David Lynch (1946-2025)

[beamish14]

When I watched Lost Highway last week, I puzzled over Patricia Arquette casting a shadow on a wall while being questioned by police in her home which was geographically impossible, till I realised I got the relationship between the rooms all wrong from the way the shot was framed. So yes, shadows. Blue Velvet has lots of them.

I thought that the jail scenes with Henry Rollins did as well.

It’s hard work to make a film as beautiful as The Straight Story. I’ve wondered if the shot of Sissy Spacek staring out of the window during the scene that explains what happens to her children is a nod to her husband Jack Fisk as the Man in the Radiator in Eraserhead

[The Curious Sofa]

Doesn’t Laura Dern’s character in Blue Velvet famously walk out of the shadows into the light of a streetlamp in her introduction?

It's one of the most beautiful shots in the movie, visually and metaphorically. I always though of it as the reverse of the shot where Deborah Kerr is swallowed up by darkness at the end of her flashback scenes in Black Narcissus, after having her heart broken.

[Mr Sausage]

Doesn’t Laura Dern’s character in Blue Velvet famously walk out of the shadows into the light of a streetlamp in her introduction?

It's one of the most beautiful shots in the movie, visually and metaphorically. I always though of it as the reverse of the shot where Deborah Kerr is swallowed up by darkness at the end of her flashback scenes in Black Narcissus, after having her heart broken.

Characters walking into and out of shadows is such an important motif in Lynch’s work. Just think of Bill Pullman in Lost Highway being consumed by the shadows at the end of his hallway, gazing into a mirror, and then reemerging from those same shadows, presumably as a different person.

[The Curious Sofa]

There can be a flatness to the imagery, which is related to the fact that Lynch was also a painter. This is most evident in Lost Highway, which, apart from The Return (and not counting his short films), is his work that most closely resembles his paintings, with further nods to Edward Hopper and Francis Bacon. Whether you find that ugly is a matter of taste, but it is certainly intentional.

The first 45 minutes of Lost Highway are as good as anything Lynch has done, I find its first act deeply unsettling. The closest I can think of a film that has haunted me on a visceral level to that degree is Polanski's The Tenant. After the moment of metamorphosis, Lost Highway is still full of great scenes and imagery, the film is just so front loaded with foreboding and a sense of dread that it never reaches those levels of intensity again.
I always wondered if it was an influence on Haneke's Cache, as the set-up is identical.

[aox]

Doesn’t Laura Dern’s character in Blue Velvet famously walk out of the shadows into the light of a streetlamp in her introduction?

Maybe what aox is remembering is Lynch’s habit of contrasting very bright scenes with very dark ones to create that sense of opposites colliding that he loves so much—except aox is only remembering one half of that. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for this just bizarre series of claims, anyway.

I think that may be a fair reading. I also don't see it as a bizarre take.

[colinr0380]

On watching Blue Velvet on television last night I was wondering if this was the most bizarre thing to have influenced videogames given that Silent Hill 2 owes quite a lot of its tone to it, especially the section of going through the gloomy apartment complex, full of corridors, before entering a significant apartment and hiding in the closet whilst some extremely rough acts occur. Add to that the idea of the protagonist as maybe quite flawed himself, and there being two women in the game - one 'worldy', sexualised and sacrificed on multiple occasions (maybe allowing the main character to indulge his sadistic side); the other yearned for as a kind of lost figure from an idealised past, and someone he has damaged 'accidentally', without meaning to. Or perhaps just worries he has.

Inevitably it has been Twin Peaks that seems to have most influenced videogames though, with Deadly Premonition, Life Is Strange and the never officially released outside of Japan Mizzurna Falls (and frankly Alan Wake too) probably not being able to exist without that 'mystery in a small town' aspect to hang their stories upon.

(EDIT: Although it is not quite as unexpected as the "Inland Empire" skill in Disco Elysium, and the character of Klassje seemingly being modelled on (one) of Laura Dern's characters from that film!)

[The Curious Sofa]

One thing that almost certainly influenced Silent Hill, and countless other horror games, is Lynch's signature background drone that so characterises his sound design. Otherwise, these are archetypal concepts and characters that apply to much of the film noir to which Blue Velvet belongs and it's Lynch's sensibility that makes the film so distinctive. The sensibility and aesthetics of Silent Hill 2 are very different though.

[Saturnome]

Twin Peaks influence on The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening is documented, from this interview with the creators to Mark Frost saying he met them and gave them some ideas. Link's Awakening became a blueprint for all future Zelda games regarding NPCs, so the Twin Peaks influence is now a core thing in the series

[The Curious Sofa]

I watched The Missing Pieces for the first time and it gave me a greater appreciation for Fire Walk With Me and also Sheryl Lee's performance. I now think this should have been a 3-hour movie or a miniseries because TMP fills in so much essential background on Laura Palmer. In some ways, I may have enjoyed it more than the movie itself. The early stuff about the Teresa Banks investigation may be less crucial to the movie, but it sets up some important plot elements for Twin Peaks S03 (which I also just re-watched). The only thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is David Bowie's performance, which by his own account, he wasn't too proud of.

[flyonthewall2983]

I like the scene of Laura and her parents having breakfast and laughing together, a genuinely wholesome moment. Norma and Big Ed in the truck too.

[The Curious Sofa]

Yes, it might be the only time you get to see the Palmers as a functioning family (at least by David Lynch standards) and that is an important balance to all the dark stuff.

[Mr Sausage]

I now think this should have been a 3-hour movie or a miniseries because TMP fills in so much essential background on Laura Palmer.

I caught this in theatres last year after maybe a decade since my last viewing, and I had the exact same thought. I think Lynch was pushing towards something like the The Return, but ended up having to squash that vision into the constraints of a feature length film. The end result kinda barely hangs together as a movie. It’s unwieldy, overstuffed, and exhausting—and yet there are scenes and moments as moving and brilliant as anything Lynch has ever done. I like it now as a compendium of interesting scenes, something like a transition point between his earlier narrative features and the discontinuous style he’d work out with Inland Empire and The Return. But the theatrical cut doesn’t really work as a film in itself.

[Red Screamer]

I disagree, I find the theatrical film harsh but well controlled, with an unrelenting rhythm and a huge emotional build appropriate for the subject matter. I’m glad we have The Missing Pieces and also think that parts of it are great, but including most of that footage would have distracted from the central thrust of the film.

[therewillbeblus]

I'm the rare person who loves the opening act, just as much as the bulk of the feature that follows. Lynch postures at another exciting detective narrative before ripping the rug out from under us and revealing the naked horror beneath such undertakings - it works well for me, especially as a juxtaposed bit of compressed fluff to chew on, and only makes the incredible Sheryl Lee-led drama more effective

[The Curious Sofa]

Harry Connick Jr. outdoes Lynch in the "most perfect hair" stakes in that first act, so there is that.

[Finch]

Given the time constraints, Mary Sweeney did a terrific job cutting FWWM for theatrical release. From the deleted scenes released, I only really miss the extended convenience store scene, Laura grinning like Bob under the fan and her scene with Bobby on the basement couch, bookended by the Briggses reading the bible upstairs. I do not agree at all that FWWM should have been 3 hours or a mini series.

[The Curious Sofa]

I suppose that depends where you come down on the FWWM. I never quite got on board with the reappraisal and still thinking it's among Lynch's lesser films (also believing he has never made a bad film). After rewatching nearly all of them over the last few weeks (I still have to get round to The Straight Story and Inland Empire) that hasn't changed, so I appreciated the context The Missing Pieces provided. I agree with Mr. Sausage that it would have come closer to The Return with the added scenes, which I love.

I have a fanedit which combines both into several episodes in line with the two original Twin Peaks seasons. I was tempted to give that a try, but I wanted to honour Lynch with my rewatch, but I'll give it a shot soon.

[Mr Sausage]

When I say that the film ought to’ve been a miniseries, I more mean in initial conception. I don’t necessarily think it ought to be reedited into a better form. I just have the impression Lynch’s imagination was taking him beyond a traditional feature-length film, and that he had to compromise in order to fit those conventions. It’s the rare Lynch film that feels like it’s straining at the edges.

But I have to emphasize what an incredible experience it still is. The ending in particular is so beautiful and devastating that I was haunted by it for a few days after that screening, tho’ I’d seen it many times before that. Like, there’s genius there. There’s just something cramped about the overall movie.

[The Curious Sofa]

Talking of great endings and Laura Palmer, having just rewatched The Return, I'm more convinced than ever that it has one of the most powerful endings ever, not just in Lynch's work, but in all of film and TV. Somehow everything falls into place in that moment, not necessarily in a rational way, but emotionally and every time that scream shatters me.

[therewillbeblus]

It's hitting all the harder lately as many people in my life have been rhetorically asking "what year is this?"

[Finch]

When I say that the film ought to’ve been a miniseries, I more mean in initial conception. I don’t necessarily think it ought to be reedited into a better form. I just have the impression Lynch’s imagination was taking him beyond a traditional feature-length film, and that he had to compromise in order to fit those conventions. It’s the rare Lynch film that feels like it’s straining at the edges.

That's totally fair. It's the most scatter-brained of his films. But the messy nature of it also makes it more interesting to me than Mulholland Drive. Either way, I think both are great films and my personal favorites of his output. I rewatched Wild at Heart recently and it continues to do nothing for me.

[Roger Ryan]

Harry Connick Jr. outdoes Lynch in the "most perfect hair" stakes in that first act, so there is that.

I think you mean Chris Isaak, but Connick Jr.'s hair did look pretty good during that era as well.

[The Curious Sofa]

It's hitting all the harder lately as many people in my life have been rhetorically asking "what year is this?"

I actually found staying the Lynchverse for a few weeks very comforting. It has been a great escape from the state of the world and this winter (I hate January/February in Berlin). Despite all the darkness, horror and violence, there is nothing cynical or nihilistic about Lynch's view of the world, he believes in the good in people as much as in evil. He can convey a sense of wonder as well as Spielberg, even if the aesthetics are the opposite.

[The Curious Sofa]

Harry Connick Jr. outdoes Lynch in the "most perfect hair" stakes in that first act, so there is that.

I think you mean Chris Isaak, but Connick Jr.'s hair did look pretty good during that era as well.

True, for some reason I always get these two mixed up.

[beamish14]

On the Air marathon hosted by the UCLA Film & Television Archive with Mark Frost in person