David Lynch First Timer (1 Viewer)

I acturally saw Dune many of time when broadcast on tv. Though I have yet to sit down and really watch one of his films. What do you recommend for a rental?

Please don't say Eraserhead or Wild at Heart I read up on
those two films and they seem a bit too scary for me.

Mullholland Drive. Fantastic movie from start to finish and shouldn't be too difficult for a Lynch beginner. I would also recommend Blue Velvet.

When you work up the nerve you can give Lost Hightway a shot (and come away with a resounding headache j/k) and immediately run out and buy Twin Peaks Season 1 (though make sure you secure some way to watch Season 2 if you do!).

I'm curious what you mean by scary? Scary ideas or scary visuals? I can't think of any Lynch films as being scary. Eraserhead is a dark film, but I don't consider it scary.. maybe scary the way a nightmare can be scary, but the world that Eraserhead exists in is so blatantly artificial that it's tough to consider it scary. Same goes for Wild At Heart.

I agree with the preivous post, I'd say the Straight Story is the best and least offensive intoduction to his works. It's one of the purest films I've seen in my life. Kinda David Lynch Unplugged.

Elephant Man is another "straight" story and proved to the world that Lynch could actually paint inside the lines. It's a beautiful movie.

Dune was hacked to pieces before it was released, and rendered almost entirely incomprehensible. This was a trendous setback for Lynch and it was years until he was allowed to make another film.

Blue Velvet was the movie that brought him back on track. There's some great performances in it and a good precusor to Twin Peaks.

Wild At Heart is Lynch cutting loose more than ever before. It's not one of my favorites because it drags on too long and uses the Wizard of OZ as a Deus Ex Machina, underlining a basic writing problem. But it was brilliant for its time as there was nothing else close to it.

Avoid Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me until you've seen the entire "Twin Peaks" TV series. Great movie, but it must be seen in context with the TV series.

Lost Highway was a Lynch experiment gone wrong. He presents a puzzle that is missing too many vital pieces in an attempt to make it open to interpretations, I guess. It's an important stepping stone because it is followed by..

Mulholland Drive which is really the culmination of everything Lynch has been working towards his entire artisic life. All of his favorite themes are represented in a relatively cohesive way. He stikes a balance between clarity and abstraction in a spectacular way. It does have some scenes of violence and a fair share of nudity (again, some of his favorite themes) but it's a film that will expand your horizons.

I agree with what others have said. You are really limited yourself if you are trying to stay way from "scary" Lynch films, because for the most part Lynch's films are pretty dark.

Like Richard said, definitely avoid TP: FWWM until you see the entire series of Twin Peaks.

Knife wilding serial killers don’t frighten me in movies. Though dysfunctional, offbeat regular people with tragic lives always seem to stay with me long after I wake up the next morning to begin my day. As I said in an earlier post what I read about those two films in particular turned me off in a violent way. Maybe I should seek these titles if I’m just overreacting.

BTW, I did find “A Clockwork Orange” the soul reason why I hate the song “Singing in the Rain.”

Your funny

My first Lynch film was Mullholland Dr.

My intial impression after the movie ended was "WTF!", but thanks to the internet with a bunch of explantions and debates regarding the movie, I found the movie to be very good, if just for the sense of discussion.


Raymond

Mulholland Drive
Elephant Man
are both brilliant works of art

Knife wilding serial killers don’t frighten me in movies. Though dysfunctional, offbeat regular people with tragic lives always seem to stay with me long after I wake up the next morning to begin my day.

on second thought.......
nevermind, avoid Lynch at all costs

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

ANY Lynch film is a great film, and you should check them all out. Lynch is a cinematic god!

BTW, I'd like to thank everyone who posted suggestions
in this forum.

Though earlier I said dysfunctional, offbeat regular people with tragic lives always seem to stay with me, I should make clear that "American Beauty", "Fight Club" and
"Beloved" are like my all time favorite movies.

If you haven't seen "Beloved" please do. A movie that will give you
a profound and compelling encounter with life via the art form of cinema.

I love lynch! Mulholland Dr. is one of the best films of all time!
I saw Eraserhead the other day, what a weird and disturbing film. It almost feels more like art than a movie. That is what Lynch is; An artist and a film maker.

Dude -- DO NOT WATCH ERASERHEAD!

I'll tell you now, I love horror movies. They don't bother me...

But "Eraserhead" was just so bleak and nightmarish that I was borderline suicidal for a month after watching it. Something in it just struck a chord in me.

On the other hand, "Blue Velvet" is one of my all-time favorite movies. I also like "Wild at Heart" and "Mulholland Drive" (though I found the latter to be grossly over-rated). "Twin Peaks" is very good as well, probably my second favorite Lynch after BV.

I second what Joshus_W said. "Eraserhead" is not scary as much as it is very, very depressing with feelings of hopelessness thrown in for fun. However, this is probably the difinitive David Lynch movie; much more so than his subsequent efforts. This film is the only film in recent memory that actually made me feel really bad after viewing it. I had to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" just to get back to normal.

Eraserhead didn't have that effect on me, but the first time I saw Fire Walk With Me, I was really depressed for about a week. One thing that you can always count on Lynch to do is make you feel. Whether it's hope, depression, etc...he makes you feel something.

Take in Mulholland Dr. several times to get past all the weirdness and abstraction, and then just try to concentrate on the underlying story that is being told. Once you get to that point, I think you'll find that this is one of the most disturbing character studies ever committed to film.