Eraserhead

[Sydward Lartle]

Lynch's other black and white opus the Elephant Man isn't a barrel of laughs either, is it? Fuck me. I watched it again recently and I'd completely forgotten how bleak it was. Freddie Jones's character really is a horrible cunt and Michael Elphick's isn't far behind.

"Just as John Hurt is sometimes known as the Elephant Man, Bacon Sandwich here is sometimes known as the pig ferret."

EDIT Okay, Paul! NEW PAGE!

[St_Eddie]

Lynch's other black and white opus the Elephant Man isn't a barrel of laughs either, is it?

To be fair, I can't imagine that Joseph Merrick's life was a barrel of laughs either.

[Head Gardener]

Recorded live, this was my re-scored version of Eraserhead with the help
and support of Northampton based guitarist Tariq Hussain. The mix also works
as an alternative soundtrack for you to listen to in the comfort of your own home.

CHRISTOPH DE BABALON : Opium
COLLEEN : I Was Deep In A Dream
BILL WELLS Vs. FUTURE PILOT AKA : Olympic Material
ALOG : As Complicated & As Beautiful As Always
CHRISTOPH DE BABALON : High Life
SEBASTIAN : Point Redicule
UNKNOWN SINGER : I Wanna Be Loved By You
WAUVENFOLD : Moth
NOBUKAZU TAKEMURA : USINE
AMON TOBIN : El Wraith
MAJA RATKJA : Insomnia

http://shanequentin.podomatic.com/entry/2012-03-21T10_48_16-07_00

[Small Man Big Horse]

I had no idea you used your real name on here! That looks like an intriguing new soundtrack though and I'll definitely give it a go one day.

[Dr Syntax Head]

Eraserhead isn't entertainment. It's art. Anybody watching Lynch for entertainment is getting him so wrong.

[Skip Bittman]

Oh c'mon. The dinner scene is one of the funniest depictions of "meeting her parents" ever. Admittedly I'm usually the only one braying in the theater.

[colacentral]

There are a lot of threads recently with people saying "I don't like this thing, and if anyone says they do, they're lying."

Art is meant to be enjoyed, even if it's difficult, or ambiguous. Eraserhead is enjoyable to watch for some people. It's beautiful to look at, to listen to, to think about. It's unique. The special effects and design elements are interesting. There's lots to enjoy. If you don't like it, fine. It's not for you then.

As for the plot: on the surface it's completely straight forward. Henry has a monster baby; the mother can't stand it and moves out; Henry kills the monster baby. I feel like its reputation for being difficult comes more from Lynch's subsequent work than the actual experience of watching it.

The subtext or "meaning", especially of specific things like the radiator and the pencil factory, might be difficult to interpret, but not in the impossibly cryptic way something like Inland Empire is. I've posted this before but my theory relates to Lynch's work as a whole always coming back to the theme of parental abuse. This is evident in Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, possibly Mulholland Drive if you subscribe to a particular reading of it. I have thought for a while that Lynch may have been a victim of abuse and that came out in his work. Everyone knows that Eraserhead is in some way related to his anxiety about his first child being born, but also look at the dinner party, where the girlfriend's mother corners Henry in the kitchen and flirts with him, who is essentially now her son-in-law. The murder of the baby could be interpreted as the angst of just wanting to not be a father anymore, or it could be a reaction to self-loathing.

[grassbath]

I can see how people might condemn Lynch films as arty or pretentious at a push but they're all certainly entertaining. They're jam-packed with laughs and wacky characters and dialogue. One of the things that I found so affecting and disorienting about Mulholland Dr., as my first proper Lynch experience, was how it whiplashed from offbeat 'comedy' (the Hollywood studio boardroom, the director being cuckolded by Billy Ray Cyrus, Betty's atrocious audition run-through with Rita) to spine-tingling horror and uncertainty.

[Johnny Textface]

There are a lot of threads recently with people saying "I don't like this thing, and if anyone says they do, they're lying."

This didn't happen here, I just said it was bollocks which I thought it was. I did think the sound design was interesting and found a couple of bits (maybe unintentionally - I'm not sure) funny. Lots of ideas but no soul or substance.

[Johnny Textface]

Bollocks.

[Wet Blanket]

I love it and don't think it's bollocks at all. It's as brilliant an evocation of a nightmare as I've ever seen. I don't think it has no soul; that baby creeps me the fuck out every time I see it. In its oblique way it gets right to the anxiety and outright horror that can come with impending parenthood.

I think people sometimes approach Lynch as some sort of seriously clever surrealist who creates problem movies that only really clever people understand, like cryptic crosswords - but I don't think this is the case. I think he's essentially a visual artist with a real taste for mainstream cinema, but he approaches his work in terms of interesting and arresting scenes, rather than 'plot'. He also clearly has an absurd sense of humour. I suspect there's really nothing more to the menstruating chickens and woman behind the radiator than daft ideas that look interesting on film. I wonder if he's ever encountered anything by Vic Reeves? I bet he'd love Catterick,

[colacentral]

This didn't happen here, I just said it was bollocks which I thought it was. I did think the sound design was interesting and found a couple of bits (maybe unintentionally - I'm not sure) funny. Lots of ideas but no soul or substance.

Sorry, I didn't mean you.

[Sydward Lartle]

Have a look at one of Lynch's early experimental films.

[Johnny Textface]

I love it and don't think it's bollocks at all. It's as brilliant an evocation of a nightmare as I've ever seen. I don't think it has no soul; that baby creeps me the fuck out every time I see it. In its oblique way it gets right to the anxiety and outright horror that can come with impending parenthood.

I think people sometimes approach Lynch as some sort of seriously clever surrealist who creates problem movies that only really clever people understand, like cryptic crosswords - but I don't think this is the case. I think he's essentially a visual artist with a real taste for mainstream cinema, but he approaches his work in terms of interesting and arresting scenes, rather than 'plot'. He also clearly has an absurd sense of humour. I suspect there's really nothing more to the menstruating chickens and woman behind the radiator than daft ideas that look interesting on film. I wonder if he's ever encountered anything by Vic Reeves? I bet he'd love Catterick,

This was my first Lynch experience and I hold up my hand to say I didn't get - whayever 'it' is?. Lynch leaves 'it' up to audience.  I'm currently (early stages of) watching the following films in this order (unless that doesn't matter?) -
Eraserhead
Elephant Man
Blue Velvet
Lost Highway
Mullholland Drive
Wild at Hearty

So I'm certainly willing to give the guy a chance. Cheers for the quoted post about Vic Reeves - something to keep in mind during the viewings.

[Howj Begg]

Wait what? Why Harold Bloom?

[Johnny Textface]

Wait what? Why Harold Bloom?

Got a nice dish.

[Wet Blanket]

This was my first Lynch experience and I hold up my hand to say I didn't get - whayever 'it' is?. Lynch leaves 'it' up to audience.  I'm currently (early stages of) watching the following films in this order (unless that doesn't matter?) -
Eraserhead
Elephant Man
Blue Velvet
Lost Highway
Mullholland Drive
Wild at Hearty

Why in that order? Which is chronological except for Wild at Heart?

I think Blue Velvet is probably where the weirdness is in perfect balance with plot. People complain that Lost Highway is the hardest to follow but I think it's more straightforward than Mulholland Drive.

[NoSleep]

I think people sometimes approach Lynch as some sort of seriously clever surrealist who creates problem movies that only really clever people understand, like cryptic crosswords - but I don't think this is the case. I think he's essentially a visual artist with a real taste for mainstream cinema, but he approaches his work in terms of interesting and arresting scenes, rather than 'plot'.

Nonetheless I've always found there's a strange logic to his movies; it just doesn't make itself apparent in the usual ways that cinema works. It probably does follow that he knows what he can do cinematically, as you say, but that's true of every director. Interestingly he is the type of director that hangs around with the cast rather than the technical people, so the plot and the acting are clearly central to his craft, whilst the sometimes odd visual material (like, say, the close ups of matches lighting, or was it cigarettes (or both?) in Wild At Heart) connect with the plot. The fact that one seems to be missing information to connect everything in a straightforward way doesn't make the film less entertaining; it's a bit more like life itself. I've often found it an entertaining game to start watching a film having missed a big chunk at the start (back in the days of video-less TV) and Lynch's film are a step on from that game.

[Johnny Textface]

Why in that order?

Yeah I got that wrong! This is the order:

Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive

I follow a podcast and they often release an edition that reviews a series of films. Could be a director i.e. Joe Dante was a recent one. Just happens they are doing David Lynch next so thought I'd better buff up and see if I agree or not. It passes the time on the way to and from work.

[Wet Blanket]

Nonetheless I've always found there's a strange logic to his movies; it just doesn't make itself apparent in the usual ways that cinema works. It probably does follow that he knows what he can do cinematically, as you say, but that's true of every director. Interestingly he is the type of director that hangs around with the cast rather than the technical people, so the plot and the acting are clearly central to his craft, whilst the sometimes odd visual material (like, say, the close ups of matches lighting, or was it cigarettes (or both?) in Wild At Heart) connect with the plot. The fact that one seems to be missing information to connect everything in a straightforward way doesn't make the film less entertaining; it's a bit more like life itself. I've often found it an entertaining game to start watching a film having missed a big chunk at the start (back in the days of video-less TV) and Lynch's film are a step on from that game.

I agree, but I do find them (especially the later work) structurally clever rather than propelled by an inner narrative. That's not to say the individual elements aren't moving or powerful (the car crash in Wild in Heart for God's sake!) or that it's not entertaining. I would happily forego all other works of cinema if it meant I could keep Lynch.

(Incidentally the Surrealists used to like to see films from the middle too)

Yeah I got that wrong! This is the order:

Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive

I follow a podcast and they often release an edition that reviews a series of films. Could be a director i.e. Joe Dante was a recent one. Just happens they are doing David Lynch next so thought I'd better buff up and see if I agree or not. It passes the time on the way to and from work.

What podcast is this?

[Johnny Textface]

What podcast is this?

It's called Film Junk - they're based in Canada. I stumbled upon it whilst searching for a Podcast to my taste as I couldn't really get into Slashfilm or Empire and one or two others (however 'The Projection Booth' is another good one). It's worth checking out - I really love it. There are quite a lot of in-jokes but they do have a Glossary section so you can check this stuff out.  Their movie criticism can be extremely insightful and very funny. 

If your interested I recommend two tasters to give you a flavor. Their 'Chappie' episode and about 15 mins into a recent one.. http://filmjunk.com/2017/04/18/film-junk-podcast-episode-608-the-fate-of-the-furious/

[Wet Blanket]

Cheers, I'll check those out

[Petey Pate]

I found the scene where the boy finds the decapitated head lying in the street and shows it to his dad to be weirdly hilarious.

I definitely agree that Eraserhead is on some level a (very) dark comedy.  After all, Mel Brooks hired Lynch to direct The Elephant Man based on how much he loved the film.

[Sydward Lartle]

This fat fuck didn't think much of Eraserhead either.

[NoSleep]

I found the scene where the boy finds the decapitated head lying in the street and shows it to his dad to be weirdly hilarious.

I definitely agree that Eraserhead is on some level a (very) dark comedy.  After all, Mel Brooks hired Lynch to direct The Elephant Man based on how much he loved the film.

It has also inspired more comedy. PFFR have produced a TV series (three seasons), The Heart, She Holler, which is an extended tribute to David Lynch (aside from being a state of the nation/political allegory that seems rather prophetic now) and even starred Judith Roberts ("The Beautiful Girl Across The Hall" in Eraserhead) as the terrifying Meemaw.
PFFR's movie, Final Flesh, also owes a huge debt to Lynch.

[NoSleep]

PFFR have produced a TV series (three seasons), The Heart, She Holler, which is an extended tribute to David Lynch...

And they're all on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/show/theheartsheholler
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3

[Dr Syntax Head]

This was my first Lynch experience and I hold up my hand to say I didn't get - whayever 'it' is?. Lynch leaves 'it' up to audience.  I'm currently (early stages of) watching the following films in this order (unless that doesn't matter?) -
Eraserhead
Elephant Man
Blue Velvet
Lost Highway
Mullholland Drive
Wild at Hearty

So I'm certainly willing to give the guy a chance. Cheers for the quoted post about Vic Reeves - something to keep in mind during the viewings.

You've missed out Fire Walk With Me. Which is a genuine masterpiece. The Straight Story is just that, a straight story but there is still a weird feeling of 'Lynch dread' bubbling under the surface. And Inland Empire is a dense film. Not for the casual Lynch fan.

[Monsieur Verdoux]

This fat fuck didn't think much of Eraserhead either.

Ha! What a clueless twat. "This movie isn't giving me a whole lot to actually react to!"

[Sydward Lartle]

Ha! What a clueless twat. "This movie isn't giving me a whole lot to actually react to!"

I used to be Facebook friends with someone who worked with that revolting obese landwhale, and he actually got sacked for refusing to take a daily shower and change his clothes. Whenever I watch one of his videos, I always imagine that room stinks like month-old roadkill.