David Lynch (Spoilers)

[happyfilmluvguy]

I'm about to take the plunge and watch my very first David Lynch film. I used to know someone who spoke highly of them, and we almost saw "Inland Empire" but it passed us by. I was at the video store earlier and saw that it was on DVD, and when I was about to grab it, I thought to myself I should see one of his earlier films before seeing his most current.

I decided on "Blue Velvet", because "Mulholland Dr" was checked out and they didn't have "Twin Peaks" either. So once I view this, I'm going to share my thoughts, but for the time being, what did those who have seen his films think of them and what film should I view next after this? I want to save "Inland Empire" for last.

 

[Woland]

Mr. Lynch is IMO one of the few really interesting directors around.
Have seen most of his work and Blue Velvet is not a bad choice at all.
His later work is more... ehhh... more?

I would however recommend "The Elephant Man as the perfect beginners choice.
A heartbreaking story, which btw. marked Mr. Anthony Hopkins return to the Silver Scream.
The performances by Mr. John Hurt and Mrs. Anne Bancroft does not exactly hurt the film either.
Highly recommended.

 

[cookie]

Eraserhead

I'm about to take the plunge and watch my very first David Lynch film. I used to know someone who spoke highly of them, and we almost saw "Inland Empire" but it passed us by. I was at the video store earlier and saw that it was on DVD, and when I was about to grab it, I thought to myself I should see one of his earlier films before seeing his most current.

I decided on "Blue Velvet", because "Mulholland Dr" was checked out and they didn't have "Twin Peaks" either. So once I view this, I'm going to share my thoughts, but for the time being, what did those who have seen his films think of them and what film should I view next after this? I want to save "Inland Empire" for last.

Try this one and you'll know you have been where you have not been before! :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I'm a huge Lynch fan! Don't forget Eraserhead.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I saw Inland Empire at a screening Lynch hosted on the Paramount lot. It's something I could only watch once... a lot of threads to different stories and it went on for a long long time to the point where I thought he wasn't going to satisfy at the end by connecting the dots. He is a stream of consciousness director and what you see on the screen is like what you remember from dreams.

At the end it all made sense to some part of my brain and I'm sure it made sense somewhere in his as well.

 

[Ada Veen]

Mulholland drive! I love it. We have the whole twin peaks on like 633 videos. The first series is the best.

 

[BellyTank]

Henry:
So I just, uh... I just cut them up like regular chickens..?

Mr. X:
Sure, just cut them up like regular chickens.


B
T

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

The Twin Peaks Series, Season One, is totally addictive. And I don't care what people say, it was a stupid, horrible, and unsatisfying way to end it.

But it wouldn't be Lynch without the ridiculous non-endings.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

I just finished watching it, and I really enjoyed it. What I found interesting was Jeffery's intimate relationship with Dorothy while he was also in a relationship with Sandy.

I'll try to find Eraserhead next.

 

[Mr. Rover]

now THAT is a strange movie....

 

[Woland]

I just finished watching it, and I really enjoyed it. What I found interesting was Jeffery's intimate relationship with Dorothy while he was also in a relationship with Sandy.

I'll try to find Eraserhead next.

Erasrehead has been superbly remastered and can be bought at a reasonable price at www.davidlynch.com.

Funny; I ordered my copy and it arrived as a DHL delivery:

To: My Name
From: David Lynch

Could not resist leaving the parcel on the reception counter at work for three full days before I picked it up!
"Oh! The delivery from David!".

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Henry:
So I just, uh... I just cut them up like regular chickens..?

Mr. X:
Sure, just cut them up like regular chickens.


B
T

hee hee I actually think of that every time I make Cornish hens!

 

[jake_fink]

Don't forget The Straight Story. It is Richard Farnsworth's last performance and a great one. Also has Harry Dean Stanton! It's a little more linear (a straight story) than most of his work, but beautifully handled and really moving. Also quite, quietly, funny.

Hey, got any of them grabbers?

Sure I do, right over there. What do you need 'em for?

Grabbin.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Don't forget The Straight Story. It is Richard Farnsworth's last performance and a great one. Also has Harry Dean Stanton! It's a little more linear (a straight story) than most of his work, but beautifully handled and really moving. Also quite, quietly, funny.

I did not know he directed that and I loved that film!

 

[Wesne]

Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive are two of my favorite films. I was always kind of on the fence about David Lynch until I saw Mulholland Drive, and that film convinced me of his genius. I went back and watched Blue Velvet again with my new appreciation for his work, and I found it a beautiful, sad and surprisingly tender film and a good complement to Mulholland Drive, although they have a fundamental difference in the way they work, for me at least.

Before Mulholland Drive, my feeling about David Lynch was always that he was into weirdness more or less for its own sake and that it was a waste of time to try to make sense of it all. But I found Mulholland Drive to be a puzzle put together with brilliant mathematical precision. I won't go into the details here, but I found there is a "key" to the film that brings it all together perfectly. Basically, there are two different layers or stories going on - one representing a dream or fantasy and one representing "reality." Virtually everyone in the film has a different portrayal in each of the two stories, even minor characters who may just appear in the background in one or the other of the two layers. It's like when you have a dream, and someone you just barely noticed the day before makes an appearance in some totally different context. The dream level of this film explains why some of the characters do or say things that don't really make sense but seem to have some extreme significance at the time.

There's also a third layer to this film that is basically the key itself, the part that separates the two realities and informs them. These scenes stand apart from the rest of the film -- for those who have seen it, I'm referring to the diner scene between the man and his therapist, and the performance art/concert piece near the end, and the little blue box.

Blue Velvet, on the other hand, is not so rigidly put together (not a knock on either film, they're just different) and should be watched with a more open mind. It's more impressionistic. I find that it works best if you deconstruct it in the same way that you would a dream. All the weird little bits have some meaning on at least a subconscious level, but don't try to make it all fit together and make perfect sense. That kind of logic just isn't supposed to apply here, and if you view it this way you're probably missing the point. Just let it flow over you and absorb the vibe. That's how it works for me anyway.

Overall, these two films share the central theme of Lynch's work, as I see it - the conflict between the perfect, idealized world we dream of and the ugly realities that we must wake up to.

 

[Undertow]

I must say David Lynch has always been one of my favorite directors. I think The Elephant Man is great and I must say Blue Velvet is one of my favorite movies from my teenage years (when I first saw it).

I really enjoy Lynch's perspective, his use of awkward and disturbing dialogue and his dark moods. There's always this heavy, personal, dramatic feeling in all of his work that sucks you into the story.

I must say, the end of Blue Velvet makes me smirk every time.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

Just finished Eraserhead. Great film.

Onto the next one..... Mulholland Drive

 

[pennycarrol]

I'm a HUGE David Lynch fan!!!!!! In my teenage years "Sailor et Lula" blew me away (sorry I don't know the title in english, it's the one with Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern)!!! I also recomment like a lot of loungers "elephant man", what a beautiful movie!! Sad but beautiful!! Have seen his art (painting, drawing etc...)!! David Lynch made some exhibitions about photography, painting and drawing!! He's such a genius!!!

 

[Ada Veen]

Just finished Eraserhead. Great film.

Onto the next one..... Mulholland Drive

in for a treat!

 

[Hondo]

Every actor in hollwood wants to land a role in a David Lynch film.
Can't go wrong with either "Blue Velvet" or "Mulholland Dr" :eusa_clap