Listen now | Today’s movie is Eraserhead by David Lynch. We were not ready for Eraserhead. This film feels like a surreal nightmare plucked straight out of David Lynch’s mind. Deeply disturbing and completely original, Eraserhead is an unforgettable experience (in a sort of traumatizing way).
Jan 11·edited Jan 11Liked by Casey Muratori, Anna Rettberg
I'm starting to realize that David Lynch films are of the sort that really operate on an extremely specific wavelength, and if you're not tuned into that same frequency when you watch one of his films, then even if you ostensibly like David Lynch and art films in general, you simply won't connect with the film, at least at that specific time.
For example, with Eraserhead, I first saw it towards the end of high school, when I was going through a phase of watching "famous films" in order to become film-literate, and I absolutely did not get it at all. I remember my friends and I watched the director's commentary to see if Lynch would provide any clues to interpret the film, and while he barely talked about Eraserhead at all, he spent almost fifteen minutes talking about what a good driver his friend was!
I re-watched Eraserhead well over a decade later, shortly after my firstborn's first birthday, and at that time I felt like the film made total sense to me, almost as if it were indeed a concrete, straightforward drama piece. I imagine if I were to re-watch it now, I probably wouldn't be able to connect with it in the same way, although I'd
likely have some lingering impression of my previous, meaningful viewing.
I've had the same experience with Blue Velvet, but not yet with Mullholand Drive. Although I liked a number of superficial aspects of the latter, I had a very hard time making it through the entire film. I have a strong suspicion that one day I might find myself in the mood to watch Mullholand Drive again, for some unknown reason, and I'll likely connect very strongly with it.
I'm starting to realize that David Lynch films are of the sort that really operate on an extremely specific wavelength, and if you're not tuned into that same frequency when you watch one of his films, then even if you ostensibly like David Lynch and art films in general, you simply won't connect with the film, at least at that specific time.
For example, with Eraserhead, I first saw it towards the end of high school, when I was going through a phase of watching "famous films" in order to become film-literate, and I absolutely did not get it at all. I remember my friends and I watched the director's commentary to see if Lynch would provide any clues to interpret the film, and while he barely talked about Eraserhead at all, he spent almost fifteen minutes talking about what a good driver his friend was!
I re-watched Eraserhead well over a decade later, shortly after my firstborn's first birthday, and at that time I felt like the film made total sense to me, almost as if it were indeed a concrete, straightforward drama piece. I imagine if I were to re-watch it now, I probably wouldn't be able to connect with it in the same way, although I'd
likely have some lingering impression of my previous, meaningful viewing.
I've had the same experience with Blue Velvet, but not yet with Mullholand Drive. Although I liked a number of superficial aspects of the latter, I had a very hard time making it through the entire film. I have a strong suspicion that one day I might find myself in the mood to watch Mullholand Drive again, for some unknown reason, and I'll likely connect very strongly with it.