SHSP
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Post by SHSP on Jun 6, 2010 23:13:22 GMT
Here I'd like to hear other peoples' opinions about his films, including his TV show Twin Peaks. Here is a list of his full-length films that he's directed:
Eraserhead (His first and probably most famous bizarre film about...well according to RottenTomatoes.com "a bizarre and disturbing look into a man's fear of parenthood".)
The Elephant Man (Nominated for 8 Oscars, it is inspired by the true story of John Merrick, a man with a disfigured body.)
Dune (Despite a cult following of the film, Lynch claims he did not have complete creative freedom on the project so he was not satisfied with the final cut.)
Blue Velvet (A controversial but critically acclaimed movie in the 1980's, it tells the story of a young man's descent into the underworld of what seems like a perfect town.)
Wild at Heart (A story of two lovers on the run, meeting some very odd people along the way.)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (A critically panned film, this is a "prequel" to Lynch's famous TV series "Twin Peaks".)
Lost Highway (In my opinion, Lynch's darkest film that was split among critics, being praised for memorable atmosphere but panned for a incoherent storyline.)
Mulholland Drive (Like "Blue Velvet", one of Lynch's most critically acclaimed films tells the story of "a tragic love story in the City of Dreams".)
Inland Empire (The film is three hours long, but for the most part critics liked it. Even I really can't tell you the storyline, lol!)
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Valtiel
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Post by Valtiel on Jun 7, 2010 16:22:37 GMT
I have yet to watch Eraserhead and The Elephant Man so I can't say anything about those. Dune: It's been a while since I last watched it. I remember it being ok-ish. It was very special and the sets and effects I remember as being kind of cool. It's been so many years though, and I don't remember it as a "normal" (lol) Lynch movie. Blue Velvet: This is really a great movie. As a Silent Hill fan you will set squealing like a little school girls at some scenes. Silent Hill aside, it is still a very powerful but very controversial. Dennis Hopper really played one of his best roles in it (RIP Dennis Hopper ). I really like it, and I find it to be one of the best David Lynch films out there. It is also easier for others that might not appreciate David Lynch's special style to go through this movie, so you will probably have an easier time to introduce friends to his work through this. Wild at Heart: This is another interesting movie. Not as good as Blue Velvet but that doesn't mean it's bad! I never really was a huge fan of Nicolas Cage and his southern accent in this movie kind of rubs me in a bad way but he does fit the role I guess. Having only watched it once I can't remember that much, but it has some lovely Lynch moments. TwinPeaks: Fire Walk With Me: I watched this movie, believing that it would be just like the series that is so loved. I found out that it was more like his other darker movies out there. It's nice to see the old characters once again after the ending to the series. You also got to see and feel what terrible and brutal life Laura Palmer was living before... well... spoiler... she died. Also a Lynch film I've only watched once sadly, so my memory about it might be slightly vague. Lost Highway: This is in my opinion where David Lynch really started making really dark and sometimes confusing movies. Several supernatural things happen during the movie that makes you a bit wtf, and it has a slow start I guess, but how it transforms into an interesting plot made me like it. Felt like a real mystery needed to be solved. Also, you have got to love the Mystery Man and Gary Busey's role. Mulholland Drive: This is probably my favourite David Lynch movie, even though I am not sure I'm completely solved the plot yet (lol). It made me feel for the characters, it scared me in some places and I felt really buried into what was going on. I did sit back after the movie thinking a lot about it which is good. I do think that there has been several different interpretations of what the movie is about. But overall, it is one of David Lynch's best. Besides... you have got to love lesbian sex between two beautiful women. Inland Empire: I have watched this movie once. And I was so confused about it all but it really frightened the hell out of me. It was just really hard to watch because the atmosphere feels so hostile and it has some really unnerving moments in it. It's hard to watch, but once you get near the end you get to witness a scene... that really scared me senseless. It's not really that... scary when I think about it but when it showed up on the screen it just shook me up inside. It is a very long movie and it's rough to watch until the end but it's still beautiful in some morbid way. I really liked it but I'm afraid to watch it again.
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SHSP
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Post by SHSP on Jun 7, 2010 18:36:06 GMT
I have seen most but not all of his films, I'll list my opinions here. (Note: In my first post, I just summarized the films.)
Eraserhead had to grow on me before I began to appreciate it more. I found the introduction of the film to take forever and felt like it was a "who could make the longest zoom-in" scene, lol!
(What I didn't realize that, like all his films, you have to just let the film take over you. You can't have distractions with his films, and they should be seen on a big screen. Otherwise, the experience is gone and you'll be too comforted in reality.)
Blue Velvet, like Eraserhead, had to grow on me. The first time I saw it through I just saw it as a weird murder mystery and "why is it so controversial?". I'm guessing it was because it was made in the 80's; most of what's in the movie is tame to today's standards but they're still scenes that make me uncomfortable. But that's not a bad thing, because I love the movie!
Wild at Heart is perhaps one of my least favorite Lynch films. Don't get me wrong it's still good, but as one critic said, the film seems to be "weird for the sake of being weird". Plus it feels a tad bit overlong.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is one of the weakest along with Wild at Heart, but for different reasons. It is not because of the "weirdness" like with W.A.H., but because as a whole it doesn't work. If you haven't seen the TV show, the movie will spoil the question of "Who killed Laura Palmer?" Now there are so many powerful scenes in this film that I can think of, but as I said it doesn't makeup for what feels like an unfinished movie.
Lost Highway is one of Lynch's films that critics hated but I still liked. I understand their problems with it; the first time watching it it makes no sense whatsoever. But if you look into interviews with David Lynch about the film, he talks about the idea of psychogenic fugue (AKA Dissociative Disorder). Keeping this idea in mind really makes the film a bit more sense, but there's so much to it that I still have yet to interpret for myself.
I'll continue later...
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SHSP
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Post by SHSP on Jun 8, 2010 1:22:20 GMT
Mulholland Drive is my all-time favorite movie to date. I can't explain why, but there's no scene that's a bore to watch in this movie. The most commonly accepted theory I agree with, but I'm afraid some people will over-analyze and not see the big picture that it's an experience, once again.
Inland Empire is only ok to me. It was hypnotic for the first half but then the rest dragged a bit for me with great scenes only a little at a time.
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Judas
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Post by Judas on Jun 19, 2010 19:26:29 GMT
Blue Velvet: I liked it; it wasn't spectacular, but it was certainly enjoyable. Dennis Hopper did great.
Eraserhead: Didn't love it. I'm cool with bizarre themes, but I do need a stronger story than this provided...I got bored.
Elephant Man: Don't remember and extraordinary amount about stuff about this film, but it did have some strange imagery, to say the least.
Dumbland: A cartoon series put out by David Lynch, not much to get exited about; about as random as you could ask for.
Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times): One of David Lynch's first films, a moving painting of six men getting sick six times as a very SH-like tornado siren goes off. Just strange.
Twin Peaks (TV Series): I absolutely loved this show. Bizarre, creepy, funny, interesting, a great mix. Unfortunately the finale left a lot of questions unanswered.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me: Watched it right after I saw the finale of the series, hoping to get some storylines resolved...and they weren't. As far as story and performances go it was fine, but what a let down as a final word on the series! I was TICKED OFF they didn't at least resolve what became of Cooper after he got stuck in the Black Lodge.
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Post by alx on Jul 5, 2010 10:23:10 GMT
As a longtime Lynch fan, I would like to suggest that it is not possible to fully appreciate let alone understand what the man is trying to express without having watched several of his films critically AND interpreting them in the context of the Wizard of Oz...
I know this sounds amazingly arrogant, and I have avoided posting on this thread for that reason; hoping that someone else would give me a segue but since that is not going to happen then I have no other choice. Now, I am not suggesting that you can't enjoy a Lynch film without the proper background or even that you can't be a fan- Simply this: In much the same way that you can't fully appreciate Shakespeare without knowing the bible, you can't fully appreciate Lynch without having watched the Wizard of Oz and applying that to the experience of watching his films
Furthermore, I submit that Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire are to Twin Peaks what Lord of the Rings is to the Hobbit. Admittedly, it isn't a perfect analogy since Blue Velvet is a critical piece of the puzzle and Wild at Heart must factor into any Lynchian equation
That having been said, do you accept or reject my thesis? And more importantly- WHY?
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Post by dreggnog on Jul 6, 2010 18:31:06 GMT
I've seen three of his films, in this order:
Blue Velvet: I didn't like it. This might sound weird to you guys, but I found this movie just as confusing as the other two I've mentioned, because it's actually kinda a mystery film and I just can't follow mysteries nor do I like them outside of Scooby-Doo.
Inland Empire: I'm not sure I really enjoyed watching it a whole lot but it stuck with me. I do love the scene with all the women sitting around talking about men, then one of the girls suddenly lifting up her shirt, then all of the sudden they all start dancing; somehow that scene felt like it made more sense than the rest of the movie!
Lost Highway: This movie was more coherent than the other two, felt more high quality and more driven, also sexy. The bad guy was creepy and interesting with his video camera, and I've got to admire just how much you feel for the main character towards the end.
So, do I like David Lynch? Uhh, yeah, I think so, sort of. But I prefer Silent Hill games and Stephen King books to David Lynch movies.
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Judas
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Post by Judas on Jul 8, 2010 1:58:34 GMT
Furthermore, I submit that Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire are to Twin Peaks what Lord of the Rings is to the Hobbit. Are you saying you think these films are sequels, or at least in the same world, of Twin Peaks?
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SHSP
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Post by SHSP on Jul 26, 2010 23:44:46 GMT
Personally, I have enjoyed the films regardless of relating it to The Wizard of Oz. The images he presents in each film are so memorable, I just can't stop watching. I have personally made some artsy-type videos on my YouTube, all of which was influenced by Lynch. If anyone cares to see them, I'd love some comments; my account is 75791
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Judas
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Post by Judas on Aug 2, 2010 1:02:43 GMT
Yeah, I dunno about that Wizard of Oz hypothesis. Obviously Wild at Heart had some strong ties to Oz (and Elvis), but I don't really see Oz as a trend in any of his other films.
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Post by alx on Aug 2, 2010 9:09:03 GMT
Isabella Rossellini's character in Blue Velvet was named? What color were here shoes? Lynch is a very deliberate man, almost everything he does has a purpose behind it, This can usually be tied to Wizard of Oz. Of course, you can enjoy his films without realizing this but you can't really understand what he is doing without that knowledge Are you saying you think these films are sequels, or at least in the same world, of Twin Peaks? I am saying that there are Black Lodge members in all those works. As to whether or not Laura Palmer exists in all the works, I don't know or care
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Judas
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Post by Judas on Aug 3, 2010 3:40:07 GMT
Well, yes there are references to Oz in Lynch's works, but I don't really see that as integral part of understanding Lynch's work. On film having an homage to another is different than on being built up off of another.
As for the Black Lodge being at work in many of Lynch's films, while I think that would be interesting, I'm not convinced that is the case. I think Lynch has many recurring themes in his films, but that those themes don't necessarily indicate an actual tie between films.
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Post by alx on Aug 4, 2010 1:01:45 GMT
So you don't see a direct correlation between the Arm pronouncing "electricity" followed by burst of static in FWWM, and the static in Lost Highway and Mullhuland Drive that immediately proceeds a possession of the main characters? Let us ignore for now that inhabiting spirits feature prominently in all these works?
Not able to recognize the similarities between the reverse exploding cabin of Lost Highway and the waiting room of the Black Lodge? I suppose you also find it a meaningless coincidence that folks cross through blue and red curtains in Lynch films to find deeper meanings of truth because that obviously has no correlation with the green curtain in Oz?
Have you considered watching the Wizard of Oz and then watching a Lynch film? Just for kicks?
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Judas
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Post by Judas on Aug 4, 2010 2:08:28 GMT
No, I do not see a direct correlation. I believe filmmakers often revisit images and themes throughout their works, as Lynch so blatantly does. I do not, however, think he is implying an overlap between these films, just an overlap between his own personal tastes. Just reusing the imagery of flashing blue lights and red curtains does not indicate an all-encompassing story. Honestly, I think it would be awesome if all his films were part of one great narrative, but I just don't think so.
Like I said, Lynch liked Oz, not debating that. I do think that it is a bit of a stretch to say that the curtains Lynch uses are a direct reference to the Wizard of Oz. I definitely think it is way too much of a stretch to say that the Wizard of Oz is the thread that binds Lynch's films together. If you dig deep enough, you can find a correlation between any two films. I don't think that Lynch and Oz are as deeply entwined as you think.
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Post by alx on Aug 6, 2010 0:21:28 GMT
Since nobody seems to care about the Oz thing, I am gonna drop it...
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