I believe David Lynch's _Mulholland Drive_ is my favorite film. (1 Viewer)

[Jack Briggs]

Those of you who have long been members here remember me. But the newbies among you will not quite comprehend how unsettling this is for me to say. Say it I will, however:


After I don't know how many screenings of it, I have come to realize that David Lynch's 2001 masterpiece (ah, how appropriate the year of its release!) Mulholland Drive is, by all personal measures, my favorite film.


In reading much about David Lynch, I am grateful to note that he says a "majority" of Stanley Kubrick's films are in his personal top ten. Which makes sense, given the temporally dislocated, nonlinear nature of Mr. Lynch's own films. From that standpoint, it would make sense that a lifelong devotee of 2001: A Space Odyssey would, at the very least, take to Mulholland Drive.


What is it about that film that sticks so effectively? No single element of the Lynch masterpiece upends any other; rather, we're talking about the case of a film that is so much more than the sum of its parts. Naomi Watts as Betty Elms/Diane Selwyn and Laura Elena Harring as "Rita" and Camilla Rhodes certainly form the core to one's attraction to Mulholland Drive, as does Justin Theroux's Adam Kesher. The juxtaposition of hard "reality" (Diane, Camilla) against a longed-for, hoped-for reality (Betty, "Rita"), culminating in a verdict of "all is illusion" at the Club Silencio certainly brings the seemingly unrelated story elements into an "I-see-it-now!" understanding.


Yet, when one returns to the film, he or she continues to see new aspects to it -- making David Lynch's work very much "Kubrickian" in nature.


Also like a Stanley Kubrick film, David Lynch's work here increases its impact by never being "boring" and making one realize that the more questions he or she has the more he or she must look at the film to penetrate it. As Mr. Kubrick said of his 1968 masterpiece, it has succeeded if it makes one ask questions. Likewise, Mullholland Drive.


I believe it is possible to get a definitive handle on this film, but that will requre yet more screenings, something, of course, I am more than willing to enjoy. For even if all questions are never answered, one is enriched by the experience. Mulholland Drive, like 2001: A Space Odyssey before it, at the very least rewards the viewer with the immeasurable joy that only a truly great film can.


Though I love 2001 as much as I ever have, I love Mullholland Drive just a little bit more. And I never thought I would say that.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I would see it as an embarassment of riches. As you yourself point out Jack, you still love 2001: A Space Odyssey as much as you ever did. But now, you simply love another film more.


That is cause for celebration.

Now...what is the last movie you went to the theater to see?

 

[Mike Frezon]

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[Jason Roer]

Jack - both 2001 and Mulholland Drive are in my top 5. But like you - Mulholland is my favorite movie. Without hesitation. Has been since I saw it - in 2001 (coincidence?). The film is absolutely hypnotic and engaging - compelling you to keep your eyes on the screen. And the sound design/score/soundtrack is also perfect and lends itself so well to the dreamlike quality. It's also interesting to note that Lynch adores The Wizard of Oz and Sunset Blvd as they are obvious influences on Mulholland, along with Kubrick's body of work.

I agree. It is Lynch's masterpiece.


Cheers,


Jason

 

[Edwin-S]

Okay....that's actually a shock.

 

[Steve Christou]

Hmmm I saw this only once, it didn't blow me away. Maybe it's time to watch it again.

 

[Jason Roer]

Steve - I would definitely give it a go. Great flick only made better with each screening. There is so much going on in every frame, so much to watch. Just fabulous. I might even watch it again tonight after reading this thread.


Cheers,


Jason

 

[Scott McGillivray]

It is one of those movies that is just GREAT to talk about after watching it. There are so many ways to interpret it. I really enjoyed this film and need to see it again.

 

[Jason Roer]

Before the baby came we used to a monthly movie club at the apartment and Mulholland was our first screening. It led to a 3 hour discussion into the wee hours of the morning. Great night!


Cheers,


Jason

 

[Walter Kittel]

To the OP. Who are you and what have you done with Jack Briggs?





Seriously, great to see you posting Jack. Mulholland Drive is in my top ten films of the 2000s. I admire it a great deal for its dream-like qualities and the amount of interpretation that the film elicits.

- Walter.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Just for laughs, I looked up MD's Review thread from late 2001, and saw that I gave MD 4 stars, grade of A. What took you so long, Mr. Briggs?

 

[Jeremiah]

Ok, I don't get it, so did Jack not like this movie when it came out and was the biggest voice against it? I have been a lurker here since then but way too long ago to know who liked it or didn't.


edit - It's been on Direct TV last month and I started watching it(was quite awile since I saw it) and couldn't stop eventhough it was late and on a work night. Just sucks you in.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Jeremiah,


Jack is a huge, huge fan of Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. For him to state a preference (however small) for another film is news for those of us who have had the pleasure of conversing with Jack on this forum over the years. Imagine that Jack Nicholson switched allegiances to the Boston Celtics. (Not an exact metaphor to be sure, but indicative of the degree of enthusiasm.)


- Walter.

 

[Jeremiah]

OK, I get it now. Jack, did you go quietly, or did you go kicking a screaming to this conclusion?


I agree with Chuck.

 

[Steve Christou]

Originally Posted by Jason Roer /forum/thread/302225/i-believe-david-lynch-s-mullholland-drive-is-my-favorite-film#post_3710464

 

[Jack Briggs]

Ok, I don't get it, so did Jack not like this movie when it came out and was the biggest voice against it? I have been a lurker here since then but way too long ago to know who liked it or didn't.

Jeremiah:


If you do a search on this board, you will find an earlier thread I started some time in 2002 (I think), in which I lauded Mulholland Drive as "bravura filmmaking." I was ecstatic about Mr. Lynch's film from the get-go. Then, after about three screenings of it, I put it away for a few years, often thinking about the film but not feeling any sort of "need" to go back to it so soon. Then, about a year and a half ago, I just had to rescreen the work. The rescreenings started occurring more frequently over the months, to the point I was looking at Mullhollad Drive about every two or three weeks or so. Over the course of studying the film (and I do mean studying it), I realized ever so slowly that the film had crept up to the top spot in my own top ten. It's my personal compliment to the film.


It's also how 2001: A Space Odyssey affected me. I first saw it in 1968, and after that first 70mm screening, I was perplexed, almost angry by what Mr. Kubrick had "failed" to do: give us a good, old-fashioned space adventure. Instead, he gave us an experimental film that actually had something to say. I was puzzled by Mr. Kubrick's production, and I could not get the film out of my mind. So, in 1970, I went to see it again. And I would end up, over a two-week period, seeing the film about eight times. Then, I returned to screenings of it whenever the film popped up and in whichever format -- 35mm, 70mm, even 16mm (both 'scope and flat). During this process, of course, 2001 had become my favorite film.


This is a long-winded way of saying how I arrived at realizing, in two entirely different periods of my life, how I "realized" a film had become my "favorite."


Jason Roer:


Your comments are so similar to my own feelings about this film (as well as other films that occupy my most-favored list). As you note, there is so much going on in any given frame. Literally, I find myself looking at the composition, if only to marvel at it. And, of course, you properly draw attention to the sound design and to Angelo Badalamenti's score. I love how, during the film's opening shots, we shift from music appropriate to a jitterbug contest to the somber, chord-emphatic music as the car lights hit upon the "Mullholland Dr." street sigh. So evocative.


By the way, for the newbies: I live in Los Angeles. Also, the neighborhood in which much of the action in Mullholland Drive takes place, is my neighborhood. I'm just three or four blocks east of Havenhurst Avenue (which is in West Hollywood), and I'm all of five blocks west of Sierra Bonita (where Diane Selwyn's apartment is located). My own street has itself been the location of many a shoot (for one example, remember in Brian DePalma's Body Double, when Craig Wasson's Jake Scully is coming home to his apartment only to find his girlfriend in bed with another man? That apartment building is diagonally across the street from me; I look at it every morning when I drink my coffee).


Patrick: I guess my reply to Jeremiah sort of answered your own question!


Mike: Oh how I miss that 2001 title shot. Why, by the way, has HTF gone over to avatars? (Just message me with the answer, fella.)


It's great to see all of you.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I can think of one single element of MD that "upends" the others.


Hi, Jack!

 

[Jack Briggs]

Would that be Betty and "Rita's" love scene, Aaron?


As for that love scene, I agree with what I've read many critics say: It is an almost emblematic scene for the 2000s, a refreshingly innocent portrayal of non-innocence. And I love the women's dialogue: Betty: "Have you ever done this before?" "Rita:" "I don't know. Have you?"


It is, even as our friend Steve suggests, a "naughtier" aspect of the film but, also, so perfect. I love the scene.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

The only thing I hate about it is that Lynch won't allow his DVDs to include chapter stops (but I hated that anyway).

 

[RobertR]

Good to see a post from you, Jack. By the way, I went to school with Mike Anderson (Mr. Roque). I remember how bright and gregarious he was. I had no idea he would be in films and television (he was a huge Star Trek fan).