5 CommentsReply |
MenuLatest GadetsRecent Reviews
Archives
|
Notcot
Gizmos, Gadgets, Noir and Steampunk
5 CommentsReply |
|
Copyright © 2024 Notcot All rights reserved. Theme by Laptop Geek. Site by I Want This Website. | Privacy Policy.
The first time I saw Eraserhead I had heard neither of the film itself, nor of David Lynch, and had no idea what to expect. To put it mildly, I was seriously uneasy – not sickened as in gore-fests, shocked as in the he’s-behind-you school, nor even spooked by the supernatural. No, what makes this film disturbing is that Lynch has plumbed the film directly into the viewer’s psyche. You understand what you seen on the screen, but can’t understand or relate to it directly. And don’t expect explanations or loose ends to be tied!
Weird is one word, but it goes much deeper – a trance-like dream state where inexplicable events occur at random intervals, with no obvious rational logic or emotional consistency. By taking away many of the trappings of conscious reality and leaving you in a stylised world akin to a Dali painting where normal objects don’t necessarily appear in the expected context, nor to behave as you would hope. From the odd appearance of John Nance, through to the bizarre roast chicken and all peculiarities thereafter, Eraserhead succeeds in disorientating the viewer better than any film I’ve come across before or since.
In hindsight, the heavy metaphors about parenthood seem more obvious, but no less disturbing for all that. Even comedy in this context (like the roast chicken) can have the opposite effect. You might laugh, but it’s tension relief with a difference. The suspense notches up another gear in the process.
As another reviewer says, this is still fresh today, and certainly an alternative to the bland production line that is Hollywood. Perhaps the Hollywood machine toned down Lynch’s act (though in the light of Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks and suchlike, not by that much!), but first films have rarely been more startling. If you’re a student of David Lynch, look here to see where his creative imagination was fired.
Rating: 4 / 5
I first saw this film lying in bed at about 2am flicking between channels. Its first impression on me was ‘great, another “art” movie for the pretentious and/or insomniac generation.’ How wrong I was.
One of the major things that I love about Eraserhead, and with a lot of Lynch’s work, is the feeling that the film could be set in the past, present, or future. The viewer is not told of the era, location or any other trivialities that may cloud judgment on the plot. And what a plot it is, only surpassed by the soundtrack which is a blistering, frightening and yet enveloping enterage of industrial noise.
Once agin the screenplay is limited, and speech relatively slow (considered) between the cast, a factor that is once agian reproduced in ‘Lost Highway’, one of Lynchs later movies.
Basically this is a fairy tale for grown ups, and is mesmerising from start to finish. Its 18 certificate is merely to put the censors mind at ease, with no real ‘gore’ of mention present. This is horror, but in a differnt sense of the word. You are not going to find stereotypical horror processes here, just an original, yet strangely addictive film.
The only reason this DVD dosent get ***** in my opinion is due to the realatively scarce extras. Trailer, and biography/filmography.
Watch this on a nicam speakered TV in the dark with the windows open on a cold night I dare ya!
Rating: 4 / 5
Intense and unforgettable, Lynch made this film at weekends over a period of five years, working during the week to earn money for film stock. With its black and white photography, incessant industrial soundtrack and disturbing surrealist imagery, this is a film which will stay with you long after you’ve seen it.
Rating: 5 / 5
Summarising Eraserhead’s plot is fairly simple – a regular guy with a strange haircut living in a world with a lot of pipes fathers a curious limbless mutant/alien baby, and some stuff happens. Hm. Not the best way to approach this movie. It’s David Lynch, remember. So…
Eraserhead is a work of cinematic genius. Low-budget, yet the black and white cinematography is as crisp and expressionistic as anything from the 20s and 30s. The sound is dense and threatening. The overall look of the movie is noir horror; the psychological tone sheer barking paranoia.
Eraserhead isn’t so much a story as a set of vignettes from the life of a man stuck in a world he can’t understand, struggling to understand the bizarre and arbitrary nature of life. It’s almost inappropriate to discuss matters such as the quality of the performances or the nature of the plot – what Eraserhead is about is the creation of a disturbing, surreal, threatening atmosphere that leaves you just as trapped inside the movie as the cast are. Even the “escape” that seems visible in the world inside the radiator (don’t ask…) is just as grim…
A total masterpiece.
And remember:
In heaven…
…everything is fine
Rating: 5 / 5
Where to start with a film that features a deformed baby, a woman in a radiator, chickens that flap about on the plate when they’re about to be carved and the strangest haircut ever (besides my own). Well this is David Lynch’s first full length feature and is stranger than Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway put together. It is not very dialogue heavy; it’s more atmospheric and nightmarish really. Nor is it particularly scary- in fact it is quite beautiful. There is one scene that stands out in my mind as being particularly disturbing though: where the father is sat staring at the main protagonist (Eraserhead) with a fixed smile on his face and his daughter walks in to stand behind him with her hand clasped over her mouth in horror. I know it doesn’t sound particularly disturbing but it is when you see it. This is certainly not for everyone- but if you are a fan of all things weird and disturbing then this is a must.
Rating: 5 / 5