Wild at Heart (Lynch) (1 Viewer)

[Nathan V]

This movie is coming to a theatre in my area, but is showing at an extremely inconvenient time (midnight) at a distant location from my house, in a very dirty part of Seattle.
I loved Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive.
Should I go see it? Is it worth the trouble?

Thanks for responding,
Nathan

 

[Michael Reuben]

Though the Lynch style is everywhere in evidence, Wild at Heart is a very different film from either Blue Velvet or Mulholland Drive. Lynch co-wrote the script, based on characters he didn't create, and that pulls the film thematically in different directions. I'm a fan, but the film had a mixed reception at best (at least in this country). It's the kind of thing I would never encourage a friend to see, because there's no way of telling how someone will react to it.

M.

 

[Alex Spindler]

It's the kind of thing I would never encourage a friend to see, because there's no way of telling how someone will react to it.

As opposed to the other Lynch films?

I'd recommend viewing it as you're already a fan of his work. It is very different then his others, but all of this films are off the beaten path.

 

[Matt Stone]

Does anyone know where to locate this one on Laser? I've been looking to get that and Lost Highway, and have been trying to avoid ebay.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Does anyone know where to locate this one on Laser?

eBay is probably your best option. Be forewarned: The LD of Wild at Heart has a soft picture and is very noisy; in fact, it was the disc I used to use to evaluate how LD players handled problematic discs. Plans were announced for a remaster and special edition, but they never went anywhere. It's been years since I saw the LD of Lost Highway, but I remember that it, too, wasn't the best job of transfer and mastering.

M.

 

[Mark Palermo]

Wild at Heart is Lynch's worst film (most would probably argue that Dune is). It's not bad, though, and if you like his stuff it's worth seeing.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Wow. No viewing of Wild at Heart was as powerful as the first time I saw it. I saw it in some dank art house in Pittsburgh. The opening scene was just so powerful on the big screen - no subsequent viewing has match that moment.

If you are psyched to see a David Lynch road movie with Elvis and Wizard of Oz undertones, go for it!

And if you are a fan of Lynch, you are sure to love Mr. Reindeer, Willem Dafoe as Bobby Peru (wow), Cousin Dell and his, uh, problems, Sherilyn Fenn as a confused auto accident victim, and Diane Ladd's lipstick adventure.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Michael - by the way, is the WAH laserdisc widescreen?

 

[Michael Reuben]

is the WAH laserdisc widescreen?

The one I have is. I don't know whether there was more than one version.

I agree that the opening scene really knocks you over. But my favorite part of the film is still the romance.

M.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

is the WAH laserdisc widescreen?

Yes. Although you should know that the jacket on the first pressing will not indicate this anywhere. The jackets were printed before they decided to release it widescreen and thus a "Widescreen Edition" sticker was placed on the outer shrinkwrap.

It will be released in the UK on April 15th in anamorphic widescreen. This will be the first OAR DVD release of it anywhere in the world. The current Japanese DVD is cropped to 1.85. Again, if you're not region-free this is just one more reason to take the plunge.

Jeff

 

[Leye]

What if I told you it's somehow similar to "The straight story"

Actually I believe "Mulholland Drive" is a blended version of "Lost highway" and "Wild at heart". It adapted the successful theme of two stories that make it much more accessible and glamorous, even to the most mean-spirit critics.

 

[Louis C]

I thought it was ok - if you like Nicolas Cage at all it is worth it to see some of his good early work.

 

[Mick Wright]

Does anyone know where to locate this one on Laser? I've been looking to get that and Lost Highway, and have been trying to avoid ebay.

You should wait for dvds of these films, supposedly MGM is working on WAH. I'm beginning to believe Lost Highway is never coming to dvd though. Even so, I don't recommend tracking down the laser. I've owned five different copies, and all of them were rotted. The 5.1 soundtrack was incredible though.

 

[Matt Stone]

Then how do you suppose I see them?

I don't care how crappy the print is if it gives me a chance to see them.

 

[Nathan V]

Great to hear all the (varied) responses. According to rottentomatoes, it certainly got panned critically, but other than that, I know virtually nothing about the film other than what's revealed in Pete Travers' review. Can someone give me specifics? What I enjoyed most about BV and MD was the soundscape, writing, cinematography, art direction, and most of all, overwhelming originality and creativity and complexity in all of these aspects. Each scene shows something new and different from other films, or at the very least, interesting. I can't get enough of Lynch's characters or the music.
Please, keep sharing your opinions!

Nathan

 

[Tim Raffey]

I personally think it's up there with the best (colour) stuff David Lynch has done, but if you're a Lynch fan at all and you have the chance to see any of his pictures projected in (presumably) 35mm, by all means, jump at the chance.

It probably wouldn't be as crisp & shiny as a new DVD, but there's a great difference to the video and film experiences.

 

[MarcusUdeh]

The opening scene was just so powerful on the big screen - no subsequent viewing has match that moment.

That opening scene caused me to ask the question, why isn't this picture NC-17?