Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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176 of 194 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"But what the hell do they know, I said?", December 2, 2003
If you're reading this, then you've seen this movie or are at least curious what all the hype is about?
The late Stanley Kubrick, the only major filmmaker Lynch has cited as a direct cinematic influence, believed that ERASERHEAD was one of the most perfect "cinematic experiences" created to date. This movie has enjoyed success on the midnight movie circuit for years, particularly in NYC where it ran almost every night for something like five years straight. I've seen it on big and little screens in three different states. Insofar as interpretations are concerned, I've long since tossed all that out the window. In terms of rational comprehension, ERASERHEAD is the fabled big fish that remains brilliantly elusive of any attempts to capture it.
This movie gets better, and more humorous, every time I watch it: in my opinion - ERASERHEAD is the cinematic experience that comes the closest to capturing "dream logic", next to the equally brilliant WAKING LIFE. If you ever get the chance, watch ERASERHEAD in a movie theater with a great sound system - you will understand why Stanley Kubrick was moved enough to make his statement. It's like experiencing someone else's dream - the ultimate act of voyeurism? As if I was granted audience to a demonstration of delicate brain surgery, and catching glimpses of the patient's face throughout the operation (particularly the opening scene). It creates such a visceral landscape with its dark, peculiar selections of image and sound, that it seems to be constantly reminding you that the "soul" is helplessly sloshing around somewhere inside an organic bag of blood, bone, hair follicles, industrial shrapnel, dirt piles and antique radiators; a terrifying and beautiful delineation of a living creature suddenly made aware of its own being (birth imagery abounding). It is a perfect symphony of sound and image, amazing work for a first time feature film director! I've seen this movie placed in the HORROR section at local video stores; it's better suited for the COMEDY section, I fear. The movie was created on the AFI campus in California; production beginning his last year there, and continuing on for several more years in secret. Not for everyone, but certainly worth a peek.
I own a copy of ERASERHEAD on DVD, finally. It is available at David Lynch's website for forty-five bucks plus shipping and handling. Remastered sound and image, includes a few extras - the standout is a "stylized" interview with Lynch about the making of the film, the characters involved and anecdotes.
BTW - where is WILD AT HEART and LOST HIGHWAY for our DVD pleasure?
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62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A haunting dream of dark and disturbing things..., April 14, 2000
WHEN will they re-release this masterpiece on video and DVD? This film is purest Lynch. It isn't a movie, it's an experiance. David Lynch himself said that he didn't so much think of Eraserhead, than feel it. Never have I heard a more true statement. 'Eraserhead' is Atmosphere with a capital A, and contains some truly unnerving moments that come straight out of our darkest nightmares. David Lynch is a true artist. To watch Eraserhead is to be totally absorbed into another world; Henry and his bizarre hairdo; the gentle yet strangely disturbing Lady in the Radiator; and last but not least, the hideous 'Baby,' a truly grotesque little monster who is more terrifying than any other man-made creature in motion picture history. (Lynch has refused to say how he created the Baby....IF he made it, that is. CREEEEEEEEEEEEPYYYYY! ) There is an unrelenting sense of menace and fear throughout all the proceedings. Some may huff and dismiss 'Eraserhead' as an 'artsy-fartsy' flick intended for the smallest film cults. 'Eraserhead' is not cult; it's timeless. If only Lynch would create another film of this magnitude and purity. Maybe he still will.I look forward to the re-release of this ignored classic with great anticipation.
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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Personal Film Ever Created, April 16, 2002
David Lynch's surreal masterpiece ERASERHEAD, is in my humble opinion the most personal 90 minutes of celluloid ever created. As with many of his other films, theories abound about this "nightmare on film," and it seems people have more fun dissecting (no pun intended) the imagery and symbols than actually watching the film. It's certainly not enjoyable to watch, or entertaining by any stretch of the imagination, but it is compelling, engrossing, and disturbing. A true film "experience." There's never been anything like it from anyone else, or Lynch himself for that matter, and more likely than not we'll never see anything like it again. At it's most simplistic it's Lynch's fears and horror concerning "family" and "industrialism" taken to the nth degree. Most people describe it as post-apocolyptic, but it's truly modern/contemporary, just dark and unfamiliar to most. But again, like with many of Lynch's films--especially the recent MULHOLLAND DRIVE--you'd have to be David Lynch to fully understand everything that takes place or is shown, and that's what makes his movies so intriguing. Are his films weird and mysterious on purpose, or is this all normal to him? Of course none of us can ever know. Let's hope the rumors are true and that this will finally be available in the very near future.
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