Mulholland Drive

(To add to the point I made above: the “jitterbug contest,” and the cold open specifically, obv. tie into the “swing craze” of the era, and—why not?—the Swingers movie specifically. You’re money, and you don’t even know it.)

Those agent cooper tik toks are hilarious

A minor plot (or whatever) question—from the Wikipedia summary:

A casting agent takes (Betty) to a soundstage where a film called The Sylvia North Story, directed by Adam, is being cast.

the stagehand says it, according to #3 here: https://www.mulholland-drive.net/studies/10clues.htm

Huh, I’ll have to listen again (thanks).

LOL @ that site – Lynch’s 10 Clues!!

Lynch's 10 Clues was an insert in the first release on dvd and I'm sure were a handout at the initial cinematic release.

Hate hate hate that "woodsman" jump cut - gave me the creeps just thinking about it and prevented me from rewatching the film for last 20 years :)

She’s actually a woman, I belatedly discovered.

Why are people saying "woodsman"?

Have you seen Twin Peaks: the Return? The answer lies therein.

I haven't! Only made it up through FWWM so far. Been meaning to get to it. Thanks.

Technically there are woodsmen in fwwm as well, in the scene above the convenience store: jurgen prochnow and one of the other guys sitting down are credited as woodsman #1 & 2 (the guy with the stick is “electrician”). But yes s3 will explain the comparison with the man behind winkies, though I’m sure you can guess

Woman behind Winkies!

I don’t mean to brag, but David Lynch said he was looking for the most incredible face he could find

i have a great memory of getting the DVD and sitting down with my friend to go over the 10 clues as we watched it. it was fun!

I’d still say man (credited as such I think? but def called “a man” and “he” in the film itself) but yeah the actor is a woman. in twin peaks there is an uncanny being called “bosomy woman” played by a male actor

I know horror is subjective but that jump scare is quoted so often as one of the scariest moments in film history that I just wanted to say that although I do find the build up itself very creepy and effective I don't find the figure itself, that face, scary at all. Anyway, nice to get that off my chest

Me neither! It was just a bit comical. I’m the same with Bob in Twin Peaks though.

Laura Dern's distorted face in IE tho, now you're talking

The horror of the Winkie's moment imo is not the actual jump scare but rather the reification of the nightmare, the confirmation that some horrific dream entity has erupted into our world beyond all reason.

It's the dread that David does so well.

Yes that's what I was implying, or trying to imply. I find the actual 'creature' itself a bit of a disappointment when the mood has been so skillfully created

shoulda got stan winstons creature shop to come in and beef up the design

Yep – for me, the horror of a fear being embodied is undermined by the hobo being so cartoonish. Of course, it would be a different story if I was actually Patrick Fischler's shoes. And it was still a massive jump scare.

It would indeed be terrifying if you were Patrick Fischler's shoes.

Ha ha.

I’d still say man (credited as such I think? but def called “a man” and “he” in the film itself)

Just credited as 'Bum' but yes, Patrick Fischler does say 'he' when recounting his dream. Maybe that's the real scare for him when he goes round the back. It's worse than the dream: it's a WOMAN.

I also made the connection that wins mentions above (via hidden text); though it seems androgyny also has a particular register in MD, as is discussed at the end of the “Themes and interpretations” section of the Wikipedia page (which I credit b/c I’m not clever enough to have drawn out that theme myself).

(I also agree that the “bum” isn’t really so terrifying I’m appearance, and unfortunately I knew the scare was coming – not sure how it would have struck me if it were a surprise!)

i remember it being a legit heartstopping theater-wide gasp when i saw it in original release, both the jump scare and the way fischler's reaction sells it. in hindsight i guess its dependent on the fact that we all had no idea it was coming, it hadnt occurred to me that the impact must be much lessened now that "The Bum" is a known & oft-discussed character in the Lynchiverse.

(i mean of course a jump scare is dependent on having no idea its coming, but i mean as compared to the actual look of the bum, which was only like 5% of the scare. i feel like it would have been just about as scary if a regular looking guy in a wrinkled tshirt had popped out.)

A bit of errata, on 3rd viewing - the "tech specs" are slightly subpar in the scene where Betty and Rita visit the Sierra Bonita Apartments. There's a shot where a patch of light, reflected by a piece of equipment, dances on the wall behind Rita (it's pretty distracting... surprised it wasn't digitally removed for the Blu-ray); and when they go to knock on the door of Apt. 12, the lighting is funky (the actors cast double shadows).

Not griping about this, just think it's a point of interest - as technical details are usually top notch in Lynch stuff. Maybe they were rushed that day. Though I guess you could make the case that some "visible artificiality" is appropriate for that section of the film. (I wonder if that scene was part of the original pilot - seems doubtful that its resolution would have been shot for TV?)

(Sorry - Apt. 17, not 12.)

saw it in theater during the original release and can concur it was an audible shocking moment for the theater audience, myself included.

For me, the moment which is most viscerally impactful is when Diane sees her own corpse and the Badalamenti score swells in this really queasy way and just...ugh. Even the first time through when you don't realize the import of what's just occurred, it's rough.

I love the double image of Rita running outside and screaming, such an upsetting and disturbing moment, and you can feel it break the reality of the movie.

Honestly, from the Cowboy scene through Club Silencio, it's just one masterful sequence after another. Truly an incredible stretch of film.

I think Betty's audition scene is amazing - it's so funny at the outset, when she gets introduced to all those random ppl; then the director's BS; followed, of course, by her performance in the audition itself... just awesome.

I saw MD for the first time on a long-haul flight (why the fuck was it even available), before I'd got over my fear of flying. So the bum-behind-the-diner scene almost gave me a heart attack, and I had to flip over to a rom-com or something to get through the rest of the flight.

xp It's so funny to me how that director is portrayed; and the fact that the only time you see Adam (either version of Adam) actually directing is when he's orchestrating how to deliver a kiss... plus the fact that the big audition for the lead role in his hot movie seems to basically involve lip-syncing to old pop tunes...

I thought about Blue Velvet when I saw that (he just needs an oxygen mask)

So the bum-behind-the-diner scene almost gave me a heart attack, and I had to flip over to a rom-com or something to get through the rest of the flight.

sorry but this rules

lol yes matt #2 i'm sorry to laugh at your misfortune but that is hilarious.

"'Mullholland Drive', eh? Hmm, 'drive'... driving... yes, something that can only be done on the ground, surely this will take my mind off flying and soothe me" *presses play* OH NO

the big audition for the lead role in his hot movie seems to basically involve lip-syncing to old pop tunes

always wondered if that was a sideways reference to Wild At Heart

Lipstick On Your Collar

hi im a huge lynch guy and mh is like my favorite movie. inland empire is REALLY BAD and looks like shit, yall.

false and incorrect my attorneys will be in touch

have you watched it lately? the digital handheld has NOT aged well.

I am sympathetic to the notion that IE looks bad (as it initially did look kind of bad to me until I warmed to the DV) but the rest of that opinion can take a long walk off a short pier.

"aged" "well"

part of the horror of inland empire def resides in the shitty fidelity of the sony digital camcorder he filmed it on. it's like david lynch's shot-on-video horror film... or rather it is

I think it's a mess with some fantastic scenes, but that's what I think of Fire Walk With Me, too. Haven't seen the Twin Peaks revival.