David Lynch

Are you ready to venture into the surreal world of David Lynch and unlock the mysteries of his dreamlike storytelling? Buckle up for a fascinating ride as we explore his groundbreaking first feature film, Eraserhead, shedding light on its unique essence. Get ready to be surprised as we unveil the comedy legend Mel Brooks' involvement in the critically acclaimed film, The Elephant Man. We also provide insight into why Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Dune didn't quite hit the mark., for the host at least. This episode promises to offer a deeper understanding of Lynch's cinematic style and its influence.

In the latter part of our analysis, we'll dissect more of Lynch's iconic films like "Wild at Heart," "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me," "Lost Highway," and "The Straight Story." Sharing our thoughts and interpretations, we delve into his disconcerting and perplexing narrative style. Additionally, we discuss Lynch's widespread impact on popular culture and the recent-ish revival of "Twin Peaks." This episode isn't just for Lynch fans, but for anyone intrigued by unconventional cinema and its power to provoke thought and evoke emotion. So, join us as we decode the peculiar world of David Lynch, promising an enriching and engaging discussion.

Chapters

• 0:01 David Lynch
• 8:59 Discussion on David Lynch Films

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello and welcome to the first ever video version of Movies, colin. They're pretty good. I'm your host, travis Dutting, and today we're going to talk more about my favorite directors. We got two more or one more after this, which you know. Stay tuned for information on that. But today we're going to talk about David Lynch. One of my favorites Recently did the Blue Velvet episode. I'm sorry I'm moving around so much, I'm not really used to being on camera. Hopefully it's not more awkward than I am on the microphone. So anyways, let's get right into it.

Speaker 1: 0:35

David Lynch first movie we have Eraserhead right here. You can see I have the criterion collection edition of it. I have everything that he has on criterion. I have as well Eraserhead, a real interesting movie. It's pretty much a student film. He made it while he was at the American Film Institute. He had made some short films before that. This is his first feature film. Basically like shoestring budget, like with anything he had to, like get a couple grants from the school and like other schools and everything. Lots of great information on that, all of it which I learned on the special features of the criterion collection. That's the great thing about physical media is you get all those extras and stuff like that, and then you don't have to worry about your digital copy getting revoked because Voodoo lost the license or whatever might happen in the future, and you don't have to wait for something to be on streaming. So I understand why people don't do physical copies, but I'm addicted to them. I also just love looking at my collection on my shelf and everything like that. But Eraserhead, a real interesting one. It's shot in black and white. Came out in the 70s, 77.

Speaker 1: 2:04

Stars, jack Nance, who is a staple of David Lynch films and also in the Twin Peaks series. Just a real weird movie. It's very dreamlike, like a lot of his stuff. You know I'm probably going to say that for like half of the movies at least. But very, very real, like heavy makeup and special effects and stuff like that. Very dark, not super narrative driven, it's just very. That's why I say it is very dreamlike, because it just feels like you're just in this space observing what's happening rather than seeing the story unfold. And it's not saying that there is no plot, because there is, but it just is a little all over the place, which is one of the things I love about David Lynch, and I can't really put my finger on why? Because you know, usually when something just doesn't make sense or it's not like outright, it could be a little frustrating. But there's something I don't know there. He has some kind of magical touch that when he does it it feels cool and when other people do it you're like okay, like get a better writer. I don't know, I don't really know what it is about it. I just I find him, his movies would be very comforting in a weird way, because they are so dark a lot of the times. So yeah, that's Eraserhead. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

Speaker 1: 3:43

All right, moving on, this is probably this is the first one where people really started to take them seriously. This is the Elephant man. It's got Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt plays a physically disfigured man, suffers from a lot of different things and elephantitis being won. That's the name, the Elephant man, but Anthony Hopkins is. This surgeon finds him in a freak show at a circus in England, and this one is based on a true story. Actually, so is like one other one, but just super, very touching movie, also filmed in Black and White. This one came out in 1980.

Speaker 1: 4:33

Just want to make sure I had that right and actually executive, produced by Mel Brooks from you know, the first director episode that I did, and one of the stars of the film is his wife. I almost had a net many and it's not a net many and Bancroft way off Samsonite, but yeah, real beautiful, sad and beautiful at the same time. Just gonna throw around throughout the word bitter sweets and leave it at that. But real touching movie, real Like, again using like the heavy makeup effects to make this disfigured man named John Merrick I think the that's not his real name but that's what they put in the, in the book About him and everything. So that's what they went with. And you know, of course it's a little more dramaticized than the real story. You know, like with any based on a true story usually. But yeah, just rewatched it a couple days ago, was crying like at the end, just bawling my eyes out. Great, great, great movie, love it. All right.

Speaker 1: 6:01

Moving on, I do not have a physical copy of this one because it's probably the only one I don't really like all that much, and that is the 1984 Version of Dune. Okay, so I had never seen this one prior to the new dune coming out and Watched the new dune, thought it was, you know, pretty boring. It's like what if Star Wars wasn't fun? And that was like, okay, maybe I'll like this David Lynch one, and no, not really. It Stars Kyle McLaughlin as Paula tradies. I'm not gonna get too heavy into the plot or whatever. There's a lot of sand, lot of weird stuff, like really like I Don't know. It's like he was, he was, he was trying hard, he was trying some stuff and it just didn't work on me.

Speaker 1: 7:03

I know a lot of people love it and I don't know if they were like big fans of the book and love it because it's a good adaptation. Maybe it. Maybe book fans hate it. I'm not really sure. All I know is like I wasn't too upset when Dune part two got delayed. I'll still see it because it's gonna get nominated for Oscars and shit, like the other one. But you know and I'll give that other one a second chance I did watch this one a Second time.

Speaker 1: 7:33

I've fallen asleep both times. I Did enjoy it more with the second viewing, but it's just still. It's just not for me, I think. You know, maybe maybe third time's a charm on Dune, all right. So moving on, won't get into this one too much because I did do a full episode on it.

Speaker 1: 7:54

But blue velvet 1986, another Fabulous David Lynch film, maybe one of his best ones. He did get a, I think, best director nomination for this one. But man, like I watched it again like sense doing the podcast episode and just still can't believe how amazing everybody is in it, especially Dennis Hopper, and you're not like it's. It's a very special type of actor that can make a like monster of a person, charismatic and I Don't know, it's just something about him that he just pulls it off, kind of like Daniel Plainview, and there will be blood. Daniel Day Lewis yeah, just incredible. But yeah, I did do a whole episode on this, so I won't go too heavily into it, but love this movie All right. Moving on, next we have Wild at heart.

Speaker 1: 8:59

This is one of the ones that is not on the criterion collection. Yeah, probably some kind of rights issue with MGM. I'm sure this is an interesting one. This one wasn't streaming anywhere. I literally just went to Amoeba in Hollywood hoping that they had a copy and they did so I just bought it for like 25 bucks and I'm glad I did, because it's really really, really good. It's a shout factory.

Speaker 1: 9:25

They put out a lot of like obscure stuff, colt hits and stuff like that. This one is about a Nicholas Cage plays sailor and Laura Dern plays Lula. He gets Put in prison for Killing a man in self-defense, but because Laura Dern's mom is into some like mob shit, she like you know the guy was supposed to kill him and Nicholas Cage kicked his ass, killed him and Went to prison, got out and left with Laura Dern, the mom's still trying to get him killed and everything. And like at some point Willem Dafoe's in there being unhinged like he usually is and it is so good at. But yeah, this one's crazy. It's also like really absurd Cuz, at some point at a metal Show he just like grabs the mic and starts singing Elvis and the whole band knows the song and everything. Yeah, super out there.

Speaker 1: 10:33

This is when David Lynch starts to get like extra weird in a funny way. I Mean I guess you could say Dune kind of started that too. But yeah, real, real good movie, real intention. A lot of like serious hits too. You know, not just it's not all like fun in games, but yeah, this one, if you haven't seen it, check it out. Real good, all right Next.

Speaker 1: 11:00

So this one is a Prequel to the first to see. Well, yes, to the whole series of Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks got canceled too soon Because of Bob Iger making David Lynch reveal who Laura Palmer's killer is, because that's the whole plot of Twin Peaks is who killed Laura Palmer? And the mystery just slowly Unravels and then it gets a little supernatural and stuff too real out there Crazy show. This is also one of those ones. It's like a little weird but like in a fun way If I recommend not only the movie but the entire series, the original run of two seasons and the return that happened on Showtime.

Speaker 1: 11:50

I also have the both of the box sets. I'll show those after I'm done talking about this. But this movie is Crazy, like it's. It's very like dark, very Surreal and just like very. It really makes you uncomfortable and like in a well done way. You know it's just Scary. It like it works as a horror movie and I'm sure it was intended to be that. But yeah, this is 1992's Twin Peaks.

Speaker 1: 12:24

Firewalk with me, just great, great, great stuff. But yeah, like I said, here's the Collections I have. I have the Twin Peaks entire mystery. This was released before the return aired on the TV. But just check this out. It's like super Cool, a lot of good stuff, and this also has the firewalk with me in this as well, but I'd still wanted to have the criterion collection version of it, of course, cuz I'm like that. And then this is the box set, for the Showtime version came out in 2017. Yeah, super good.

Speaker 1: 13:13

This one gets real crazy and I'm enjoying. I started rewatching Twin Peaks from the beginning after finishing it, even though it hadn't been that long since I started it. And I'm enjoying it even more because I'm finding like little hints of stuff. Like he's like paid off some random shots 30 years later in the return that are like Was so unnecessary but so amazing how it worked out Alright. So I Think, oh, yeah, so this one's next.

Speaker 1: 13:57

This is a lost highway, as you can see from my t-shirt, one of my favorites of his. This one is just a real mind fuck, like real crazy and also like super creepy. Great mystery, great horror, just, and then just great absurdity too, because you know it's David Lynch and just like one of the craziest kills I've seen in a movie. Like a guy gets trips and falls into a Glass top table and just splits his head in half like through there. I'm not gonna tell you who it is in case you haven't seen it, but oh man, this one is so Wild and crazy. It's a bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette. Bill Pullman has the craziest sax solo since lost boys, I think it's so like. It's so out of Out of nowhere, it's like very little context for it and it like barely sounds good, which I think is like so funny about it. But I'm also not like a huge like huh. No, I'm not gonna say that cuz I do like jazz, but yeah, like just super weird eerie movie. If you're someone who likes to watch things while they're high, just one and the last one are your picks. Oh, it may be a moholland ride as well, but yeah, lost highway, super good, all right, moving on. Next we have the straight story. That one I do not own a physical copy of yet, but I did. You can't stream it on.

Speaker 1: 15:54

Disney plus is a Disney film. It wasn't written by David Lynch but there's definitely like his tone in there. It's directing comes through in it, even though it wasn't his story. But it that's the other one that's based on a true story. It's about this guy, alvin straight, who's and you know, elderly man in his 80s, finds out that his brother had a heart attack, so he wants to go a heart attack or stroke, I forget but he wants to go visit him. He can't drive so he takes his ride on long mower with a trailer attached to the back and drives like a Few hundred miles. That's crazy.

Speaker 1: 16:42

This one's a real heartwarming one. Hopefully that spit didn't show up on camera. But real beautiful story, real touching. It's just him interacting with these locals that he meets on the way and everything and telling telling stories and helping them with their lives and everything. And Very introspective, very beautiful, very touching movie. It's definitely got that like Disney charm to it. But yeah, beautiful movie and that's that's probably the least known of the David Lynch films. But yeah, great one. That's called the straight story. I think I told that said that. But all right, moving on. Next we got Mo Hall and drive. This is probably his best one. This one is. It was.

Speaker 1: 17:34

I had heard a lot about this one for a long time and that's really the movie that got me into David Lynch Way later than I should have. But once I once I saw it. Once I saw that like Opening act and everything, the scene at the Winky's diner and behind the diner. Insane, a little like People hype it up a little extra, I think, but it's still very good. I Don't know, I think I just different things scare me, but it's definitely. I think the tone scares me more than the, the Big moment that people always talk about. But oh man, this is, this is another like Mindfuck movie. It's so good, it's so interesting. You think it's going one way and it feels so dreamy. Because you know I don't want to spoil anything but and I will cover this one sometime soon, whenever it's like a More easy a stream, I think are more accessible for people, probably sometime in the new year, probably pretty early on. But great, great, great movie. I love it. It's Naomi Watts is amazing in it. Laura herring Laura herring, I don't know, I haven't heard it set out loud, but A bunch of different people, just some throws in it. Yeah, 2001, mulholland Drive. Great, great movie. I can't recommend this one enough. But yeah, I'm not gonna go too heavy into that one because I will cover it fully down the line. All right. So Last but not least, inland empire.

Speaker 1: 19:21

This is the weirdest one of all of them. It is three hours long, shot on, like early 2000s digital cameras. It looks insane, it looks fake, almost I Forget it took them like years to make it. I know that, but I forget like exactly how long, like how many months or whatever, but it is just so crazy. It's Laura Dern is in it and she plays as an actress and they're making this movie that Is a remake of something from Poland but that was never released because the cast got murdered or something.

Speaker 1: 20:06

But it's man, it is just so eerie, so uncomfortable and like so little. Like Happens that makes sense and you're just along for the ride and it's holding your attention the whole time and like there's stuff that it's like not really going anywhere and You're like, well, that was a waste of time and this one like could easily be that. But, like I said, it's something about that David Lynch charm, it just like it works and it's like three hours of and I still really couldn't tell you what actually happens in this and it's so crazy and it's so good, so weird to Real eerie. This is probably the other. Like this lost highway and Twin Peaks fire walk with me are the ones I would say are like horror movies. Some people say eraser head and it is like a body horror in a way, but it's just more tonal I think then Like anything actually scary happening. But yeah, that's David Lynch. I wish he was, you know, had something cooking and who knows, maybe he does.

Speaker 1: 21:24

I also have, but just not here with me, a Criterion of the David Lynch the art life, which is a documentary about him that was made just a few years ago. That's really good. I think I talked a little bit about that in the blue velvet episode and then on criterion channel right now is a documentary called Lynch Oz which talks about all his tie-ins to the Wizard of Oz and just how like he saw it as a kid and just Influenced him so heavily, very on the nose, and while that heart like there is just straight up, you know, the witches, crystal ball and the, the Glenda, the good witches just in there, you know, and a lot of, also a lot of references to Wizard of Oz, red Heels clicking together, all that stuff. But yeah, that that was a super interesting documentary. I really enjoyed that, really well done. I forget the director on that, but yeah, if you have a subscription to criterion channel, which I highly recommend, especially if you're into like weird shit like this, I, yeah, highly recommend that app and Streaming service and I highly recommend that documentary, and that's also where you'll find a lot. If you haven't seen a lot of his movies and you're interested, if I did a good job which I probably didn't of getting you interested in them, that's where they're streaming a lot of the time. That's where I watched Before I owned them. That's where I watch most of these films, ah, but yeah, so that's David Lynch.

Speaker 1: 23:10

That is the first video episode of the podcast. I hope I was looking into the lens. I probably wasn't for some reason. But yeah, I hope this was okay. I hope it wasn't bad enough to make me never want to do this again, but it probably wasn't. But, yeah, stick around, I should. I'm trying to get it scheduled, but should have a friend of mine as a special guest on the next episode and if not, then then soon. But stay tuned for that.

Speaker 1: 23:43

If you're listening to this and want information on the YouTube channel or on all that, go to the Instagram, and if you don't use Instagram, then Stay tuned for next episode and I'll put some I'll like actually say on the air. On the air, this isn't radio on the podcast, where you can find the YouTube videos version. These are free because I'm not, like, famous enough to do a patreon or anything. I'm not gonna make people pay to watch Me because that'd be the biggest waste of money. But, yeah, hope you guys are enjoying it. Thank you for listening, thank you for watching and hope you stay tuned in the future. Oh yeah, and the Instagram, in case you don't know, is at movies. They're pretty good, with no punctuation in it. All right, thanks again and have a good day. Thanks, bye.