Things have been pretty busy around here lately, so May looks to be a rather light month. But we do what we can. Here are some of the films I watched during the first half of May.
david lynch project
The Straight Story (1999) David Lynch
The Straight Story (1999)
Directed by David Lynch
Produced by Pierre Edelman, Neal Edelstein, Michael Polaire, Mary Sweeney
Screenplay by John Roach, Mary Sweeney
Cinematography by Freddie Francis
Edited by Mary Sweeney
Casting by Jane Alderman, Lynn Blumenthal
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Home Video DVD – library
(color; 1:52)
The David Lynch Project Part VIII
(The complete David Lynch Project so far)
“Odd” is a word that no doubt comes up frequently when discussing anything related to David Lynch, but a G-rated David Lynch movie produced and distributed by Disney gives odd a whole new meaning.
It gets more odd…
Movies Watched in April 2016 Part III
Lost Highway (1997) David Lynch
Lost Highway (1997)
Directed by David Lynch
Produced by Deepak Nayar, Tom Sternberg, Mary Sweeney
Screenplay by David Lynch, Barry Gifford
Cinematography by Peter Deming
Edited by Mary Sweeney
Casting by Johanna Ray, Elaine J. Huzzar
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
October Films
Universal UK Blu-ray
(color; 2:15)
The David Lynch Project Part VII
Here’s a statement that will probably be disputed among several readers: David Lynch’s films really aren’t that hard to understand. Oh sure, we may not know what every symbol or image represents (if anything), we may not know if a certain character is a real person or a representation of something else, on and on. Such things we can debate forever, but the basic stories of most of Lynch’s films are pretty clear if you understand one thing:
Wild At Heart (1990) David Lynch
Wild At Heart (1990)
Directed by David Lynch
Produced by Steve Golin, Michael Kuhn, Month Montgomery, Sigurjon Sighvatsson
Screenplay by David Lynch, based on the novel by Barry Gifford
Cinematography by Frederick Elmes
Edited by Duwayne Dunham
Casting by Johanna Ray
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Propaganda Films
Universal Pictures UK Blu-ray
(color; 2:05)
The David Lynch Project Part VI
While my friend K and I have been working on our David Lynch project, it seems as if each film is preparing us for the next one. K and I watched Blue Velvet back in April and after nearly a six-month hiatus, we’re back. It’s never a good idea to try to label a David Lynch film as any one thing, but if you were to call Blue Velvet a noir mystery (two things), I think you’d have to call Wild At Heart a romantic fantasy. Or a romantic crime fantasy. Or a romantic crime fantasy thriller. Or…
Blue Velvet (1986) David Lynch
Blue Velvet (1986) David Lynch
Written by David Lynch
Produced by Fred Caruso, Richard A. Roth
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
Cinematography by Frederick Elmes
MGM
Amazon streaming (rental)
(2:01)
The David Lynch Project Part V
With some films, you lose track of exactly how many times you’ve seen them. I can’t tell you for sure how many times I’ve seen The Maltese Falcon or The Bridge on the River Kwai or even Ghostbusters, but I can tell you very distinctly about the three times I’ve watched Blue Velvet.
Twin Peaks, Season One (TV 1990)
Twin Peaks Season One (1990)
8 episodes including pilot
The David Lynch Project Part IV
Looking at Twin Peaks, you get the feeling that David Lynch was like a kid placed in a room with an enormous amount of toys. Not an unlimited number of toys, but enough to keep him interested for a long, long time. A television series also gave Lynch a longer format to work with, allowing him and co-creator Mark Frost to develop characters and themes, to experiment, to take risks and to explore. Sure, there were restrictions; this was network TV in the early 90s, after all, but it may not be too much of a stretch to say that with Twin Peaks, Lynch was at least partially responsible for pushing boundaries and exploring some unchartered television territory.
Dune (1984) David Lynch
Dune (1984) David Lynch
Universal Studios
(2:17)
Universal Blu-ray
The David Lynch Project Part III
Let’s just get this out of the way right now: David Lynch’s Dune is a mess. It contains some enormous talent, spectacular isolated scenes, exquisite sets and design work, and some incredible action sequences, but it’s still a mess. Yet it is a mess I enjoy watching.
Lynch on Lynch (2005) Chris Rodley, editor
Lynch on Lynch (2005 revised edition) Chris Rodley, editor
Faber and Faber
Trade paperback, 322 pages
Includes filmography, television credits and art exhibitions, bibliography, index
ISBN 9780571220182
This revised 2005 edition covers discussions of all of David Lynch’s feature films (as well as the TV show Twin Peaks) except Inland Empire (2006). These interviews conducted by Chris Rodley shed much light on Lynch and his concepts of filmmaking, but don’t expect the director to tell you what any of his work actually means. If you understand and appreciate that going in – and if you enjoy Lynch’s work – you’re going to get a lot out of this book.
The Elephant Man (1980) David Lynch
The Elephant Man (1980) David Lynch
Paramount Pictures
(2:04)
Netflix Streaming
The David Lynch Project Project Part II
The Elephant Man no doubt holds fond and not-so-fond memories for David Lynch. It was his second feature film and his first to be backed by a large studio (Paramount). It was nominated for eight Oscars, yet won none of them. Had there been an Oscar category at the time for make-up, Christopher Tucker’s work on The Elephant Man would certainly have won it, yet the oversight was so great that the category was added to the list of Oscars the next year. (That first award went to Rick Baker for An American Werewolf in London.)
Journeys in Darkness and Light 
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