David Lynch - Classic or Dud

The Mystery Man is Fred's conscience. "Call me," I'm in your head right now.

He's the one making the tapes, leading Fred a few steps at a time back into the bedroom to face the truth.

Huh, thx, I’ll think that through…

Interestingly (to me), I recall having a similar reading of the role of the elderly couple in Mulholland Dr. (one of those few “extra pieces of the puzzle” in that film).

I did end up seeing Wild At Heart earlier this week. I thought it was a very enjoyable comedy. I've seen over-the-top Nic Cage a million times, but Laura Dern was absolutely boiling over as well and they clicked so well together. The rest of the cast were amazing too - Grace Zabriskie, Willem Dafoe. Jesus, what a memorable film!

One thing that I noticed throughout the movie that brought me down though, was I really feel like it used black actors as props. Of course, you have the absolutely ultra-brutal scene in the beginning where Sailor bashes his assailant's brain in. Later, in New Orleans, there is a scene where the camera just trucks across the face of an unusual-looking, older black woman who you don't see before or after. The feeling I got was "here's this weird-looking black woman - see how strange New Orleans is?" There's also a scene where they're getting gas and Lula is preening for this old black man sitting in a chair outside of the service station, and he's kinda just there to smile and show increasing excitement about how hot Lula is.

It's not the only time I've felt this about a quirky indie comedy (thinking about a lot of Coen Brothers films here), so I'm kinda halfheartedly writing it off as "those were the times..." But overall, the works of David Lynch that I'm familiar with are very white and don't engage much with race. The one exception off the top of my head is in Twin Peaks, in which you have Josie and a few other Chinese characters in her storyline, as well as Catherine Martell's undercover guise of Mr. Tojamura, both of which are pretty cringey.

Not trying to cancel Lynch here or anything. Just a few hang-ups that stood out to me in an otherwise compelling and entertaining movie. Interested to see if anybody has more charitable readings than I have.

Of course, you have the absolutely ultra-brutal scene in the beginning where Sailor bashes his assailant's brain in

I’m admittedly squeamish, but when I first watched the film (VHS rental from Hollywood Video!) I turned it off at this scene because I found it too gratuitous, in an "edgy ’90s" sort of way. Didn’t end up finishing it until I did a Lynch retrospective a few years ago in the lead up to the new Twin Peaks season.

in which you have Josie and a few other Chinese characters in her storyline, as well as Catherine Martell's undercover guise of Mr. Tojamura, both of which are pretty cringey.

Fortunately, the character of “Naido” in S3 solved this problem… NOT!!

One thing that I noticed throughout the movie that brought me down though, was I really feel like it used black actors as props.

What say you about Richard Pryor's casting in Lost Highway?

I've only seen Lost Highway once and had completely forgotten about Pryor. Can't remember what his role was. There's a good chance I'll go out to see it this Tuesday. Will keep that in mind.

can't say i've read much good writing on lynch in regard to race but i enjoyed this:

https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/david-lynch-racial-politics.html

yeah lynch is a white guy who does best just dealing with white people, frankly. Hawk is a problematic character all over the place, just native trope after native trope (made worse by the fact that Michael Horse isn't native). I mean I still love TP obviously but these elements are all cringetastic.

Horse isn't native?

it's disputed. his mother is swedish, his adoptive father is german. he has claimed to be Yaqi (from Mexico), but he's not enrolled in any tribes nor do any tribes claim him. So if he is Yaqi, that comes from his father, but he hasn't elucidated that relationship.

yikes bro.

Meantime, next week's episode on You Must Remember This in the "Erotic 90s" season will, in fact, be about Lost Highway (plus at least some discussion of Jennifer Lynch's Boxing Helena I gather.)

Finally rewatched Lost Highway, long classified in my head as my least favorite Lynch. I liked it better the second time, was reminded how many great shots and scenes it includes. It really is gorgeous. But yeah, still pretty much my least favorite Lynch — cold and uninvolving, imo, except for a legitimately great performance(s) by Patricia Arquette. Bill Pullman and Balthazar Getty remain more or less inert. Such a mid-'90s film, in that gritty '90s bummer way — very little of the warmth and humor that balances the horror in most of his other work.

BUT also, in retrospect it seems to me like the first in an L.A./Cali noir trilogy, followed by Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire. There are ideas and motifs in Lost Highway that show up more fully realized in both of those films, almost like he had ideas he was wrestling with and Lost Highway was a sort of first draft. So, totally worth seeing but not one of his greats. (imo, ymmv)

New interview with Isabella Rossellini on Blue Velvet: https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/isabella-rossellini-responds-roger-ebert-blue-velvet-review-1234968621/

(I don’t think I was aware of the Ebert review…)

https://deadline.com/2024/04/david-lynch-animated-movie-snootworld-netflix-addams-family-edward-scissorhands-writer-caroline-thompson-1235877710/

“I don’t know when I started thinking about Snoots but I’d do these drawings of Snoots and then a story started to emerge,” Lynch told us in a rare interview. “I got together with Caroline and we worked on a script. Just recently I thought someone might be interested in getting behind this so I presented it to Netflix in the last few months but they rejected it.”

Lynch was philosophical about the reasons for that decision: “Snootworld is kind of an old fashioned story and animation today is more about surface jokes. Old fashioned fairytales are considered groaners: apparently people don’t want to see them. It’s a different world now and it’s easier to say no than to say yes.”

Lynch was coy about which project may be his next or which is taking up most of his time, cryptically noting: “I can’t talk about those things right now.”

Well at least this keeps hope alive...

An interesting Q&A with Sabrina Sutherland, touching on a variety of topics – including "Unrecorded Night," and whether there may be more Twin Peaks (she says "David has more ideas for another season"):

https://tulpaforum.com/threads/members-q-a-with-the-one-and-only-sabrina-sutherland.491/

pic.twitter.com/7wH9m1ADi4

— David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) May 27, 2024

It's going to be a photo of his new single or something, isn't it?

He's reviving The Angriest Dog In The World as an animation on Adult Swim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1bm78MRPiw

thought of This Mortal Coil before I saw it was already mentioned in the comments

It's going to be a photo of his new single or something, isn't it?

― Alba, Monday, May 27, 2024 4:13 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

so close lol. i'm glad i read your comment before i got excited

chrystabell kinda... sucks?

yeah she is extremely boring. I was super disappointed in the first album she did with him years ago. The stuff she's done without him is even worse.

She was the worst thing for me in The Return. Just a very odd yet dull presence.

well she can't act at all. this sometimes worked in her favor because it added to the weirdness.

it's a whole album - out tomorrow

https://chrystabell.com/

My vinyl copy should be here soon. The singles didn’t do a lot for me but I think this is a headphones in a room with candles sort of thing.

a sexy encounter with David Lynch!

Ah man — emphysema and housebound, could only direct remotely if he even gets to again.

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/david-lynch-emphysema-cant-leave-house-direct-1236095608/

Very sorry to hear it, tho as he acknowledges he smoked a whole lot for a long time. (And enjoyed it a lot, at least.)

I suppose we will never be getting Unrecorded Night now, which is too bad.

I can't get excited about a Chrysta Bell album, I got burned on that already

More Rabbits?

The first few seconds of Sublime Eternal Love remind me of 'Smoke Rings' by Kristen Kontrol. Which is far more of a banger than that!

Fuckin covid

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Yes, I have emphysema from my many years of smoking. I have to say that I enjoyed smoking very much, and I do love tobacco - the smell of it, lighting cigarettes on fire, smoking them - but there is a price to pay for this enjoyment, and the price for me is…

— David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) August 5, 2024

It's hard seeing so many cigarette guys (Lynch, Hitchens, Amis, Auster) suffer from the consequences. But Lynch is 78, so has had a good run so far. He'll find a way to do more with his restrictions.

Very sorry to hear it, tho as he acknowledges he smoked a whole lot for a long time. (And enjoyed it a lot, at least.)

I remember catching The Art Life in a theatre with friends and one of my takeaways was that he was way too into the whole ritual of smoking.

This isn't the first time Lynch has mentioned health issues that developed from smoking - IIRC, there's at least one interview from a couple years back where he said he was quitting smoking because of symptoms that sounded like the early stages of emphysema - but it's definitely the first time he's been upfront about how it will impact his directorial work. Really sucks, but at least he's quit smoking and doing what he can now to keep himself together. (It'll get worse over time, but it sounds like he's fully committed to slowing down the progression.)

I mean, he’s 78, he got decades of enjoyment from smoking, it doesn’t seem like a bad trade. (I don’t smoke, but I have this same thought about drinking.)

I am a current smoker of about 25 years and feel the exact same way about tobacco. Absolutely love it. That being said, I think I’ll use this as motivation to quit. Unlike Lynch, I have kids

The youngest of lynch’s kids is still quite young I think?

Oh my bad

She's 11 or 12, her name is Lula. She was in the Art Life documentary which was pretty good.

People.com tells me that Lynch is recently divorced after 14 years of marriage.

I am a current smoker of about 25 years and feel the exact same way about tobacco. Absolutely love it. That being said, I think I’ll use this as motivation to quit. Unlike Lynch, I have kids

― Heez

nobody remembers _boxing helena_!

It’s funny because everything about him seems so self centered, even the healthy habits like his meditation. But particularly his art. I guess that’s how you end up not being the best dad.

nobody remembers _boxing helena_!

Watched The Cowboy and the Frenchman last night with the kid.

God bless Harry Dean Stanton.

Lynch’s homes are in the LA fire evacuation zone. I assume this includes the Lost Highway house.

He’s evacuated and safe.

I can’t even wrap my head around how much treasure must be in that place.