Mulholland Drive

TheMack · June 2005

i watched this movie last night and all i can say is WHAT THE FUCK!!this was at the same time, one of the most brilliant things ive ever seen and one of the most confusing, mind-bending things ive ever watched. ahhh. this might be the most incredible movie ive ever seen. but someone please explain it for me.What i got out of it was that it was just a dream, the whole movie was a dream.

the3rdstream · June 2005

the first half is a dream after she opens the box then it is reality

grandpa_shig · June 2005

im not a fan of lynch. i feel like dude tries to be confusing without any real stake in why. confusing for the sake of it. plus i got no patience for this. dude is trying too hard to be one of them german abstract expressionists or some shit and it just comes off like some esoteric bourgeois doodoo. just my opinion.

99Problems · June 2005

im not a fan of lynch. i feel like dude tries to be confusing without any real stake in why. confusing for the sake of it. plus i got no patience for this. dude is trying too hard to be one of them german abstract expressionists or some shit and it just comes off like some esoteric bourgeois doodoo. just my opinion.

bassie · June 2005

This might be helpful

Salon article

TheMack · June 2005

the first half is a dream after she opens the box then it is reality

yeah, thats what i thought too. after the box got opened it seemed much more like real life than a dream.

and shig, dudes films are weird and confusing, but they are great at being weird and confusing. half the time during Mulholland Drive i didnt know what the fuck was going on, but it was so entertaining id dint mind.

dollar_bin · June 2005

Here you go, Mack:

David Lynch's 10 Clues to Unlocking This Thriller:[/b]
Pay particular attention in the beginning of the film: at least two clues are revealed before the credits.
Notice appearances of the red lampshade.
Can you hear the title of the film that Adam Kesher is auditioning actresses for? Is it mentioned again?
An accident is a terrible event... notice the location of the accident.
Who gives a key, and why?
Notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup.
What is felt, realized and gathered at the club Silencio?
Did talent alone help Camilla?
Notice the occurrences surrounding the man behind Winkies.
Where is Aunt Ruth?

the3rdstream · June 2005

the_mack i know you are riding david lynch's jock lately so i would suggest Takashi Miike's Gozu. Its has the same feel as a Lynch movie but a bit more extreme. Gozu means Cow head, the movie features lactating, dude with a nasty skin condition, a woman giving birth to a full size man (yes they show it), and some crazy shit with a ladel

TheMack · June 2005

haha naw im not riding his jock. ive actually only ever seen Mulholland, Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart. But i may check out the above film you mentioned although that sounds a little too weird for me

high_c · June 2005

i liked the lesbian scene. rest was

grandpa_shig · June 2005

the first half is a dream after she opens the box then it is reality
yeah, thats what i thought too. after the box got opened it seemed much more like real life than a dream.

and shig, dudes films are weird and confusing, but they are great at being weird and confusing. half the time during Mulholland Drive i didnt know what the fuck was going on, but it was so entertaining id dint mind.

i agree with you here, themack. [man i feel dumb calling a someone themack let alone a kid]. yeah, but anyways, themack, mulholland drive was the most entertaining of the bunch, plus there was that hot lesbian scene that i was not at all mad at. but stuff like wild at heart and that awful twin peaks tv show and movie just reeked of that elitist booboo that give pseudo-intellectuals a reason to live.

the3rdstream · June 2005

i agree with you here, themack. [man i feel dumb calling a someone themack let alone a kid]. yeah, but anyways, themack, mulholland drive was the most entertaining of the bunch, plus there was that hot lesbian scene that i was not at all mad at. but stuff like wild at heart and that awful twin peaks tv show and movie just reeked of that elitist booboo that give pseudo-intellectuals a reason to live.

i think the only good lynch tings were mulholland, lost highway, and blue velvet, the rest i could care less about, but i have yet to see eraserhead

Electrode · June 2005

It's no Sin City, that's for sure

Sooks · June 2005

This might be helpful

Salon article

TheMack, definitely read this article! Then watch it again.

Sun_Fortune · June 2005

What I heard was that the first hour was written as a pilot and then everything after that was just deconstructing it. Frankly I only really dug that scene where they're at the breakfast joint and the monster is hiding behind the wall. That wuz cool.

edith head · June 2005

im not a fan of lynch. i feel like dude tries to be confusing without any real stake in why. confusing for the sake of it. plus i got no patience for this. dude is trying too hard to be one of them german abstract expressionists or some shit and it just comes off like some esoteric bourgeois doodoo. just my opinion.

dog i don't agree with you at all. it's not just visual mumbo jumbo. i love blue velvet and although there may be some confusion due to atmosphere overload, it does have a plot and meaning. the whole movie is summed up with the opening shot when they show images of what is seemingly a flawless & perfect suburbia - then below the grass the camera zooms in on a decaying ear covered in ants. that shit is brilliant and is a perfect foreshadowing metaphor for what is about to unfold with the two goody-goody kids discovering the grotesque sado-masochistic torture kidnap gasmask weirdo underworldy plot with frank booth & co.

anyway, i had a serious blue velvet moment with my boyfriend this weekend. we were in el cerrito walking through this residential neighborhood and we walk by this house and hear a dude screaming so loudly in agony. first i was like "do you think someone is being attacked?" and mike is like "i think it's a joke." so we stood around for a couple more minutes and the screaming kept happening. mike starts walking up to the front door then this couple in wetsuits got out of their SUV, come up to us and asked us if we knew the person who lived there. we said no, but that we heard screaming and it turns out that this couple lives next door and says the screaming happens 24/7. they have called the cops but nothing happens because in order to file a complaint, they need to leave their name and i'm guessing they are afraid dude will get Gregory Depres on them. then later after i go home, mike calls me when he sees this dude in a trenchcoat & a suitcase walk into the house. ahhh, i told him not to follow cause there might be bodyparts in there!

grandpa_shig · June 2005

ms. damn, i guess we can agree to disagree. but if you get the chance, check out "last year at marienbad [l'anee dernier a marienbad]". for my money, a much more invested film as far as the reworking of accepted narrative. or if you can find it, "not reconciled" by a german dude named straub. lynch just reminds me too much of dada and i am no fan of dada either.

ps
did you catch any of those studio ghibli flicks? im jealous. that howl's moving castle is showing down here but the ticket is like $19. i shit you not.

TheMack · June 2005

anyway, i had a serious blue velvet moment with my boyfriend this weekend. we were in el cerrito walking through this residential neighborhood and we walk by this house and hear a dude screaming so loudly in agony. first i was like "do you think someone is being attacked?" and mike is like "i think it's a joke." so we stood around for a couple more minutes and the screaming kept happening. mike starts walking up to the front door then this couple in wetsuits got out of their SUV, come up to us and asked us if we knew the person who lived there. we said no, but that we heard screaming and it turns out that this couple lives next door and says the screaming happens 24/7 and they call the cops and nothing happens. then later, mike calls me when he sees this dude in a trenchcoat & a suitcase walk into the house. ahhh, i told him not to follow cause there might be bodyparts in there!

RAD!

mcdee · June 2005

i agree with you here, themack. [man i feel dumb calling a someone themack let alone a kid]. yeah, but anyways, themack, mulholland drive was the most entertaining of the bunch, plus there was that hot lesbian scene that i was not at all mad at. but stuff like wild at heart and that awful twin peaks tv show and movie just reeked of that elitist booboo that give pseudo-intellectuals a reason to live.

i think the only good lynch tings were mulholland, lost highway, and blue velvet, the rest i could care less about, but i have yet to see eraserhead

same here, and i have seen eraserhead, its one of those movies i will remember tho. unlike alot of movies thats alot better than eraserhead.... it doesnt really keep ur brain on full speed like his other ones. i think you can count the amount of lines said in it on one hand. the music, sound fx or photography wasnt that interesting either to me... so i dont really understand why people call it 'art'. story was pretty fun tho, just waaay too slow... if you want to get entertained by it you better smoke alot of trees before you hit play!!

and thanks for the gozu tip, im gonna watch it! heres a torrent link if anyone else is interested.

TheMack · June 2005

This might be helpful

Salon article

TheMack, definitely read this article! Then watch it again.

read it. It helped me solidify some of the connotations i had about the movie while watching it, but wasnt sure about because there were so many things going on. But yes alot of things make more sense now that i think about it. But i think Lynch intended it to be a movie you didnt have to think about, a movie that just played off imagery and emotions just like a dream does. really well done IMO

emynd · June 2005

dog i don't agree with you at all. it's not just visual mumbo jumbo. i love blue velvet and although there may be some confusion due to atmosphere overload, it does have a plot and meaning. the whole movie is summed up with the opening shot when they show images of what is seemingly a flawless & perfect suburbia - then below the grass the camera zooms in on a decaying ear covered in ants. that shit is brilliant and is a perfect foreshadowing metaphor for what is about to unfold with the two goody-goody kids discovering the grotesque sado-masochistic torture kidnap gask mask weirdo underworldy plot with frank booth & co.

I agree with this completely.

I don't doubt that Lynch takes some chances at times with provocative imagery that isn't necessarily THAT well thought out, but there's a hell of a lot more imagery and thematics that make a great deal of sense (albeit, after a little bit of thought) then they are random pieces of pretentious mind-fuckery.

Additionally, I find these little "secret codes" that you can read online to absolutely miss the point of Lynch's work. The challenging nature of Lynch's movies are a huge part of their success and efficacy, and to just find some sort of secret decoder ring online that "explains" everything in some absolute manner is to completely miss the point.

All that being said, I haven't seen "Mulholland Drive" so I don't want to comment on it, but I agree that "Blue Velvet" is fucking great. From the political links Lynch is making between the conservative '50s and '80s (and, by extension, the "repression leads to perversion" theme); to the soundtrack; to the purposefully "bad" acting of MacLachlan and Dern (contrasted with Hopper's excellent performance); the opening scene that Awdamn mentions to the hilarious last scene with the bird with the bug in its mouth... man, that movie is fucking perfect.

-e

TheMack · June 2005

Additionally, I find these little "secret codes" that you can read online to absolutely miss the point of Lynch's work. The challenging nature of Lynch's movies are a huge part of their success and efficacy, and to just find some sort of secret decoder ring online that "explains" everything in some absolute manner is to completely miss the point.

yup. whole heartedly cosign this. you shouldnt have to read articles on the internet to enjoy or understand a movie. if anything, repeated viewings should do the trick

Guzzo · June 2005

When I first saw this film I went into crazy sleuthing overdrive. I tried to figure everything out by re-reading the clues that came with the DVD, checking websites, asking friends and film students and anything else that I could do to get some closure and figure out ths weird ass plot.

then I realized I was looking at the movie in black and white as opposed to the many shades of gray that all life and art can fall into. IMO the movie isn't meant to have a easily solvable ending, or an ending whatsoever this was Lynch making a film in which nothing gets wrapped up and leaves you feeling befuddled and confused.

People assume that every movie or show they see much have a beginning or ending, then something comes along in which the beginning is placed in the middle (Pulp fiction, etc.) and call it genius. This was another case of taking a movie and rearragning what an udience expects to make it unexpected. Enjoy the film for its visuals and dialogue, if you feel confused at the end allow it to sink in. Not everything in life is solvable because life leads you to different conclusions.
just my 2 cents
-Adam

mcdee · June 2005

themack i think you should try to watch 'seconds', from 1966. probably the best movie i've seen in the "mindfuck" genre or whatever they call it. seriously one of the best movies i've ever had the pleasure to watch.

Dj_Coma_Toast · June 2005

the_mack i know you are riding david lynch's jock lately so i would suggest Takashi Miike's Gozu. Its has the same feel as a Lynch movie but a bit more extreme. Gozu means Cow head, the movie features lactating, dude with a nasty skin condition, a woman giving birth to a full size man (yes they show it), and some crazy shit with a ladel

cosing. Im not too into miikes others but gozu was real good.

Secret_Chimp · June 2005

I've never gone into a Lynch film expecting to know what the hell was going on. Well, except for Wild At Heart. But I love them all the same,

Speaking of Eraserhead, any of you guys see the soundtrack LP? It comes with a portrait of that little lizard baby.

Dubious · June 2005

ms. damn, i guess we can agree to disagree. but if you get the chance, check out "last year at marienbad [l'anee dernier a marienbad]". for my money, a much more invested film as far as the reworking of accepted narrative.

are you on crack dude???

that's only THE most pretensious BS art school wank fest of ALL TIME man... see endless SCTV spoofs

that said Lynch is great when yer about 18 and shit is all fresh... but i think he's been operating on diminishing returns for a long time now.

up to Twin Peaks / Wild at Heart i can still mess with.. but the stuff since i've been less than interested in.. that said mulholand dr was definatly a bit better.

i tried watching Fire Walk With Me the other week.. enjoyed it back in the day... but it didnt do much for me on repeat.

i think one of Lynch's biggest crutches is that he teases the fuck out of keeners.. throws in things that are seemingly clues and then they go NOWHERE.

for example there's an interesting sequence of numbers in FWWM ... first a 6, then a 7 then later an 8... so one assumes some sort of count down is occuring but then they never go anywhere.

the scene where chris isaac "explains" the code of the crazy lady to keifer sutherland is priceless though.. and at least shows that lynch has a healthy sense of humour about this kinda deciphering crap.

emynd · June 2005

... first a 6, then a 7 then later an 8... .

Why was 6 scared of 7?

Guzzo · June 2005

ms. damn, i guess we can agree to disagree. but if you get the chance, check out "last year at marienbad [l'anee dernier a marienbad]". for my money, a much more invested film as far as the reworking of accepted narrative.

are you on crack dude???

that's only THE most pretensious BS art school wank fest of ALL TIME man... see endless SCTV spoofs

you obviously haven't seen Julien Donkey Boy

grandpa_shig · June 2005

ms. damn, i guess we can agree to disagree. but if you get the chance, check out "last year at marienbad [l'anee dernier a marienbad]". for my money, a much more invested film as far as the reworking of accepted narrative.

are you on crack dude???

that's only THE most pretensious BS art school wank fest of ALL TIME man... see endless SCTV spoofs

ha ha! true, but for good reason. lynch's films are watered down versions of what resnais/robbe-grillet laid down. alls im saying is lynch films aspire to be marienbad, in a certain sense, and allow a bunch of corndogs to chill at starbucks and "discuss".

ps
what is sctv?

Dubious · June 2005

you obviously haven't seen Julien Donkey Boy

i have better sense than that man.

beleive me nothing can top marienbad

EXCEPT

having to watch it for the umpteenth time and then DISCUSS it with a bunch of radical post structuralist video artists in class the next day.

how i managed to get through 4 years of Art School are beyond me.

sitting through 6 hours of vito acconici's red tapes...

what i would like to see though are the series of freaky porno horror movie Rob Grillet (not goin to even attempt to spell dudes name right) did after marienbad / hiroshima mon amor

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Mulholland Drive

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