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Eraserhead is probably the weirdest movie ever made. That being said, it will not appeal to everybody. However, the film since its initial release in 1977 has gone on to be one of the foremost cult classics ever. I myself am not a huge fan of Lynch, but upon watching this, I was absolutely stunned. What exactly IS Eraserhead about? This is been a series of mad debate since the movie release over 30 years ago, and it continues to this very day. The easy answer is sex: the act of sex, and the consequences thereof. However, this in itself simply cannot explain so many of the surreal and nightmarish images contained inside this movie. David Lynch has stated on several occasions that nobody has come even close to his original interpretation of the film, though he has said that Eraserhead contains his paranoia and feelings of persecution which accompanied him prior to becoming a father. This, he says, can be used to make the film more palatable on a narrative level, if need be. All I can say is, it most certainly does! Though repeated viewings of the film reveal more of the vernacular, it still does not reveal everything. But I believe that to be the point. Lynch did not want to make a movie that was easy to decipher, he wanted people to discuss it and debate it. And that surely explains the film's longevity and cult appeal. So why did this movie rank so high with me? For those very reasons: in spite of its offbeat energy and often incomprehensible storytelling style, the film is such that draws the viewer in and leaves them utterly spellbound. Bottom line, while not for everybody, if you are in the mood for a movie that's odd, challenging, and utterly unique, this is for you.Read full review
Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) is a regular guy forced to live in a rotten industrial neighborhood. His wife is tired of their baby's constant crying and goes home, leaving Henry to do the right thing. He dallies with the Beautiful Woman Across The Hall, but The Baby frightens her off. Finally Henry cuts the bandages off the Baby's body and finds out that the Baby can't be physically alive. The Baby is basically a glob of organs wrapped in bandages; Henry pokes at them and they spew stuff that looks like egg yolks. The Baby dies in agony (or ecstasy?) and Henry's world collapses around him... but he ends up in the arms of the Lady In The Radiator, who has been singing songs about Heaven to him all this time. That's basically the story. If you've seen movies like "Mulholland Dr." and "Lost Highway", you'll get some idea of the weirdness involved here. David Lynch is not interested here in telling a story; he wants to explore ideas and create a mood-- so if you're looking for a traditional story line the synopsis above is about as close as you're going to get. It's a mood piece based on Lynch's experiences as a new father in a bad part of Philadelphia, if that's any help. But to ask what Lynch's more abstract movies are about is like asking what Bach's Brandenberg concertos or Brian Eno's 'ambient music" are about. Charlie Chaplin once observed that if you exaggerate any human hardship enough it becomes funny. Don't be afraid to laugh; "Eraserhead" is a comedy in the classical tradition. The DVD itself is almost too well-packaged (it's hard to open); it comes in a box that could hold a stack of 45s, wrapped in a tight-fitting sleeve. But the transfer is very good (the widescreen format helps provide information that sets the tone of the film), and there is a feature-length video ("Stories") in which Lynch talks about the making (but not the meaning) of "Eraserhead". He also calls up Catherine Coulson (Jack Nance's first wife, who worked on "Eraserhead" and played the Log Lady in "Twin Peaks") and yaks with her on a speaker phone. "Stories" seems to have a greenish tint that comes and goes; I don't know if it's a video artifact or if it was put there on purpose ("Stories" is in black-and-white)-- but the effect doesn't appear in "Eraserhead". I've heard that there's an Easter egg on the disk (it supposedly allows you to access extra footage on Lynch's Web site), but I haven't found it.Read full review
Even for the adventurous cinephile, this is one of the most challenging movie experiences you're likely to encounter in a lifetime. Not for the faint of heart or those with a short attention span, Eraserhead is the one feature film that most closely resembles a bad dream put to celluloid. Every time I watch it, I reach different conclusions about what it means (perhaps that is director Lynch's intention). The sound design is a brilliant addition to the post-industrial decay that infuses every frame, the acting is a thespian freak show, and I still wonder how they achieved some of the no-budget special effects. If you are willing to try it, throw out all expectations and let the horror and humor dig into your flesh. With Eraserhead, one can learn to cringe, laugh, shudder and wonder - all at the same time.Read full review
Saw this film many years ago. Wanted to buy it. David Lynch makes movies that make the watchers think and try to figure out what the meaning of his films are. I watched an analysis of the film on You Tube which helped me to see what Mr. Lynch was stating in the film. A classic!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
It's an out-of-body experience, a nightmare you had while high on Nyquil, the ugly step-child of Chaplin's "Modern Times", the feverish imaginings of Lynch's psychotic neurosis, a classic study of what the late 1970s thought the early 2070s would be like. You cannot understand this movie by having it described to you, you have to see it to understand it; you probably still won't understand it, but it will stick with you; probably forever, even if you don't want it to. The re-issue is sharpened up image-wise but seems to have lost some of the background white noise of the original release. It's a fair trade though, you hear distinct sounds instead of a constant low-volume roaring. Both versions serve the purpose of keeping you on edge by trying to figure out what must be causing it. Any self-respecting collector of odd stuff needs to have a copy of this film in his library.Read full review
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