decided to go through lynch’s works, since i’ve only seen a few over the years & don’t remember the finer details (besides things like how confused i was with lost highway, but the soundtrack still knocks)
dune - this was enjoyable! i hear it was polarizing, but by sci-fi standards of the day, this looked great. it felt rushed in the final acts (presumably why the newer one is in two parts?), but that one likely lacks dale cooper, so nuts to that
i also don’t know anything about the source material so this might be like when kubrick freestyles with shit, no idea
earaserhead - this was creepy! man, the surrealism here must’ve blown minds for anyone that saw it in the late 70’s. that heaven song was kinda neat, even if i’m unsure if that distrubing lady like, wanted him to take out his son? which he…kinda did, but then it got all big, and i’m not really sure what happend after that?
also there was one shot with a picture of a mushroom cloud in the background so i kept thinking maybe this unnerving industrial wasteland was somehow postapocalyptic, but as with other lynch stuff, it might’ve meant nothing
i’m trying to watch stuff with my partner that i think she’d be down for, and then others at night when she’s passed out. debating trying wild at heart with her, then elephant man by myself. she may be down for blue velvet as well, i recall digging that one - anyway, it’s kinda neat going along in somewhat order of release to see him hone his craft & also formulate stuff he’d wanna use later - there were definitely set pieces in eraserhead that lent themselves to the lodges in twin peaks
I also really like the original Dune. It’s not a “good” movie, but there is always something interesting to look at. I think it being kind of funny is unintentional, but watching it back multiple times I appreciate it. Seeing Big Ed ride a worm is a highlight.
The source material is somewhere between the two versions. It’s mystical and mysterious like Villenue, but also dense and weird like Lynch’s.
Lynch didn’t have final cut and that’s one reason he hated the movie. There is a fan cut with additional scenes that is supposedly closer to his vision that I want to watch some day. I’m sad he was never able to look back on this movie somewhat fondly.
this was a great film, and i’m glad i watched it. it’s much more approachable for folks put up by lynch’s abstract/surreal stuff, no doubt
but if you’re trying to get away from the cruel other-ing being done by the worst people in our society right now, it’s a rough watch. in that light, it was much harsher than eraserhead, honestly
I’m caught up on Lynch’s movies pre-Twin Peaks. I just saw Wild at Heart last night and really enjoyed it. I didn’t like it as much as Blue Velvet, which is currently my favourite thing of his, but omg Laura Dern. She was amazing in WaH, and also great in BV. Two completely different performances. Also agree that Elephant Man is moving stuff, and his Dune is good though it kinda lost my attention toward the end.
I have sort of a deadline to get through both seasons of TP though, but I think it’s manageable: on February 24 the repertory is playing Fire Walk with Me, and I already have my ticket. So I have two whole weeks, nbd.
I watched Fire Walk With Me again last night (second time). Man, what a movie! I don’t think I got as much out of the first time I watched. I kinda feel like you need your bachelor’s in Twin Peaks to get a whole lot out of it, but maybe I’m wrong.
Watching Laura spiral is really hard. Tough movie to get through, emotionally, for me. But very rewarding.
I also followed it up with The Missing Pieces and wow there’s a lot of clarifying stuff in there. Maybe for better and worse. I kinda like the David Bowie scene more without the setup.
I’ve found it very difficult to create for a long time and it’s validating to hear a man who, it really sounds like, lived a very smooth life of little suffering denounce the myth of the tortured artist. It doesn’t solve my problems but it does make me feel less guilty for struggling under the weight of them.
Twin Peaks music overtop is a little too cheesy in this though
While I agree the turning point in season two is quite visible, that relates to the overall plot of the story and not as much the wondeful characters that inhabit Twin Peaks. For example I wouldn’t say every episode in season one is “damn fine” but missing any of them would be like any other series with that much character development and interaction - you would see someone again and have no idea why they are now doing or saying what they are.
A bad episode of Twin Peaks is still a lot better than most other TV programs!
I even thought Fire Walk With Me was entirely unnecessary, so yeah… imho the strength of Twin Peaks is “the less you know the better”, as gorgeously demonstrated by the third season, so I am at peace about skipping some bonkers executive-lead episodes.
I never really cared who killed Laura Palmer. I cared about hanging out in the place, getting to know the people and being taken on a journey; specifically, I think the respect and gravity with which her death is treated in the pilot is the beating heart of the show. People really did care about her, but nobody really knew her, and now nobody can. Really sitting with that feeling, having it crawl over you like a spider, and not closing your eyes, not looking away. That’s the beauty of Twin Peaks. If I recall correctly, basically everything in Fire Walk With Me was already heavily alluded to in the show. I think having more definite answers detracts from that core experience.
S3 doubles down on the futility and insatisfaction and brings back a sense of magic that got kind of lost somewhere along the line.