Product Details

• Actors: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Richard Beymer
• Directors: David Lynch
• Writers: David Lynch, Mark Frost
• Producers: David Lynch, David J. Latt, Mark Frost, Monty Montgomery
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Import, NTSC
• Language: Afrikaans, English, Icelandic, Norwegian
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Catalyst Logic / Republic Pictures (HK Import)
• DVD Release Date: May 24, 2002
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000068TQU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,858 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Twin Peaks - Pilot Episode [Import]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great show, problematic disc., March 30, 2005

By 

Jeffrey Kihn "seofon" (Mill Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Twin Peaks - Pilot Episode [Import] (DVD)

The good news: Twin Peaks is a singularly brilliant show, a must-see for anyone into David Lynch or TV history, and this disc is the only way to get the pilot on Region 1 DVD. The bad news: The disc runs fast, "chipmonk-ing" the sound and killing Lynch's deliberate pacing. I can't stand to watch it, myself. Your mileage may vary.

Your alternatives are to (1) deal, (2) get the first season Region 2 DVD set from amazon.co.uk, (3) get the "European pilot" film on VHS, or (4) wait until someone does it right.

Don't pay more than $20 for this DVD. You can get it on eBay anytime for that price.

The following is lifted from dugpa.com:

Rights to the Pilot Episode are owned by Paramount. Artisans box set contains the First Seven Episodes of the Series minus the Pilot Episode. Artisan tried to acquire it at one point, but Paramount wouldn't budge. Hopefully once Paramount sees how well Artisans box set sells, they will get smart and release the Pilot themselves. (and hopefully with both the TV and European endings via seamless branching)

Luckily the Pilot is available on all of the non-Region 1 Season One DVD sets by Paramount.

88 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick Fix for Those Who Need the Pilot, January 10, 2002

By 

Christopher White (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Twin Peaks: Pilot Episode (DVD)

Due to legal wranglings over the pilot episode, it was not included in the recent First Season DVD boxset (another 5 star product). What you get here is a Hong Kong import from Republic Pictures which is legitimate but not the highest quality product. I still gave the disc 5 stars because it is the pilot none the less and who knows how long it will be until it is released in America on DVD.

What you ARE getting: The original pilot episode of Twin Peaks that aired on television in the United States. This is good because it maintains continuity and most importantly the suprise of the series. In other words if you have never seen the show you should watch this version of the pilot, the 29 episodes of the series and then Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in order to experience it in the way you would have had you been watching the material as it was released. This is the best way for a newcomer to get the Twin Peaks experience.

What you are NOT getting: This is NOT the European version of the pilot. In David Lynch's contract he was required to make the pilot into a close ended feature which could stand alone to sell in European markets and possibly the US if the series were not picked up. That version is basically a Cliff's Notes for the series, showing you the end and culprit without any of the fun of arriving there from the series. I would recommend renting this version after you have seen all of the other material out there however, it has some good moments.

QUALITY: Like I said before this is an import from Republic and not the best quality. The video quality is about equal to if the pilot played on TV yesterday and I taped it on a regular VCR. That being said, the video and sound are adequate, but one should not expect the amazingly crystal clear transfer from the Season One set. (In fact I read that the Season One set having been remastered, has better quality than the master tapes that ABC has in its vaults!)

FINALLY: So again, I stand by my five star rating because though the quality is not superb, the pilot is a necessary part of any Twin Peaker's collection. I recommend purchasing this because as anyone can see from New Line Cinema's decision to not only NOT include the sought after deleted footage from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, but also delay its release for a year when they really had no intention of paying for the rights to the footage in the first place that Twin Peaks is not high on the list of priorities for the studios involved. Don't expect an American release anytime soon.

57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twin Peaks -- scale them!, October 29, 2004

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Twin Peaks - Pilot Episode [Import] (DVD)

David Lynch has gained a reputation for his weird and wonderful filmmaking style, like in "Mulholland Drive." And while the release of "Twin Peaks -- Pilot Episode" is not included with the first season release, this eerie and entrancing story will reel you in. It's cult TV at its absolute best.

The body of a beautiful young woman, Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), washes up on a shore, wrapped in plastic. Apparently everyone in the town of Twin Peaks adored her, so her death is a blow. FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) takes a look at Laura's body -- and learns that she was murdered by someone he has tracked before.

He investigates Laura's diary, and finds that she may have been killed by someone she called "J." That hardly narrows it down, since the strange Twin Peaks is full of quirky people with that initial. And as Cooper investigates further, he finds himself in a town of dark secrets and strange occurrances -- and still the mystery of who killed Laura.

Due to some bizarre legal wrangles, the Twin Peaks pilot wasn't released with the first season of the show -- which is like releasing "Return of the Jedi" and "Empire Strikes Back" separately from "A New Hope." Despite this oddity, the pilot in itself is a magnificent piece of work, quirky and dark and twisted.

Drugs, murder, ghosts, precognition, dancing dwarves, supernatural possession and murder all crop up in the TV series, and this pilot set it all up -- it's not the best of the series, but it serves as a good set-up. And Lynch's handling of the solidly ordinary Northwest America is turned into a bizarre thing. Under the banality and the boringness is a dark undercurrent, making the town all the more eerie. But it's also so FUNNY at times -- Cooper and the quirky Twin-Peak-ites provide a sort of deadpan comedy to the proceedings.

It's also not just a murder mystery, but a study of the strange, layered characters. Kyle MacLachlan does an exceptional job as Cooper -- he's obviously a bit of a nutjob and neatnik, but a cheerful and likable one. He's backed by a cast of quirky, odd characters, including Lara Flynn Boyle, Ray Wise, Piper Laurie and Michael Ontkean.

Before the "X-Files" made the surreal a hit, before "Carnivale" took surrealism and ran with it, there was the magnificently weird "Twin Peaks." Time has been kind to "Twin Peaks," and long after it was first aired it's still a magnificent creation.