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    David Lynch has died

    (variety.com)
    1190 points wut42 | 35 comments | 16 Jan 25 18:20 UTC | HN request time: 0.002s | source | bottom
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    handfuloflight ◴[16 Jan 25 19:04 UTC] No.42729452[source]▶
    "My childhood was elegant homes, tree-lined streets, the milkman, building backyard forts, droning airplanes, blue skies, picket fences, green grass, cherry trees. Middle America as it's supposed to be. But on the cherry tree there's this pitch oozing out – some black, some yellow, and millions of red ants crawling all over it. I discovered that if one looks a little closer at this beautiful world, there are always red ants underneath. Because I grew up in a perfect world, other things were a contrast."

    David Lynch

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    nathcd ◴[16 Jan 25 19:26 UTC] No.42729726[source]▶
    "What a heavy load Einstein must've had. Fuckin' morons, everywhere."

    David Lynch

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    sk11001 ◴[16 Jan 25 19:32 UTC] No.42729798[source]▶
    I have never seen a single one of his movies but I love watching interviews with him, he had an amazing presence and so much energy.
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    1. gordon_freeman ◴[16 Jan 25 19:43 UTC] No.42729934[source]▶
    Start with "Eraserhead" and then go from there. Surreal is the word I associate with his movies and tv show (Twin Peaks) and I absolutely love watching such movies!
    replies(5): >>42730168 #>>42730224 #>>42730609 #>>42730949 #>>42731015 #
    2. jimbob45 ◴[16 Jan 25 20:03 UTC] No.42730168[source]▶
    Dune or Twin Peaks are probably going to be more accessible than anything else.

    For Eraserhead, I understand the metaphor of how parenting can be larger-than-life and terrifying and I see how Eraserhead was trying to embody that but I very much didn't appreciate the highly pessimistic ending. It's an early movie that would have benefited immensely from an alternate ending on its DVD.

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    3. Trasmatta ◴[16 Jan 25 20:07 UTC] No.42730224[source]▶
    > Surreal is the word I associate with his movies and tv show

    And his style of surrealism has been so influential that it has its own term: Lynchian!

    replies(1): >>42732867 #
    4. gordon_freeman ◴[16 Jan 25 20:10 UTC] No.42730256[source]▶
    The beauty of Lynch films is that everyone can interpret it in their own way!
    replies(1): >>42730293 #
    5. DrillShopper ◴[16 Jan 25 20:13 UTC] No.42730293{3}[source]▶
    I know what you're trying to say, but that's also true of every other movie.
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    6. Trasmatta ◴[16 Jan 25 20:15 UTC] No.42730310[source]▶
    I think there's a lot more to Eraserhead than that! I also don't really see the ending as pessimistic personally.

    Lynch: "Believe it or not, Eraserhead is my most spiritual film."

    Lean: "Elaborate on that?"

    Lynch: "No, I wont. No one sees it."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjoMEw2RYlA

    7. epolanski ◴[16 Jan 25 20:41 UTC] No.42730609[source]▶
    Season 3 Twin Peaks is peak "I don't know what am I looking at".
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    8. msabalau ◴[16 Jan 25 20:42 UTC] No.42730628[source]▶
    The Straight Story is almost certainly his most accessible film, while also very focused on themes that he cares about.

    It isn't the elusive puzzle that many cinephiles value in his work, but it is clearly a Lynch film, even if it's not a stereotypical one.

    replies(2): >>42731086 #>>42733751 #
    9. Lio ◴[16 Jan 25 20:58 UTC] No.42730820[source]▶
    When it first came out I was so desperate to see it I watched the first episode twice without realising.

    I spent the whole time trying to work out what was different between the "two".

    I mean, it’s exactly the sort of thing he would do and I still loved it.

    Magic!

    10. kingstoned ◴[16 Jan 25 21:10 UTC] No.42730949[source]▶

        When people say "surreal" they mean "real", it's just most of your life is not very real, just repetition and routine. - Norm Macdonald
    11. scoofy ◴[16 Jan 25 21:17 UTC] No.42731015[source]▶
    Eraserhead is borderline unwatchable. I love David Lynch, sort of, but without telling people that they're about to sit down and watch an hour-and-a-half of what is effectively an unwatchable piece of avant-garde cinema, then they're not going to be able to appreciate it.

    There is nothing worse than getting excited to see a famous director's debut film, thinking you're going to have a good time, and then getting Eraserhead.

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    12. retinaros ◴[16 Jan 25 21:24 UTC] No.42731086{3}[source]▶
    actually it is an elusive puzzle :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa16cd5zAuc&ab_channel=KyleL...
    13. tjakab ◴[16 Jan 25 21:47 UTC] No.42731343[source]▶
    Eraserhead is highly watchable, but the first time you see it, it's best to just experience it without trying to process it too much. The nuance comes through on repeat viewings.
    replies(1): >>42731476 #
    14. scoofy ◴[16 Jan 25 22:01 UTC] No.42731476{3}[source]▶
    >Eraserhead is highly watchable

    It is a film explicitly designed to be unpleasant. This may be artistically interesting, but it's certainly no going to appeal to most people.

    15. labster ◴[16 Jan 25 22:10 UTC] No.42731552[source]▶
    I rented Eraserhead and watched with some friends in college. I loved it, and so did the other Lynch fan. The other two, well, the first words spoken over the credits were “What the actual fuck was that?” Let’s just say it’s a divisive film.
    16. saijanai ◴[16 Jan 25 22:22 UTC] No.42731668[source]▶
    His most mainstream work is The Elephant Man, commissioned by Mel Brooks.
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    17. ruthmarx ◴[16 Jan 25 22:34 UTC] No.42731772[source]▶
    It's at least a third watching one of Kyle MacLachlan's characters walking around with brain damage.

    I liked the season after a rewatch but the Dougie stuff is still tedious.

    replies(1): >>42731857 #
    18. MisterTea ◴[16 Jan 25 22:45 UTC] No.42731857{3}[source]▶
    The Dougie stuff was silly fun. Cherry pie
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    19. monophonica ◴[16 Jan 25 22:54 UTC] No.42731950[source]▶
    If someone is not into art films, to not start with Twin Peaks is absolutely insane to me.

    First two seasons of Twin Peaks are his masterpiece IMO and his most watchable.

    Those are some of the best characters of any film/tv show ever.

    From there I would go to Lost Highway next for a stronger dose of the more out there stuff.

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    20. tpm ◴[16 Jan 25 23:02 UTC] No.42732022{3}[source]▶
    But he didn't direct all of Twin Peaks episodes and it shows.
    21. colmmacc ◴[17 Jan 25 00:06 UTC] No.42732570{3}[source]▶
    The Elephant Man is great, but does have a surreal sequence, and is entirely in black and white. I'd vote for the The Straight Story, which is literally a Disney movie, being more mainstream.
    22. JKCalhoun ◴[17 Jan 25 00:44 UTC] No.42732800{4}[source]▶
    Well Lynch famously said this over and over about his films — that they mean whatever people think they mean.

    Watch a few interviews where he is asked what a film of his means. A smirk comes on his face and he repeats his mantra.

    He never let on.

    replies(1): >>42733856 #
    23. werdnapk ◴[17 Jan 25 00:56 UTC] No.42732867[source]▶
    The "sausages" skit [1] by kids in the hall I'm pretty sure is massively inspired by eraserhead.

    [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ChvxsVgT8c

    24. turbojet1321 ◴[17 Jan 25 03:22 UTC] No.42733751{3}[source]▶
    It also happens to be just a beautiful film.
    25. k_roy ◴[17 Jan 25 03:42 UTC] No.42733856{5}[source]▶
    I'd argue many creators are this way. Nobody is ever going to approach a piece of art the same way.

    Unless you are a narcissist (probable billionare) who feels the need to go back and explain every detail about the wizarding world you created a few decades later and reveal what kind of piece of crap you are.

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    26. deadfoxygrandpa ◴[17 Jan 25 04:52 UTC] No.42734217{6}[source]▶
    sure but david lynch obviously lent into that way more than most others. his work is famously obtuse and the experience of each person watching and having that experience and interpreting it on their own was a huge part of the point of his work in a way that just isnt true for many other people
    27. HKH2 ◴[17 Jan 25 05:50 UTC] No.42734479{4}[source]▶
    No, there's far more room for interpretation than in a typical movie.
    28. 4ggr0 ◴[17 Jan 25 09:36 UTC] No.42735736{3}[source]▶
    i tried watching Twin Peaks but my GenZ attention-hungy brain got really bored during the first episode. maybe i should give it another shot...

    it's not like i'm not used to watching long movies and i would call myself some form of cinephile, but for some reason Twin Peaks felt unbelievably slow.

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    29. JKCalhoun ◴[17 Jan 25 13:48 UTC] No.42737465{6}[source]▶
    > you are a narcissist (probable billionare)

    These days you'll have to be more specific.

    30. wellthisisgreat ◴[17 Jan 25 15:00 UTC] No.42738182{4}[source]▶
    Twin peaks is incredible and Agent Cooper is a kind of a role model haha, never seen any other character like him
    replies(1): >>42741586 #
    31. ascagnel_ ◴[17 Jan 25 16:54 UTC] No.42740200{3}[source]▶
    Just start with the pilot first -- as it is, the US pilot is basically a feature-length film (it runs 1h25m), and features enough of Lynch's trademark juxtaposition of horrible and mundane, and piles on the warmth and love for his characters that set his works apart. The European cut of the pilot adds a few minutes to the end and originally aired as a TV movie, and may be worth it if you're not otherwise hooked by the show, since it features a definitive ending as well as the first appearance of the show's trademark "red room" (footage from the sequence was included in a later episode in the US).

    For me, the second step would either be The Elephant Man or Mulholland Dr. -- many of his works tackle very dark subject matter and include sexualized violence that can be downright disturbing to watch, but those two omit those elements. The Straight Story is much lighter, but largely lacks the surrealism Lynch is known for.

    32. ruthmarx ◴[17 Jan 25 17:06 UTC] No.42740427{4}[source]▶
    It wasn't particularly entertaining and was well overdone.
    33. 4ggr0 ◴[17 Jan 25 18:23 UTC] No.42741586{5}[source]▶
    maybe i should give it another shot...i'll at least finish the first episode :)
    replies(1): >>42744640 #
    34. wellthisisgreat ◴[18 Jan 25 00:19 UTC] No.42744640{6}[source]▶
    Yeah, it’s certainly one of those shows that take a couple episodes to settle in but then it’s one big, sweeping impression
    35. darthrupert ◴[18 Jan 25 07:12 UTC] No.42746529{3}[source]▶
    Most of second season of TP wasn't really Lynch.