Customer Reviews

The Cinema of David Lynch : American Dreams, Nightmare Visions (Directors' Cuts)

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Is it possible for a good book of film criticism to be dominated by lavish photos and the like? Not in my experience. The closest to that is the BFI series, and those are hardly the sort of thing "a reader" is talking about. Of all the books on Lynch out there, this is probably my #3, behind Martha Nomchinson's amazing "Wild at Heart in Hollywood" and the essential "Lynch on Lynch."

The simataneous release of the paperback and hardcover editions should have clued "a reader" into the HC edition being a library edition... Don't let this person's stupidty put you off, this is one of the best books analyzing Lynch one can find.

I'm reading this book a 2nd time now. I would say this book is im my top three Lynch books as well and it provides a very good outline, and possibly, a key, for the way Lynch thinks. If anything, it will help you come up with more of your own conclusions. From a devoted Lynch fan, this is a great read!

I am not always into the intricacies of the cinema, yet David Lynch provides for an explanation as to why. I loved "Blue Velvet" ( a lot), but the nightmares and dreams, well not so much. But don't use me as a gauge for assessing the cinematic value of anything. I'm not qualified and, in some cases unable to do so. The book is good if you need to delve into Lynch's cinematic style and the mind behind the lens.

I gotta agree with Critic-AL... too much ink is being spilled about Lynch that reads like retread po-mo theories. I'll go with Pervert in the Pulpit too, and I'm not alone. You don't have to be a film student or academic to appreciate Johnson's heady read ... still, I think the review of Pervert by David Lancaster in the latest issue of Film and History totally sums up my thinking: "There is a slightly malicious pleasure in seeing a modish reputation being debunked, especially when the reader was mystified by the fuss in the first place. Pervert in the Pulpit is not a crude hatchet job, however. Rather, it is clear-sighted and informed, and, in true Manichean fashion, on the side of the critical angels."

By calling Nochimson's book "amazing," [...]the problem with a lot of Lynch criticism: the audience for his films is divided between fans and serious students of cinema. As Lynch's reputation as an innovator continues to wear thin - face, it, his uneven oeuvre is not aging well - die-hard loyalists continue to gush about his, in my opnion, limited success as a cutting-edge film director. This book may be timely, but it isn't as interesting as Jeff Johnson's iconoclastic "Pervert in the Pulpit: Morality in the Work of David Lynch," which I'd recommend before any of the other, more pandering texts Joe cites.