No, that would be Inland Empire.
― I'm crossing over into enterprise (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 April 2009 01:27 (fifteen years ago) link
(Terry Gross Voice) That was really great.
― Philip Nunez, Monday, 13 April 2009 01:36 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah that scene is sort of the thesis statement. it's a movie about movies. there's other stuff jumbled up in there too, but if you're looking for a "point," it's about how art works (and movie art in particular). "don't play it for real until it becomes real." "no hay banda." the singer lip-synching a song about crying, with a tear painted on her face, but rendering the song in a way that inspires actual tears in the audience. the necessity of artifice in breaking through to something actual.
like in this scene, just try to keep track of the layers and reversals of meaning, how much it does with so few moves in just a minute and a half.
― would you ask tom petty that? (tipsy mothra), Monday, 13 April 2009 02:15 (fifteen years ago) link
i haven't seen every lynch film, but i loved blue velvet enough that i don't think i'm adverse to what lynch does. like, i like that the weird and semi-inexplicable elements in BV are balanced by the relatively straightforward plot, and i find the story and characters in that film a lot more compelling than the ones in MD. i guess the "crying" sequence in MD is as weird and creepy as the "in dreams" sequence in BV, but i don't find it as memorable because i don't feel any connection to the characters or care about the story. and so much of MD just seems so arbitrary and tacked-on — the whole subplot with the director, especially — whereas everything in BV feels necessary and vital and scary. i'm down with 'impressionistic dream logic' but i guess i just didn't get enough pleasure out of the surface of MD to care. i mean watts is ok i guess but does anyone think that she's as powerful and memorable in mullholland dr as isabella rossellini or dennis hopper was in blue velvet?
that said, i'm glad people are responding to this and i'll probably give MD a second chance eventually.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Monday, 13 April 2009 04:59 (fifteen years ago) link
Did Lynch get into that Transcendental Meditation stuff before or after Blue Velvet?
― Philip Nunez, Monday, 13 April 2009 05:22 (fifteen years ago) link
not enough love for The Straight Story in this poll. would've voted for Blue Velvet myself though.Dune and Twin Peaks are amongst the worst film ever though.
i thought Mulholland Dr was pretty cool, i always like art phenomenons that have websites with a zillion theories devoted about it.
― Ludo, Monday, 13 April 2009 09:01 (fifteen years ago) link
Dune was a movie that I really disliked when I watched it, but found myself quoting and remembering fondly afterward.
― invitation to rabies (╓abies), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 01:53 (fifteen years ago) link
THE WORM IS THE SPICE
Have seen two or three references to TM with Lynch's name attached in the paper lately. V odd.
― thomp, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:08 (fifteen years ago) link
is donovan the next-most-famous TM practitioner?
― zurück zum Traphaus (donna rouge), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:15 (fifteen years ago) link
oh wait, macca's a fan too:
http://adventuresintranscendentalmeditation.blogspot.com/2009/01/paul-mccartneys-concert-for.html
― zurück zum Traphaus (donna rouge), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:16 (fifteen years ago) link
George Harrison was the true believer. There's also Mike Love, Al Jardine...
― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:17 (fifteen years ago) link
odd why/how? he wrote a book on the subject.
― cutty, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:17 (fifteen years ago) link
Just recently watched the first episode of "On the Air" and it is AMAZING...
― Adam Bruneau, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 20:12 (fifteen years ago) link
not enough love for The Straight Story in this poll
Seriously. I just teared up watching the scene between Farnsworth and the old guy sharing WWII horror stories.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 June 2011 22:14 (thirteen years ago) link
still haven't watched. must rectify.
― lots of janitors have something to say (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 13 June 2011 22:16 (thirteen years ago) link
No problem ranking it third in my list.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 June 2011 22:18 (thirteen years ago) link
Great, great film. Right there with Blue Velvet for me (and arguably a better film, albeit not nearly as historically significant).
― clemenza, Monday, 13 June 2011 22:21 (thirteen years ago) link
Sissy Spacek's small work doesn't get enough notice either.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 June 2011 22:30 (thirteen years ago) link
I really should watch The Straight Story. I'm generally only really taken by Lynch's early period (Eraserhead and his short films) and late period (MD & IE). Oh, and everything Twin Peaks. That stuff in the middle doesn't really speak to me as much. I'd avoided watching The Elephant Man until I bought the Lime Green set, which was stupid, because it's really a very lovely and affecting film. Utterly unlike most of his other work, but it definitely suggests that he also has potential as a director of straight (har har) films.
― SNEEZED GOING DOWN STEPS, PAIN WHEN PUTTING SOCKS ON (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 13 June 2011 22:47 (thirteen years ago) link
No problem ranking it third in my list
me too, after MD and Eraserhead. Really unlike any other 'G' rated film I've ever seen.
― Cosmo Vitelli, Monday, 13 June 2011 23:13 (thirteen years ago) link
silencio
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/david-lynch-opening-paris-nightclub_1225481
― Crackle Box, Tuesday, 14 June 2011 15:49 (thirteen years ago) link
My teenage son is getting very into Lynch. Mostly Twin Peaks, but we watched Eraserhead together over the weekend; his first time, my dozenth or so. Hadn't seen it in many years, but it still resonates with me. Hypnotic, disturbing, yet often extremely funny. Not only my favorite Lynch film, one of my favorite films ever.
― Duke Manfist: Action Hero (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 16:12 (thirteen years ago) link
word, Eraserhead is the shit
― some dude, Tuesday, 14 June 2011 16:54 (thirteen years ago) link
I had the chance to watch a restored print in March as part of the Miami Film Festival, and the audience was scared and amused at all the wrong moments. I still find it about ten minutes too long.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 16:57 (thirteen years ago) link
all the RIGHT moments, I should say.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 16:58 (thirteen years ago) link
what, if anything, would you say "Eraserhead" is about?
― anarcho-misogynist puppies (DJP), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:03 (thirteen years ago) link
An ugly man looking for love in a black and white world.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:04 (thirteen years ago) link
sounds about right
― lots of janitors have something to say (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:04 (thirteen years ago) link
nightmares
― the manarchist cookbook (Edward III), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:07 (thirteen years ago) link
reconciling an overwhelming preoccupation with sexual desire and the responsibilities of fatherhood
― strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:08 (thirteen years ago) link
alternately, a bunch of shit that passed through david lynch's head
philadelphia
― the manarchist cookbook (Edward III), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:08 (thirteen years ago) link
It's about how awful old radiators were.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:08 (thirteen years ago) link
i always found it to be anti-children, in some way
like, I think Lynch had a kid around that type, and Eraserhead is just some nightmarish version of that , of suddenly becoming a father and losing so many of the things you treasured, or something? ok, i'm not really sure at all
― frogbs, Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:09 (thirteen years ago) link
there's an extra on the eraserhead DVD of lynch talking about the making of the film at length, it's pretty entertaining + engrossing for what is basically 90 minutes of this
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/dvd05.jpg
― the manarchist cookbook (Edward III), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Ninety minutes of Lynch discreetly away from the microphone.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:13 (thirteen years ago) link
i could honestly listen to lynch rambling into an old-timey radio microphone all day
― strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:16 (thirteen years ago) link
i wished his ranting on the inland empire dvd was as long as the movie itself
Lynch moves away from the microphone so he can breathe
― anarcho-misogynist puppies (DJP), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:18 (thirteen years ago) link
btw y'all
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBoEMTtCJnE
― strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:21 (thirteen years ago) link
I think my favorite story from that doc is how lynch had a paper route while making eraserhead and iirc he solicited money to finish the film from the ppl he delivered to
― the manarchist cookbook (Edward III), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 17:32 (thirteen years ago) link
Ok, so speaking of Lynch DVDs - on the Short Films of Lynch DVD (and I think some other Lynch DVDs too) there's a "Calibrate Your Television" section where you're supposed to adjust the brightness of your set to the point where you can just see the "hidden image" on the screen.
So is my TV broken or is Lynch just fucking with me, because I can't see a thing no matter how bright I set it?
― Godzilla vs. Rodan Rodannadanna (The Yellow Kid), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 19:36 (thirteen years ago) link
best part of the eraserhead doc is his talking about finding a dead cat at an abandoned industrial site while scouting locations for eraserhead and submerging it in a pool of oil for safe keeping, then returning like nine months later and filming henry dredging it up (still there!) and poking it with a hanger. ha ha. such a card.
― And the piano, it sounds like a carnivore (contenderizer), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 23:40 (thirteen years ago) link
― strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Tuesday, June 14, 2011 10:08 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark
it's about working a shit job in a dead-end town, living in a crummy apartment and having a bad relationship with a girl you don't really understand. you meet her parents and feel hideously uncomfortable. they're weird and serve you bad food. you desire other women but are also terrified of your desire. you dream pointlessly as a way of evading your situation and responsibilities. eventually you have a kid without wanting one, and you hate that, too.
― And the piano, it sounds like a carnivore (contenderizer), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 23:44 (thirteen years ago) link
duh, lol, that was SUPPOSED to be a response to this:
― anarcho-misogynist puppies (DJP), Tuesday, June 14, 2011 10:03 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark
ranked order incl. major shorts/TV
Blue VelvetThe GrandmotherEraserheadTwin Peaks finaleMulholland Dr.Twin Peaks pilotTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with MePremonition Following An Evil DeedLost HighwayThe Elephant ManThe Cowboy and the FrenchmanDuneThe Straight StoryIndustrial Symphony No. 1Wild at Heart
only thing i actively dislike is W@H.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 06:08 (twelve years ago) link
oh hai put inland empire in there after TP:FWWM
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 06:11 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLIxS7Bdz10
Your order just about works for me except that I'm not super crazy about Blue Velvet. I mean, it's a good film, but it falls short as an expression of the Lynch that I love. Your top nine (inc. Inland) is otherwise pretty spot-on. The Grandmother is excellent.
― SNEEZED GOING DOWN STEPS, PAIN WHEN PUTTING SOCKS ON (Deric W. Haircare), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 13:12 (twelve years ago) link