Customer Reviews

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me [VHS]

5 star:		(116)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

Much maligned film detailing the last days in the life of Laura Palmer has been dismissed by many as being an out of control freak show.Without the restraints of television David Lynch lets his imagination cut loose (a televsion is literally smashed to pieces at the end of the opening credits)and you may not understand everything but it's more straightforward than later Lynch mindtrips.The first half hour(which if you've seen this on T.V. is sometimes entirely lopped off)which features the investigation of Chris Isaak and Kiefer Sutherland is slow and strange.It concludes with a freakish David Bowie cameo before journeying to Twin Peaks and Laura Palmer herself where the film really takes off.Trying to escape the mysterious being Bob who molests her she descends into a vortex of drugs and sex.In the performance of her life Sheryl Lee gives an intense emotionally unstrung performance as Laura making her descent all the more harrowing.There are some scenes that have such a dreamlike quality they are unmatched in modern cinema:Laura's best friend follows her to a club where Julee Cruise sings the heartbreaking "Questions In A World of Blue" before abruptly swiching to a nightmarish strobelit club complete with clanging music.Laura's journey into a picture on her wall into the otherworldly lodge.Laura losing her grip on reality stumbling through a pitch black wood.The climax is gutwrenching and hard to watch(and reportedly slightly toned down after the audience at the Cannes film festival were too sickened to enjoy their dinner afterwards)and will leave you shaken.As always Lynch gives us no deleted scenes or commentary leaving us to deal with the film as it is.Oviously not for all tastes and there's no quirky humor for fans of the series.If however you watch the film from start to finish it could be one of the most disturbing experiences of your life.A surreal masterpiece.

I remember "Twin Peaks" from when I was a kid, meaning that I remember the hype surrounding the series when it came out, and the way its increasingly gratuitous weirdness eventually alienated all but the hardest-core fans. I remember those commercials in which you'd see the face of "BOB" morph into that of an owl, etc. It all looked really strange and occult and obscure. I was too young to get into it, but the fascination of the show kind of stuck with me through the years. Later I became a fan of Lynch's films, particularly the brilliant "Mulholland Dr.," and from time to time I'd think oh yeah, this was the "TP" guy, but the general unavailability of the series as a whole kept me away from it. (Which is why it's just plain stupid to stall the release of the second season of a show like this - especially when there are only two seasons total! But I digress.) Eventually I wound up borrowing the pilot and first season DVD from a friend. Guess what, I got addicted, so I had to "acquire" the second season online. I even read the (likewise generally unobtainable) "Secret Diary of Laura Palmer," a truly gripping and powerful piece of writing by (if I recall) David Lynch's daughter, which recounts in first person the gory details of Laura's years of abuse and torture at the hands of the mysterious entity known as BOB. Take out the supernatural elements in this book and you're left with a convincing case study of the psychological impact of incest, drug abuse, and secrecy.

After all this I felt prepared to see the film. It's probably ideally best to watch "Fire Walk With Me" last, as a capper. If you've watched the whole series you already know who killed Laura, and whether you have or not, "FWWM" will probably raise more questions than it answers - that's why we love it - but so much of it depends on the viewer's acquaintance with the show that it still makes sense to see the film last.

As with the show, the movie bears interpretation on many levels at once, and Lynch is always teasing you with suggestions of diverse "working theories." On the one hand, it often feels like a perfectly straightforward after-school special on the topics of sex, drugs and incest. There are hints that all the "supernatural" aspects are simply elaborate imaginary ways for Laura (and maybe her father) to deal with the unspeakable. Maybe there really is no BOB, as indeed shut-in Harold Smith remarks early on in the film - maybe he's just a cypher for Laura's father, rather than a demonic entity that possesses him to molest her.

And yet there's an equal insistence on the supernatural, with repeated references to the mysteries brought up in the series, as well as some new symbolism unique to the movie, e.g. the "blue rose." There are sections in which "FWWM" dissolves into abstract stream-of-consciousness-style hallucinations in the midst of what almost looked like it was going to be an ordinary narrative, most notably the bizzare segment at the Philadelphia headquarters in which Cooper splits in two, missing agent Philip Jeffries suddenly turns up out of nowhere and the next thing we know we're above the notorious "convenience store" with BOB, the Little Man From Another Place, the "Chalfonts" and others, all spewing typical symbolic rhetoric about formica tables and "Garmonbozia." It's extremely suggestive, but I doubt anybody really knows EXACTLY what it's about, Lynch included, although the references will stick in your head and tease you as you try to puzzle through them.

This is the secret of the undeniable fascination of the whole "TP" phenomenon, and much of Lynch's work. I've watched the hell out of "Mulholland Dr.," and every time my theory changes, and I actually doubt that there's any one all-purpose solution to the cluster of mysteries. There are various explanations for various events, sometimes mutually exclusive, but all seeming to relate to the same nexus of intrigue in some indeterminate sense. But Lynch never gives the secret away completely. He claims in interviews that he doesn't always know what his own symbols mean at the time, and that he's as shocked as anybody when he "figures them out." And actually, I believe him!

A common remark in these reviews, whether the reviewers have seen the series or not, regardless of how they interpret the story, is that this film stays with them and haunts them for hours afterwards. It has an undeniable archetypal power. It's definitely much darker than the series, which overemphasized the light comedy elements to appease tame network viewers, but after all, this IS the story of the brutal rape and murder of a teenage girl, and the film depicts this quite vividly.

The Amazon review suggests that anyone who didn't see the Twin Peaks TV series can't understand this film. I didn't see that series, know nothing of its characters, but was much impressed with the Lynch I'd seen to date (Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart). I took in the first part of the film without a problem, smiling through much, and admiring Lynch's guts. Then the real movie starts. I didn't smile at anything else in the film. In fact, I was emotionally numb for about two hours after it ended. I'd never been so shaken by a film. You need to love the main character, to feel this much pain, and Sheryl Lee makes it easy. What does she say to her "true" boyfriend--"The Laura you used to know doesn't exist anymore. There's only me." We get to see if not where the original Laura went then why. Smile through the first part. You'll know when it's over. He's just setting you up for the kill.

If you are a Twin Peaks Fan, by now you know of the struggle over this DVD. New Line has made many statements to the entertainment press about its "fight" to include the deleted scenes from Fire Walk on this DVD. As legend has it, the original cut of FWWM ran over 4 hours. David Lynch, the film's gifted director gave permission for many of these scenes to be included on the DVD. New Line made news over the fact that the missing scenes were held by contract to another film company. They swore that they would not release the FWWM DVD without this deleted footage.
Well, insider word tells me that New Line never cared much about this DVD or the deleted scenes. The deleted footage issue was standard publicity cooked up by the marketing department. As it turns out, the company who holds the rights was asking no more for the footage than is considered normal. Criterion and other companies creating DVDs have paid far higher fees to secure footage to satisfy the hopes and demands of the fans.
New Line, having no faith in the power of Twin Peaks, was simply unwilling to shell out the customary dollars. So here we are, the fans of this amazing universe, tempted with one last original journey into the world of Twin Peaks. This final journey would have given the fans new Peaks - something we have dreamed about for over a decade. Unfortunately, New Line was more interested in a quick buck, "Fight" facade aside, New Line never had any intention of fighting for the deleted scenes to be included in this DVD. While I am thrilled that we can see the widescreen version of the film, and hear it in a quality audio transfer - I cannot forgive the fact that New Line never really intended to secure this footage for us.
The hype is for not. The new cast interviews are left over from Artisans AMAZING first season Twin Peaks Boxed Set. I wish all Peaks fans would boycott this release. But we will not. We are still hungry for Peaks a decade later.
The most we can hope is that Criterion or some reputable company secures the rights to this film soon, so it's true fans can finally experience it.

Remember Laura Palmer? She's the one who was into sex, drugs and..., ended up killed by..., wrapped in plastic, and then it all began. Well here is the oft-times lurid, unsettling and sometimes plain scary film about Laura. This is not the eccentric drama/comedy we know as "Twin Peaks:TV series, and it's not for the fair weather Peaks fans. David Lynch lets us know that this is the flip side right at the opening credits when the violent destruction of a television is followed by a bloodcurdling scream. No wonder they hated it! I love it, and thanks to NewLine who in conjunction with none other than the maestro himself have produced a gorgeous digital transfer of this essential work. Forget the deleted scenes fiasco..with this quality sound and picture, and a good price, this is a no brainer for true Twin Peaks fans. I docked a star because the only substantial extra, the "documentary" is quite a disappointment. If you have absorbed the series and permit the Lynchian universe to enfold you, "Fire Walk with Me" will reveal itself as a coherent,disturbing and beautiful adventure. Great performances by Sheryl Lee and Ray Wise, but the real star is the director who gave us something that we never expected, and it gets better at each viewing.Wow Bob Wow!!

I saw this film the night it premiered with a couple of die-hard "Twin Peaks" fans. Judging from the conversations taking place in the theater before and after the showing, we weren't the only ones obsessed with Lynch's classic television show. The critics were harsh, as were most fans, and the film quickly faded from theaters. Now it seems that only the aforementioned die-hards recall this film fondly. Well, with the release of "Mulholland Drive," and the subsequent critical praise (quite a shock, actually; hell, even Ebert gives it four stars, and that guy has never been a Lynch proponent), I believe that everyone who adores Lynch's latest should seek out "Fire Walk With Me" and view it with fresh eyes. I won't delve too deeply into the plot; suffice it to say that those who claim this movie does not resolve the loose ends of the series are not correct (Cooper meets Cooper in the red room. Enough said.). Of all the Lynch films, this one has the best Badalamenti soundtrack and the most gorgeous, satisfying ending. Like all of his films, its themes explore love, mortality, depravity, and the long, dark passageways of the soul. It does lack most of the quirkiness and humor of the series. It does lack many of the characters (although Leo and The Log Lady show up in very amusing cameo). It does make the mistake of not showcasing more of Agent Cooper. It contains many, many disturbing scenes that someone not familiar with Lynch might be tempted to label misogynist. But it is ultimately Lynch's most passionate film, as the patient viewer is rewarded with a vision of redemption so powerful it lingers long after the credits have rolled.

CONTAINS SPOILERS!

One of the most brilliant, saddest, most disturbing, and most beautiful movies ever made. This is the story of Laura Palmer and how her life spun out of control before her death. Sherryl Lee should have gotten an Oscar for her performance. She captures the erratic mood changes of the abused and drug-addicted Laura perfectly.

The first part of the movie describes the investigation of the murder of Teresa Banks. Part of the investigation involves a ring which, worn by the next victim, signifies the next person who is to die. There is a scene where one of the FBI agents (David Bowie) has somehow been captured or kept by the people from another place (the demons), and he (the agent) returns to the FBI headquarters. Then the movie cuts to Twin Peaks and the last few days of Laura Palmer's life. Essentially, this prequel explains the events directly relating to Laura Palmer's death in the Twin Peaks television series. She is being abused by her father, Leland/Mad Bob. In order to cope with her life, she has become addicted to cocaine. In order to pay for the cocaine, she becomes a prostitute and to secure the drug she feigns a love relationship with Bobby who is part of a chain of drug dealing in Twin Peaks. Gradually there is nowhere else for her to go, she needs more and more cocaine to feed her addiction. Her life spirals out of control and she is killed by Leland/Bob, who is jealous of her sexual relationships with other men.

I haven't read all the other reviews here, but I just had to add my opinion as I feel this is one of the deepest films I have seen. Make no mistake, this is a trip into both a dream and a nightmare. Unlike some of Lynch's offerings, this movie actually does more or less make sense (as did the Twin Peaks TV series). The problem occurs for some viewers because you have to think deeply to understand it and you have to understand metaphor and symbolism. The people from the other place are demons. You can regard them as real or you can regard them as metaphors - metaphors for what comes over a man when he has a compulsion to abuse his own daughter, metaphors for what comes over someone when she is addicted to hard drugs. The demons can also be seen as the drugs themselves. They feed off human pain (garbanzo beans). All of us has an animal behind the mask. The white mask has a sharp nose like an intravenous drug needle. We're "civilized monkeys". Interpreted in this way, suddenly everything makes even more sense.

And there's the wind in the trees.

Just as crazy and utterly stupid as it was for Mirimax to release Cinema Paradiso as a Director's Cut in Europe and Japan but NOT IN THE USA, so is the studio that is sleeping at the gates when it comes to releasing the complete 26 television episodes of Twin Peaks on DVD!!! We fans have waited long enough and I am so upset that the only episodes I can get are on VHS and unfortunately are taped in EP mode. This stinks. There's no stereo, no quality picture, no extras. ADVICE: Twin Peaks is a major freaking cash cow for the studios. This is a world wide phenomenen and they are just sitting back enjoying the fact that they are NOT making money. I just can't understand why...woe is me...I sometimes wish that I wasn't so impressively intelligent. Sometimes my brightness outshines me. Perhaps my omnipotent knowledge is what has the studios in fear of releasing such a wonderful series. I will try to calm down now. ...

The cult show "Twin Peaks" was reknowned for being weird and oddballish, but until fans have seen "Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me," they ain't seen weird yet. Without the restraints of weekly TV, David Lynch allows his unnerving imagination to run wild as it explores what happened before Laura died.

It begins with another FBI investigation -- waitress Teresa Banks has been murdered, but not much of the investigation is going forward. Then the investigation is dropped, and the movie skips ahead a year, showing us the last week of Laura Palmer's (Sheryll Lee) life.

In the course of those days, Laura is slowly slipping over to the Dark Side -- drugs, prostitutional sex, and nightmarish visions that are increasingly consuming her life. But as the drugs and sex take over Laura's life, she doesn't realize that a worse fate awaits her -- death, "wrapped in plastic."

David Lynch is known for making movies that are absolutely addling. They can make your brain hurt, and sometimes you never understand them at all. "Fire Walk With Me" goes under this heading. At the same time, it makes you think. And think. Like an Expressionist painting, it captivates as it bends your mind.

Lynch doesn't follow a real plot; instead, he lets the storyline slowly sink into Laura's downfall. Lynch paints the whole experience with nightmarish, surreal images and visions, and allows it to drip into your subconscious. And along the way, he fills it with slightly offbeat direction, heavy atmosphere, and the ability to make anything -- ANYTHING -- look menacing.

It's not exactly friendly to Lynch virgins -- if you don't know what to expect, this will simply tie your head in knots. And though this is a prequel, watch the TV show before venturing in here -- otherwise the appearances by Twin Peaks residents will simply go over your head. (Although it's fun to play "Spot David Bowie").

Lee does an excellent job as Laura, careening through the movie with a sense of doom. Laura's not likable here, but Lee keeps her from being a two-dimensional "fallen woman." And Moira Kelly is amazing as her good-girl pal Donna, while Kiefer Sutherland and Harry Dean Stanton have brief but solid roles as the FBI agents.

Though reviled when it was released, "Fire Walk With Me" This prequel was the last hurrah of the "Twin Peaks" series, but at least it was a worthwhile one.

I was preparing to go back to college when I discovered Twin Peaks; I remembered my mom and others being obsessed with the program when it was first on (I was ten and wasn't even allowed to watch). I had some time to kill, and I love David Lynch's work, and so I rented the series pilot. I was so intrigued that I rented the whole series and subsequently "Fire Walk With Me." It was easily some of the more interesting hours of television and film I've ever seen.

David Lynch is a brilliant man, but his projects have been hit-and-miss affairs. He is incredibly ambitious and creative, which has gotten him into trouble when he's taken on too much ("Dune" is the perfect example). On the other hand, Lynch can produce works so vast and intriguing and admirable that they can only be classified as the highest form of art ("Blue Velvet" remains his masterpiece). I'm still amazed with what David Lynch did to television-- the only contemporary series that rivals "Twin Peaks" in narrative and creative brilliance is "The Sopranos." That said, rent the series before you watch this movie.

"Fire Walk With Me" was another artistic risk on Lynch's part, and unless you're familiar with the characters and events of the series don't waste your time. But if you're a fan, this movie is a vital part of the canon. It focuses on the weird characters, the mysteries, and the darkness that made "Twin Peaks" oddly fascinating and inspired the cult following it still maintains. Most of all, it focuses on Laura Palmer, the series' most famous character who we never really got to know. She is here-- the all-American girl who is secretly consumed by suffering, the "good" girl all too familiar with evil. And of course there are the spirits and demons-- Bob, the Midget, and the other inhabitants of the Black Lodge, whose presences only fuel the mysteries they created.

I hope David Lynch and the studio realize that there are still people discovering this world, and that his achievement will continue to be admired by those who seek intelligent and provocative entertaiment. When this DVD is released, I hope it is everything these fans have been waiting for. And I hope it answers one or two questions-- at least partially.