Episode 105 - Eraserhead vs. Blue Velvet (w/ Michael Nordine)

[sabbersolo 0]

Blue Velvet!

[Jack Frost 252]

 

Isn't it astounding? At the risk of derailing this thread (something we were specifically warned not to do!), I really believe we are witnessing the quintessential David Lynch masterpiece unfold.

 

DANG IT! I don't have Showtime!!!!

 

Also while Inland Empire is far from perfect, it's the one that made an official Laura Dern fan out of me.

 

edit:

I ended up voting for Eraserhead. While Blue Velvet is probably the superior film, Eraserhead is the most distilled Lynch we've yet seen. It's like Lynch concentrate. Also, it seemed like Blue Velvet was winning and I feel like Eraserhead deserves some points for cultural relevance.

[NathanGordon 1096]

 

DANG IT! I don't have Showtime!!!!

 

Also while Inland Empire is far from perfect, it's the one that made an official Laura Dern fan out of me.

FYI you can sign up for a 7-day Showtime trial on Amazon and watch all the episodes there. That's how I did it (two different trials so far).

 

I put off Inland Empire for years because I'd heard mixed opinions, so my expectations were quite low going in -- I actually ended up liking the film quite a bit. I think the low res digital video works to its advantage; it helps distort the "reality" of when Laura Dern's character is actually on camera or not. And the cinematography and lighting are still very sumptuous and interesting.

[HoldenMartinson 221]

Voted Blue Velvet, but ended up re-watching it with a friend this evening. Holy shit, Blue Velvet has kind of a terrible script. It's that everything else--the direction, the design, the performances, the photography, the editing, etc.--is so strong that you forgive the bizarro dialogue and weird character motivations. With that in mind, it actually made the film so much more fun. Blue Velvet has a lot to unpack in terms of craft, but in terms of text, it's incredibly messy, making nitpicking weirdly entertaining.

 

Goddamn, I love this movie.

[Jack Frost 252]

FYI you can sign up for a 7-day Showtime trial on Amazon and watch all the episodes there. That's how I did it (two different trials so far).

All the episodes, like the whole new season? Or just the ones that have been released so far? And thanks!!!\

 

"You've got to swing your hips now." *snap

[alt0782 29]

I think just the ones that have aired to date. You might want to hold off until all 18 have aired to jump on that deal.

[Re42scott2 3]

For THE CANON (an exceptional standard of the medium), I chose BLUE VELVET. However, I do think ERASERHEAD is pure nightmare cinema that probably sticks with you in a way that BLUE VELVET doesn't. It is creepy, cryptic and haunting. But without BLUE VELVET we don't get the popular definition of something being "Lynchian". BLUE VELVET is a part of the collective consciousness in a way that ERASERHEAD could never be. Since this is a versus episode, BLUE VELVET makes sense as the clear choice. They are both great movies, though in radically different ways.

[Nodz 2]

I have to say Eraserhead. It's pure, raw Lynch and contains some of his most effective filmmaking. I was so glad that Amy said the baby was one of the best special effects she's ever seen, because I thought the same thing watching it this time. It's creepy, unsettling, gritty, and a touch sweet. The sets, the sounds, the acting, and the cinematography serve the film and the themes of desolation and self-image soooo well. Henry's apartment was his only refuge from the ugly, rundown dying animal of a city he lived in and the baby is a horrific reflection of his own flaws that invades his one safe space. Love it.

 

I don't want to say I love Blue Velvet but I do enjoy it. Rossellini and Hopper are both acting powerhouses, but most if not all of the themes are tackled in Twin Peaks in more interesting ways, in my opinion. I can't seem to separate this movie from that show, which isn't fair to the movie, but it's how I feel. I was surprised they didn't discuss Jeffrey's father in the hospital. During this viewing, I thought that perhaps seeing his father in this state affected his view of his own masculinity, and forced him to temporarily live in a female-dominated household. I appreciated how a lot of this movie is about Jeffrey's relationships with various women. You get a good grasp of his character based on how he speaks to Sandy, Dorothy, and his mother and aunt. Hmm. Maybe I do love this movie. But not as much as Eraserhead.

[AaronGillespie 6]

As someone who's never seen a David Lynch movie before, I felt like I missed-out the most by having never seen Eraserhead. I could retroactively see more of its influence on so much of what I grew up with, everything from Silent Hill and Deadly Premonition to Courage the Cowardly Dog.

Blue Velvet was a fascinating, well made film that I personally identified with, being from a small weird Midwest town (which I am currently back inside of for summer break), but it's impact and importance wasn't as readily apparent to me as Eraserhead's.

[mireczech 0]

As much as I love Lynch's debut Eraserhead, in the end I must go with Blue Velvet. I consider the former as the movie that helped Lynch at the same time establish himself as a true idosyncratic artist and as someone who wears on his sleeve the rich cinema history he comes from (mainly german expressionism and surrealism). The symbolism in this movie is handled with such confidence rarely seen in early works of filmmaker's filmography. But still, with Blue Velvet he taps into something not really explored before. In this film he sets up the Americana he is known for and builds on in his future works. And it also makes the case for me because it perfectly goes with the renewed Twin Peaks TV show. What better way to introduce its fans to other works of this one of a kind director?

[Salamander Salad Days 5]

Quick question for everybody: Did you guys adjust your TV when you watched Eraserhead? I borrowed a DVD copy of it and there was text before the main menu that said something about how tv sets are poorly calibrated and asked me to turn my brightness all the way down. There was so much black that the film felt even more like it was in a void but there were some scenes like the second time harry and the girl across the hall interacted that were so dark you could barely see anything unless you turned the brightness up a tad. Is the film really suppose to have such a limited field of view? I don't mind a dark film but I wonder if some of the intended darkness is lost in streaming or if what ever HD copy amazon/Netflix/Skynet uses has made up for it.

[Jack Frost 252]

Quick question for everybody: Did you guys adjust your TV when you watched Eraserhead? I borrowed a DVD copy of it and there was text before the main menu that said something about how tv sets are poorly calibrated and asked me to turn my brightness all the way down.

Inland Empire had a similar screen. I didn't actually follow the instructions because I have THX blue filter glasses and several of my DVDs have calibration screens that allow you to properly adjust brightness, color, tint, and contrast. I know Lynch likes things to fall off into darkness on the screen.

That being said, the only way I've ever seen Eraserhead is on a bootleg VHS I bought off the internet as a teenager. it's widescreen but it has Japanese subtitles. So take my opinion for what it's worth.

[ravingponies 0]

Revisiting Eraserhead this weekend, I forgot how fully realized that world is. After it ended it took me a while to shake the movie off, which seems to be an increasingly rare feeling these days. The atmosphere and environment of Erasherhead is just so fully realized and incredibly suffocating that I was completely transported. I used to rank Blue Velvet higher in my favorite Lynch films, probably because it's one of the easiest to unpack and certainly a lot more fun to watch versus his more obscure and disturbing work a la Eraserhead.

 

If the Canon is just a collection of movies that we can recommend to others and they will enjoy them, then Blue Velvet is the winner. This doesn't seem to be the intention though since how else does Cannibal Holocaust get on any list other than Worst Horror Movies?

 

I'm going to assume the Canon is for important, unique films that paved the way for other filmmakers and are a representation of what cinema can achieve, so I'm going to have to submit my vote in for Eraserhead.

[Scottcarberry 13]

John Waters and Lynch both have two early films that are game-changing and for some folks, unwatchable; Pink Flamingos and Eraserhead. They also have mid-career films that are excellent and have been seen by an audience that didn't or wouldn't enjoy their earlier works. Namely, Hairspray and Blue Velvet. Blue Velvet goes in the Canon even though I love Eraserhead, too.