losing themselves in each other, their identities, for lack of a better term, lost. In Rita, Diane sees herself, her beauty, she feels loved. Camilla never loved her, and so Diane made Rita, a woman who could truly and selflessly relinquish herself to her, a woman onto whom she could project all her unfulfilled fantasies and desires.
That one night, Betty takes Rita to Silencio. Silencio, a place of illusions and deceiving appearances, is a parallel for human desire, the mirror through which fantasy passes on to reality. Desire, Lynch seems to argue, is a con, an illusion, a trick. We yearn for something, we covet it, and yet we never truly see it. We want the idea that we’ve created of it in our heads. We think we hear music, but, in reality, it’s simply a tape recording. Diane thinks she loves Camilla, but, in reality, all she wants is Rita. Nothing sums up this notion better than the following Oscar Wilde short story:
—When Narcissus died, the pool of his pleasure changed from a cup of sweet waters into a cup of salt tears, and the Oreads came weeping through the woodland that they might sing to the pool and give it comfort.
And when they saw that the pool had changed from a cup of sweet water into a cup of salt tears, they loosened the green tresses of their hair and said, “We do not wonder that you should mourn in this manner for Narcissus, so beautiful was he.”
“But was Narcissus beautiful?” said the pool.
“Who should know better than you?” asked the Oreads. “Us did he ever pass by, but you sought he for, and would lie on your banks and look down at you, and in the mirror of your waters he would mirror his own beauty.”
And the pool answered, “But I loved Narcissus because, as he lay on my banks and looked down at me, in the mirror of his eyes I saw ever my own beauty mirrored.”—
All desire, Lynch says, is selfish, narcissistic, deceptive and cruel (think of the blonde wig Rita wears, her and Betty becoming one). In just a two hour film, Lynch seems to examine the human condition quite impressively: our great expectations and alluring desires, and how those are used by the world to tempt us into selling our soul. Hollywood, America, the world, the monster, those two grandparents, they all promise us a Rita and give us a Camilla. They make us think we’d be a Betty and slowly turn us into a Diane.
Naomi Watts here is transcendent. From her wide-eyed, starstruck Betty, to her mesmerising audition, to her sick, lost, manic Diane, we can’t help but obsessively watch as Watts completes her decadence from innocent, beautiful ingénue to woman undone.
Lastly, there is a reason why Mulholland Drive is considered by many one of the best films ever made. It has a kind of inexplicable quality. Lynch accomplished something rare and true. He immerses us in his world, invites us in his restless surrealist fantasy. And, as in all powerful nightmares, he lets us know that something is amiss, something is wrong, and yet he never quite puts his finger on it. He dives deep into the subconscious mind, walks hand in hand with its illusionists and petrifying cowboys, its femme fatales and menacing hitmen, and then he leaves them be. There is this vague sense of horror and dread, but we rarely see, touch or smell it, and that is precisely why it’s so uniquely terrifying. In the world of David Lynch’s films, the man behind the wall who’s secretly doing it all, is him.
@Georg- It is a pleasure hearing from you on this- thank you Georg- “He immerses us in his world, invites us in his restless surrealist fantasy.” – well said!
Really,Wild at Heart as Lynch’s 4th best over Eraserhead and Inland Empire???That film has none of the formal,meditative ingenuity of the former or the digital soft focus,expressionistic design of the latter and is instead just the most campy,derivative and populist piece of work that Lynch has made
Drake, I am curious did you make up the term “style-plus” and “style-minus”?
I do not recall seeing them used on any other film sites/reviewers/critics that I have read.
And if so, do you consider it to be a binary term or would you consider any directors to be “style-neutral” or perhaps “style-zero” might even be another way to label it.
@James Trapp- yes- completely made up. It just helped me differentiate when directors have a similar resume. I don’t have a “style zero”- so I could essentially get rid of “style minus” (and might do that– on more recent pages I’ll just talk about how muted or quiet the cinema style is- or invisible) and just use “style plus”.
Finally caught Blue Velvet, not sure why it took so long. Tremendous mise en scene with the use of red and blue. The atmosphere in Lynch’s films are always strange (an observation not criticism) in that they give off a dream like vibe, this I am sure is intentional. Will certainly need more than one viewing but for now I think Mulholland Drive is his strongest film.
Frank Booth is one of the more disturbing characters and Dennis Hopper gives a great performance. Btw the most disturbing thing about Frank Booth might be that he prefers Pabst Blue Ribbon over Heineken.
@James Trapp- thank you for the help here
Eraserhead MS
The Elephant Man MS
Blue Velvet MS
Wild At Heart HR
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me HR
Lost Highway MP
The Straight Story HR
Mulholland Drive MP
Inland Empire HR
Twin Peaks – The Return MS
Continuing this point about aueter work in television from the 2021 page, I’m really excited to check out Season 3 of Twin peaks too. A friend told me that it follows the much more artistic/surreal route that the Twin Peaks film took (which is probably a MP for me, or at least a strong MS) instead of the much less visually/artistically interesting route that the first 2 seasons of the show took (which I mostly loved btw, and which certainly had extremely fascinating surreal moments that would be worthy of Lynch’s films, but ultimately those great artistic stretches were too spread out). If I find this to be the case I’ll let you know what I think Drake and maybe one day you can give it a shot and see where it fits into the archives and Lynch’s filmography.
I’ve done some rewatching now and here’s my current Lynch ranking
1. Lost Highway – MP (two viewings)
2. Mulholland Drive – MP (two viewings)
3. Blue Velvet – MP (two viewings)
4. Twin Peaks: The Return – MP
5. Eraserhead – MS (two viewings)
6. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me – MS
7. Inland Empire – MS
8. Wild at Heart – HR
9. The Elephant Man – HR
10. The Straight Story – HR
11. Dune – R
– Top 3 could go in any order
– Ugliness aside I think Inland Empire is excellent. The use of darkness and closeups salvage the camera quality. Formally it is a very strong work.
– I know many people who put The Return in their top 5-10 of the 2010s and I’m not there yet but I could see it getting even stronger with repeat viewings. There’s some mindblowing stuff across the 18 hours visually.
– Excited to see how Wild at Heart and The Elephant Man change on rewatches
– Dune is not bad at all for his worst film, there’s a decent amount of stuff to admire I think.
18 is a good position for him but maybe you will come around on Inland Empire and take a look at The Return one day which could make your estimation of Lynch’s ouvre even higher.
@Harry – nice work, I only got started with Lynch in the last year or so but very impressed from what I have seen so far. I pre-ordered Lost Highway Criterion 4K so very excited for that in a few weeks.
@James – excited to see what you think. Lynch’s work just gets even better the more you watch and think about it which is a good sign towards him being one of the all timers
Watching Lost Highway in 4K was spectacular, Slant has become one of my favorite review sites, great review:
https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/lost-highway-4k-uhd-review-david-lynch/#:~:text=Review%3A%20David%20Lynch's%20Lost%20Highway,must%2Down%20for%20Lynch%20aficionados.&text=David%20Lynch's%20Lost%20Highway%20is,Mulholland%20Drive%20or%20Inland%20Empire.
RIP to Angelo Badalamenti, one of the best composers of all time.
This is the track I come back to often:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxlGtcW1Qg8&ab_channel=nicholsong
@Harry- RIP indeed Harry- you certainly chose the right page for this news. Found this as well https://www.indiewire.com/2022/12/rip-angelo-badalamenti-5-scores-1234791392/
The collaborations with Jean-Pierre Jeunet are excellent, too
@Ce – sorry we lost your comment here- I had some updating going on here on the website
Inland Empire being released on Criterion in March 2023! I’ve been trying to find this one for a while.
@James – it’s great, the digital camera quality isn’t the best but there are so many closeups and plenty of moments of brilliant dark lighting that salvage that aspect. It’s one of the creepiest films for sure.
@Harry – sounds great, I can take it off my wish list of films I can had trouble locating at a reasonabe price and quality
Eraserhead (1977)
Notes:
Starts with a shot of a holographic image of a head floating through space, man with afro like hair
Black and white photography
4 min back and forth between holographic images and shot of man sitting next to window in dilapidated house or apartment
The early scenes resemble Red Desert obviously without the color but with the strange industrial wasteland
6:40 close up on face of same man from earlier with subject taking up most of the frame
8 min stationary camera with subject moving in background
17 min before first spoken word of dialogue
18 min Henry, the young man with large afro hair seen meets up with his girlfriend Mary and he meets Mary’s parents for the first time.
21:30 strange noises and train tracks present in background
24:10 slightly canted angle
25:25 Henry disturbed while cutting Chicken and blood gushes out
29:50 Henry is confronted by Mary’s mother upon discovering her daughter is pregnant and Henry is literally and figuratively backed into a corner inside the house
37 min Henry visibly uncomfortable in dark room with Mary and a strange alien like creature that is clearly not human
40 min Mary cannot handle the contact crying
43:20 an attractive woman briefly appears again for a few seconds
45:30 close up on alien like creature struggling to breath
51 min strange scene with woman on stage in small theatre like building
55:46 strange object moving around the frame before camera moves toward an opening transitioning to a scene in space
59 min attractive woman as temptation for awestruck Henry while his wife is away
1:04:00 another stage scene with medium shot of Lady in Radiator on empty stage
1:07:23 head flies off Henry’s body while blood spills onto checked floor
1:18:37 Henry’s face blocked or darkened by shadow
1:19:00 back and forth shots with Henry headless in one with the creature attached to his body instead
1:19:18 a Polanski style peephole shot
1:22:26 intensity of score picks up while camera moves to close up on Alien like Creature dying upon Henry cutting it with scissors
1:23:43 flickering lights as creatures body implodes
1:25:34 best shot of film and often used as cover shot, you have close up shot Henry from the shoulders on up and white snow like static in the background of frame
1:26:26 flash of white light while Henry embraces Lady in Radiator
Thoughts:
I’ve been excited to do a David Lynch study for a while now, should be fascinating
This could almost be a silent film given the extremely spare use of dialogue and even the scenes with it have conversations that are fairly straight forward even if what is happening around them is strange and bizarre. The first line of dialogue takes place 17 minutes into the 90 minute film
The film uses just a couple of locations and reminded me of Polanski’s Apartment Trilogy to a certain extent due to the contained physical environments; with Rosemary in Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and Carol in Repulsion (1965) the enclosed spaces become claustrophobic and their paranoia grows over the course of the film, there is some of that here, if fact the majority of the scenes and shots either take place in confined spaces like small apartments and even the scenes on stage are shot close to the stage with no indication of an audience, there are also shots in what looks like outer space; so either very confined spaces or completely open with little in between
This seems like a fitting start to his career with the dream like atmosphere or nightmarish atmosphere depending on how you (the audience) interpret
Verdict: HR/MS
The Elephant Man (1980)
Notes:
Elephants superimposed over photos of woman followed by slow motion black and white images of elephants and a terrified woman screaming in agony
Lynch uses 2:35 to 1 aspect ratio here after using 1.85 to 1 in Eraserhead (1977)
3:50 starts with close up shot of fire at carnival and zoom out and terrific tracking shot as Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) moves through a crowd at a carnival
9:35 tracking shot of Treves through London streets
12:15 noir style shadows
14:30 slow zoom in on Frederick’s face upon seeing John Merrick aka “The Elephant Man”
17:30 overhead shot
21:14 slow zoom out after transition
21:42 shadow through white curtain as Elephant Man is shown to auditorium full of men
24 min another overhead shot
31:40 rapid zoom in on terrified face of nurse upon seeing Merrick
33:16 hallway shot captures eerie stillness of hospital
34:10 low angle shot of Clock Tower
37:48 chaos in streets recreates craziness of times
42:36 close up shots on faces of men
48:02 POV shot from behind Merrick’s head
50:45 low angle shot after Merrick recites Biblical verse
55:25 montage of industrial images of smoke blowing out of buildings
57 min buzzing sound
1:11:20 Merrick dining with aristocrats as his confidence increases over time
1:13:30 interesting conversation between Treves and a nurse who argue that high society people dining with and speaking with Merrick are only doing so to “impress their friends” while Treves defends it saying its best for Merrick
1:16:27 dream like images of elephants similar to opening of the film
1:27:07 disturbing scene of group of lower-class people marching through streets to see Merrick in the way he was presented at Freak Shows, particularly devastating because this all happens after he is finally shown real kindness for the 1st time in his life, several shots of Merrick through windows again reinforcing the freak show atmosphere from earlier
1:29:44 shot through window and bars outside the room
1:35:13 haunting shot of Treves walking away from camera after he’s been told he isn’t to blame for Merrick’s disappearance
1:36:52 low angle shot of Merrick back on a stage at freakshow
1:40:20 high level of detail in this nighttime shot of desolate streets
1:42:42 beautiful nighttime shot along water of Merrick being helped to escape his return to a horrific life prior to Treves
1:46:20 Merrick cornered by angry mob before screaming out that he is not an animal or elephant but a human
1:50:02 great shot as camera glides through the crowded theatre with John and Treves sitting together
1:51:46 dream like images, surreal
1:53:00 audience gives standing ovation after show is dedicated to him
2:00:02 series of surreal imagery with dissolve edits and holographic shots similar to opening scene
Thoughts:
Again with black and white cinematography, really gorgeous here even more than Eraserhead in fact this is one of the best looking black and white films I’ve ever seen
This film captures a distinctive time, the Victorian Era England with some characters that could be straight out of a Charles Dickens novel
The film manages to find a balance of story and sentimentality without becoming preachy or excessively melodramatic, I love Spielberg, but I can’t help but think he would have gone overboard with scenes like the standing ovation at the theatre
The film juxtaposes between the best and worst examples of humanity as you have people like Treves, who despite some of his lingering doubt shows the side of humanity that wants to help those in need and treat with respect and then you have characters who see Merrick as nothing more than a freak whose sole value lies in how much people are willing to spend to see him, showing one of the darker aspects of humans in the tendency to exploit for personal gain
There is an interesting conversation between Treves and a nurse who argue that high society people dining with and speaking with Merrick are only doing so to “impress their friends” while Treves defends it saying its best for Merrick, but Treves does start to think the nurse may have been correct and that he is making Merrick an object of interest again, only now it’s in a hospital instead of a Freak Show
Apparently, Lynch agreed to this project knowing nothing about it other than the name, when he was looking for what to do as a follow up to Eraserhead
This is probably the most conventional film I’ve seen from Lynch, not that makes it uninteresting by any means
Verdict: MS
Blue Velvet (1986)
Notes:
Again Lynch goes with 2.35 to 1 aspect ratio
Starts with gorgeous close up shot of Blue Drapes
Opening scene with numerous images of idyllic suburbs with red roses, white picket fences, well-kept lawns, firetruck driving by waving, dogs, crossing guard etc. It’s not made clear what year the film takes place 3:30 camera set so low that the blades of grass feel overwhelming as camera goes further into ground
6:24 mold filled ear found in grass by Jeffrey, a college freshmen home on break
7:08 “Lumberton Police” sign with bright blue sky in background
9:21 silhouette shot of Jeffrey walking downstairs
10:30 slow zoom in into the ear following dissolve
11:07 picture of Sandy followed by zoom out to conversation with Jeffrey and Sandy’s father, who is head of police
12:44 Sandy’s voice is heard between she is actually seen as she walks from out of dark into Jeffrey’s view, she is wearing pink stripped shirt
16:45 wide angle shot of Central High School, again with perfect blue sky
18 min what is more American than a Diner? Arlene’s Diner
22 min Jeffrey going into the apartment of Dorothy Vallens, apartment # 710
24:04 man in yellow standing next to Dorothy who is wearing red color dress
27:36 red neon sign for “Slow Club”
28:36 iconic image with Dorothy singing on stage with red drapes in background and blue lighting on stage
28:46 iconic image with blue lighting
29:28 shallow focus as Jeffrey becomes enamored with Dorothy
30 min dissolve from club to Jeffrey driving
32:18 dim lighting in lobby of Dorothy’s apartment
35 min hard not to think of Psycho (1960) with Jeffrey looking through closet door
39:39 Dorothy turned on by Jeffrey’s seemingly deviant behavior
42 min Dennis Hooper as Frank finally makes entrance about 1/3 into the film, he’s wearing all black and is violent, aggressive, vulgar, crude, and psychotic
44:28 Frank huffing gas
50:02 close up shot of Jeffrey and Dorothy embracing
50:14 Dorothy close up on face
1:00:02 Frank watching with tears in eyes
1:00:24 beautiful shot of Dorothy singing Blue Velvet song
1:01:03 red neon lighting covering Jeffrey
1:03:24 back at Arlene’s Diner with Jeffrey narrating his investigative work
1:09:06 slow motion shots during violent sex scene
1:11:15 Frank and Jeffrey stare down
1:12:25 Jeffrey and Dorothy driving with Frank’s crew who act like teenagers
1:14:11 green drapes
1:18:54 Dean Stockwell Lip syncs Roy Orbison “In Dreams”
1:21:20 shot of speeding on highway is shot in multiple Lynch films
1:23:27 Jeffrey finally stands up to Frank
1:24:30 “In Dreams” plays again with Frank threatening Jeffrey
1:27:34 Jeffrey waking up in lumber yard seems appropriate given town name
1:30:06 man in yellow in police station is a mixing of the “underworld” and “idyllic suburb” that has remained separate throughout the film
1:38:22 slow motion kiss between Jeffrey and Sandy at party set to music “Mysteries of Love” by Julee Cruise
1:40:48 misdirection with angry boyfriend Mike rather than Frank
1:42:50 wide angle shot
1:49:20 montage of police shooting out with Frank’s crew
1:50:20 profile shot of Jeffrey in Dorothy’s hallway
1:52:36 Jeffrey watching from closet, POV similar to earlier in film
1:55:29 light bulb going out leads to quick transition and repeat of “Mysteries of Love” followed by slow zoom out of ear
1:58:00 repeat of montage from opening of film
1:59:20 ending credits with blue drapes
Thoughts:
The entire everything is not so perfect in the suburbs has been done so many times it’s a cliché, but this is one of the few I’ve seen that feel original, of course Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943) seems like a possible influence although with that one its an external threat in the sinister Uncle Charlie whereas here it is an internal threat or hiding in plain sight like the corrupt policeman the Yellow Man
Like many of the greatest films there are many indelible images with none better than the Dorothy character singing the title song on stage with the red drapes and blue lighting. You also have Frank huffing gas, the Dean Stockwell character singing Roy Orbison “In Dreams”, Dorothy holding a knife wearing the blue robe to a terrified Jeffrey standing in closet, and of course the opening and closing images representing the idyllic suburbs
Rarely have I seen a better unison of images and song in a film from the title song to the Roy Orbison “In Dreams” scene, so many of my favorite songs I discover from films
I like that the film doesn’t spend much time on Police taking down Frank’s crew as this is not a police procedural and thus would have been out of place
Obviously, Hopper is the standout playing Frank, but the performances are solid all the way around
Frank is extremely disturbing of course but there is also humor, particularly the scenes with his crew forcing Jeffrey to come along for the car ride, it is hilarious in the way that Frank and his crew behave like immature teenagers on a joy ride
Verdict: MP
@James Trapp- Great work here. One of the great bounce back films — Lynch flexing after the failure of Dune. Also, one of Ebert’s greatest swings and misses
@Drake – thanks, Dune is the only film I am skipping for the study given its repuation amongst cinephiles.
Speaking of Ebert, he doesn’t seem to like David Lynch much outside of Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire. He gave:
The Elephant Man 2 stars
Lost Highway 2 stars
Wild at Heart 2.5 stars
Blue Velvet 1 star
@James Trapp- Yep, I’ve always admired Ebert’s willingness to occasionally go back to a film and right the wrongs in his past reviews- but unless I’m misremembering, I do not think he ever got around to that with these Lynch films here.
Wild at Heart (1990)
Notes:
Starts with fire
2:40 beautiful shot with camera gliding along ceiling of interior of building
3:50 Nic Cage beating man savagely
4:52 close up on prison cell
7:47 intense sex scene between Laura Dern and Nic Cage as soon as he gets out of prison, screen turns to orange and red
14:09 dark blue in costume
18:24 club scene allows Lynch to use his go to neon red
20:55 slow motioned shot of Cage singing in night club on dance floor
22:30 yellow fog during sex scene
22:56 slow motion close up on cigarette lighting
28:38 Lynch sure likes his shots driving on highways
34:34 use of red during sex scene
38 min great use of dim lighting at dinner table
40:48 green and red lighting in club
47:17 dern’s mother with red painted face and hand speaking to Harry Dean Stanton character over phone, he is wearing white suit
54:44 cruising in car at night
58:48 Harry Dean Stanton’s suit matching hotel hallway walls
1:08:18 bizarre images with Harry Dean Stanton with tape over lips with lipstick on outside, surreal, and trippy images and music
1:10:14 transition back to daytime, orange /yellow palette as they are in Big Tuna, Texas
1:12:29 fire as motif
1:16:28 intricate details in use of Christmas lights, in soft focus throughout scene
1:22:20 circular frame within frame
1:25:15 wide angle shot of hotel room
1:31:11 stretched face resembling house of mirrors shot
1:35:00 crystal ball shot
1:40:20 dissolve to bright day time shot
1:43:20 spontaneous bank robbery
1:45:45 disturbing close up shots on William Defoe character
1:47:05 back to prison for Cage
1:56:27 great composition with wide angle shot of street and characters converging
1:58:00 “wild at heart”
Thoughts:
Unlike other films in this study I had not watched this one before nor had I read much about it so went it blank slate, without seeing other Lynch films I would have been completely lost
This is heavy style with Lynch’s patented use of neon red, also shades of orange symbolizing the highly volatile relationship
Laura Dern is somewhat effective playing a very different role than Blue Velvet where she played the innocent “girl next door” type, a role that probably suits her better than a bad girl type, but I respect the effort
The first half was stronger I think, most of my favorite shots and use of color were in the first hour
Blue Velvet is actually fairly easy to follow, it is obviously full of bizarre sequences and shots, but the actual narrative is relatively easy to follow once you understand the Lynch style. This was tougher to follow although it was my first viewing. I also should make clear that I really like Kyle MacLachlan as an actor, Nic Cage…not so much. I’ve given the man plenty of chances (obviously I am watching this film for David Lynch not Nic Cage but still)
Another viewing could definitely go up but still plenty of impressive visuals
Verdict: HR
@James Trapp- Nice work here. What did we think of Dafoe’s performance? Also, and maybe you read this. But certainly Wizard of Oz is an important text to Wild at Heart.
@Drake – I love Dafoe, he can play quite a range from highly likable and (relatively) morally upright like in Platoon, relatively straight forward with some charm (American Psycho) a great villain like in Spiderman which is one of the few superhero films I like, straight up bizarre (The Grand Budapest Hotel), and I could keep going. He is really effective in this film playing such a strange/creepy character that always made you a little uncomfortable even when he was being friendly, there is something sinister about him and those teeth were horrifying.
Regarding Wizard of Oz, I did come across that reference in a review. I have to be honest I have never really understood the fascination with Elvis, I mean I get why he was a cultural icon for his time but he has a God like image for many people it seems even today. I am not trying to hate on him or even really critique him but more just understand why he seems to have maintained so much cultural relevance even today. Aside from Wild at Heart I have recently watched several films lately where he or more accurately his ghost played a role; Mystery Train (1989), True Romance (1993), and at least one other film I am drawing a blank. I am planning on getting to Elvis movie from 2022 soon maybe that will help me out a little.
@James Trapp- And Dafoe seems to be hotter than even in the 2020s getting choice roles in great films. There’s a fair amount there with Lynch and Wizard of Oz and Wild at Heart. I think repeat viewings will reward the film.
@Drake – for sure, I will definitely watch again at some point in future. I am kind of surprised Defoe has never worked with Tarantino as he would seem such a natural fit. I forgot about his role in The Card Counter, maybe we will get to see him work with Schrader once more.
@James Trapp – and two collaborations with Lanthimos in 2023, one with Wes Anderson it looks like
David Lynch is so much different than I expected. I’ve watched some interviews from the Criterion Special Features for some of his films, he talks and has the mannerisms of the Jimmy Stewart character from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He was actually an eagle scout as a kid, hilarious. Its just way different than I expected given the types of films he makes.
I had a similar experience watching a David Cronenberg special features section for Videodrome. He was just such a normal almost slightly dorky guy, you could mistake him for an accountant
@James Trapp- haha good point- Lynch seems like the Kyle MacLachlan character in Blue Velvet. And Scorsese said the same thing about Cronenberg. He said he would never cast Cronenberg to play Cronenberg- and he was scared to meet him (just judging from his work).
@Drake – funny, I didn’t think of that but yeah you’re right on MacLachian. Regarding Scorsese yeah his nickname for Cronenberg is “Dave Deprave”
@James Trapp- Are you going to watch Twin Peaks TV series for your study along with the film?
@Alt Mash – I think I am going to watch the 1st Season at least and go from there but I am not going to include the Series in study as there a total of 48 episodes between all the seasons which is like 40 hours and would take quite a while to do while note taking. There are a lot of auteurs I want to get to which is why I usually try to balance volume of work. In the case with Lynch he only has 10 films and I am planning on watching all but Dune (1984) but for some other auteurs who have like 20 or more films I will usually trim a few off based on reputation or reviews or whatever. Like when I did a Coppola Study I didn’t bother with all 22 of his films because some of them like Jack (1996) were such obvious misses that I didn’t think needed to be watched. Its not meant at any offense to the TV Series just a matter of balancing being a completist with getting to many different auteurs.
Lost Highway (1997)
Notes:
Starts with opening credits in yellow lettering traveled toward camera while POV shot from inside vehicle of highway at night
3:50 close up shot on Bill Pullman character named Fred Madison, smoking cigarette in dark
4:33 “Dick Laurent is dead” message on voicemail followed by series of shots through window looking outside or into house through windows indicating surveillance creating paranoia
6:24 first dialogue with Patricia Arquette in red dress and with dark hair
7:30 Fred, a Jazz musician, playing inside club with flashing blue lights, shaky camera
8:30 Fred with an intense dark red lighting as he makes phone call to house from payphone
9:51 deep focus on right side of frame
11:44 Cache (2005) type of plot with this couple, Fred, and Alice, receiving silent tapes of their house, the mood is detachment and hypnotic
14:00 use of closeups
15:55 sex scene unlike any other with unusual frames and angles
17:36 Fred’s head seen moving through otherwise pitch-black house
18:36 red and black in mise en scene
18:58 haunting sequence followed by Shining like shot
20:24 over the shoulder shot of stylish interiors of postmodern house
22:38 extreme close up on Alice’s lips while she calls police
27:14 overhead shot of detectives and Fred and Alice speaking outside, creating surveillance like atmosphere
27:55 transition to night scene, party at mansion with swimming pool
29:47 Robert Blake as the creepy character “The Mystery Man”
42:20 flashes of murdered body, Fred Madison convicted and sentenced to death
44:30 overhead shot in prison cell
45:20 close up on Fred’s face following another flash of the aftermath
48:07 shot reminiscent of The Shining with a sudden flash of Fred covered in blood in his bedroom
48:55 low angle shot of Fred in cell
49:26 dissolve edit to shot of isolated house/cabin and The Mystery Man standing outside
50:10 flashes of blue lights before transitioning to holographic shot of new character, Pete
52 min following flashes of lights film returns to prison cell where Fred Madison is missing and a younger man, Pete, is inside the cell, he is a 24 year old who works on an autobody shop
54:25 overhead shot of Pete’s parents parking in driveway and walking him into the house
55:25 detectives hired to do surveillance on Pete arrive outside his residence
1:01:00 Robert Loggia’s character Mr. Eddy/Dick Laurent makes an appropriately great entrance rolling up in a Mercedes captured with a low angle shot
1:04:45 I love how Mr. Eddy’s two lackeys know to put seatbelts on the second Mr. Eddy is flicked off which leads to road rage
1:06:00 Mr. Eddy with a hilarious speech as he cites various car safety statistics while viciously beating man in road rage incident
1:14:58 Patricia Arquette now playing 2nd character, a platinum blonde who is Mr. Eddy’s girlfriend
1:15:50 painterly images
1:23:33 blurred and distorted images with Pete in hotel room
1:27:14 accentuated sounds effective matching bizarre imagery
1:32:40 great composition in room with red carpet
1:34:51 great framing of Alice (Arquette) face with over shoulder shot from Mr. Eddy’s POV
1:39:20 close up on Mr. Eddy’s face is terrifying and then even more terrifying Mystery Man
1:46:42 disturbing photo reminds me of The Shining
1:47:25 shaky camera
1:51:10 another highway shot
1:51:28 burning cabin with brilliant orange
1:56:00 white light silhouette
1:57:45 return of Fred
2:05:30 haunting scene with characters gathered around watching naked women on screen
2:09:03 Dick Laurent is dead
2:10:00 car chase scene followed by bookend highway scene
Thoughts:
I am not really sure why this does not have the same or at least similar levels of praise that Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive receive; this is stunning work from Lynch with some of his most spectacular shots. I felt the same way after watching The New World (2005) when I did my Malick study as that film was not only brilliantly crafted with stunning imagery, but it had a lot of similarities to Malick’s prior films so I was surprised by the solid but not amazing reviews. Lost Highway, like The New World, is not only brilliant but has many similarities to Lynch’s other works that have much stronger critical acclaim
Patricia Arquette is tremendous playing two roles; Laura Dern was great in Blue Velvet as the “girl next door” but wasn’t all that convincing in playing a more dangerous femme fatale type though I respect the effort. Arquette was able to pull this off
Maybe I didn’t notice it in other films so far in the study, but Lynch makes use of close ups on character’s faces throughout the film allowing better access into these characters minds
I love the dedication to color, red and black are used frequently in mise en scene from clothing to interiors of houses and other interior locations
Even by David Lynch standards “The Mystery Man” played by Robert Blake is insanely creepy, perhaps the creepiest Lynch character I have seen so far, Mr. Eddy is a great character as well; he is played by Robert Loggia who I loved as Frank in Scarface, he is just as good here. The speech he gives about various vehicle safety statistics while beating man in road rage incident is hilarious
The use of lighting and color is a major strength of Lynch and frankly this may be the best I’ve seen from him so far as far as that goes, there are many great shots with characters moving inside an otherwise pitch-black house
There is a certain detachment present throughout the film, very hypnotic similar to other Lynch films of course but I felt this one was especially so
Either the best of 2nd best film I’ve seen during the study so far along with Blue Velvet
Verdict: MP
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Notes:
Starts with blue images in background to opening credits
4:40 plane gliding over area with FBI agents
5:35 intense red shirt and hair
7:38 intense blue flower on red shirt
8 min Deer Meadow similar to Lumberton, NC from Blue Velvet
9:32 min classic FBI vs local cops rivalry
15:36 red and blue neo sign at Diner, Lynch sure likes his Diners
16:06 red Diner sign lettering reflection in background of shot
20:58 dissolve with brief red flash
25:14 another dissolve with brief red flash
25:50 mountains in background give a more rural and secluded atmosphere
27:33 Kyle MacLachlan first appearance
28 min back and forth with camera
29:20 blue light and flashing to bizarre shot of dwarf and other strange characters
30:57 red drapes and blue lighting resembling blue velvet
33:37 dissolve shot from car windshield with red lettering “let’s rock”
34:10 moves forward 1 years with shot of “Welcome to Twin Peaks” sign
Popular blonde High School student Laura Palmer
39:50 overhead shot of Laura and her friend well-furnished room with pink carpet, fireplace, and a couple of couches
42 min extreme close ups on face is Lynch trait I’ve seen increasingly
55:18 father with creepy behavior as he interrogates Laura over necklace “is this from a lover?”
1:00:30 camera gliding through house
1:01:15 back to shot of red drapes
1:10:30 blue velvet style shot
1:13:14 blue and red neon signs in bar
1:16:10 strong use of red lighting as Laura and her friend party with much older men
1:24:28 camera descends and captures mist filled mountain
1:29:03 beautiful shot of sky with red lighting
1:33:45 low angle shot of Laura Palmer looking up toward sky with blue lighting
1:35:00 Laura walking through High School hallway following shot of her causality snorting cocaine
1:43:41 low angle shot of creepy father atop staircase
1:44:42 bizarre imagery with white horse in living room
1:46:39 horrifying nightmarish scene involving incest
2:02:45 nightmarish sequence involving Laura with multiple men including her father
2:04:00 flashes of light and heavy foreboding music stop and start again briefly letting up before giving a grand finale of sorts
2:07:03 camera moves in on backstage room with red drape and shots of dwarf seen previously
Thoughts:
I might watch the 1st Season of the TV Show and from there decide to watch the entire series but for now I am leaving the TV Show out of the studies simply because of the time constraints that would require, I mean no offence to the series
This is definitely one of the most confusing films I’ve seen so far, but one of the things I have learned during this study is that you can’t break down a Lynch film into some clear concise narrative summary or easily pair specific shots with some clear meaning or message
Lynch has reoccurring shots he really loves like red drapes, red and blue neon lights, idyllic shots of suburbs, and others that are seen in this film
The auditory is so crucial to much of the best visuals, especially shots before and after characters move through different worlds
Verdict: HR/MS
The Straight Story (1999)
Notes:
Starts with sweeping shots of farmlands set to soothing music
4:07 thump noise heard off camera
9:04 camera rotating 360 in hospital room
12:28 Alvin starting lawnmower after returning from hospital
13:30 close up of windows from inside house, transitions to lightning storm
16:22 shot reverse shot between close up on face of Sissy Spacek character and front yard/sidewalk
23:30 low angle shot of tower next to farm
25:10 shot of star lit up sky followed by
25:36 beautiful composition with Alvin righting through middle of midwestern town
26:12 shot of road that is in pretty much every Lynch film
34:24 John Deere tractors with heavily saturated green and yellow
35:17 window as frame for painterly shot of Alvin riding off
36 min dissolves used again
45 min long dialogue between Alvin and younger woman as they cook hot dogs over fire
48:01 gorgeous shot during sunrise
52 min a series of gorgeous shots you would expect from a Terence Malick film
53:33 a seemingly endless string of bicycles riding past Alvin in the road
1:00:52 camera pulls back on farmhouse set on fire
1:06:00 Alvin impresses people who help him after mower crashes
1:13:56 “you’re a kind man talking to a stubborn man” authentic characters
1:17:40 gut wrenching conversation between two WW2 veterans who seem like they are making confessions that they probably have not shared before
1:21:51 another shot of stars at night
1:24:07 hilarious looking characters; constantly arguing brothers each wearing a red hat and blue jean overalls
1:29:25 overhead shot with camera fading back toward sky
1:41:41 empty open road
1:45:40 Alvin finally makes it to his brothers
Thoughts:
Funny enough Lynch called this his “most experimental film” despite it being by far the most the most straightforward no pun intended, but I guess everything is relative
This is very establishing shot heavy with frequent high angle shots of the roads, farms, and small towns Alvin passes through
Similarities with Into the Wild (2008) accept with an old protagonist instead of a young one
Its so much different than everything else I’ve seen from Lynch but I have to say I was impressed by the photography, some of the shots were Malick-esque
Verdict: HR/R
Going to watch Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire in next couple days
Curious to see how people would rank Lynch films in order of complexity or just straight up most confusing
So far I would say ranking from most confusing to least:
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
Wild at Heart
Lost Highway
Eraserhead
Blue Velvet
The Straight Story
The Elephant Man
For the last 2 they are way more conventional than the others
@James Trapp- Looks pretty spot on to me. I’d flip Wild at Heart and Lost Highway
@Drake – you might be right but I’ve seen Lost Highway 3 times now and Wild at Heart once so this may change for me with future viewings
@James – I’ve had my criterion Lost Highway and my blu of Blue Velvet both arrive in the past few days so I’ve been thinking about Lynch too.
From most confusing/complex to least:
Inland Empire
The Return
Eraserhead
Fire: Walk With Me
Wild At Heart
Mulholland Drive
Lost Highway
The Straight Story
Dune
The Elephant Man