Movie Description
David Lynch strikes again with this literal nightmare of a motion picture--a brilliant, scathing, hysterical, and haunting ode to Hollywood. In the film, a mysterious dark-haired woman (Laura Elena Harring) emerges from an accident with a purse full of cash and a head full of amnesia. Meanwhile, Betty Elms (Naomi Watts), a wide-eyed gal from Deep River, Ontario, has just landed in Los Angeles with dreams of movie super stardom. When Betty finds the nameless beauty in her aunt's apartment, she is deeply intrigued by the situation and offers to help her. This sends the two women on a bizarre search for the truth through the macabre, sun-soaked streets of the City of Angels, where the mob, a young film director (Justin Theroux), a studio executive with a tiny head, and an enigmatic figure named the Cowboy all float into the picture, then out again, until there is no longer any distinction between what is dream and what is reality.
Originally filmed as a pilot for ABC, Lynch's daring, open-ended vision was coldly rejected by the network. As he was about to abandon the project, French producer Pierre Edelman convinced Lynch to rethink it as a feature. The result is this stunning expression of the subconscious, a testament to the power of personal artistic vision.
| Credits | | Producer: | Mary Sweeney, Michael Polaire, Neal Edelstein | | Cast: | Dan Hedaya, Justin Theroux |
| Details | | Edition: | D-VHS D-Theater (High Definition Video) |
Notes
D-VHS Features:
Note: D-VHS VCR hardware required.
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound - English, Theatrical release: October 7, 2001 (NY), October 12, 2001 (Limited)
Editorial Reviews
"...Lynch's latest lingers in the mind and keeps you gripped in ways that have eluded some of his past cinema oddities..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (10/08/2001)
"...Lynch's head is a more than tantalizing place to be..."
Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman (10/19/2001)
"...Naomi Watts shows real attack....[The film] shows signs of being a lasting work, a film that shifts and changes along with the viewer..."
Sight and Sound - Kim Newman (01/01/2002)
"...Surrender to it. Lynch's wild ride through the unconscious is grounded in emotion....A dark, dazzling piece..."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (11/08/2001)
"...Like real dreams, it does not explain....[The film] lingers over what it finds fascinating....A movie to surrender yourself to. If you require logic and closure, see something else..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Reinhard Ebert (03/31/2002)
"Watts, in two opposite roles, displays striking range."
Premiere - Andy Webster (03/01/2005)
5 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n experience that'll baffle, exhilarate and leave you in stunned silencio."
Total Film - Matthew Leyland (05/01/2007)
4 stars out of 5 -- "A tantalizing and beautifully shot film....Still as enigmatic and impenetratable six years on."
Ultimate DVD - Natalie Braine (05/01/2007)
Awards
2001CannesBest DirectorDavid Lynch
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