Match Cut's Top 5 Favorite Scenes - Week 1 - DAVID LYNCH

[Watashi]

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m44t8bMCXc1ql8g0oo1_128 0.jpg

DAVID LYNCH

List your top 5 favorite David Lynch scenes.

Yes, you can include Twin Peaks, but only in Lynch-directed episodes.

Here's a list of eligible films. (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000186/#Director)

Pictures and videos are recommended.

[Watashi]

I was sparked by this thread idea by my viewing of Lost Highway this Tuesday (which I saw on a gorgeous 35mm print. Kuisagi and chrisnu were also there).

There was a certain scene in that film that stuck with me longer after the film was done.

[Watashi]

Also, there is no limit of films you need to include. If one film has all 5 top scenes, then so be it.

[Watashi]

Here's my stab at this. It was pretty tough narrowing it down.

5. Blue Velvet - "In Dreams"

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4. The Elephant Man - "The Last Sleep"

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3. Lost Highway - "The First Encounter with the Mystery Man"

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2. Mulholland Dr. - "Llorando"

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1. Mulholland Dr. - "Betty's Audition"

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[Pop Trash]

I was sparked by this thread idea by my viewing of Lost Highway this Tuesday (which I saw on a gorgeous 35mm print. Kuisagi and chrisnu were also there).


Oh at the New Beverly! I would have gone too if I was in LA.

[Winston*]

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[Pop Trash]

1. Blue Velvet "MOMEEE BABY WANTS TO FUCK!"
2. Blue Velvet "In Dreams"
3. Eraserhead "Chicken Dinner"
4. Mulholland Drive "Irony Free Cowboy"
5. Mulholland Drive "Betty's Audition"

There's probably some great "Twin Peaks" stuff as well, but this is good for now.

[Spinal]

TOO HARD!

[Kiusagi]

This was pretty tough. There's a few Lynch films I haven't seen, which I plan on fixing ASAP.

1. Mulholland Drive - Love Scene
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2. Lost Highway - The Tape
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3. Mulholland Drive - Dan's Nightmare
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4. Blue Velvet - "MOMMY! MOMMY!"
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5. Mulholland Drive - Club Silencio
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[Spinal]

1. Llorando - Mulholland Dr.
2. "I am not an animal." - The Elephant Man
3. "You dyin', lady." - Inland Empire
4. "That gum you like is going to come back in style." - Twin Peaks
5. The whole bar sequence - Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me

First stab. Will probably revise.

[Irish]

3. Mulholland Drive - Dan's Nightmare
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I didn't care much for the movie, but this is a great pick. The actor here has been around forever, all over the place (he was on HBO's Veep last week) and I think he really sells the moment.

[Derek]

I could come up with 3 or 4 more top 5 scenes for Lynch and be equally happy with the results, so consider this tentative at best.

1) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - Bang Bang Bar

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2) Mulholland Dr. - 2nd Limo Scene/Dinner Party

(dubbed over with original music...why!)

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3) Blue Velvet - Robins

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4) The Straight Story - I did, Lyle/ending

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5) Lost Highway - "Don't you ever fucking tailgate!"

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[Derek]

5. The whole bar sequence - Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me

:pritch:

And "Llorando" would be my true #1, but I figured it'd get more than enough mentions.

[MadMan]

I'm going to beat chrisnu to the punch and give Wild At Heart some love:

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Plus Lost Highway:

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And Blue Velvet, of course:

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I want to say Mullholland Drive, too, but I bet its already going to be covered. I haven't even seen most of David Lynch's filmography and I find this to be rather difficult. These are out of order, for now....

PS: Derek beat me to the punch with the posting of the "DON'T TAILGATE" scene. Awesome.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Can anyone explain to me what's so awe-inspiring about the Llorando sequence? I adore Mulholland Dr, but that's not amongst one of the most striking moments for me, and the near complete adoration of that scene above everything else slightly baffles me.

Anyways, this question is too hard. Lynch is probably my all time favorite, but if I had to do a top 5, there'd be some Eraserhead in there.

[Russ]

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[Dukefrukem]

1.

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2. Sex Scene in Mulholland Dr.

3.

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4.

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5.

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[Ezee E]

Now here's a thread that cannot be read while using your iPhone over the toilet. I'll ponder and decide at home, and probably watch several scenes. I would like to include Straight Story, but there really isn't an individual sequence that impresses me over the likes of Blue Velver, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, or Inland Empire.

I never did see Dune. Not sure if I will.

[Raiders]

Lynch is difficult. So much of his films kind of blend together. Striking moments and images, but they kind of become lost amidst themselves in my memory. Only a few scenes really remain intact in my mind and they are likely the same ones everyone else will mention.

[Spinal]

Can anyone explain to me what's so awe-inspiring about the Llorando sequence? I adore Mulholland Dr, but that's not amongst one of the most striking moments for me, and the near complete adoration of that scene above everything else slightly baffles me.

Don't think a written explanation is going to help in a situation like this. But basically, it's the emotional high point in Lynch's best film.

[transmogrifier]

I'll just go with the best scenes from Mulholland Dr., which is his best film

1. The walk from the limo up the hill to the party. That score! The hope on Diane's face!
2. The back of the diner
3. The hit(man) goes on and on
4. This is the girl (with coffee)
5. The audition scene

[Melville]

Only the top two are definite. I could add another couple dozen standout scenes I love.

1. In Dreams

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2. Phone call, limo ride, walk up hill, dinner party. Best moment at 1:26

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3. This is the girl

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4. Sex in headlights. Though it works best when paired with the ugliness of the earlier sex scene. Nothing conveys the brutality of spurned obsession and emasculation like the "It's ok" and "You'll never have me" in those scenes.

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5. In Heaven, Everything is Fine. Could also easily go with the stabbed mutant baby immediately beforehand.

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[Mysterious Dude]

I'm only a few episodes into Twin Peaks on Netflix, so I don't know if this is the best Lynch-directed scene, but it's worth posting. From "Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer":

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Also, this thread needs more Eraserhead.

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Edit: I don't think this scene from Mulholland Drive has been mentioned yet.

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[Spaceman Spiff]

Don't think a written explanation is going to help in a situation like this. But basically, it's the emotional high point in Lynch's best film.

'kay.

Can't say I felt much emotionality in that scene despite the tears that are shed. I don't go to Lynch to be emotionally moved I guess, other than to be horrified/confused of course.

::is still baffled::

Anyways all these scenes are great (though I have yet to see The Straight Story which doesn't really interest me and I'm not crazy about The Elephant Man), but I'll also add Jack Nance losing his head in Eraserhead while the infant/sperm like thing wails and rises above his neckhole and the last 20 minutes of the last episode of Twin Peaks.

Oh and Nicolas Cage beating those goons senseless at the beginning of Wild at Heart is very lol-inducing.

[Yxklyx]

I don't care much for watching scene snippets so I won't try to track these down on the net.

5. Twin Peaks - The entire opening sequence of scenes culminating in the Principal notifying the school of Laura's death. (It really feels like one scene though it takes place in multiple locations with different people)

4. Mulholland Dr. - The scene early on where Watts' character is trying out for the part. (When we first see Naomi really act - we the viewer are as surprised as the other characters in the scene).

3. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - The Bar Scene (I saw an early copy of the film in which the dialogue was drowned out entirely by the music and you could only follow what was said by reading the subtitles. David later "fixed" the sound so that we could hear the actors but I prefer the original version)

2. Eraserhead - The setpiece scene towards the end which takes places on a stage in the radiator with the baby in a suit on the left rubbing his hands on the rolling bar and wailing after his now bloody head residing on the floor has been cut off.

1. Twin Peaks - Cooper and Bob and Earle and Cooper's Doppleganger in the Black Lodge.

[Pop Trash]

Can anyone explain to me what's so awe-inspiring about the Llorando sequence? I adore Mulholland Dr, but that's not amongst one of the most striking moments for me, and the near complete adoration of that scene above everything else slightly baffles me.


I agree. It wouldn't even crack my top five of MD. It does have an odd resonance in the context of the film though. It comes towards the end and feels like the most strange, hidden away LA theater ever.

[Thirdmango]

Hey guys can we have a general rule on these threads that we put youtube videos into the spoiler tags so that every time we open up this thread our browsers don't have to try and load the fact that those videos are there? I have a pretty decent computer and it took my browser 7 minutes between opening up the thread and getting to the point where I could reply to this thread. I want to reply to this thread and read it but if it takes 5 minutes to load it every time it's never going to be worth it.

[Derek]

1. The walk from the limo up the hill to the party. That score! The hope on Diane's face!


2. Phone call, limo ride, walk up hill, dinner party. Best moment at 1:26

That's what I'm talking about!


'kay.

Can't say I felt much emotionality in that scene despite the tears that are shed. I don't go to Lynch to be emotionally moved I guess, other than to be horrified/confused of course.

::is still baffled::

I'm equally baffled, but I also would consider Mulholland Dr. one of the most emotional films I've ever seen. It shatters me every time and like Spinal said, "Llorrando" is the emotional high point, the precise moment when Diane's dream is shatters, the illusion fades away and harsh blows of reality begin to land. I can't imagine how anyone couldn't consider that one of the best scenes in the film...


though I have yet to see The Straight Story which doesn't really interest me

Might I ask why? I'd consider it essential Lynch, especially for someone who considers him a personal favorite.

[Watashi]

Isn't every Lynch film essential Lynch?

[Yxklyx]

Isn't every Lynch film essential Lynch?

I would say no. I think there's a clear distinction between those films written by Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Dr, Lost Highway, Eraserhead) and those that weren't (Dune, Elephant Man, The Straight Story). Some may only like the former, some the latter.

[Derek]

Isn't every Lynch film essential Lynch?

Pretty much, but if someone said they weren't interested in The Amputee or The Cowboy and The Frenchman or Dune, I could at least understand where they're coming from. The Straight Story is highly regarded by fans and detractors of Lynch, so it's an odd one for a Lynch fan to have zero interest in, even if it's not Lynchian in the more typical sense.

[Pop Trash]

I would say no. I think there's a clear distinction between those films written by Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Dr, Lost Highway, Eraserhead) and those that weren't (Dune, Elephant Man, The Straight Story). Some may only like the former, some the latter.

Good point, even if I do like a bit of both.

[StanleyK]

Can anyone explain to me what's so awe-inspiring about the Llorando sequence? I adore Mulholland Dr, but that's not amongst one of the most striking moments for me, and the near complete adoration of that scene above everything else slightly baffles me.

If you can stand the all-caps writing style, this article (http://badassdigest.com/2012/03/04/film-crit-hulk-smash-hulk-vs-the-genius-of-mulholland-drive/) is a pretty good review of the film and it delves a little into the scene in question.

Basically, the 'no hay banda' thing and the woman collapsing mid-song are calling attention to the fact that this is all artifice, but also the fact that even knowing that this is really just smoke and mirrors doesn't detract from how emotionally powerful it is. It's largely about how we let ourselves be tricked by fiction (it reminds me of the rehearsal scene from In the Mood for Love). I suppose you have to find the woman's performance moving in the first place.

[StanleyK]

Five scenes off the top of my head:

1. Llorando
2. Diane and Camilla walking up the stairs, as has been mentioned, but especially when they actually get to the party. Watts makes the most soul-crushing facial expression in it.
3. The ending of Eraserhead.
4. In Dreams
5. Do the Locomotion

It has been a while since I've seen any Lynch, though.

[Stay Puft]

1. Dan's nightmare / behind the diner (Mulholland Dr.)
2. Under the sycamore trees (Twin Peaks)
3. "Fuck me." (Wild at Heart; I've never been more repulsed by Dafoe)
4. The ending of The Straight Story.
5. "I must not fear. Fear is the mindkiller." (Dune)

[Russ]

There are so many great scenes in Twin Peaks (many mentioned here), that I wouldn't want this one to be lost in the mix (I don't think the episode was directed by Lynch, tho). Still, it definitely has the Lynch "touch".

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[Sven]

5 The audition in Mulholland Drive
4 Laura/angel in the final scene of FWWM
3 Spacek thinking about children in Straight Story
2 Disappearing down a dark hallway in Lost Highway
1 Girl in the radiator in Eraserhead

I'm sure if I went back to Lynch's Twin Peaks episodes, I'd find enough to replace nearly all of those.

[D_Davis]

even if it's not Lynchian in the more typical sense.

By being the least Lynchian, it is, conversely, the most Lynchian.

[Gizmo]

If you can stand the all-caps writing style, this article (http://badassdigest.com/2012/03/04/film-crit-hulk-smash-hulk-vs-the-genius-of-mulholland-drive/) is a pretty good review of the film and it delves a little into the scene in question.

Holy crap I just spent more than an hour reading all that and found it a great interpretation. Now I wanna watch the film again.

[Sven]

Holy crap I just spent more than an hour reading all that and found it a great interpretation. Now I wanna watch the film again.

I love "HULK MEAN COME ON!"

[Izzy Black]

My Top 5 David Lynch Scenes don't exist

Haha lynch

[Pop Trash]

My Top 5 David Lynch Scenes don't exist

Haha lynch

THANKS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION!

[Kirby Avondale]

Israfel doesn't like movies. He is a lie!

[Ivan Drago]

1. The Cowboy - Mulholland Dr.
2. In Dreams - Blue Velvet
3. "Are you suggesting we. . .shut everything down?" - Mulholland Dr.
4. Meeting the strange party guest - Lost Highway
5. Ending - Eraserhead

Honorable Mention: Betty's Arrival to LA - Mulholland Dr.

Best David Lynch Scene I Haven't Seen - Whatever scene in The Straight Story that's scored to this:

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Angelo Badalamenti is a god.

[Boner M]

1. Jitterbug overture, Mulholland Dr.

[Mysterious Dude]

My list.

1. The Elephant Man: "I am not an animal!"
2. Eraserhead: Henry cuts the baby's bandages
3. Mulholland Drive: Dan's nightmare
4. Eraserhead: Henry loses his head
5. The Straight Story: "I love deer."

[Spinal]

Video below of Lynch appearing on Letterman. Lynch is appealing to people to write in to the network (ABC) and support Twin Peaks. Letterman observes that it might be the kind of show that simply has a short run and then becomes a classic. Good call, Dave.

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[Derek]

Well, now I want to see Ronny Rocket happen. :sad:

[Boner M]

Can't tell if Israfel's being serious...

[Thirdmango]

I'm still very low on my Lynch list of movies. Probably my favorite was the cowboy scene in Mulholland. Was the awesome dream in Twin Peaks done by Lynch, cause that scene is also very good.

[Sxottlan]

I still need to see a lot of his stuff.

1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
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[Boner M]

1. Jitterbug overture, Mulholland Dr.
2. Harry Fucking Dean Fucking Stanton, The Straight Story
3. "In Heaven Everything is Fine", Eraserhead
4. Sex in the headlights/"you'll never have me", Lost Highway
5. Corpse standing upright, Blue Velvet

RU: Sherilyn Fenn post-car accident, Wild at Heart, the bar scene in Fire Walk With Me

[Yxklyx]

There are so many great scenes in Twin Peaks (many mentioned here), that I wouldn't want this one to be lost in the mix (I don't think the episode was directed by Lynch, tho). Still, it definitely has the Lynch "touch".

Cooper <-> Llama - Hilarious!

[Spaceman Spiff]

Might I ask why? I'd consider it essential Lynch, especially for someone who considers him a personal favorite.

Just saw this.

Eh, I dunno. It looks boring, which is perhaps no reason at all but I don't go to Lynch for his portrayals of rural Americana (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet) even if it is a motif that he quite obviously cares deeply about. Everyone seems to adore it, so I'll check it out once I get bored of the movies I have yet to watch on my harddrive.

[Izzy Black]

Can't tell if Israfel's being serious...

Totally, in a cheeky kind of way. But no I don't really like Lynch much. I liked Lost Highway and Elephant Man. I haven't liked any of his other movies, particularly Mulholland Drive. I could see myself coming around to him though. I think I extend my dislike for the latter almost unfairly to his other films when it's probably not his most representative, even if it's his most popular. I really liked Elephant Man and Lost Highway though.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Totally, in a cheeky kind of way. But no I don't really like Lynch much. I liked Lost Highway and Elephant Man. I haven't liked any of his other movies, particularly Mulholland Drive. I could see myself coming around to him though. I think I extend my dislike for the latter almost unfairly to his other films when it's probably not his most representative, even if it's his most popular. I really liked Elephant Man and Lost Highway though.

This is like saying I don't really like Antonioni much but I really liked Le Amiche and The Mystery of Oberwald.

[Watashi]

I don't understand how someone can really like Lost Highway but dislike Mulholland Dr.

[Watashi]

As for next week's director, do you want me to say beforehand who it is (so people can refresh themselves if they want to), or do you want to be surprised?

I have a list of high-profile directors that meet the criteria that I'm picking at by random.

[Derek]

I don't understand how someone can really like Lost Highway but dislike Mulholland Dr.

95% of the time, you can count on Izzy being completely awesome, but there's that 5% that he's (she?) completely confounding! :)


As for next week's director, do you want me to say beforehand who it is (so people can refresh themselves if they want to), or do you want to be surprised?

Put it in spoilers so those who want to be surprised can be and the rest of us can refresh our memories.

[Watashi]

Put it in spoilers so those who want to be surprised can be and the rest of us can refresh our memories.

Ingmar Bergman

[Kirby Avondale]

I don't understand how someone can really like Lost Highway but dislike Mulholland Dr.
He has a morbid fear of tiny people that cripples his reason. There is no other explanation.


Ingmar Bergman
You're just teasing Israfel at this point.

[transmogrifier]

Lost Highway is his second-best film, though.

[Izzy Black]

This is like saying I don't really like Antonioni much but I really liked Le Amiche and The Mystery of Oberwald.

Those are very good films.

[Izzy Black]

I don't understand how someone can really like Lost Highway but dislike Mulholland Dr.

It's images resonated more with me. It evokes the overwhelming nightmarish sense of gothic dread you find in noir by literalizing genre subtext and making it subject. The paranoia, the isolation, and the pulp disaffection registers as unabashed conversions of an unmistakable postmodern anxiety. Mulholland Drive's motivations seem far more solipsistic psychologically, it's self-referential setting less interesting. The unrequited love angle just took me out of the whole experience and ruined it for me, despite whatever merits I did see in its surrealist (though to me, comparatively more aimless) visual gestures. Not sure what else to say. I find something juvenile about most of his films and not in a good way. In Lost Highway and The Elephant Man he seems to be approaching concepts by way of his tortured narrative reveries that I find more interesting, more compelling and engaging on their surface than elsewhere. He's an inspired artist and I admire that, but frankly I'm not much a fan of his inspirations.

[MadMan]

Lost Highway is his second-best film, though.Some days Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive flip flop in my mind for the title of his best film.

After reading that spoiler, I won't be able to participate in the next favorite scenes thread. Oh well that's what I get for not watching more of that director's films.

[Thirdmango]

After reading that spoiler, I won't be able to participate in the next favorite scenes thread. Oh well that's what I get for not watching more of that director's films.

Me too. :(

[Kirby Avondale]

It's images resonated more with me. It evokes the overwhelming nightmarish sense of gothic dread you find in noir by literalizing genre subtext and making it subject. The paranoia, the isolation, and the pulp disaffection registers as unabashed conversions of an unmistakable postmodern anxiety.
Yeah, but besides Robert Blake.



Mulholland Drive's motivations seem far more solipsistic psychologically, it's self-referential setting less interesting.
I don't see how. Highway's solipsism is smotheringly constricted, a one way street in the dead of night that circles back on itself with nary a sideroad or landscape in sight. It has little time for digressions or loose-ends, for the kind of variety of character and tone that Drive brings to the table, even with the typically solipsistic reading in view. This one-track mind has its merits, but softened solipsism isn't one of them.



The unrequited love angle just took me out of the whole experience and ruined it for me,
Fickle, minx.



despite whatever merits I did see in its surrealist (though to me, comparatively more aimless) visual gestures.
Any gestures in mind?



Not sure what else to say. I find something juvenile about most of his films and not in a good way.
No, you're juvenile!



In Lost Highway and The Elephant Man he seems to be approaching concepts by way of his tortured narrative reveries that I find more interesting, more compelling and engaging on their surface than elsewhere. He's an inspired artist and I admire that, but frankly I'm not much a fan of his inspirations.
That's ok. More quinoa for us.

[soitgoes...]

I'm rewatching both Mulholland Dr. and Lost Highway before I chime in. I'm pretty certain that at least 4 of my 5 choices will be from these two films. A shout out does need to go to the opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dSswe5IWzQ&feature=player_embedded) of Wild at Heart though.

[Melville]

The paranoia, the isolation, and the pulp disaffection registers as unabashed conversions of an unmistakable postmodern anxiety. Mulholland Drive's motivations seem far more solipsistic psychologically, it's self-referential setting less interesting.
The core story of Mulholland Drive is about the Subject being overwhelmed by the existence of the Other. Camilla's existence, the fact that she's her own subjective being, the fact that Diane is an object of Camilla's subjective experience, the fact that Diane, because in love, is at the whim of Camilla's story rather than vice versa, crushes Diane. It's the opposite of solipsism.

Admittedly Camilla is presented as a smirking villain for Diane, but subjectivity isn't solipsism. And Lost Highway doesn't give the object of obsession significantly more depth (and the protagonist is far more trapped in solipsism).


The unrequited love angle just took me out of the whole experience and ruined it for me
Why is that angle ruinous for you when the unrequited love and obsessive sexual jealousy of Lost Highway isn't? Both movies paint that core theme into a wider canvas (of Hollywood and the ideals that underlay one's actions, desires, and experiences, amongst other things, in Mulholland Drive).

[Spinal]

Maybe not worthy of a top 5, but I've always loved the 'This Magic Moment' scene in Lost Highway:

-VeYVUboXLI

[Boner M]

1. Jitterbug overture, Mulholland Dr.
Guys, seriously.

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[Russ]

A shout out does need to go to the opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dSswe5IWzQ&feature=player_embedded) of Wild at Heart though.
I really dislike this scene. It sets an ugly tone from which the film never fully recovers.

[Pop Trash]

I really dislike this scene. It sets an ugly tone from which the film never fully recovers.

It's awful. By far the worst scene in Lynch's entire oeuvre. I also hate to play the race card but...yeah.

[MadMan]

Oh come on, the opening scene of Wild At Heart has nothing to do with racism. In fact Cage's brutal murder of that man only illustrates how he is a thug/sociopath, an aspect of the film that makes Wild At Heart one of Lynch's most interesting and complex films.

But why I love Wild At Heart is a discussion for another place and time, I suppose. I find it to be a great and underrated Lynch, one that receives too much hate/dislike imo.


Maybe not worthy of a top 5, but I've always loved the 'This Magic Moment' scene in Lost Highway:

-VeYVUboXLISure that is a fantastic scene, but I avoiding posting it due to it being an obvious pick/it not being a favorite scene of mine from the film.

Oh and Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive both share a fascinating kinship that reflects on the pair's true greatness. Both films share Lynch's fascination with horror and film noir, reflecting his desire to showcase on screen brilliant nightmares and dreams, echoing throughout eternity. Each film has a twisty narrative that people have figured out, yet both movies are still relatively tricky and subject to gross debate, since Lynch has embodied both with his trademark intelligence and even his wit. They are each masterpieces, examples of what Lynch has given to cinema, and they are why I love the man's work even though I still have much to view from him.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Lynch rated for shits and giggles:

Brilliant:
1. Eraserhead
2. Mulholland Dr.
3. Blue Velvet

Very Good:
4. Lost Highway
5. Twin Peaks - Fire walk with me

Good:
6. Inland Empire (though this might need a rewatch as I only saw it once when it first came out - I remember thinking it too long, and too much of a retread of Mulholland Dr, only everything looked dark and crappy instead of lush and vibrant and oh-so-beautiful)

Meh:
7. The Elephant Man
8. Wild at Heart

[Melville]

Maybe not worthy of a top 5, but I've always loved the 'This Magic Moment' scene in Lost Highway
I picked arbitrarily between that and the sex-in-the-headlights scene. The moment, draped with Lou Reed's vastly-better-than-the-original version of the song, is sublime.


6. Inland Empire (though this might need a rewatch as I only saw it once when it first came out - I remember thinking it too long, and too much of a retread of Mulholland Dr, only everything looked dark and crappy instead of lush and vibrant and oh-so-beautiful)
Rewatches left my original impressions intact. Parts of it just feel too hokey, and too much is thrown in. And while the low-quality digital video works well with the white trash and haunted Poland scenes, it feels very awkward in the Hollywood scenes. But I still think it's a great movie, with many brilliant moments: the credits sequence, the hole in the vaginal wall, Laura Dern's monologue, all the Poland stuff, the singing prostitutes. The retreading of Mulholland Dr. (and Lost Highway) was the most interesting aspect for me, as it had a different, far broader, take on the same themes.


Brilliant:
1. Blue Velvet
2. Lost Highway
3. Mulholland Dr.

Very Great:
4. Eraserhead
5. Inland Empire

Great:
6. Twin Peaks - Fire walk with me
7. Wild at Heart (I love that opening scene)

Meh:
8. The Elephant Man

Bizarre and awesome yet awful:
9. Dune

[Raiders]

Brilliant:
Inland Empire
Mulholland Drive

Great:
Blue Velvet
The Straight Story

Good:
Lost Highway

Meh:
The Elephant Man
Eraserhead

Bad:
Dune
Wild at Heart (I hate this film so much)

[Spaceman Spiff]

Meh:
Eraserhead

:cry:

It's the best nightmare ever put on film, for me.

[Spinal]

****
Eraserhead
The Elephant Man
Blue Velvet
Mulholland Dr
The Straight Story
Inland Empire

***1/2
Lost Highway
Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me
The Grandmother

***
Wild at Heart
Dune

Best Show of All Time:
Twin Peaks

Amusing:
The Cowboy and the Frenchman
Rabbits

Pretty cool:
Premonition Following An Evil Deed

Eh, whatever:
Six Figures Getting Sick
The Alphabet
The Amputee

Pretty Dumb:
Dumbland

[Watashi]

Pretty Dumb:
Dumbland

:lol:

[Pop Trash]

Great:
Blue Velvet
Mulholland Drive
Eraserhead
The Elephant Man
The Straight Story

Very Good:
Lost Highway
Twin Peaks: FWWM
The Grandmother

Good? Maybe?
Inland Empire

Pretty bad but works in some bizarro way w/o sound:
Dune

Bad:
Wild at Heart

Best Show of All Time:
Twin Peaks

[MadMan]

What little I've seen from him so far:

Excellent-Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway

Great-Wild At Heart (the hate this movie gets puzzles me a bit, to be honest), Blue Velvet

Good-Eraserhead

That's it, for now.

[transmogrifier]

Good to see the Lost Highway love. I knew this site was capable of being right from time to time. :)

[MadMan]

Good to see the Lost Highway love. I knew this site was capable of being right from time to time. :)I think its really my kind of movie: messy, strange, a wonderful blending of film noir and horror genres. Plus it features the underrated Bill Pullman, too, and the soundtrack is fantastic.

[Izzy Black]

*gracefully bows out*

[Kirby Avondale]

*gracefully bows out*
All I see is

*exit pursued by tiny old people*

[Izzy Black]

I like tiny people.

[Kirby Avondale]

I like tiny people.
*throws tiny people at Black*


I have an endless supply here.

[Izzy Black]

Don't make me kick your spherical butt back to Dreamland, Kirby.

[Milky Joe]

Anyone who's saying they haven't seen The Straight Story because it "looks boring" or whatever needs to drop that childish notion right the fuck now and watch it. It's heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I was absolutely slayed by the end of it. Just in awe of Lynch's big beautiful artistic heart which is on complete display.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Anyone who's saying they haven't seen The Straight Story because it "looks boring" or whatever needs to drop that childish notion right the fuck now and watch it. It's heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I was absolutely slayed by the end of it. Just in awe of Lynch's big beautiful artistic heart which is on complete display.

There's only me saying that. I'm sure it's great and all, but it looks thoroughly un-nightmarish, and that's why I go to see Lynch movies. I'll check it out soon enough with some fresh underwear, so don't fret.

[Russ]

it looks thoroughly un-nightmarish, and that's why I go to see Lynch movies.
Just curious, but do you employ similar justifications with regard to other directors?

[Izzy Black]

There's only me saying that. I'm sure it's great and all, but it looks thoroughly un-nightmarish, and that's why I go to see Lynch movies. I'll check it out soon enough with some fresh underwear, so don't fret.

Then why not go and see it without the presumption that it's a Lynch movie? You might still like it. Punishing a director for not making a movie in their traditional style seems rather unfair.

[Ivan Drago]

Anyone who's saying they haven't seen The Straight Story because it "looks boring" or whatever needs to drop that childish notion right the fuck now and watch it. It's heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I was absolutely slayed by the end of it. Just in awe of Lynch's big beautiful artistic heart which is on complete display.

I can't stop listening to a track from its score (I posted it here in this thread earlier). I really, really want to see it.

[chrisnu]

The Straight Story - campfire scene

tuFgZ_X5sN8

Lost Highway - tailgating scene

WzgmAgzpldU

Mulholland Dr. - Llorando

je6L2clZOGM

Lost Highway - Song to the Siren

Laf8bhSeGNY

Eraserhead - pencil factory scene

nwEK7onUO6M

[Yxklyx]

I always loved this scene that I don't think has been mentioned:

VNEVNYM0Isg

[Kiusagi]

I just watched Wild at Heart for the first time and didn't really care for it. While there were absolutely great moments like the ones posted here, it struck me as being weird for the sake of being weird. With other Lynch films, I always felt like there was a method to his madness. I didn't get that here. If a movie wants to be weird for the hell of it, I'm fine with that, but I guess I expected something more.

Also, boy did Lula get on my nerves after a while. All she did, especially in the second half, was cry, cry, and cry some more. I don't blame that on Laura Dern, who's a good actress and I'm sure played the part how she was told. Maybe I missed the point. I've loved everything else by Lynch that I've seen, so maybe I'll give it another chance down the road.

[MadMan]

I always loved this scene that I don't think has been mentioned:

VNEVNYM0IsgAlready posted it, but hey its such a great scene that I can't blame anyone else for going with it again.

[Pop Trash]

I just watched Wild at Heart for the first time and didn't really care for it...I've loved everything else by Lynch that I've seen, so maybe I'll give it another chance down the road.

No don't worry about it. It sucks.

[chrisnu]

Best scene from Wild at Heart:

LUtn7e05C8M

"I"LL TEAR YOUR FUCKIN' HEART OUT, GIRL!"

If Lynch makes another film, I'd like for Willem Dafoe to be in it.

That freak-out reminds me, I'm replacing my selection from Eraserhead with this one from Blue Velvet:

u5VU8GJcg24

[Winston*]

Has anyone watched the 50 minutes of deleted scenes from Blue Velvet that turned up on the latest DVD?

They were on youtube the other week but I never got around to watching them and now it looks like they've been taken down.

[chrisnu]

Has anyone watched the 50 minutes of deleted scenes from Blue Velvet that turned up on the latest DVD?

They were on youtube the other week but I never got around to watching them and now it looks like they've been taken down.
I'm going to have to re-buy this, aren't I? No, I haven't seen them.

[Kirby Avondale]

Has anyone watched the 50 minutes of deleted scenes from Blue Velvet that turned up on the latest DVD?

They were on youtube the other week but I never got around to watching them and now it looks like they've been taken down.
There's a forgettable subplot with Jeffrey's college girlfriend, some Mike being an awkward knob, Isabella wanting to fly, grandma acting nusto, a blues interlude, a little Frank, and delightful variety show. You can try to imagine it as its own, lesser movie, perhaps.

[Russ]

There's a forgettable subplot with Jeffrey's college girlfriend, some Mike being an awkward knob, Isabella wanting to fly, grandma acting nusto, a blues interlude, a little Frank, and delightful variety show. You can try to imagine it as its own, lesser movie, perhaps.
Sounds like the Wild at Heart deleted scenes (which I've seen) have a lot more meat on their bones. I'd argue that a good portion of those (especially Sailor and Lulu's other bar stop, where she calls her mom -- ie, use of color filters reminds one of the bar scene from FWWM) should have been included in the film proper.

EDIT: and whaddya know? thanks to the magical internets, here 'tis...


aZ5YmJlnav0

I think it's a pretty great scene.

[Dillard]

Hard to break down favorite directors to individual scenes when power comes from the narrative drama of the whole. I could easily choose all my favorite lynch scenes from Twin Peaks, which was the epitome of television drama. But love scenes with Farnsworth and Spacek in Straight Story, love Pullman disappearing into NOTHINGNESS in
His home hallway in Lost Highway, love Dean Stockwell singing In Dreams in Blue Velvet, love the Elvis slow mo scene with Nic Cage in Wild at Heart. Just so hard to choose. Lynch knows how to use the full force of cinema as I've argued before in the Lynch thread I started a while back.

He knows how to use pop music with image. He slows down time in so doing bc pop music slows down time. Lynch invites us into the eternal now of pleasure and pain, melodrama and distanciation, tension and release. Lynch is his own. But Badalementi makes his work tic. Lynch needs to make a new film before Lynch dies of lung cancer. All the meditation in the world can't stop smoking from killing a man.