Weirdsville USA: The Obsessive Universe of David Lynch [Paperback]

Paul A. Woods (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

Woods traces the bizarre and eerily beautiful projects of David Lynch that have produced a growing cult following. From Lynch's early films like Elephant Man and Dune to 1997's Lost Highway, Weirdsville U.S.A. examines the director's eccentric and wildly varying career. 100 movie stills.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Plexus Pub (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0859652556
• ISBN-13: 978-0859652551
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,806,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Information, some of it correct., September 28, 2000

By 

kent shelton (Denver, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Weirdsville USA: The Obsessive Universe of David Lynch (Paperback)

Paul Woods takes a fan's approach to discussing the life and works of filmmaker David Lynch. The book is at it's strongest when describing the films and the effort it took to create them. The chapter on the 5-year ordeal that Lynch and his gang of misfits underwent in order to bring Eraserhead to the screen (which most of them felt it would never see) is as facinating as the dark, experimental film itself. Woods only falters when he tries to give us a biographical glimpse of Lynch himself. Most of what he tells us about Lynch are the speculations of others and the directors own evasive little quips and soundbites that he has used to deflect interviewers over the years. The books research sometimes seems quite painstaking but at other time Mr. Woods, a british writer, demonstrates an almost unforgivable lack of basic knowledge about America and the market for which Lynch's films are created. At times one wishes that Woods had invested in a map of the U.S. (he refers to Spokane as a suburb of Washington D.C., and at another point describes Washington State as being located in the American Midwest) and perhaps gave another viewing to a few of Lynch's films during his research (he mixes up the chronology of events in "Fire Walk With Me" quite embarrasingly) but, for the largest part, his insights into Lynch's craft are fully realized and well-supported. The more a person knows about Lynch the more this book is likely to infuriate them with it's sloppy attention to detail, but for the Lynch-novice looking for an introduction to obsessive avant-garde cinema, this book will certainly entertain and illuminate.