MULHOLLAND DRIVE DVD (including chapter stop discussion) (1 Viewer)

[Peter Apruzzese]

It's not like he's contributing anything to the video releases anyway so why appease him?

Yeah, it's not as if he's the creator of the film or anything like that...

 

[Jon Robertson]

Shane - your arrogance astounds me!

He might not be the one buying the disc, but it IS his film and I think it's great that he has that control over way his films are presented on DVD.

As for not contributing anything, on TP:FWWM, The Elephant Man, The Straight Story, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart and (I believe) Lost Highway (when the latter two come out), he supervised each and every transfer and sound (re-)mix personally. He's not a big fan of extras, but will include something for the fans - the deleted scenes on Blue Velvet, the interview footage on the Short Films and Eraserhead DVDs, and numerous other tid-bits.

As for no chapter stops, if you're going to something, do it right - that includes watching a film from start to end, something I totally agree with Lynch on. If you don't have the time to watch the film, don't watch the film and find something that isn't 2 1/2 hours. Buy all means buy a film for "reference" (whatever that might mean), but I'll buy them for emotion, entertainment and though-provocation (among other reasons) - three things Mulholland Drive provides in spades.

 

[Ike]

I for one enjoy a director wanting no chapter stops. What's the point? He doesn't want you to skip around in the film. Watch the whole film, or not.

As for the DVD, I've not seen a lot of Lynch (I've seen Blue Velvet off of HBO or one of those channels, so I can't say it'll be my first Lynch), but do enjoy weird cinema, and can't wait for this one!

 

[Richard Travale]

I agree with the two previous posts. I certainly hope that chapters stops are not wanted just to get to the steamier scenes.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Lynch probably hates the way some marketing guy sits and names the "chapters." They are artificial markers in the film.
That being said, chapter stops do make it convenient for my uses. I'll have The Elephant Man in and need to stop it to do something. Then my daughter comes in and puts in one of her movies and I lost my spot! For The Elephant Man, I simply use the time skip function on the DVD player. Punch in 1:12 and you skip right to that point in the film.

 

[Joe Schwartz]

I certainly hope that chapters stops are not wanted just to get to the steamier scenes.

You mean there are other reasons to want chapter stops?
(One hand on the remote...)

 

[Jon Robertson]

OK, I just recieved the DVD this morning, and apart from having no chapter stops (not even hidden ones, like on Twin Peaks: FWWM), it's superb.

The transfer is gorgeous - another Lynch-approved effort, I should imagine, that looked just about flawless to my eye. Everything is sharp, detailed (without EE, thankfully), with Lynch's original colours and lighting schemes intact and not the faintest sign of print damage.

The sound is every bit as intricately designed and immersive as the image, presented in 5.1 DD and DTS. The film has such a wide range of frequencies, from ground-shaking low bass to the wonderful electronic score to the singer in the Silencio club, and it's all presented wonderfully without distortion or anything approaching shrillness. Simply great.

Present on the one-page insert are David Lynch's 10 (presumably joke) clues to unlocking the mystery of Mulholland Drive, in place of the usual chapter stops. There are cast/crew biographies, and the non-anamorphic theatrical trailer, static menus with music.

Basically the release looks and sounds as good as you could have possibly hoped, and I'm just glad to be the bearer of good news.

 

[Tom Ryan]

You know, I think it's a little ridiculous not to include chapter stops so the movie could be "like it was in theaters". If it was really going to be like it was in theaters, it would BE IN THEATERS. Or it would come with rude, noisy fat guys who sit right in front of you. Incidentally, Lynch should be sure to have the fast-forwarding and rewinding capability removed, because you couldn't do that at the cinemas either.

-Tom

 

[Jon Robertson]

If it was really going to be like it was in theaters, it would BE IN THEATERS.

It was. Your point being...?

Personally, I'd rather all discs had neither timecodes nor chapter stops, as I find myself frequently skipping to certain scenes or checking to see how far into the film I am, rather than just experiencing the film and my favourite scenes in context and as a whole.

Generally, I put my DVD remote away from my reach and put a teatowel over the timer so I have no idea how long I have to go - it just makes it more exciting.

The problem is, with the interactivity of DVD, people seem to want to have more control over the movies they watch than the filmmakers themselves. Bad, bad mistake.

All this crap I keep hearing about "I want seamless branching to put deleted scenes back in the movies" when they were never meant to be seen in the first place, let alone in the film itself! People demanding audio commentaries, documentaries, when the film-maker has no interest in explaining the film for the audience, so that makes him/her the enemy, despite the fact they've made a outstanding piece of filmmaking.

Bottom line: if the presentation of a film is director-approved, then like it or lump it, because that's the DEFINITIVE version and is as good as it's going to get.

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

Well, I've always kind of considered David Lynch's "no chapter stops" policy to be just one of his (many) eccentricities. However, I've never had a real problem with it. I can always skip around by typing in a timestamp. It's not as convenient, but it's certainly doable.
Personally, I'm just thrilled most all of Lynch's material is finally getting its due on DVD this year. Give me the best transfers possible and you can keep your chapter stops.
Link Removed

 

[Rich Malloy]

Thanks for the great news, Jon! I hadn't realized that there'd be a DTS track. Do you have DTS capabilities, Jon, and if so do you think it sounds better than the DD-5.1?

C'mon CD NOW, how 'bout shipping early for once?!?

 

[Carl R]

Sounds great!
I just got an email receipt from my online shop that my copy shipped today. For 20 bucks incl. p+p!

 

[Tom Ryan]

Bottom line: if the presentation of a film is director-approved, then like it or lump it, because that's the DEFINITIVE version and is as good as it's going to get.

So since George Lucas' revamped Star Wars SEs are director-approved, those are the only versions people should watch? I think you're going to find a lot of disagreement about that. Even directors aren't the end-all be-all of what's good for a film.

-Tom

 

[Mark McLeod]

My copy of the Universal disc arrived this morning from a well known etailer. Got to love that I live in Canada so they shipped a bit early.

Standby for a review. I'm going to try and fast track this one since it's such a highly anticipated title for a lot of people.

Mark

 

[Rich Malloy]

Go, Mark, go!

 

[James Gonzalez]

I got my copy last night and all I can say is Wow! this is a great movie. This is going in my top TEN.

As far as the disk itself:

The picture is a tad dark but clear non the less.

The sound is great Five stars there.

If you accidentally hit the forward button once you'll be sent to the DVD production company logo then back to the extras menu. so be careful.

This is by far my favorite lynch movie and it should have been considered for more academy awards.

James Gonzalez

 

[Mark McLeod]

I hope to have my review done later today.

Some initial comments. WOW. Looks great, Sounds great. A must purchase for fans of the film.

I'll keep you posted on the review status. I doubt I'll be able to pull an all nighter (i'm pretty tired now) but I'm going to do as much as I possibly can before hitting the sack.

I might consider posting the 'Technical' part of the review inadvance of my thoughts on the film. We'll see

Mark

 

[Seth Paxton]

Yes, the transfer is a tad dark and I had to bump the brightness up a couple of notches for the blacks to look reference rather than losing image info. I saw it at the theaters and don't recall it being so dark you couldn't even make some things out. Transfers vary like this all the time anyway, so no big deal.
But the picture is gorgeous. Everything a beautiful DVD should be. I think the film is very well captured with the DVD.
I used the DD system on the first viewing. I'll run through the DTS tomorrow, but the DD sounds great to me.
Everything is really clear with some nice dynamic range, good effects, just nice real sounds and immersive music. Club Silencio sounds exceptional to me.
A trailer, some very basic bio stuff (Lynch's bio is so bare it's funny, I assume intentionally).
Of course no chapter stops, which I didn't know about and discovered on my own when jumping ahead to compare some video on a different system. Instead you get kicked to the next title which is the DVCC spot. Took me a minute or 2 to figure out what was going on.
Of course the disc comes in 2 flavors of covers - Betty or Blond Rita with the other being on the spine and on the insert, so you still really get the artwork from either version. I went for Betty (Watts).
The insert has the probably the best "feature" on this bare disc. Lynch gives us a list of 10 Clues to unlocking MD. From the DVD liner: (don't worry, it's impossible for these to spoil anything as people who have seen it will tell you)
1) Pay particular attention in the beginning of the film: at least 2 clues are revealed before the credits.
2) Notice appearances of the red lampshade.
3) Can you hear the title of the film that Adam Kesher is auditioning actresses for? Is it mentioned again?
4) An accident is a terrible event...notice the location of the accident.
5) Who gives a key, and why?
6) Notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup?
7) What is felt, realized and gathered at the club Silencio?
8) Did talent alone help Camilla?
9) Note the occrrences surrounding the man behind Winkies.
10) Where is Aunt Ruth?
Yeah, that clears it up.
Sure I have some ideas, heck I had a lot of stuff figured after the first viewing, but really I still am only about 40% on most of this film I think.
One thing I do know - I love the film and it's beautiful to look at. Every scene is captivating, every character totally interesting. In many ways it honestly doesn't matter how the narrative links along, it's far more character driven than plot driven, and the characters are delicious (and I haven't even mentioned the part where hot chicks are naked ).

 

[Mark McLeod]

Of course the disc comes in 2 flavors of covers - Betty or Blond Rita with the other being on the spine and on the insert, so you still really get the artwork from either version. I went for Betty (Watts).

Seth,

Thanks for posting that. I didn't know about the dual covers. I guess I'm just lucky that Amazon sent me the Betty (Watts) cover.

As for the transfer being too dark. I didn't think it was overly dark.

Anyways. My full review should be up later today or early Friday.

I'm going to take a much needed break from it for now but I might be able to crank out more before bed.

 

[Jon Robertson]

I got the Rita cover. :frowning:

(and I haven't even mentioned the part where hot chicks are naked)

'And', Seth? There's a BIG 'and' missing from that sentence!