eraserhead is one of the most startling films i have ever seen. i really love itr - as i do elephant man, straight story, blue velvet and wild at heart. inland empire however is fucking bollocks

i saw it once a while back. i was a bit repulsed and annoyed. i gathered that was the point?

so this leaves me kind of in the middle.

The underlying narrative to Eraserhead is not far off from what you see on the screen. The baby is alien to Henry and makes the world see Henry as alien. It takes over every aspect of his life until it becomes his life. Henry has never felt a purpose or sense of individuality and so raising another human - which is the goal of being human - destroys him. There's a lot more, but that's the gist of it.

Some people hear Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet are David Lynch's halfway sensible surrealist movies, and that Eraserhead was his early experimental movie that is un-gettable and weird for the sake of being weird. I think this causes their brains to either shut off while they're watching it - or else they'll try way too hard to understand it and end up not paying attention to the simple details.

In fact, Eraserhead is Lynch's easiest "weird" movie to get. The fact that the dude spent 5 years working on a 90-minute feature should be evidence enough that there is meaning behind every scene, character, and line. At least you can be annoyed by the plot and still be wowed by how it looks and sounds. The only David Lynch movie more beautiful at face value is Mulholland Drive.

Try to guess whether I like this movie.

AAAAAAAARGH wrote:The underlying narrative to Eraserhead is not far off from what you see on the screen. The baby is alien to Henry and makes the world see Henry as alien. It takes over every aspect of his life until it becomes his life. Henry has never felt a purpose or sense of individuality and so raising another human - which is the goal of being human - destroys him. There's a lot more, but that's the gist of it.

In fact, Eraserhead is Lynch's easiest "weird" movie to get. The fact that the dude spent 5 years working on a 90-minute feature should be evidence enough that there is meaning behind every scene, character, and line.
Try to guess whether I like this movie.

He understood what he was doing, no disputing that. However...regarding your interpretation or anybody else's......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eraserhead#Interpretation

Interpretation:
In an interview on the cleaned and remastered edition of the film (2006), Lynch said he has yet to read an interpretation of the film that is the same as his own.

AAAAAAAARGH wrote:The fact that the dude spent 5 years working on a 90-minute feature should be evidence enough that there is meaning behind every scene, character, and line.

well, 5 years from a chronological standpoint, but there were HUGE gaps in its production, the longest being, a year...anyway, great movie, yeah...2nd favoritest ever for me probably...

robert thefamilyghost wrote:

AAAAAAAARGH wrote:The fact that the dude spent 5 years working on a 90-minute feature should be evidence enough that there is meaning behind every scene, character, and line.

well, 5 years from a chronological standpoint, but there were HUGE gaps in its production, the longest being, a year...anyway, great movie, yeah...2nd favoritest ever for me probably...

I'm sure I would have known that if I was able sat through the ORDEAL that is the making-of commentary on the new DVD.

NOT CRAP.

Easily Lynch's most beautiful film. Watching this, it's a shame he says he won't be shooting on film any longer.

I've always thought (and read some comments from Lynch regarding this) that the film was his reaction to fatherhood. But like the best of Lynch's work, it's so much more as well.

One of my former school's painting teachers saw Eraserhead on its initial theatre run in NYC. He was the only one in the theatre when the film started. About 10 minutes in, four people filed into the theatre, looked around, and sat directly in front of him, next row forward. It was the Talking Heads.

This dude is pretty much a legend around here.

Of course, Not Crap.

In addition, I "recorded" this just for you.

By the way, Eraserhead was Charles Bukowski's favorite movie. Take that as you will.

AAAAAAAARGH wrote:Some people hear Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet are David Lynch's halfway sensible surrealist movies, and that Eraserhead was his early experimental movie that is un-gettable and weird for the sake of being weird. I think this causes their brains to either shut off while they're watching it - or else they'll try way too hard to understand it and end up not paying attention to the simple details.

This happens alot. I find it strange that it's so hard to explain to people. They are not content to look at a table, a wall, a worm, and let the information sit unmolested. It has to have more. It has to be "symbolic", because that's how they were taught to read the bible, or The Great Gatsby, in seventh grade. Once they start going down that road, you can't lead them back.
Supposedly intelligent people fall victim to it as well. Talking to the wrong ones about Samuel Beckett can make you ashamed for the author.

Mulholland Drive was a movie I'm not sure I will watch again. The first time I saw it I just thought, "I'll have to watch this again." But then the second time, two days later, it left me devastated. I'll be surprised if I see another movie that affects like that.