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Bizarro Director:
David Lynch, bizarro extraordinaire...
Cue the idyllic small American town, lush with green manicured lawns and unlocked doors. This is the type of town where soda shops abound, and children come home after school to milk and cookies waiting for them on the kitchen table. A young man walks down a quiet street after visiting his ailing father in the hospital. He notices something and stops. Lying in the open field is a severed ear, covered with crawling ants.
David Lynch: The man behind the weird.
And so begins Blue Velvet (1986), David Lynch's cult movie which delves into sex, exploitation, violence, power, and the perversities of human nature. If the jarring contrast of the opening scene was not shocking enough, there were plenty of other moments that stunned audiences seventeen years ago, when the movie opened to mixed reviews. But it didn't take long for critics to notice Lynch's style and work, and soon he became known for his eerie imagery and obsession with good versus evil.
Born in Missoula, Missouri, Lynch lived in the sort of small town he so often references in his films. He was a boy scout and went off to college with dreams of being a painter. But at school he became interested in directing and pursued that instead. His first foray came in the form of Six Figures Getting Sick (1966), a short abstract piece about people vomiting. This was surely an indication that stranger things were to come from a strange but brilliant mind.
The Elephant Man (1980) placed him in an unlikely partnership with Mel Brooks, and garnered eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Dune (1984) was his first big commercial movie, and flopped like a fish out of water. Lynch then released Blue Velvet and Wild At Heart (1990). The latter won the prestigious Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and Lynch was finally awarded for his unusual vision of the world.
His affinity for slow motion during violence, strobe lights, rich textures, and bizarre dreams to connect plot points (or holes) led to "Twin Peaks", an hour long murder-mystery set in a small town that attempted to answer the question of who killed Laura Palmer. With so much freedom (or as much as prime-time television allowed), Lynch incorporated all his themes and obsessions to create a cult following lasting years. Small American town? Check. Weird images and long scenes with no dialogue? Check. An innocent, albeit idiosyncratic, detective waiting to be corrupted by all the secrets that plagues the town? Check. Bad girl/good girl contrasts? Check. A woman who totes a log around and talks to it? Check. Sex, violence, descents into madness and a creepy villain that scared the crap out of me? Check.
Blue Velvet is not your conventional movie, but it works.
He has often been overlooked because of his avant-garde and film noir direction, and because his movies are not for the faint of heart (and I do not use that term loosely). But if you're looking for something out of the ordinary, it's worth taking a look at Lynch. ¤ C.Ho.
Selected Filmography:
Eraserhead (1977)
Starring: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph, Jeanne Bates
Plot: In a post-apocalyptic world run by industrialized machines, Henry Spencer tries to cope with his life and his crying baby while canoodling with the Beautiful Woman Across The Hall and listening to the Lady in the Radiator.
Extras: It took Lynch five years to complete this film.
The Elephant Man (1980)
Wild At Heart: If you love Elvis and twisted love stories, this movie's for you.
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
Plot: Based on the true story of John Merrick, a 19th century Englishman afflicted with Proteus Syndrome which leaves him disfigured and living as a circus freak. With the help of Dr. Treves, John tries to regain his dignity and live a normal life.
Extras: This film is shot entirely in black and white.Blue Velvet (1986)
Starring: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern
Plot: Jeffrey returns home from college and discovers a severed ear in a field. With the help of Sandy, a local girl, he tries to uncover the mystery and becomes entangled with a beautiful lounge singer caught in a perverse relationship with a kidnapper.
Extras: Lynch had a highly publicized affair with Rossellini in the late 1980's.Wild At Heart (1990)
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Diane Ladd
Plot: Sailor and Lula are in love, but Lula's mother cannot accept this and hires a hit man to kill Sailor. They take off to California, oblivious that a hit man and a detective are following them, and meet a slew of strange people on their journey.
Extras: Lynch won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Twin Peaks (1990)
Mulholland Drive, the television-pilot-turned-movie, launched Naomi Watt's career.
Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Madchen Amick, Laura Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn, Sheryl Lee
Plot: Everything is not as it seems in Twin Peaks, and things begin to surface when the body of Laura Palmer is found washed up on the shore. Who killed her, and why?
Extras: Lynch appears on the television show as an FBI agent. A young Heather Graham also appeared on several episodes.The Straight Story (1999)
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Richard Farnsworth, Jane Galloway, Joseph A. Carpenter
Plot: Based on the true story of Alvin Straight, a 73-year-old man who travels across the country in a lawn mower to visit his estranged brother.
Extras: Richard Farnsworth received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.Mulholland Drive (2001)
Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux, Dan Hedaya
Plot: Rita is involved in a car accident and loses her memory. With the help of Betty, she tries to piece together who she is and why she was almost murdered.
Extras: This was originally a pilot for a CBS series, which was canned and turned into a movie.Fun facts about Lynch...
Born January 20, 1946. After George Lucas saw Eraserhead, he asked Lynch to direct Return of the Jedi. Lynch turned down the offer. He directed the music video, "Wicked Game," for Chris Isaak, who had a cameo in Wild at Heart. His daughter, Jennifer Chambers Lynch, wrote and directed the controversial Boxing Helena (1993).