Absolutely brilliant, considering David Lynch was studying at the American Film Institute when he made it. It's strange, absurd, often surreal, and sometimes funny; it's an art house film. It's also in black & white, fwiw.Originally Posted by TheLoony
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Love that movie, Tucker is fine in the context of the over the top movie.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
A must see.
Brilliant surreal nightmarish horror
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
Agreed, Tucker served his purpose well enough for me. Besides, the rest of that movie is such a visual feast and so delightfully realized that it would be enough for me to overlook him if I had to.
Caught Baby Driver the other day. It's an engaging fairy tale with some interesting characters. The sound, editing and soundtrack are all superb. Lots of fun.
re: Eraserhead,
Strange, strange movie. To the best of my knowledge, Lynch has never talked about what anything in that (or maybe any of his films) is about, so don't bother asking "WTF is going on here?!". I wonder if Salvador Dali or Luis Buñuel ever saw it, and if so, what either thought. If there was ever a feature length film that kind of picked up where Un Chien Andalou (Dali and Buñuel's legendary early 30's collaborative short film), it's Eraserhead.
I was first told about it when I was 10 or 11. I was told it was the worst movie ever made, and to never see it in plain declarative terms.
Of course, a review like that really sticks with you.
I had the opportunity to watch it on video when I was 13. Afterwards, I felt as if my brain was coated in Vaseline.
I haven't revisited it since, but appreciated catching the odd references to it as they crop up. It is definitely a kind of touchstone in cult cinema. You will never get that time back, mind you, but you will be initiated in a primal Lynchian mystery, whatever that is, for whatever that's worth.
Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.
All a right-thinking person can do is ask, "WTF is going on here?!"
Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.
The Fifth Element is one of my favorite movies ever. There was so much cool and interesting stuff going on throughout the whole thing, I don't see how it could be ruined by Chris Tucker (who I also really like!).
A great film. The pacing always gets me: just perfect, not a wasted moment, and bops along like rock music.
Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.
You surprise me, Chris. You're one of the few I think who would appreciate it. Maybe you should revisit it.
Now, just imagine what a person might be thinking watching that movie for the first time while tripping balls.All a right-thinking person can do is ask, "WTF is going on here?!"
Yep. That was me. I actually walked out of the movie about 10-15 minutes before the end. I just couldn't handle it anymore. After seeing it again I realized what a wise decision that was. I think I've seen it five, maybe six times total. I still have it on VHS.
BTW, if you think Eraserhead is bad, try his trilogy of the incomprehensible: Lost Highway, Mulholland Dr., and Inland Empire. The only other movie I found as confusing was Alain Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
I like the trilogy far more than Eraserhead, personally. But I found Eraserhead to be much more deeply disturbing. I can't quite place why.......
Mulholland Drive is actually one of my favorite movies. Don't ask me what it's about though.....
"And this is the chorus.....or perhaps it's a bridge...."
Eraserhead is so weird... It feels like one continuous bad dream. But it's fascinating too.
I own Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire. I have seen Lost Highway, probably at least twice, have the soundtrack, and will own the movie one day. I imagine I must have seen Eraserhead, but I can't recall enough of it, so guess I'll have to get that one, too. Can't have enough weird. Why collect normal movies?
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
Love Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway, Inland maybe a notch behind those. Took multiple viewings to get all the nuances in Drive and Highway, and that's what I love about Lynch. You are rewarded by multiple viewings, and these are dense movies that stay with you a long time. Weird but great stuff. And I don't know that Lynch even wants the viewer to figure everything out in his flicks--it's the journey getting there that counts most and still leaving questions and issues at the end is quite purposeful.
Mulholland and Eraserhead are on Criterion Blu Ray btw, and I hope Lost Highway gets that treatment soon.
Last edited by DocProgger; 08-21-2018 at 11:57 PM.
Maybe so. I remember him doing talk show apperances around the time of the original Twin Peaks series, and he seemed to not engage in any of the standard "promo" spiel or hyping that most people do on those kind of things. It was like "This is what I've done, no explanations, deal with it".
BTW, speaking of David Lynch, the other night The Squid And The Whale was on again. One of the running things in this particular movie is this father is into "substantial" things. There's a scene where the teenage son is talking about taking his girlfriend on a date to see Short Circuit. The father talks them into going to see Blue Velvet instead, and somehow ends up going with them.
Okay, I've never seen The Squid And The Whale, but this sounds pretty funny.
That's "inane"! I mean "insane"!
It's mostly a drama, largely about the dissolution of a marriage, circa 1985, and it's effects on the two kids. the couple have. But there's some things that seemed to be played for laughs. I thought it was a good picture, and it was nice to see Jeff Daniels doing something that wasn't stupid.Okay, I've never seen The Squid And The Whale, but this sounds pretty funny.
"That gum you like is going to come back in style."
I think, first off, that I was a bit young when I saw it. I won't say it is bad, it is thoroughly effective cinema. If I wasn't supposed to be creeped out and disturbed by that film, and left with more questions than answers, then I guess I don't understand anything anyhow. As it is, I just want to warn the uninitiated that it might not be for them. You know, it is a kind of filmic equivalent of Trout Mask Replica. There is some great, thoroughly artsy stuff going on, but it is a truly difficult uncomfortable experience, intentionally so.
As far as I can tell, everything Lynch has done since, has been some diluted form of Eraserhead. This is what I mean by a primal Lynchian mystery. Sometimes I have the patience for it, and sometimes I don't. So I still straddle the fence. I can recognize that there is reason for the devotion to this film, but as far as personal taste goes, it is a bit much for me, unless I'm in a particular mood. Even then, I usually just pull out my Residents records, rather than renting the film.
Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
Re: David Lynch. I initially hated Dune, then (while watching The Elephant Man) realized the basic truth of David Lynch: You don't go for the plot, the characters, or any of the usual stuff. David Lynch is all about the moments. The "plot" is only there to navigate between the moments, and the characters are there so that there is someone for the moments to happen to/with/about. Everything else is in service of those little set-pieces. Once you realize that, you can stop worrying about the thing making conventional "sense" and enjoy the ride.
Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.
I don't recall seeing The Squid and the Whale. Guess I'll check it out. Blue Velvet is a great date movie, though
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
Oddly enough, as big a fan of Lynch's work as I am, Dune is the least interesting movie he's ever made imo. I know Dune has an avid fanboy following, but to me it was boring in long stretches, it was really conventional science fiction to me, the closest Lynch has come to making an 'ordinary' movie. I don't think Lynchian science fiction works as well. I think Lynch's most effective movies are the ones where he peers beneath the ordinary everyday facade and social veneer, looks at the weird and nightmarish lives living in the seeming all-American town (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet), dissects the failures and darkside of pursuit of the all-American dream (making it in Hollywood, ie Mulholland Drive) etc. That's where his off kilter storytelling, dark humor and absurdist view on life works best.
Well, l ike I said, the Jeff Daniels character is into "substantial" stuff. There's a scene where one of the kids ends up in the hospital, and while lying in bed, recuperating, he's reading a book. Father comes in, sees the book the son is reading and says something like "Oh, that's not very substantial" or whatever.I don't recall seeing The Squid and the Whale. Guess I'll check it out. Blue Velvet is a great date movie, though
In the context of the date night scene, he's concerned with advising his son in seeing something theoretically "artistic" instead of the "insubstantial" Short Circuit, apparently being completely clueless that Blue Velvet isn't the kind of movie you see on date night. I'm not sure how the father ends up going to the movie with them, other than maybe the son wants to spend time with his dad (remember the marriage is crumbling and the son maybe thinks his dad needs "company" or something), and seems to be equally clueless that "date night" isn't a good time for that.
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