ERASERHEAD

Well hello there citizens.

I'm at this point about to lose my braiiinns.

You know, today was was an odd one. I decided to watch A Scanner Darkly once more, because I cannot watch that insanity enough. But during the folly that was this then that and then another, I came upon, once again, the name of this film. Eraserhead.

I do like me some know out whacko stuff. I mean that in the nicest way too, some movies are meant for my brain. And so, after once more reading about this thing.. well, I decided to watch it.

Now, as I say.. I'm quite OK with Hooley Dooley life situations. I can handle it all, bring it on, or watch a grown man fall.. either way, you win or I win, which to me is a win/win situation.

So, having said that... I am quite sincere when I ask

WHAT THE FLYING FRINNGING FRACK WAS THAT ABOUT!?

I I I .. I need to wash my brain. I cant wash it.. WHAT WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!

Oo



I am scared that 1977 made a movie that has done more for me mentally, than any casual drug has.



Ohhhhhhhhh maybe tomorrow when I recover it will all appear normal. And here I was at first watching Scanner Darkly once more and considering it a loopy movie.

Substance D... Oh where for art thou!!

Phillip K Dick is such a good writer, so far ahead of his time. If you want to see a movie which may just send you over the edge watch this one Pi.

www.imdb.com...


Heads will explode watching this

Oh and Eraserhead ? yup WTF was that all about

Originally posted by boymonkey74
Phillip K Dick is such a good writer, so far ahead of his time. If you want to see a movie which may just send you over the edge watch this one Pi.

www.imdb.com...


Heads will explode watching this

Oh and Eraserhead ? yup WTF was that all about

edit on 2-5-2012 by boymonkey74 because: (no reason given)

You mean this is worse? .. I'm at a crossroad for words, I should mean better. I'm there either way, I've vaguely known his work, but where was he when I was a kid, and I mean it is as if someone made a concerted effort to make sure the likes of me never knew the likes of him. How can this be NEW to me!! O.o

Man, cheers for that vid, Im hunting it now, I thought I knew all the quirky quirks.. that movie made my brain sweat. lmao!!

Cheers mate!

-- ps this all started last night when I decided to get a doco called Gospel According to PKD. -- yet to watch it, but the man was truely ahead of his time in terms how the world we live in - a paranoid genius. Decades ahead of his time, and a lesser known mckenna, in a sort of eay.

reply to post by mainidh



Heck I have another that may blow your mind a bit here ...The man from earth

www.imdb.com...

A little slow to start but wow what a movie it will make you think alot

Oh and Phillip K dick well you may be surprised how many big blockbuster movies his work has made here is a few

Bladerunner (best film ever)
Total recall
Next
Minority Report
Screamers and more the guy rocks

reply to post by mainidh

I actually just recently(2 or 3 months ago) started watching Eraserhead, but didn't finish, and haven't yet gone back to finish it. Kinda gotta be a certain frame of mind to watch anything from David Lynch. There is really only one way to describe that particular frame of mind. You kinda need to feel like this:



I love David Lynch movies, because I have no idea what they're actually about lol.


'Lost Highway' for example; I bought that DVD when it first came out. I can't actually remember the last time I watched it (it's been awhile), but I have watched that movie many times. I know I like it, but if you were to ask me what it is about, the only honest response I could give right now, is "It's a good movie."
Ok, but what is it about?
"hhmmm I dunno. It's David Lynch. Just watch it. Someone died."

"If you see this↓ guy, ask him what it's about."



What was Twin Peaks about?
"I dunno, but it has something to do with this lil fella."
I'm sure he probably says what it's about, but it's kinda difficult to understand him, since he talks in reverse lol.

And someone lost an ear. I don't think it's Laura's ear though.


What was 'Blue Velvet' about?
Dennis Hopper wanting to **explicit-act** anything that moves.











P.S. I corrected this typo for you:

Originally posted by mainidh

I am scared that 1977 made a movie that has done more for me mentally, than any casual drug has [color=FFEBC2]could have ever done to me, if I were to have ever actually tried any.

reply to post by BrokenCircles


I forgot that he did Twin Peaks
Heck I may just watch it for all the decent chickadee's in it
Heck I may just watch it to see if the older me can figure out what the younger me could not

reply to post by BrokenCircles


Holy smokes, this certainly is insane, I .. I knew the guy was involved in twin peaks, with the backward talking etc, and I knew he'd been involved in movies, but you just did my head in with the list, (a combined post here, lol) MINORITY REPORT.

must kill brain cells... Oo..

Ohh but also, you're wrong young Circles. I just dare not explicitly tell tales. the terms of psychedelics in my past do far more than a hey ho on forums.. lol, if only circumstance could fit todays needs...



Psychonaughts unanimous.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
reply to post by BrokenCircles

 

I forgot that he did Twin Peaks

Heck I may just watch it for all the decent chickadee's in it

Heck I may just watch it to see if the older me can figure out what the younger me could not

Thats the only thing I knew about TP - he was in it and had dabbled with the reverse voice before, but had only used it in TW. I had no idea he was involved till this, and now I've seen he's done a hell of a lot more.

I really need to read his books, they are the door to the mind, when a movie/tv show is often a shuttered window.

reply to post by boymonkey74

I'm pretty sure I have watched every single episode of Twin Peaks, but over a long period of time, and maybe not all in order. I still have the VHS of the original 2-hour Pilot, and the later prequel, 'Fire Walk With Me'.

I have recently acquired the entire show in digital form, and plan on watching it all soon, over a short period of time.

Originally posted by boymonkey74

Heck I may just watch it to see if the older me can figure out what the younger me could not

Good luck, but don't your breath.lol

I expect to understand some of it a little more, but I'm sure there will still be plenty that confuses me.



I still haven't yet watched Lynch's most recent movie yet: Inland Empire (2006)

I've had the dvd for a little while now, but like I said in my 1st post in this thread, I gotta be in the right frame of mind before I even start to watch it. Plus I think it's over 3 hours long.




This one was pretty good. It was something that rarely happens nowadays~ The guide channel was screwed up, and I missed the beginning, so I had no idea what I was watching.

I didn't realize until later, that it was David Lynch's daughter, Jennifer Chambers Lynch. As far as I know, this is the only movie of hers that I have seen, but based just on it, it's probably safe to say "The apple didn't fall far from the tree."

Two FBI agents attempt to clarify the murders occurring in a desolate region. They approach the witnesses of the latest incident with the help of the local police. All of them hide something and all have wildly different stories to tell.

reply to post by BrokenCircles


Wow thanks for that film I'am gonna try and find it and watch it later.
Jenny Lynch eh? wow I bet she had a weird childhood Hope she was passed a few of Lynch Snr's oddball wonderful genes (A hottie as well )

I think one of us may be confused.

I'm just not completely sure if I am the only confused one. lol

Originally posted by mainidh

Thats the only thing I knew about TP - he was in it and had dabbled with the reverse voice before, but had only used it in TW. I had no idea he was involved till this, and now I've seen he's done a hell of a lot more.

I really need to read his books, they are the door to the mind, when a movie/tv show is often a shuttered window.

Who are you talking about?
The lil backwards guy, or David Lynch, or Phillip K. Dick?

reply to post by BrokenCircles


I thought that but seeing that all the things it may be are a little confusing, I think the confusing element to the thread adds to it

Its good to be confused once and a while

Originally posted by boymonkey74

Its good to be confused once and a while

It would be impossible to have a thread titled 'Eraserhead', that did not contain some confusion. lol

Originally posted by boymonkey74

Wow thanks for that film I'am gonna try and find it and watch it later.
Jenny Lynch eh? wow I bet she had a weird childhood

Hope she was passed a few of Lynch Snr's oddball wonderful genes

I had actually forgot about it, but it's definitely one I want to watch again.

I just realized something else though, that I have seen something else of her's: an episode of Psych about 5 or 6 weeks ago. She directed it, and acted in it.



Surely, when she was younger, she watched his movies. She had to have gotten confused also. I would just really like to know the answers that he gave her, when she asked,
"Daddy, what the hell is Eraserhead about?"

reply to post by BrokenCircles


I bet he said "Honey I have no idea " lol

Haha wanna see some similar mental mindtrippyness? Watch Tetsuo: The Iron Man.

Originally posted by boymonkey74

I bet he said "Honey I have no idea " lol

Probably so. Either that, or just immediately change the subject.



"Daddy, what the hell is Eraserhead about?"
"I'm ordering pizza for dinner. You want sausage or pepperoni?"

reply to post by mainidh


Congratulations! You've watched an amazing movie.

Eraserhead is brilliant. The first time I saw it, it scared me more than any other movie I've seen before had. As for what it's about, well, Lynch has said that he has yet to hear a correct interpretation, but it seems to be a metaphor for the fear of becoming a father.

You'll find that in watching Eraserhead, you'll now want to infect other people with it. Your reality has been screwed with and you need to pass it on. And, like others have said, you need to watch more David Lynch. Nothing else reaches the height of insanity that Eraserhead rises to, but they're great all the same. Twin Peaks is a lot of fun, but about halfway through the second season it hits an awful low. Stick with it, because it comes back. Blue Velvet is phenomenal.

My suggestion for where to go next: Mulholland Dr. It's a real brain twister. Weird, disturbing, sexy, it's one of his best. And, it has a scene that scared me so much, I had to turn the movie off and go back the next day. Lost Highway is okay, but I didn't care for it too much. Inland Empire is kind of a mess, 3 hours long, strange, but in a very engaging way. There's a Lynch movie that people forget about or do seem to care for, but I love it. "Wild At Heart." It stars Nicolas Cage. A crazy director directing a crazy actor, you can't go wrong. It's a twisted take on a road movie. Definitely worth a watch.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, you've taken a big step into super weird cinema. If you're like me, you won't be able to get enough of it. As some one said, Pi is fantastic. There's also Primer, which is the best time travel movie ever made. It'll make your nose bleed. Awhile back, I asked for suggestions on surreal movies and a lot of people came out to make some great suggestions, it might serve you too: Recommend me Surrealist Movies.

Eventually, you have to watch the mack daddy of crazy movies. I thought I was immune to insanity after Eraserhead, but I was wrong. This movie beat my brain like a drum. It's by Alejandro Jodorowsky, a guy who was Lynch before Lynch. He made two movies that are mind blowing, you'll find at least one of them is on any respectable list of cult or midnight movies. El Topo and Holy Mountain. Holy Mountain is crazier than anything I've ever seen. It used to be on Youtube in entirety, but it's been taken down. You should hunt it down though. It's worth it. El Topo is still pretty crazy, though, and it's still up:



Warning: NSFW

I hope all of that is coherent. I'm pretty tired from work.

reply to post by SaulGoodman

Originally posted by SaulGoodman

Mulholland Dr. It's a real brain twister. Weird, disturbing, sexy, it's one of his best.
↕↕
Lost Highway is okay, but I didn't care for it too much.

Personally, I would switch those around, but it has been years since I've watched either, and need to watch both of 'em again.


Part of my love for 'Lost Highway', is probably due to that fact that it is what originally introduced me to Lynch. I had never watched 'Twin Peaks', until after 'Lost Highway'.

Even though I hate quoting Wikipedia, this↓ is still the truth, for me anyways.

In 1997 he released the non-linear, noiresque Lost Highway......

....The film failed commercially and received a mixed response from critics. However, thanks in part to a soundtrack featuring David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails and The Smashing Pumpkins, it helped gain Lynch a new audience of Generation X viewers.

en.wikipedia.org...

More specifically, that Trent Reznor produced the Soundtrack. Also, around that time, I had read an interview during which Trent mentioned 'Blue Velvet' being one of his all-time favorite movies. I was left with no other choice after that. I had to watch it.

[color=73FFF1]Jacob's Ladder








[color=6E6E6E]idk. Just popped into my head. Haven't even thought about that one for a long time, but it is a dam good one. Just figured I'd toss it out there. lol

reply to post by BrokenCircles


It's cool that you prefer Lost Highway. It's not a bad movie. The videotape stuff in the beginning is really unsettling. Robert Blake is terrific in it:

But all the atmosphere and suspense the first half builds gets squandered in the second half. The mystery of the first half is replaced with a new mystery. Unfortunately, I didn't find it as interesting and it isn't helped by the fact that I don't think Balthazar Getty is a good actor. Lost Highway comes back with the weirdness, but by then it was too late for me.

Mulholland Dr held me from the start. The strangeness is maintained well and it's built masterfully. Even when things are normal everything seems a little off, a little sinister. The mystery isn't based around one character, it feels like there's a whole city caught up in these strange goings on. MD is also constructed like a puzzle. I've heard some solid explanations for Lost Highway, but it's not really built to be solved. That's fine, but I think the fact that Mulholland Dr is a puzzle that can be solved makes it better. Not because there's an answer, but because the idea of an answer seems so close, but you might not be able to grasp it, which makes everything much more dream-like/nightmarish. Add to it that all the clues are fodder for a hundred different theories all of which can seem plausible with such a meticulously crafted movie.

Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr are definitely both worth watching. They're very similar movies. Both are a good mix of the high strangeness of Eraserhead and the more realistic weirdness of Blue Velvet. Both are about people who get lost in their own head. Whichever he watches first, he should see both.

Also, there was a typo in my earlier post which I can't fix now. I meant to say that I DIDN'T find Inland Empire very engaging. It's interesting, a little freaky, but it's definitely David Lynch making up stuff as he went along. It's a real mess. It's worth watching at some point, but it's not anything to rush to see.