To see Arlington Road or Lynch’s Lost Highway? (1 Viewer)

[Sam Davatchi]

I have the opportunity to see Arlington Road or Lynch’s Lost Highway in about 10 hours. They are showing them on TV both at the same time. I’m wondering which one is a better movie and gives a more satisfying viewing? Never saw or read about them so no spoilers please. And please don’t tell me to watch one and record the other!

 

[Ike]

Lost Highway, most definitely.

Without a doubt if you are a Lynch fan. It's weird but worth it.

Arlington Road will pass 2 hours, but that's all.

 

[Matt Stone]

I agree. Arlington Road ain't that good...and while Lost Highway is weird, it will at least leave you with more to think about

 

[Nick Graham]

Unless you are a Lynch fan, Arlington Road. Lost Highway is a movie that pretty much only true blue Lynch fans enjoy.

Arlington Road is a tight (if not formulaic) little thriller, though it probably seems quite pedestrian to avid Lynch fans.

 

[Ike]

Lost Highway is a movie that pretty much only true blue Lynch fans enjoy.

Actually, it was one of the first Lynch films I saw, and I really loved it. It's more about not expecting something out of it. If you go in open, it's a rewarding experience, even for Lynch virgins.

I saw Arlington Road in the theater, and while it's got some interesting ideas, it's fairly mediocre as far as thrillers go, and it's strictly a genre piece.

Not to mention, you can rent Arlington Road on DVD in widescreen. Lost Highway can only be found on tape. So by taping it off cable, you aren't losing anything (unless you can find a widescreen VHS copy).

 

[Matt Pelham]

I would say go with Arlington Road definitely. It's actually one of the more suspenseful movies of the last few years. Not that Lost Highway is a bad movie, I just think you'd get more enjoyment out of AR.

 

[Michael*K]

Agreed that Lost Highway is more suited to Lynch fans. Arlington Road is a nice suspenseful two hour film. I'd opt for that. Of course, the best thing for you to do would be to watch one, while recording the other.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Were these televised presentations showing the films in their proper aspect ratios?

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Here, they show the movies most of the times (95 %) in 1.85 aspect ratio, even the 2.35:1 ones, so the 2.35:1 ones are cropped.

Thanks for the comments; they start in exactly one hour. Actually I’m still not sure because the opinions are pretty divided on both films. But I think I will go with Lost Highway because Ike mentioned that it is not available on DVD.

 

[MickeS]

I had seen 'Wild at heart", "Blue velvet" and "Eraserhead" before I saw LH, and neither of those movies impressed me (WAH was boring, E was just plain bizarre and disturbing, and BV was... bad). However, I LOVED "Lost Highway", it's a movie with lots of interesting ideas and great visuals.

"Arlington Road" was an ordinary thriller, decent entertainment but not much more.

I would DEFINITELY suggest that you go with "Lost Highway".

 

[Sam Davatchi]

O k , I ’ m m m b a c k k k . S o r r y this must be the side effect of the movie. Just saw Lost Highway and OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, what a movie! I was sucked into the world of this movie from the very first second to the last minute.
Warning! Don’t read from now on if you have not seen the movie.
I guess we can change this topic to the Lost Highway discussion thread if there isn’t any. I definitely need some explanation before I go completely insane. I have a theory of my own which I will try to explain. I read a little on the user comments on IMDB and didn’t find my explanation! I absolutely don’t believe in weirdness for the sake of weirdness. It would be too easy to call a thing masterpiece and a great work of art just because we cannot understand or explain it. Anyone can make unexplainable weird things that no one including himself could understand. I think there are interpretations to this movie. If not, it would be a worthless movie to me.
I’m proud to present my theory: Hopefully it has been mentioned before! I think the whole story was about just one person. It was just out of order. I believe that unlike some people who try to give an extraordinary explanation for the prison transformation, it was just a simple flash back. I think the young man was Fred Madison when he was young, The story starts there. He does all the things we see in the movie, later becomes a Jazzman, goes jealous and insane, kills his love and later commits suicide in prison!
What are the other theories out there?

 

[MickeS]

Sam, my theory is very simple, and not at all unbeliavable in the context of this movie or any other movie: what we see is what happens. He transforms from one person into another. His wife IS two people. everything happens as it's described on screen.

I personally don't need to explain it more than that, and I think it's very easy to understand (it's right there on the screen, after all).

If we can accept that Superman can fly, that The Matrix exists or that you can get kicked in the head repeatedly and survive on other movies, I have no problem accepting "Lost Highway" exactly for what it is.

/mike

 

[Shane Gralaw]

I believe he does not transform into another person and Patricia Arquette is NOT two characters. For my complete explaination, plus several others check the "A possible explanation for Lost Highway" thread on this forum. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...ht=losthighway

 

[Sam Davatchi]

I didn't find your topic, if it’s still here please give the link. If it was a long time ago then it’s been probably deleted, in that case I would be grateful if you explain it again!

 

[Joe_Rod]

Here is what Lost Highway is about.
Fred Madison kills his wife. He goes into a mental fugue state to forget what he has done (scenes with him and his wife Renee). His conscience keeps reminding him of what he has done (video tapes) until he remembers. He then comes back to reality while being interrogated by the police. He is put in prison. He goes into another fugue state where he becomes a totally different person (Pete). He is now in control and the person cheating on his girlfriend. Not a husband that has no control over his cheating wife.
Alice represents temptation and Mr. Eddy represents his fear of killing Renee. Alice wanting Pete to kill Andy is symbolic of Fred wanting to kill Renee. After he does this, Pete says, "We killed him." Alice says, "No, you killed him." When all this gets to much for Pete, he reverts back to Fred.
We see a scene where Fred kills Dick Laurent that could possibly be real. The Mystery Man is there recording everything so it must have happened at some point. The end where the cops are chasing Fred and he starts to shake is Fred dying in the electric chair.
This is a quick synopsis and doesn't explain everything. There is a lot of symbolism in the film. Check out this link to get more details.
http://www.jasonsweb.com/LostHighway/lh_index.html

 

[Shane Gralaw]

Woo-hoo! I got the link thing to work and edited the post above to include it. Check it out!