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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"But what the hell do they know, I said?", Dec 2 2003
If you're reading this, then you've seen this movie or are at least curious what all the hype is all about? The late Stanley Kubrick, the only major filmmaker Lynch has cited as a direct cinematic influence, believed that ERASERHEAD was one of the most perfect "cinematic experiences" created to date. This movie has enjoyed success on the midnight movie circuit for years, particularly in NYC where it ran almost every night for something like five years straight. I've seen it on big and little screens in three different states. Insofar as interpretations are concerned, I've long since tossed all that out the window. In terms of rational comprehension, ERASERHEAD is the fabled big fish that remains brilliantly elusive of any attempts to capture it. This movie gets better, and more humorous, every time I watch it: in my opinion - ERASERHEAD is the cinematic experience that comes the closest to capturing "dream logic", next to the equally brilliant WAKING LIFE. If you ever get the chance, watch ERASERHEAD in a movie theater with a great sound system - you will understand why Stanley Kubrick was moved enough to make his statement. It's like experiencing someone else's dream - the ultimate act of voyeurism? As if I was granted audience to a demonstration of delicate brain surgery, and catching glimpses of the patient's face throughout the operation (particularly the opening scene). It creates such a visceral landscape with its dark, peculiar selections of image and sound, that it seems to be constantly reminding you that the "soul" is helplessly sloshing around somewhere inside an organic bag of blood, bone, hair follicles, industrial shrapnel, dirt piles and antique radiators; a terrifying and beautiful delineation of a living creature suddenly made aware of its own being (birth imagery abounding). It is a perfect symphony of sound and image, amazing work for a first time feature film director! I've seen this movie placed in the HORROR section at local video stores; it's better suited for the COMEDY section, I fear. The movie was created on the AFI campus in California; production beginning his last year there, and continuing on for several more years in secret. Not for everyone, but certainly worth a peek. I own a copy of ERASERHEAD on DVD, finally. It is available at David Lynch's website for forty-five bucks plus shipping and handling. Remastered sound and image, includes a few extras - the standout is a "stylized" interview with Lynch about the making of the film, the characters involved and anecdotes. BTW - where is WILD AT HEART and LOST HIGHWAY for our DVD pleasure?
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Experience, Nov 4 2003
Many viewers of David Lynch's Eraserhead have exhausted all avenues of erudition to decipher the complex pandoras box of Lynch's debut film. I too, belonged to this cogitative elite. Many have tried to implicate the intimation of theosophical reference or cosmological theory or refutation of deities as the main focus of the picture. However, it occured to me sometime ago that Eraserhead is not that complicated. Not as much as Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive , but certainly there is a trick to it all. If you know even the most cavil of facts regarding Mr. Lynch, you probably are aware that he despises Philadelphia. Viewing the film with this in mind, I became somewhat inculcated with the situation that Lynch was in. In the duration of the five years in which Eraserhead was made, Lynch was living in a penurious and violent area of Philadelphia. He was also facing the arrival of his prodigy-his daughter (born with clubbed feet). It began to arise in my consciousness, that Henry is thrown into the forlorn world of Eraserhead by a malefic preternatural pater familias (a malevolent God). This being continually interjects elements into Henry's life to prolong his suffering. As Henry peers into the demarcating radiator, the only source of warmth in the film, death (in the form of the Lady in the Radiator) tries to convince Henry to commit suicide. Many have misconstrued the ending of the film as Henry murdering the baby. This is not so. Regardless, Henry dies in the process. Vilifying the control of the omnipotent being and evading the wretched world he has been rooted in. Henry gains solace from his tormenters by taking his own life. Read this however you would like. As Catholic allegory (though Lynch is Hindu), or whatever interpretation works for you. Either way, Eraserhead is the most profoundly beautiful and curious film of all time.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A Real test of patience that will blow your mine!,, Oct 26 2007
I swear to you in the beginning of this film I was going to throw this movie in the trash but as it progress I grew to like it. I should preface by saying this is my second taste of David Lynch (Blue Velvet being my first). I knew it would be weird, but I was not expecting this. I like weird movies, but this makes "Donnie Darko" look like "Titanic". Let's accept the fact that this is one of the most notoriously bizarre, weird and idiotic films ever made, we cannot deny that it made an impact on experimental cinema. If we were to believe that this film is nothing more than psychedelic fodder for abnormal or curious minds then we are discarding it, perhaps exalting it to an avant gard status. Is it just random imagery shown for "shock value" sake? Was David Lynch some goof ball in his youth that he was just some fool who embarked on a five year project, which isn't anything better than someone showing weird people and weird things just to discover what the reaction would be? Likely. But I think it's a bit of that and more.
Everything here is designed to shock you but the baby. The baby is absolutely normal. What is interesting, some critics say the baby is a mutant, but do they think so in the movie? They treat it like a normal child. Yes, it looks like an eye sore, but it looks so to us, how do we know how it looks to them? Or how do we know, that we see what it IS, and not what Henry and his wife SEE it to be? The answer is - we don't know that. This dimension of the movie raises everyday life misfortunes and reflects social consciousness of some family issues. Everything that concerns society and social perception is more or less clear and familiar (like the marriage). But when it comes to personal visions and submergence you fall into the jack rabbit's hole. Talking about horror effect, the Lady in Radiator is brilliant. She is the most terrible and terrifying thing I have ever seen, but you like her! You can't take your eyes from her; she has a mesmerizing effect of some unknown power.
Eraserhead, in itself, will be boring, engrossing, drab, quirky, freakish and grotesque. The real crime here is that it absolutely refuses to explain itself and leaves you impatient with virtually no plot, minimal dialogue and just seems to venture into its own indulgent surrealistic voyage with uncompromising willfulness. But it somehow works through its convoluted logic. It has spawned many reactions, both positive and negative. But this movie is likely to give art students ideas. And strange minds will likely be attracted to it. I happen to admire it. I don't admire it for its result, but rather the effort put into it. Any film maker should remark that a lot of effort and work went into this production, regardless of the budget. Five years is a long time and quite a sacrifice to have such a modest payoff. Lynch took a gamble with this movie, and I praise him for that. It is evident that after watching it we come across some elaborate sets and special effects. I'm not here to defend the film, but rather the painstaking work of David Lynch for having dedicated himself to such a torrid and abominable piece of art.
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