Fire Walk With Me

[Tequila Zaire]

David Lynch has always been the kind of artist you either like, pretend you like, or hate but pretend you don't. Most of it is due to the fact tht even if you DO hate his work you can't deny it's originality and personality. The first of his films I saw was as a kid when a friend of mine snuck of copy of Eraserhead thinking it was gonna be your typical slasher flick...needless to say we were surprised. The Elephant Man was next and is now a staple of many High School classes...but it was not till I was a teen that I was able to see his more famous work.

Their are two standouts and for me Blue Velvet is not one of them. Yeah yeah I know many love it and think it's his best work but I don't buy it...his two best films are Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and Wild At Heart.

Wild At Heart pops to the top because so much of Barry Gifford's insane brain was kept with Lynch's screenplay. It's like a fine mixed drink...A Film Noir junkie on one hand and the Art House Hero on the other both doing a viciously nasty turn on the standard American crime movie. Many forget that since the love story is so dominant but it's pure film noir at heart. The story plays out at a pace that keeps scenes from draggin, characters for becoming stale, and a plot that lets you know where it's heading but does what a bad cabbie would and makes you go around the city to get a block ahead...it's hard not to walk away from that and not want to live, breathe, and be it. I was an impressionable lad so I made sure my X-Mas list had the same coat that Nic Cage had in the movie. Was never bold enough to wear it much though. The film has lovingly returned to the home market via a beautiful DVD...so if you havn't seen it....go see it...and if you have...well...go buy it.

Though I put it at #2 this is my favourite, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me serves as the ending/prelude for the TV series...in it questions are answered (no worries I won't ruin any of it) and other are raised but best of all you see the loving detail and debauchary given to the quirky little town that has damn good cherry pie. Where it departs from the series is the mood set by the editing and photography. You have this sense (yet again) noir feel mixed with horror films of the late 70's. Color and shadow become as vital characters as the log lady...not an easy feet to pull off in a film dominated by the exploits of a character that we KNOW dies...so not only are you on edge as to what leads to her demise but you're also waiting for when...a fun ride that ends up casting a long shadow on the whole TV series making the second viewing (again becoming available on DVD) far darker than it was prior to the movie. Many scenes that seem quirky and odd before you see the movie become sinister and perverted along with in a handful of cases...sickening.

How can one not love that?

Any other fans of these films or any other David Lynch movie that care to toss in their 5 cents about em?

[karyn]

although i enjoy Dennis Hopper terrorizing everyone i mostly hate David Lynch.

[Hannibal666]

I could go on forever about Lynch. I am actually going to see him speak at the University of Michigan campus sunday, and hope to meet him. It's true that you either love or hate him. I have watced his films since childhood, and he has been and always will be my favorite. If you ever come back to this post, we should talk more on it. Hard to find anyone who will do so.

[Tequila Zaire]

Always an interesting man to talk about it, I'm really curious what he's doing with the new Dune DVD...he now has the chance to add in what was cut out and reshape it to be closer to his original intent.

Also curious as to when in the hell Lost Highway will make it's debut on the DVD scene as well. Kinda hate how it's become "That Lynch Film with the great soundtrack". It's one of his most solid efforts that I think would find a better audience now than when it first hit theaters.

[evilassmaster]

I'm mostly curious about the guy who was in charge of making the music for Dune... he should be shot, but first ***** by an oiled-up Sting

[TheDeathKnight]

I'm a big David Lynch fan...

What I loved about FWWM, is that he got the movie-going audience all sucked into this plotline with the FBI agents, then halfway through the film, he just switches gears, and they are gone. It does not really matter, as the story is still interesting, but I love the fact that most people were probably waiting to see them come back into the story, and they never do. He fucks with the normal Hollywood movie structures, and gets away with it.

I tend to think of most of his films not as a film with a plotline, but more like visual poetry, that is meant to extract an emotion from the viewer. He just sets up these little stories, and these little visuals, that make you feel a sense of betrayal, or fear, or love. He just takes these little cliche ideas of cinema, and twists them into this really sick version of reality. And it works really well to set up an emotion. I remember how well he did with the first part of Lost Highway. You could really feel the sense of distance, and how stale and boring their life was. And yet with this dark undertone, that something was not quite right. To most people, it might seem like a boring intro to a movie. But if you were able to get sucked into it, it really made you feel uncomfortable. That is why many people don't like David Lynch. They expect a normal plotline they can follow. And normal pacing. And a set of characters they can understand. But he just throws all those rules out the window, and makes a very random movie. But if you let yourself just experience it, you realize he does a really great job at creating a feeling of emotion. Even if it makes no sense at all, you understand the feeling...

Anyhow, I like his work, but his latest work is a lot better than some of his earlier stuff.
I like it more abstract.