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LTTWTF: Eraserhead

The October Man

The October Man

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,064
Philadelphia, PA, USA
I've considered myself a fan of David Lynch for a long time now, but there have been several of his films that I just haven't gotten around to for one reason or another. My first exposure to his work was Mulholland Drive, which I loved for it's haunting beauty. I then watched Twin Peaks and it's dark filmic follow-up Fire Walk With Me. I greatly enjoyed Lost Highway, but Inland Empire left me cold. I loved The Return.

Tonight, for the first time, I watched Eraserhead. And seriously, WTF. I can probably chalk a lot of it up to expectations. I went in thinking it would probably be a lot more straightforward. Lynch's first feature-length film. I assumed there would be some of the Lynchian weirdness I've come to love, and probably one big, scary, twist at the end. But GOTDAMN. He went FULL LYNCH from the fucking JUMP. This shit is buckwild. Up to 11 in his first Hollywood movie. It's going to take me a while to process this one. I was drinking a martini while I watched but I felt like I was tripping balls. Oh and I didn't recognize that Henry was Pete Martell until two-thrirds through the movie lol. There's actually a lot of stuff in this aesthetically that seems like a glimpse of Twin Peaks to come.

Anyway, feel free to discuss your thoughts on the movie. If y'all haven't seen this flick, I'd say buckle up and check it out. It's streaming on HBO Max

Next up: Blue Velvet
 
mattiewheels

mattiewheels

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,107
Have you seen The Elephant Man? It's kind of the opposite of Eraserhead in a lot of ways but it's a classic.
 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,845
I take it Kojima watched Eraserhead before he made P.T.

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Also fun fact: the woman who plays the beautiful girl across the hall is Mary Shaw from Dead Silence
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jml

jml

Member
Mar 9, 2018
4,783
This is definitely one of those movies that I appreciate more than like. It's unlike pretty much anything else I've seen; I appreciate all of the stylistic directions Lynch took and the whole connection/meaning with what he was going through in his personal life. I'm glad Eraserhead exists. I was also kinda bored while watching it though. It's only 90 minutes long but it felt like a marathon for me to get through.
 
manzoman96

manzoman96

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,519
It's pretty out there. I checked it out last year on hbo max as well, and yeah it was something.
 

Skulldead

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,450
The first time i saw the lady in the radiator i was like yeah that drug was good...really good...
 
Marshall

Marshall

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,982
Back in college, a buddy on my floor got a few of us together and popped in his copy of Eraserhead on VHS. I was half drunk at the time and it felt like I was watching a fucking nightmare. That was 1991. I should give it a rewatch, and hope it doesn't haunt me.
 
nachum00

nachum00

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,414
Now go watch his second film and experience the tonal whiplash going from Eraserhead to Elephant Man. And prepare to cry.
 
Joe Shlabotnik

Joe Shlabotnik

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Oct 27, 2017
5,887
I saw it for the first time maybe eight or nine years ago, also after being a Lynch fan for 20 years and seeing much of his other work. I knew it was disturbing, abstract, and avante-garde. I thought I was ready, being a grown-ass man in his 30s who had watched a lot of Lynch.

I was not ready.
 

Deleted member 2317

User-requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,072
One of the most obvious "keys" or ciphers or whatever to think about when watching it is the idea of an insecure man confronting relationships and marriage and parenthood.

meowdi gras said:
Still Lynch's masterpiece, IMO.

Eraserhead wasn't a Hollywood production. Depending on how you look at it, that would've either been The Elephant Man (bankrolled by Mel Brooks) or Dune (which Lynch disowned) as his first Tinsletown flick.
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Agreed on both accounts.
 
OP
OP
The October Man

The October Man

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,064
Philadelphia, PA, USA
meowdi gras said:
Still Lynch's masterpiece, IMO.

Eraserhead wasn't a Hollywood production. Depending on how you look at it, that would've either been The Elephant Man (bankrolled by Mel Brooks) or Dune (which Lynch disowned) as his first Tinsletown flick.
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I stand corrected. Looks like I'll be checking out Elephant Man soon, as well. I've heard nothing but bad things about Dune, so I wasn't going to bother. But maybe I'll do a double-feature with the new one someday to compare, haha
 

devSin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,195
The October Man said:
I stand corrected. Looks like I'll be checking out Elephant Man soon, as well. I've heard nothing but bad things about Dune, so I wasn't going to bother. But maybe I'll do a double-feature with the new one someday to compare, haha
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Dune doesn't really stand up as a Lynch film (since he didn't get final cut), but it wasn't terrible. Just make sure it's the theatrical release.

It'll never be great, but it does some interesting things as far as 80s sci-fi goes.
 
Penny Royal

Penny Royal

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,158
QLD, Australia
Everything is fine
In Heaven

I first watched this when I was about 17 or 18, stoned with some mates. Fun party movie lol

Truly amazing debut, I still listen to the OST regularly.
 
Poppy

Poppy

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Oct 25, 2017
18,273
richmond, va
i intensely love that film

had a friend that liked other lynch stuff but would act disgusted whenever i brought eraserhead up again
 
Xagarath

Xagarath

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Oct 28, 2017
3,140
North-East England
Stanley Kubrick called this his favourite film and used to play it to The Shining production crew to show them the kind of atmosphere he wanted.

It's also far funnier than it's given credit for.
 
Marz

Marz

Member
Oct 30, 2017
3,782
I watched it and the whole time I'm just saying what the fuck to myself
 
Emergency & I

Emergency & I

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,634
I think once you latch into its central themes, it's a pretty straightforward story. The visuals to manage to subvert this beautifully though.

Adore this movie.
 
Captain Smoker

Captain Smoker

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,720
lol this movie is certainly something šŸ˜‚

I had absolutely no idea what this is going to be, nor did I watch a lot of Lynch stuff. More of an experience than a movie.
 
cdr Jameson

cdr Jameson

Member
Oct 27, 2017
336
Xagarath said:
Stanley Kubrick called this his favourite film and used to play it to The Shining production crew to show them the kind of atmosphere he wanted.

It's also far funnier than it's given credit for.
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Yes a recent rewatch of this movie had me giggling throughout. It's a dark comedy more than anything else.

Also I forgot about this;
 
Teenage Fansub

Teenage Fansub

Member
May 24, 2019
22,192
Don't skip Dune. It's an essential part of the Kyle story, plus there are plenty of regulars in fun small parts, including Eraserhead himself (edit: and Lynch himself)
There's still plenty of his particular design and vision in there.
 
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Ragnar

Ragnar

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,354
Watched it when I was 12, around one at night, after everyone else had gone to bed.
I think the setting made it even more dreamlike than if I had watched it when I was older, during the day, or with other people.
 
AlgusUnderdunk

AlgusUnderdunk

Member
Dec 30, 2020
15,271
I was in a KFC once with some friends and as we were about to dig in I said, "they're like chickens, but they're new!" and a man sitting across from us dropped his food, said "oh Jesus not again," got up, and left.

Also I always found the weird lil' baby kinda cute.
 
theBmZ

theBmZ

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
2,129
Eraserhead is one of those surrealist masterpieces that resonates with me more after every watch. I'm not a parent, but the themes, and ideas, and theories all present themselves to me in greater depth and meaning every time I see it.
 
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