Rating: Summary: David Lynch Is A Mad Man Review: In 1977, a director named David Lynch was making a name for himself with the greatly disturbing and sureal masterpiece Eraserhead. The disturbing images and creepy worlds Lynch creates are like nothing else in film. The film is about Henry Spencer, played by Jack Nance (R.I.P.). Henry is a lonely man who lives in an industrial nightmare. He lives in an apartment with flickering lights and drawers filled with bowls of water. Henry has to visit his girlfriend Mary's parents house. He agrees. After getting to know Mary's strange family, he discovers that Mary is pregnant with his child. However, when the baby is born, it doesn't look like a baby. It's a mutant. Still, Henry and Mary decide to take care of the baby, until Mary decides to leave when she can't stand the baby anymore. Henry is left with the disformed child, who eventually grows sick. After this, Heny's whole life becomes a living hell. Lynch's strange debut is one of the weirdest and most obscure films to be released. It's black and white grainy look gives the film it's disturbing feel. The more the film goes on, the more it grows on you. You just want to continue watching. However, this is not a film for everyone. This images of the mutant baby could be one of the greatest nightmares for first time parents, and the film's message of "In Heaven everything is fine" could be a drop for deeply depressed film fans. In conclusion, Eraserhead is a classic Sci-Fi/Horror masterpiece. it gives a look into someone's nightmare and a life turning into complete insanity. Not for the weak, David Lynch's great debut is a must see for fans of obscure and strange films. Hard to find, but worth the money. SEE IT!
Rating: Summary: seminal american surrealism Review: this earlier effort of david lynch remains arguably his best and most individualsitic work. while straight story and elephant man are excellent narrative films (albeit still stamped in lynchs style)and blue velvet abounds in lynchs quirkiness at its most beautiful, it is eraserhead which has a feel and texture unlike any other lynch film. his recent mullholland drive understandably received raves from hollywoods wittier critics, but it remains a bunuel influenced film brilliantly filtered through hollywood sensabilities. in light of all lynchs work it is eraserhead that stands apart. it is unlike any film before or since and indeed, it is, in the whole, unlike any of lynchs other works. the tragically short lived jack nance delivers one of the most bizaare performances in the history of filmed acting and you will find yourself unable to take your eyes off of him. nances murder compounds an unfulfilled promise and the best way to get to know this one of a kind actor is in the documentary 'i don't know jack' which lynch produced. eraserhead is almost undescribable and the fact that this film has yet to be released on dvd and has indeed been out of print for some time on vhs borders on being criminally unjust. of course surrealism has been a vital part of cinema from day one but eraserhead is a seminal point in american surrealism and should be required viewing for young progressive filmmakers and lovers of the bizaare
Rating: Summary: Eraserhead Review: I saw this film while in college. Some group sponsored it and charged $1 admission. How could you go wrong for a buck? When the lights came back on I not only wanted my dollar back, I wanted the two hours of my life back. What a pretentious, self-indulgent pile of crap!
As we filed out of the lecture hall I overheard someone say that it was "brilliant". I don't think this guy knew what the hell he just sat through and, figuring if he didn't understand it, it must be genius. I wanted to punch him in the face.
Rating: Summary: Ok, but the white noise generator is a bit overused. Review: Some weird guy and his weirder girlfriend have a deformed baby. (I knew a group of mexican guys who said they saw it tripping and were laughing so hard that the movie was stopped and they were thrown out of the theater.)
Rating: Summary: great for some, wretched for others. Review: This is a film, like other Lynch films, that is going to split the audience into three parts; those with an affinity for his work and experimental filmmaking, those who dislike his work and prefer narrative filmmaking, and those who really don't care either way.
I typically prefer not to invoke the `I' in reviews, but I feel that it is pertinent in discussing the work of Lynch. The reason for this is that I feel that Lynch is a superb director, but this does not mean that I like his work. In fact, I greatly dislike it and feel it to be exceedingly indulgent.
It is my hope that he one day forfeits the pen for favor of a move into exclusive directing. His visual style, ingenuity, and ability to capture endlessly interesting imagery is unparalleled in many ways, but I feel his talents are lost in the oblivion of really poorly written stories and the sort of concepts that are only deemed intelligent because they truly don't entirely make sense. Merely because a film is conceptually taut or invokes challenging, visceral imagery that is not palatable to a mass audience does not make it intelligent, or for that matter worthy of an entire feature film.
The above being stated, this is an early film in the Lynch oeuvre and is therefore among the very best. This is exactly the sort of filmmaking that will show the vast abilities of a new visualist, and the fact that he helms much of the other technical aspects of the film only prove a testament to his enormous talents. The film is an interesting dream, accentuated by confrontational and truly great sound design and stark imagery. Its flaw is that it isn't for everyone and that I am one of those people, rendering me unable to provide it with the glowing review it will deserve in the eyes of others. So I will merely say that for possible Lynch fans this is something that should most definitely be seen, and for others it is something they should most definitely avoid.
Rating: Summary: eraser-existence? where is this title? Review: watching david lynch's 'eraserhead', is a lot like taking your soul and throwing it out of this world. you're alive, but you're not. you're there, but you're also gone. 'eraserhead' is not a mindwarp, no, it's more like a vacation, that went bad. only this time, you can't blame the airlines. only yourself.
following the main character, henry, we're thrown, metaphorically, dont think for a second lynch has the capability of actually discarding us around, into this medieval, apocalyptic world. imagine the 40's with a sense of death, grey skies, and lots of dirt. well, actually, bad example. imagine the 40's in black and white with a few lamps...there's your motivation. in this world, you have a legion of humans, also known as mutants, and therein lies your fear. what once was, has now become.
the mutations keep coming, as the women still kick out a few gems once in awhile. the result of henry's, is the equivalent to your worst nightmare. imagery being a surrealistic, morphed, venomous semen being, coming from henry and only he. with the offspring now about, henry is forced into a marriage, the two cannot cope with. its not even that rudimentary, its far warped. in a sense, were to believe its an actual relationship, a bond, but in the most primitive way, its just two characters under one roof with this...child? the child becomes prone to henry, who remains a captive under the highly claustrophobic room.
with everything entirely dark, morbid, and revolting, the child grows sick. almost in a sick dementia, the feelings henry inherits, of both fear, disgust, insanity, lust, and intimidation, or rather insecurity, become the physical form of this seclusive, disturbing child. were prone to flashbacks, or hallucinations, of things henry thinks about. all in the same room, we experience the madness in a way text, screenplays, or even words cannot describe. if the term surreal means anything, well, square it and then round...you'll get the picture.
in the end, im not really sure what 'eraserhead' was meant to mean, to be. perhaps its a thought process, an examination on life. why is there birth? to procreate? a reason so simplistic and necessary? perhaps its the offspring that reveal the inner sanctitude in all of us. or maybe, its just a movie thats too underlying in tones, both rich and bland. you can take a road and look at it two different ways, its the same with this film. i, for one, found it to be extraordinary, and im glad someone took something so stellar, and made it into not even something, just...well, 'eraserhead.' you cant describe something that's really nothing...it's a catch-22, and in the end, nobody will ever get it.
so, um, try and find it.
it's probably the weirdest feeling you'll never have.
Rating: Summary: Don't take this movie seriously!!! Laugh...you're allowed. Review: This is probably the greatest cinematic masterpiece I've ever viewed. I first rented Eraserhead from a local video shop, way before "THE BIG GUYS" and watched it by myself and just about split a gut. I understood a lot of what Lynch was saying at that time, but the more times I watched it, the more I understood. I then rented it again one night and took it to a friend of mine that is equally open-minded, knowing he'd be knocked off his chair. He was. 15 years later, he and I, as well as many other friends, are still huge fans of this land breaking genius on film. Lynch shows us the very things that we are afraid to admit about ourselves...that we are all afraid of how we might wind up, and the occasional nightmare caused by those fears, and that we have to be able to recognize the humor in completely idiotic social situations, as well as ourselves and always keep and open mind and heart, no matter how strange it may seem. "You got your good thing, and I've got mine" Lynch makes that clear in this movie. Watch it 5 or 6 times, and more. "OK Paul"!!!
Rating: Summary: ERASERHEAD IS ON DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Review: You ever look for something, can't find it, and it ends up being in an obvious place? I found where you can get Eraserhead on DVD. Just go to DavidLynch.com. It's a cool site and he clearly had a hand in designing it. In the store section, they are selling Eraserhead, a Short Film collection, as well as the doc Pretty as a Picture. The DVDs are a little pricey ($39.95), but no more that what you would pay for some Criterion discs. And considering Eraserhead has never been given a proper home video release, it's a small price to pay.
I recieved my copy in the mail yesterday. They ship by UPS in a custom website box. The DVD packaging is beautiful, although from the size you'd think it was a 2 disc set. The only extras on the disc are a trailer and a collection of stories. The package comes with a nice glossy booklet filled with photos. It also features an essay describing the restoration and DVD encoding of the film. This is filled with the kind of tech jargon that makes DVDphiles and Criterion nuts go ga-ga.
The movie itself looks beautiful. The transfer is as crisp as one could hope for. And since all we've ever had to compare it to is film prints, much-viewed tapes, or DVD bootlegs, this is a revelation. Before the film, there is calibration guide for adjusting the brightness on your TV for optimum viewing. David decided to go with a 2.0 stereo soundtrack for the DVD. While some might complain, I can say it's the best stereo soundtrack I've ever heard. Alan Splet was a god.
So go to Mr. Lynch's site and buy the dvd. I don't know if it'll ever be in stores or on Amazon. And Lynch turned down the Criterion treatment to do this. This belongs on every cinema fan's shelf.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful nightmare! Review: I don't know why this movie is so impossible to track down... It is a surrealist masterpiece! Things like this shouldn't be so hard to get ahold of!
Maybe Amazon will start carrying the Korean version sometime. If you're looking for Eraserhead, I'd recommend checking Ebay for the aforementioned Korean version. Most are formatted for all regions, and the Korean subtitles are removeable anyways. It's a bit of work to track it down, but definetly worth it.
Rating: Summary: watched Review: Ithink the surreal filming of Eraserhead made it all to real, it is horrifying to watch,even if you dont understand what is going on immediatly you cant stop watching . It seriously sets you thinking about the state of mind that creates such a film,one being was he an observer or the other had he experienced such a state of being tographicly get the message over so well. its a film about industrys greed and socioty suffocation, supressing the human values of life. i think everyone should see it once just so u can spot the eraserheads today,and have some understanding of how and why they end up being as they are. watched it once would not watch it again.
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