Lost Highway [IMPORT]

Rating:
Summary: Worst DVD ever
Review: I had been waiting so long for this movie - probably my favourite David Lynch - to come out on DVD that I grabbed the Canadian import the moment I saw it... unfortunately it is by far the worst quality commercial DVD I have ever seen.

The format is pan-and-scan (i.e. 4:3 ratio) only and the image quality is appalling. The sound (Dolby, supposedly) is little better. It is basically unwatchable. Another user review says that the DVD is somewhat better than VHS - I would say the image quality is on par with VHS, and certainly not worth the four stars that reviewer gave it; I cannot imagine how any DVD could be worse than this one.

I am sure that David Lynch had nothing to do with this hastily cobbled together sham. He fine tunes his DVDs (even to the extent of removing chapters from "The Straight Story") and I am sure he would be furious to see his movie butchered in this way.

This DVD is of the quality I would expect if I bought the damn thing from a street vendor in Shanghai; ...

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Lynch Film
Review: I hate to be a spoiler, but some of these reviews just don't give Lynch the respect he deserves. If I've missed a review that covers all of this, I appologize. Most of this film takes place in Fred Madison's mind while he's being electrocuted in the chair. Ever wonder why all the mysterious flashing blue light sprinkles the movie? the lightning? What about the bloody noses? What about the flickering lights? What about when Pete's face is burnt and bruising? His buddy just says he's not looking so good, and his response is that he hasn't been feeling well lately. Is there dream logic in this film? Sure, considering that dreams come from the subconcious, which is where Fred is hiding during that infinite moment of death, trying to justify his actions. He is no longer the emasculated husband, but a young stud, who is so irresistable that a gangster's wife, who's likely to be killed for cheating, is willing to risk it. Fred literally cut his wife in half. Do you think it's a coincidence that There are 2 of her in his fantasy? One is the woman he thought he married, the other is a whore. Who's voice says that Dick Laraunt is dead in the intercom at the beginning? That's right, The guy with the phone, Robert Blake. Who is this guy? He's Fred's dark side, the one who does these things for him. For Twin Peak fans, this is Bob.. And I also believe it's the Homeless Man from Mulholland Drive. "He's the one who's making it happen." When Fred asks him who he is, he responds with the same question. Remember when the gun changes hands at the end? Mystery man disappears... he was never there. Who speaks into the intercom at the end? Fred. Case closed. It's the same incident as the first intercom line. This is not reality. It only happened once. Why doesn't Fred like videotapes? Because he likes to remember things his own way. Thus, the method of storytelling is revealed. The video tapes are the truth, the rest is an elaborate fantasy that Fred has conjured up to deal with remorse, guilt, and betrayal. What is it that happened the other night? Why won't his parents tell him? He killed Renee, but he doesn't remember at this point.. he's blocked it out. I submit to you that the ENTIRE film occurs while Fred is in the chair. Lynch takes out the one scene that would pull everything into perspective - Fred sitting down for the last time. This move is quite similar to Mulholland Drive. Many may consider me to be reading way too much into this movie.. Ok.. Go watch it again. You'll see.... You'll see.

If you still doubt, join David Lynch.com and visit the member questions. When asked if there is any hope for Fred Madison, lynch replied to the effect of, 'yes, there's always hope to escape the vicious circles of life and death.' Think about it.

Rating:
Summary: try the australian version if you can play PAL discs
Review: I have this DVD in the local release, in Australia, I'm not sure if there is region-coding but it certainly is in PAL so you will need the capacity to playback in PAL. The Australian release contains a lengthy interview extra with Lynch, Badalamenti, and a number of other people involved in production, and goes into some detail regarding the music, which was nice, including on location footage from Prague. It is in anamorphic widescreen and the image and sound are good, but not excellent. It's also quite cheap.
I have seen a copy of the Canadian version here, and it was disappointing (esp. compared to other Canada-only releases such as Cronenberg's "eXistenZ") ... it has virtually no extras and, much worse, THE CANADIAN VERSION IS IN PAN&SCAN (4:3) FORMAT! What's with that?? This great film should be seen in the ratio which Lynch intended for it!
P.S. The Australian release of Eraserhead is also excellent in terms of sound and picture, and is in 4:3, but it seems Lynch filmed it that way.

Rating:
Summary: what?
Review: I loved this film, even though i didnt have a clue what was going on for the most part. The story involves something about dual personality's or something. The lighting and camerawork is fantastic, Lynch can really create atmosphere.
There are some great cameos in this film aswell. Mainly from Henry Rollins, Marilyn Manson and Richard Pryor, being big fans of all three I was elated to find out that they were in this film.
The soundtrack is fantastic aswell. Rammstein's creepy music is used to maximum effect. It's pretty much a definitive industrial collection.
If you havent seen this film and are on the look out for something original then i advise you to check this out. And if you find out what it was all about post it on this site because I would like to know.

Rating:
Summary: The Lost Highway
Review: I rate this movie 5 stars, but I rate this DVD 1 star. Why the hell isn't this movie on regular DVD special edition? This is another case of a movie which is extremely entertaining and different, but cannot be found on DVD unless it is bought as an import.

Lost Highway is movie that doesn't exactly make sense, but because of the acting, directing, creativity, and direction of the film, is a grade A movie. Bill Pullman does an excellent job acting, as usual as one of the main characters in this movie. The story and plot has a couple of holes, but overall the movie is a lot better Drama than most out there. If you are looking for imagination, perfect acting, and something different than the usual, look no further than The Lost Highway.

THIS MOVIE NEEDS TO BE RELEASED ON DVD AS A SPECIAL EDITION 2 DISC SET. IT'S AMAZING THE STUDIO HAS NOT DONE IT YET BY THE YEAR 2004.

Rating:
Summary: Movie gets 5 stars, DVD transfer gets 1 star
Review: I swear it looks like this movie was put on DVD by a 14 year old with his home computer. The quality looks so much like VHS that was put to DVD that I think it is a shell game to a consumer to let them think this movie is available on "DVD."

Movie is great, but DVD quality so poor hard to ignore.

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest movies of all time
Review: I think that the other reviewer below, Patrick B. Dandenault, was completely right in his guess of the story. The later part of the movie is imagination of Fred while he sits in his cell waiting for his execution. The screaming and smoke in the car at the very end of the movie when Fred is escaping police chase actually represent the execution at the electricity chair.

This is a true masterpiece. Just don't try to understand everything and let it go. Lynch's movies are conceived and interpreted at a subconcious level.

The closest masterpieces are "Mulholland Drive", "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me" (however makes sense only if you watched Twin Peaks) and "Fight Club" (by David Fincher). I saw a recommendation on Amazon about Memento and bought it, but I would rate that only 3 stars.

Rating:
Summary: True American Psyche-Horror
Review: I usually don't blast other reviewers, because everyone is entitled to an opinion, but c'mon...

I can't believe the reviews I've read about this film. I read about people calling this film garbage, largely because they don't understand it. You know what? Go out and rent American Pie 6 or Rocky 22 if you're into a movie that requires no thought or study! The facts are as follows: Movies relying solely on reality are about as shallow as pop rock, hotel room paintings and Chuck E. Cheese. For a movie to truly be a "suspense," it needs to be be intriguing, and YES, hard to follow. I hate to sound intolerant, but if you hate this movie, you're stupid. Plain and simple.

David Lynch, in his later films, delves into dream worlds. Both LOST HIGHWAY and MULHOLLAND DR. prove this fact. The reason people get lost is that they can't decipher what is a dream and what is real. Guess what? In our own derranged minds, many of us find the same problem in our twisted lives. Did I dream that, or did it really happen? If you watch this movie twice, you will see the obvious clues which tell you when the narrator is dreaming and when he is not. ALL of Lynch's films have a main character, a protagonist, and an antagonist...just like driectors and screen writers have been doing since the early 1900's. People have been making psychological thrillers since the 1930's and they are just as hard to follow as some of the current films. What people don't understand is this: if you're making a psychological thriller, you need to be original and raise the bar. Lynch CLEARLY does that here and with Mulholland Dr.

The story centers around Pullman's character. He freaks out, and in a dream state, he imagines himself as Getty's character--a fictitious, make believe world. The real treat of this film, the GEM if you will, is Robert Blake's imaginary character. The scennes involving him and the video tape sequences are the creepiest thing I have ever seen in my life...and I love horror films. Trust me--you will be creeped out forever. The images are burned into your brain.

"You've been in my house?"
"I'm there right now...go ahead...call me!"

Rating:
Summary: Impenetrable
Review: I wasted 2 hours and 8 minutes of my life, which I'm never going to get back, watching this film. And for what reason? None. I didn't enjoy the film, I couldn't understand it, and that creepy bug eyed guy is going to give me nightmares. Up until now my worst film was 'The Last Broadcast', but at least that was somewhat understandable. This is my new worst film. There is NO point to this film. Maybe some smart genius could work it out, and tell me there's some 'hidden meaning' behind it all, but I'm sorry, I could have done something a lot better for 128 minutes.

I've never heard of David Lynch before, but he may need some therapy, though.

This film is very reminiscent of a silent movie - there's not much dialogue, and there's heavy focus on the imagery. I prefer more dialogue. Imagery does not explain certain scenes in this film. At certain parts, you can almost hear the music to the Twilight Zone playing - not literally, it just felt like it should be added over.

Patricia Arquette plays a mysterious brunette & an ice cool blonde, and manages to appear naked five times throughout the film, for no apparent reason. And have sex in the full glare of a car's headlights?! Whatever turns you on. And another chick gets naked too. Definitely a movie for the guys, I think. Girls, buy something decent.

When the video gets played, you almost expect the phone to ring, and tell you that you have seven days before you die - like 'The Ring'. Did no one else see this? Very similar. Same bad quality video picture!

This film could have been cut in half, still kept in all that was necessary, and I still would have been bored. At 128 minutes, it was too long.

I expected the trailer to be better on the DVD. I've seen better teasers than that. It explained nothing about the film, and it just repeated the credits at the beginning. And how BORING were those beginning credits? The 'lost highway' drove me mad, they could have turned a corner or something!

Giovanni Ribsi (better known as Frank, Phoebe's brother in 'Friends') has a very small role in this, and is virtually unrecognisable with black hair - but you recognise the face pretty quickly if you're a fan of 'Friends' or have seen him in 'Gone In 60 Seconds'.

Gary Busey (Point Break, Lethal Weapon) also appears in this, looking very much like an ageing hippie! I recognised his voice instantly, and had a laugh at his appearance!

The transmogrification was very confusing. People have said Patricia Arquette playing two different characters in the same film was confusing. That wasn't so confusing. One was brunette, the other was blonde - not that hard to tell the difference.

Don't see this film unless you're a masochist. If you're eyeing it up in the shops, put it DOWN, and choose a GOOD movie.

Shawn, next time choose a better film, sweetheart. Definitely one of your worst choices. And you say I have bad taste in films?!

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of Crime Cinema
Review: I'm not an audiophile nor an expert on video quality. However, I have quite a number of DVD's in my collection and this one plays just as well as any of the others. Anyone saying otherwise are maybe hoping to generate interest in a new edition of the film on DVD or something, which I certainly wouldn't be against if it contains some nice extras.

If you're already a David Lynch fan then I won't preach to the choir because you already must love this film. However, if you're new to Lynch's work, you must not expect anything 'normal' to happen. He usually breaks the rules of linear story-telling. This effort is no exception. The film, according to one theory, is one man's nightmare dreamt from inside the cell of a penitentiary, but it is time displaced and characters switch roles. The nightmare is based on what we can only assume is real events that involve the main character murdering a young woman whom he loves, but who is tied to a nefarious character named Mr. Eddy. It's hard to tell who Lynch sees as the real villain here - Mr. Eddy or the girl.

Knowing the dream/nightmare premise, though, you can stop wondering what's going on and just enjoy the ride. If you're of the Freudian psychoanalysis school of though there will be a lot to keep you focused. If not, there's still enough linear filmmaking here to keep you enthralled as in a 'normal' movie, but there's enough strange weirdness (Robert Blake's character for instance) that tips you off that this is all a really wacked out nightmare. The fact that it is probably based on actual events that the main character is remembering in the dream makes it all the more chilling.