Mulholland Drive

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.

I'm tempted to revisit Wild at Heart - I remember not liking it too much in the theater (and that was at the height of my preteen Lynch interest).

i think of inland empire and the return as of a piece and i don't really enjoy either of them that much.

peak lynch for me is the run of blue velvet to mulholland drive (with the proviso that i haven't seen the straight story) and twin peaks the tv show and fire walk with me are my favourite lynch projects

Inland Empire didn't do much for me, but I don't think that means it's "bad."

My expectations for Wild at Heart were so low by the time I saw it, I ended up thinking it was kind of awesome and underrated. Not sure what I'd think now though and, yeah, I've never seen it a second time

in inland hes able to achieve some truly otherworldly images & effects, but theres also a lot of long stretches where the DV just makes it feel student film-y to me, like i can tell its obviously just a bunch of actors and david lynch all clomping around some backyard they found. was an unforgettable experience in the theater but i dunno if i'll ever muster the energy to sit through it again at home.

finally saw wild at heart for the first time a couple years ago and thought it was very self conscious and embarrassing, like he was trying to follow up blue velvet and knew what people liked about it but didnt know what made it good

^^that is kind of how I remember Wild at Heart feeling.

(but now I'm second-guessing my Lynch opinions! lol)

if anything it made me appreciate the perfect alchemy of blue velvet more, by taking most of the same ingredients and showing how if one or two of them had been calibrated juuust slightly differently it just becomes a goofy trainwreck

I saw Blue Velvet too late, and I will have always seen Blue Velvet too late, and so I will always feel like the things it broke ground on he did much more to my taste later on in his career.

my brother, who has operated similar cameras, claims the grain and color quality of the DV in Inland Empire were entirely conscious choices on Lynch's part and that the cameras can be easily set to be clearer and produce more accurate colors. I have no idea if this is true.

The first time I saw Wild at Heart a decade ago, I didn’t make it past the head smashing; the violence was too gratuitous for me. I tried again two years ago and liked it a bit better, but overall, one of my least favorite of his. I can see how it was influential at the moment—if I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought it was Lynch’s take on a Tarantino or Oliver Stone film—but OTM about it being too self-conscious and “edgy”.

Bobby Peru is still Lynch's greatest screen creep.

I’ve said it too many times here before, but I don’t really get how roundly disliked Wild at Heart is. I think, stylistically, it’s top tier. So many stunning scenes.

it's a bit cartoonish and the violence is OTT, but I still enjoy it

Yeah, it’s like MTV Lynch and it’s super cool imo.

yeah it rocks imo, a lot of fun

I think of Wild at Heart as his comedy, or at least his most comic film. There's plenty of disturbing stuff in it, but it's also packed with a kind of gonzo humor, much of it courtesy of Cage obviously. It's not in my top Lynch tier, but I like it a lot.

It's a very good blend of the plot-pulpiness / more drily detached humour of Gifford with the emotional intensity and tendency toward luridity of Lynch.

I think about that metal-slam-dance-to-Elvis-slow-dance scene a lot. With the repeated sample press of the Beatles show girl screams. Absolutely one of his best moments.

Wild at Heart is goofy as fuck but that's why it's enjoyable

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

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson)

heavily otm

http://www.lynchnet.com/lh/lhpremiere.html

Long lynch piece by David foster wallace around the time of lost highway

Whenever I see Wild at Heart there are entire sections that I have totally forgotten about. So many digressions and short stories within the movie. Has anybody read the book? Does it have a similar format?

Inland Empire is sometimes my favorite Lynch movie but it is also the hardest to watch. I can dive into Mulholland Drive anytime but IE is intimidating.

Eraserhead and Inland Empire are the purest expression of Lynch in film. They are DIY and free of collaborators.

have you seen The Return?
Eraserhead and Inland Empire are the purest expression of Lynch in film.

the reason i ask is because the Return seemed to be Lynch doing what he wanted, at length, finally. at a length equal to all of his films combined. it was awesome