Rank the David Lynch movies

[byron lomax]

I've been on a big Lynch kick recently, re-watching all of his films and seeing some for the first time. I've also managed to get all the way through Inland Empire at last.

Here's how I rank his movies, best to worst:

Mulholland Drive (10/10)
Blue Velvet (10/10)
The Straight Story (9/10)
Eraserhead (8/10)
The Elephant Man (8/10)
INLAND EMPIRE (7/10)
Wild at Heart (7/10)
Lost Highway (6/10)

I still haven't seen Dune, and I'm not planning to watch the Twin Peaks movie until I've seen the series.

I'd put The Elephant Man below Eraserhead because it gets a little too sentimental at times. Wild at Heart comes across as Lynch-by-numbers, but is still a fun movie to watch. Lost Highway comes last because I disliked the main character's younger alter ego, which the film spent too much time on; it still has some great scenes though.

I'd like to see other fans' opinions on his best films.

 

[sidious618]

I love Lynch. I haven't seen all his films yet because I like to have something to look forward to.

Mulholland Drive- ****
Blue Velvet- ****
Lost Highway- ***1/2
Fire Walk With Me- ***1/2
Eraserhead- ***
Wild at Heart- **

 

[Rii]

I just can't get into Lynch. And believe me, I've tried.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I love Lynch, He's directed a few of my favorites, and all of his projects are interesting, even the failures.

In order the classics are....

Eraserhead
Blue Velvet
Twin Peaks saga
Muholland Dr.

The rest varies from merely good to terrible.

I also really enjoyed his Dumbland shorts. Very funny and creative cartoons.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I just can't get into Lynch. And believe me, I've tried.

Buy him dinner first.

Oddly, the only two I've seen are DUNE and "Come Fire Walk With Me" (I never watched Twin Peaks, so it was even stranger.)

 

[Rii]

I just can't get into Lynch. And believe me, I've tried.

Buy him dinner first.

Asshole.

Oddly, the only two I've seen are DUNE and "Come Fire Walk With Me" (I never watched Twin Peaks, so it was even stranger.)

I haven't even tried Dune as I fail to see what a film adaptation could offer over the novels. The interesting stuff in the novels is, well, all the kinds of stuff that tends to get 'lost in translation'. It's like writing a novelisation of Russian Ark: what's the point?

That and I just don't want to get stuck with visual associations from the films when reading the books.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

That and I just don't want to get stuck with visual associations from the films when reading the books.

My visual associations with DUNE were from an Avalon Hill board game released well before the movie. Much more 30's era Flash Gordon-style renderings of the characters. The Guild looked a like a blue Creature From the Black Lagoon, the Emperor very Ming-like

So the Lynch movie was different from that, lots of rubber costumes and a big fetus Guild, and bad lighting.

I didn't read the book until after the movie. So both sources colored my opinion of what the Dune universe looked like.

 

[Harvey]

I'd say that his Dune adaptation is a big enough mess to warrant an F. I haven't seen any other films by Lynch, though I should, given his weird sensibilities.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I'd say that his Dune adaptation is a big enough mess to warrant an F. I haven't seen any other films by Lynch, though I should, given his weird sensibilities.

I'm a huge Lynch fan, and I don't care for it either. Lynch is hit or miss, but his hits are amazing, and unlike anything else.

 

[sidious618]

Dune was also re-edited by the studio and supposedly made it worse.

 

[Kirkman1987]

Dune was also re-edited by the studio and supposedly made it worse.

From what I understand, the final cut was edited by Lynch, but under mandate by the studio. In truth however, Dune is pretty bad regardless of editing. The project was in serious trouble before production began. In addition, Lynch made a terrible mistake in giving up creative control and final cut. If it's an indication, he's never done it since.

I'm also just not sure if he was the right guy for Dune. I would love to visit an alternate universe where Ridley Scott made Dune, which was the plan at one point, and see how that turned out.

Although I think a few of Lynch's works are stronger, Twin Peaks will always be his most important work imo, and the most entertaining.

I don't have a precise link, but there are some excellent Twin Peaks episode reviews being written weekly over at Chud.com. Pretty insightful commentary on the series.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'd rate the Lynch movies if I could UNDERSTAND the damn things.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I'd rate the Lynch movies if I could UNDERSTAND the damn things.

A lot of people say this, but with a few exceptions I've always thought the general idea of his films are very clear, even if you can argue over precise details.

Funny story. A girl I knew once stopped talking to me after I recommended she see Eraserhead, adding in that I saw a lot of myself in the main character.

Is anyone else feel like that? Everytime I see that dinner scene, with the painfully awkward conversation and odd parents, I think how it's not that far off from my own experiences "meeting the folks" or talking to relatives at Thanksgiving.

 

[Harvey]

Dune was also re-edited by the studio and supposedly made it worse.

The studio made him cut it down, but Lynch agreed to the changes. It's his opinion that the shorter cut of the film is the superior version--that's why all the longer cuts of it carry the pseudonym "Alan Smithee" instead of crediting Lynch.

I still haven't seen the longer cut of the movie, though. Not in any rush to, really. I don't dislike the movie simply on the grounds that it cut down the book.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'd rate the Lynch movies if I could UNDERSTAND the damn things.

A lot of people say this, but with a few exceptions I've always thought the general idea of his films are very clear, even if you can argue over precise details.

Like whether or not Inland Empire even has a plot.

 

[byron lomax]

I'd rate the Lynch movies if I could UNDERSTAND the damn things.

A lot of people say this, but with a few exceptions I've always thought the general idea of his films are very clear, even if you can argue over precise details.

Like whether or not Inland Empire even has a plot.

I admit, INLAND EMPIRE is a very difficult film to get a handle on. Even Lynch fanatics who loved digging into Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive and unravelling their mysteries found it a stretch. The first hour is relatively straightforward, and then the film gets...lost. But a lot of the scenes and imagery stayed with me after I watched it, and I keep going back to see them again. Some are beautiful, some are terrifying. And what a performance from Laura Dern.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I'd rate the Lynch movies if I could UNDERSTAND the damn things.

A lot of people say this, but with a few exceptions I've always thought the general idea of his films are very clear, even if you can argue over precise details.

Like whether or not Inland Empire even has a plot.

Granted, I did say there were a few exceptions, but I really feel that most of his works are at least generally clear.

Eraserhead- A movie about a man's fear of becoming a father. Explores the awkwardness of meeting strangers and the fear of a "monster" child ruining your life and personal relationships. The only really abstract portions are the woman in the radiator and The man in the planet.

Dune and Elephant Man are normal movies.

Blue Velvet has a very standard thriller plot, obviously inspired by films like Rear window. There is a lot of interesting subtext, but it's not required if you want to ignore those things.

Twin Peaks makes almost perfect sense as long as it's watched in order.

Wild at Heart is a simple love story, just with some surreal characters.

Lost Highway is the first Lynch film that confused me when I first saw it. I would agree that this can be very confusing, even though a plot is there.

The Straight Story has some interesting subtext if you read between the lines, but is mostly renowned as a good family film.
Muholland Dr - I've never understood the intense confusion around this film. The first part is a dream, and the last part is reality.

Inland Empire- You got me, I have no clue. Good images though and a haunting quality.

Apart from some short films, that's everything. There are confused elements here and there that add charm and invite audience interaction, but I believe the films do have real plots.

 

[Seven of Five]

I recently discovered Mullholland Drive which was my first exposure to Lynch, and I loved it to death. I moved onto Twin Peaks, of which I've only seen the first season so far. What I've seen was excellent, I can't wait to see the rest, inspite of season two's apparent decrease in quality.

I've got Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Inland Empire ready to go though whenever I want to pop a film on so looking forward to more Lynch exposure.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I recently discovered Mullholland Drive which was my first exposure to Lynch, and I loved it to death. I moved onto Twin Peaks, of which I've only seen the first season so far. What I've seen was excellent, I can't wait to see the rest, inspite of season two's apparent decrease in quality.

I've got Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Inland Empire ready to go though whenever I want to pop a film on so looking forward to more Lynch exposure.

Season two maintains the quality of season one for the first 9-10 episodes, so you have a lot of good stuff to go. Even the weak episodes have moments here and there, although make no mistake, it is a bad stretch of episodes towards the end. Great Lynch directed finale though.

 

[Goliath]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

Twin Peaks should never have been renewed for a full second season.

Thirteen episodes, yes. A full season, no.

That second season must rank as one of the most annoying TV productions ever mounted.

Spoiler: Season 2

The show fell off a cliff after the identity of Laura Palmer's killer was revealed.

Much of the second half of the second season is almost unwatchable,

And yet, in the last few episodes, it somehow miraculously caught hold of a branch or something, and managed to haul itself back up to the edge of the cliff. The last few episodes built up to a really solid cliffhanger finale, raising hopes that a third season might recapture the magic of the first.

But by then it was too late. The show was cancelled.

Fuck you, Twin Peaks.