Mulholland Drive

[Jazzmoose]

The only film I've watched near as many times was 'Repo Man', another film that has a lot of its meaning in its structure ('lattice of coincidence').

What I want to know is how the thing in the trunk in Repo Man managed to get in the attache case Jules was carrying in Pulp Fiction!

[J Larsen]

Well, never saw Mulholland Drive, and the recommendation that I take notes while watching it isn't exactly making me run out to rent it, but funny all the comments about Twin Peaks-the first season DVD is en route via NetFlix, and I am hoping it turns out as entertainingly weird as I remember it.

It's great, Dan; I picked it up at Costco a few months back. Although the REALLY weird shit is in the second season.

Nothing could be as weird as how badly Laura Flynn-Boyle has decayed in the looks department, though. Makes me glad my "crush of the show" was Sherilyn Fenn!

I found a Twin Peaks website with a complete listing of cast members-I had no idea that David Duchovny was in this, and Heather Graham played a waitress at the diner with the damn fine cup o' joe and Alicia Witt, who played Cybil Shepherd's daughter on the sitcom was also on Twin Peaks.

Also, Pete Martell was played by Jack Nance, who had the lead role in Eraserhead.

The second season was good, but I thought the show sort of lost its way after Laura's killer was revealed. Unfortunately, I've read repeatedly that Artisan has no plans to release season two on dvd, so it would seem that those crappy vhs tapes are all we'll have for some time.

[medjuck]

The only film I've watched near as many times was 'Repo Man', another film that has a lot of its meaning in its structure ('lattice of coincidence').

What I want to know is how the thing in the trunk in Repo Man managed to get in the attache case Jules was carrying in Pulp Fiction!

I thought it was the briefcase from Robert Aldrich's Kiss me Deadly. Or maybe it stopped off at

Repo Manon its way to Pulp Fiction.

[Jazzmoose]

"mmmmmmmmmmmoooooose"

←

I finally picked up the DVD of the movie today and thought I'd review this thread before watching. But maybe I'll just watch Twin Peaks instead...

[Elissa]

Loved this movie too. I'd agree that it vies with Wild at Heart as Lynch's best, but think this wins on a few counts, not least among them the scene in which the brilliant Naomi does the scene she's overacted in rehearsal for the second time in the audition, when she underacts in ever so achingly erotic a fashion with 'her father's friend' as to make it one of the finest 'sex' scenes in modern cinema. Watts is the real thing - a much better actress imho than her friend Kidman or really most any other beauty that leaps to mind.

Anyone else ever notice that Lynch films invariably have both a red velvet cabaret curtain around a stage and a woman with puffy hairball cheek thingies? The cabaret stage I kinda get, but the puffy cheeks I find totally enigmatic. Kind of like Fellini's painted ascending eyebrow women.

[kinuta]

Mulholland Drive is Lynch's masterwork in my opinion but a hard film to make sense of after one viewing .

I found this explanation invaluable for a dunce like me to unravel the slippery threads of the plot as it weaves in and out of the here and now into the world of dreams.

http://www.franksreelreviews.com/reviews/mdexplain.htm

[Jazzmoose]

Well, I watched it only once (last night) and here's my take on it. I'll admit it didn't make much sense after watching it, but after sleeping on it and thinking it over today, it seems to be pretty straightforward. This probably means I'm completely off base, but before I check out these links, here goes my view...

Very little happens in real time in the movie. All that really happens as the movie goes in real time is Diane goes to sleep, has a dream, wakes up, sees the blue key, and then kills herself. Thats it. Everything else is either the opening dream sequence (I say opening, but it was most of the movie, wasn't it?) or a flashback. Everything else after the dream other than her seeing the key and killing herself has to be a flashback or "walking dream", because all the characters who are met were in the dream in one guise or another. So everything up to her seeing the key on the table and her subsequent suicide had to have occurred prior to the dream.

I'm not going to get into all the symbolism in the dream sequence, but it all seems pretty straightforward and sensible when looked at as the fantasy of a failed actress who both desperately misses her lover and at the same time despises that lover for the betrayal. Now, I'm not saying I get it all; the thing behind the dumpster doesn't seem to fit to me, and I'm sure I'm missing something with the old couple, but most of it seems to make sense.

Now I'll check out those links and discover how offbase I am!

[Jazzmoose]

As far as I'm concerned, one is supposed to walk away with the experience of a naive Midwestern girl experincing the seediness of Holywood.  Period. 

←

I dunno about that. I'm sure that is what the character Diane wants us to walk away with, with her over-the-top cornfed country girl portrayal of Betty in the dream, but I'm not so sure the seediness, and destructive tendencies of Hollywood, are portrayed here as exterior forces.

[Guy Berger]

Well, I watched it only once (last night) and here's my take on it.  I'll admit it didn't make much sense after watching it, but after sleeping on it and thinking it over today, it seems to be pretty straightforward.  This probably means I'm completely off base, but before I check out these links, here goes my view...

Very little happens in real time in the movie.  All that really happens as the movie goes in real time is Diane goes to sleep, has a dream, wakes up, sees the blue key, and then kills herself.  Thats it.  Everything else is either the opening dream sequence (I say opening, but it was most of the movie, wasn't it?) or a flashback.  Everything else after the dream other than her seeing the key and killing herself has to be a flashback or "walking dream", because all the characters who are met were in the dream in one guise or another.  So everything up to her seeing the key on the table and her subsequent suicide had to have occurred prior to the dream.

I'm not going to get into all the symbolism in the dream sequence, but it all seems pretty straightforward and sensible when looked at as the fantasy of a failed actress who both desperately misses her lover and at the same time despises that lover for the betrayal.  Now, I'm not saying I get it all; the thing behind the dumpster doesn't seem to fit to me, and I'm sure I'm missing something with the old couple, but most of it seems to make sense.

Now I'll check out those links and discover how offbase I am! 

←

Jesus, that's pretty good for just one viewing Mark. Were you using a cheat sheet?

Guy

[Jazzmoose]

In a sense, yes; I had the DVD clues, most of which made no sense at first...but the first one did:

1. Pay particular attention in the beginning of the film: at least two clues are revealed before the credits.

After reading that, the slow fall to the pillow just screamed "dream sequence approaching"!

For those who don't have the DVD, here's the list...

MULHOLLAND DRIVE

David Lynch's 10 Clues to Unlocking This Thriller

1. Pay particular attention in the beginning of the film: at least two clues are revealed before the credits.

2. Notice appearances of the red lampshade.

3. Can you hear the title of the film that Adam Kesher is auditioning actresses for? Is it mentioned again?

4. An accident is a terrible event...notice the location of the accident.

5. Who gives a key, and why?

6. Notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup.

7. What is felt, realized and gathered at the club Silencio?

8. Did talent alone help Camilla?

9. Note the occurances surrounding the man behind Winkies.

10. Where is Aunt Ruth?

[Jazzmoose]

Which reminds me...being a California resident who doesn't speak Spanish, that was Roy Orbison's Crying at the theater, wasn't it?

[Chuck Nessa]

Is this show on the Speed Channel? I wanna see it.

[kinuta]

Well, I watched it only once (last night) and here's my take on it.  I'll admit it didn't make much sense after watching it, but after sleeping on it and thinking it over today, it seems to be pretty straightforward.  This probably means I'm completely off base, but before I check out these links, here goes my view...

Very little happens in real time in the movie.  All that really happens as the movie goes in real time is Diane goes to sleep, has a dream, wakes up, sees the blue key, and then kills herself.  Thats it.  Everything else is either the opening dream sequence (I say opening, but it was most of the movie, wasn't it?) or a flashback.  Everything else after the dream other than her seeing the key and killing herself has to be a flashback or "walking dream", because all the characters who are met were in the dream in one guise or another.  So everything up to her seeing the key on the table and her subsequent suicide had to have occurred prior to the dream.

I'm not going to get into all the symbolism in the dream sequence, but it all seems pretty straightforward and sensible when looked at as the fantasy of a failed actress who both desperately misses her lover and at the same time despises that lover for the betrayal.  Now, I'm not saying I get it all; the thing behind the dumpster doesn't seem to fit to me, and I'm sure I'm missing something with the old couple, but most of it seems to make sense.

Now I'll check out those links and discover how offbase I am! 

←

You certainly make me feel a total dunce. It took me at least four viewings and then the extra help from the web to get that far.

[md655321]

Absolutely fantastic film. I got a fair amount from a few views, but some of the online explanations were very beneficial. Having figured it all out, it is actual maybe the most normal and straight forward Lynch film (outside of the also brilliant Straight Story.)

I havent read the thread, so I dont know if its been mentioned that this was originally a TV series and Lynch changed it to a film (after the studios rejected it as TV) so alot of things are left unsaid. Such as the crazy sequence behind the diner.

[Jazzmoose]

The "crazy sequence behind the diner" is definitely a part that I don't get.

[LennyH]

This may sound excessive, but I think it would be interesting for first time viewers to plan to view it 3 times: Once cold, then again (if you're still interested) after reading Lynch's clues, then a 3rd time after reading the Salon.com article or some of the other excellent info on the web.

Jazzmoose, if you read some of the info I mentioned, there are a lot of good explanations (although very often more than one) for much of the movie but the scene behind the diner's a tough one to explain for me. Creepy.

BONUS: This is one of those movies that is potentially motivating in other ways. It seemed to, uh, inspire my wife.

Edited June 21, 2005 by LennyH

[md655321]

An interesting anecdote. I had to drag my girlfriend to see this, she had never heard of it before. I knew it was Lynch and that was about it, so when she asked me about the plot I just joked and said "Im only going cause I hear there is some xrazy lesbian action it." Little did I know, there actually was crazy lsbian action in it. suffice it to say she was none to pleased and it took me awhile to convince that I really didnt know about the sex scene(s).

Some VERY nice sex scenes though, even if the dvd blurs out the full frontal portion.

[kh1958]

It's been a long time since this movie. Is David Lynch working on a new one?

[Matthew]

This is also one of my favorite movies (seen it about twelve times, at least), and I've come to the conclusion that the whole movie is Diane's dream of what her Hollywood life should have been. If you notice, her "real life" lover looks like Camilla, and this movie is taking place and the end of this relationship. I think the movie is telling what Diane want her life to be like; in the movies, in a relationship with a famous star, getting the good parts, but it's not happening. Instead, Diane's acting career is going nowhere, not getting any parts, and her lover, who looks somewhat like the star Diane wants to be, is leaving her. So what we are seeing is the end of Diane's "Hollywood Dream" of stardom, her love af all things Hollywood, and she can't take it, so she kills herself. The whole second half of the movie is about Diane's disconnect from Hollywood and her loss of the love of that dream. Without that dream to hold her life together, she can't exist. Who knows, maybe I've seen this movie too much?

[Guy Berger]

Jazzmoose, if you read some of the info I mentioned, there are a lot of good explanations (although very often more than one) for much of the movie but the scene behind the diner's a tough one to explain for me.  Creepy.

Yeah, that scene in the beginning (with the two guys in the diner) scared the shit out of me. Lynch is a master at building up suspense...

Guy

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Anyone else ever notice that Lynch films invariably have both a red velvet cabaret curtain around a stage and a woman with puffy hairball cheek thingies? The cabaret stage I kinda get, but the puffy cheeks I find totally enigmatic. Kind of like Fellini's painted ascending eyebrow women.

←

I only saw this once in the theater but I thought the cheeks ( I agree - silly) were an hommage to the radiator in Eraserhead.?

[7/4]

It's been a long time since this movie. Is David Lynch working on a new one?

←

It seems like it:

From Variety.com 5/11/2005

David Lynch is making a new movie with StudioCanalStudioCanal. In fact,

he's

already been shooting it under the radar for two years.

Titled "INLAND EMPIRE" (in capitals, though Lynch doesn't explain why), it

stars Laura Dern, along with Justin TherouxJustin Theroux, Harry Dean

Stanton, Jeremy Irons and a host of others Lynch won't specify.

In fact, there's still very little the enigmatic Lynch is comfortable to

reveal about the movie.

"It's about a woman in trouble, and it's a mystery, and that's about all I

want to say about it," he comments diffidently.

The title refers to the bleak residential area on the edge of the desert

near L.A. -- the antithesis of the tony locale of his last movie

"Mulholland

Drive."

Lynch has shot much of his latest film in Poland with local actors, after

making friends with the organizers of the Camerimage festival in Lodz. He's

now back shooting in and around Los Angeles.

Even at this relatively advanced stage of production, Lynch is cagey about

when it will be finished. But it's understood that StudioCanal is aiming

for

a world preempreem at Cannes next year.

"Making a film is a beautiful mystery," Lynch says. "You go deep into the

wood, and you don't want to come out of that wood, but the time is coming

very soon when I will have to."

Lynch has financed the production to date from his own resources, with his

wife and longtime artistic collaborator Mary Sweeney producing. The budget

is unknown.

StudioCanal, which financed "Mulholland Drive""Mulholland Drive" and "The

Straight Story," has come aboard "INLAND EMPIRE" to handle worldwide sales.

Digital convert

What Lynch will reveal -- and indeed, waxes lyrical about -- is the fact

that he's shooting the movie on digital video.

"I started working in DV for my Web site, and I fell in love with the

medium. It's unbelievable, the freedom and the incredible different

possibilities it affords, in shooting and in post-production."

"For me, there's no way back to film. I'm done with it," Lynch says. "I

love

abstraction. Film is a beautiful medium, but it's very slow and you don't

get a chance to try a lot of different things. With DV, you get those

chances. And in post-production, if you can think it, you can do it."

DV has clearly given Lynch the freedom from having to clarify his

intentions -- to financiers, or even to himself -- before he starts

shooting.

"The explaining of things in words is always a huge problem," he confesses.

He characterizes the DV production process as a journey of "huge

exploration" to discover what his film will be.

"I'm writing as I go," he says. "I believe in the unity of things. When you

have one part, and then a second part that doesn't relate to that first

part, it's very curious to find that they do relate after all. It's a most

beautiful thing."

He also believes that it produces a different kind of performances from

actors. "When you run out of film, you have to stop and reload, and during

that time the heat sometimes goes off. But with this medium you can keep

that heat, and it builds, and it's beautiful to see."

He says that Dern, in particular, has benefited from this freedom. "She's

the most incredible actress. Some people get roles and do their thing, but

some have a lot more inside and don't usually get the chance to show it."

As for the quality of the DV image, Lynch says, "It looks different. Some

would say it looks bad. But it reminds me of early 35mm, that didn't have

that tight grain. When you have a poor image, there's lots more room to

dream."

"But I've done tests transferring DV to film, and there are all kinds of

controls to dial in the look you want."

[Brandon Burke]

What Lynch will reveal -- and indeed, waxes lyrical about -- is the fact

that he's shooting the movie on digital video.

"I started working in DV for my Web site, and I fell in love with the

medium. It's unbelievable, the freedom and the incredible different

possibilities it affords, in shooting and in post-production."

"For me, there's no way back to film. I'm done with it," Lynch says. "I

love

abstraction. Film is a beautiful medium, but it's very slow and you don't

get a chance to try a lot of different things. With DV, you get those

chances. And in post-production, if you can think it, you can do it."

←

That's too bad...

[7/4]

Daily report.

[Jazzmoose]

This is also one of my favorite movies (seen it about twelve times, at least), and I've come to the conclusion that the whole movie is Diane's dream of what her Hollywood life should have been.  If you notice, her "real life" lover looks like Camilla, and this movie is taking place and the end of this relationship.  I think the movie is telling what Diane want her life to be like; in the movies, in a relationship with a famous star, getting the good parts, but it's not happening.  Instead, Diane's acting career is going nowhere, not getting any parts, and her lover, who looks somewhat like the star Diane wants to be, is leaving her.  So what we are seeing is the end of Diane's "Hollywood Dream" of stardom, her love af all things Hollywood, and she can't take it, so she kills herself.  The whole second half of the movie is about Diane's disconnect from Hollywood and her loss of the love of that dream.  Without that dream to hold her life together, she can't exist.  Who knows, maybe I've seen this movie too much?

←

Yeah, I guess it would be more about Hollywood than I first thought. I mean, every aspect of that dream is a movie cliche from the gosh darn it arrival of Betty to her realization of the end of the affair in the theater.