Have any of you seen ERASERHEAD, the 1977 B&W art film that launched the career of American director David Lynch?



No doubt that it's very weird, no doubt that it's very creative and inspired.





But do you have any ideas on what it might mean, if anything? Is it a dark comedy? A horror film?





Are there tips o' the hat to Poe, Hitchcock, Bunuel, Polanski, Bresson, Lang, De Sica afoot?



Is there any purpose to this film... other than to arouse disgust?


(I don't have any ulterior conclusions meself, so fire away.)


D.

You have to be stoned to sit through it, first of all. But in that case, it will make all sorts of sense. Really. I think...

I came away from it feeling the same as I did after seeing Un Chien Andalou - that it meant only to arouse disgust. It's clear that David Lynch was influenced by Bunuel.

I was and remain a big David Lynch fan, even though I guess he's a little out of fashion these days. I've always seen Eraserhead as a dark comedy--to the extent that you can put any standard narrative label on it. Lynch came out of a purely abstract art school approach to video. He also had a young child when he made the movie, and I think there's a lot of that new parent dismay ("My god, what is this thing?") behind the images in the film.

Oh, now THAT's a fascinating take on it that makes me want to watch it again. I admit I haven't seen it since shortly after it came out -- I think it was on a midnight double-bill with Rocky Horror Picture Show. But with THAT bit of background info, I'd be willing to give it another viewing!!

As I recall, I too, treated this film as rather a black comedy. Wasn't too sure if I was on the right track, though. Just didn't know what else, to make of it. Blue Velvet gave me problems, as well.

Lynch came out of a purely abstract art school approach to video. He also had a young child when he made the movie, and I think there's a lot of that new parent dismay ("My god, what is this thing?") behind the images in the film.
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When I saw it, it was a double feature with Tod Browning's Freaks. My imagination was worked overtime that night.

Didn't he have a hand in Mulholland Drive? I thought that was edited beautifully ..... and captured the dream-nightmare quality better than anything I'd seen in a loong while. Which reminds me of the other movie Requiem for a Dream mentioned here recently --- also had that hallucinatory, ghastly, can't-wake-up-from-this
quality to it.

David Lynch had/has a child??! Wonder what he/she is doing these days?

She was an actress at one point, I believe. I'll look her up. You'll recognize her, I think....

I was wrong. Her acting credits are minimal. She was the writer and director of Boxing Helena, though. A film you may recall as a scandal-riddled legal battle. Weird movie, not surprisingly....

Yes, Mulholland Drive was his. I *think* it was originally conceived as another TV series, like Twin Peaks, but that fell through and they would up editing it into a single movie.

That dream/nightmare quality is what I love about Lynch. Sometimes he goes wrong (Wild at Heart--ick!), but his best stuff is just entrancing.

BTW, I believe he's got 3 kids, from 3 different marriages

I saw this with my then best friend when it first came out. I dont remember much about it other than at the time I perceived it as a dark comedy, and that it left me feeling kind of depressed afterwards. I think I might rent it again, just to refresh.

Omigod, Mr. Salinqmind just bought this for himself for his birthday, because he always wanted to see it and you can't rent it around here!

We watched it twice in a row (perfectly sober, thank you) and I doubt we'll be watching it ever again.

I can't say I enjoyed it, though it was fascinating to watch. I think I read it took a looooong time to film and the cast aged visibly. Sissy Spacek's husband was in it and she was involved in the filming, somehow.


There are various interpretations, Mr. S. thinks it reflects the fear of being a new parent. There are many, many reviews and deconstructions online, I can't think of any offfhand, but if you google "Eraserhead reviews" or "Eraserhead interpretations" you will get a wealth of information.

(BTW - it was quite a while before I could look a cooked chicken in the cavity again =:0

Dark comedy, that finally answers the question on all of our lips -- what happens when someone has sex with Mary.

(my favorite line in the film)

I just know I don't want to live behind the radiator...

As others have said, it's a Bunuelesque and Freudian overdose - as mixture of semi-conscious fears, irrational desires, and dream states. It's also both disgusting and frustrating (in fact, even think of the industrial noise soundtrack and those empty flat moments between people makes me itch and feel restless).

What's ore interesting, is that it sets up so many of Lynch's preoccupations, both thematically (open ended, dreamlike states) and narratively (mini-people, apparently naive central characters). I didn't like it much but pretended I did as a teen...

Leo -- your mention of the industrial noise in the background made me remember "The Elephant Man," which I believe was a David Lynch movie also, the only really mainstream movie he's made. I loved that one.

And Armanis, I had real problems with Blue Velvet, too, but did enjoy Dennis Hopper camping it up, breathing into whatever that thing was (an oxygen tank? A nitrous oxide home dispenser?).

I remember Eraserhead. I tried watching it twice and could only make it about halfway through. I thought I had a high tolerance for weird, but I guess not.