Lost Highway

[solamim]

seriously confusing. tense and exciting but seriously, seriously confusing.

i´d like to hear a believable theory about this film because to me it seems you can pretty much interpret however you want.

[Piddzilla]

And that's exactly how Lynch wants it....

[MyRobotSuit]

exactly

[solamim]

and what´s the point of that?

he just makes you want to use your head for a while? i doubt that makes a difference.

[MyRobotSuit]

He's trying to make you part of the film. You can undertand it anyway you want.

[solamim]

but how does one make a film that you can interpret how you liek?

isn´t it mor like he makes some stuff that you can interpret in different ways and thus you can interpret it in a given numbers of ways.

íf you are to make a movie that can be interpreted in a indefinite number of ways how do you do? just throw in a lot of random stuff? is that art?
could you make a movie that´s could be interpreted in any way you want and still make every way meaningful?
that sounds pretty divine to me.

so you don´t think he has a point he wants to make with his movies but rather just want to make you apart of it...?

a lot of people claim that they understood it though. so you mean they can´t say they did since there isn´t really a way to unerstnad it but just to interpret it?

[MyRobotSuit]

He has his own meanings for the films but since he doesn't outwardly tell you or make it easy to figure out that meaning, you take your own. That's what I feel about it anyway, if someone hides something, you want to find out what it is. This requires thought and imagination and therefore brings you into the 'lynch world' even if you get a meaning which is not the same as his.

[solamim]

we could compare that to artificiell intelligence ina computer game.

ti´s called ai but isn´t . the computer doesn´t think it merely reacts to different situations according to scripts.

we can´t yet make real AI, an AI that does think for iself and if you are to make a movie that can be interpreted anyhow you like, don´t you have to make that real AI then?
an endless number of ways to interpret it, how do you make that up?

[solamim]

ok. posted that post then read your last.

yeah i guess that´s it.

anyway, it would be nice to hear him say what they´re about.

[solamim]

and well what i wanted to hear was theories about what those hidden messages might be.

[MyRobotSuit]

Originally posted by solamim

anyway, it would be nice to hear him say what they´re about.



:( But I wouldn't want to watch it as much then. When you watch for example E.T, it has a simple plot in which you undestand - you're happy with that, everyone's happy with that. You expect films to have an easy plot 'cause you're used to it. When you watch a lynch film you try to figure out the plot all the way through, as every bit is different. If he told you what it all meant and then you watched the movie you'd come out taking nothing with you. What I expect from his films is to take something away.

[MyRobotSuit]

theory..............they are both the same person!! wahay.;)

[solamim]

i didn´t mean i want to hear it first.

it´d just be cool to make up your theory and then here him speak about it and see if you were right or not!

[MyRobotSuit]

well I don't want to know........so there ! :yup:

[Piddzilla]

I think I read some interview with Lynch where he said that "Lost Highway" isn't about "getting it". It's an experiment with narrative. Instead of the common cause-and-effect narrative that we see in most films, mainstream AND indies, he used a narrative where one scene did not necessarily motivate the next one. Or any other scene at all for that matter. Every single event does not fullfill a purpose in the story to drive it forward towards a specific goal. He just put the first thing that came to mind in there and then it's up to the spectator to figure out what it means to that peticular spectator. There is no given meaning or message of the film. I think if you told Lynch what the film meant to you he would say: "How fascinating! I have never thought about it! Of course, you're absolutely right!". Or then again, maybe he would say something completely different. :rolleyes:

But it's like with "Cries and Whispers" by Bergman. A lot of people have argued about what's the reason for his wide use of the color red so much in that film. There's been a lot of theories of course, but when Bergman finally spoke about it he said: "I don't know. It's just a feeling I had" (or something similar). Then of course everybody started to debate on why Bergman got that feeling and what "red" had meant to him growing up etc etc. But that is a completely different story.... :yawn:

[Sir Toose]

I'm watching this now and will put up my interpretation in my review thread.

5 years late, but better late than never.

[Sedai]

Big fan of this film, but only after I had watched it multiple times. Lacking the tonal elegance of Mulholland Drive, it is still a great piece about identity and psychogenic fugue concepts.

[mark f]

I'm watching this now and will put up my interpretation in my review thread.

5 years late, but better late than never.

I hope you don't get lost...

[Sir Toose]

Big fan of this film, but only after I had watched it multiple times. Lacking the tonal elegance of Mulholland Drive, it is still a great piece about identity and psychogenic fugue concepts.


I loved it, it really blew my mind like most Lynch films do. I read an interview with Lynch and he said the film has nothing to do with psychogenic fugue but his co-writer, Barry Gifford, says it does. Go figure. My interpretation is that it can't be really anything else unless the story isn't the point. Blake creeped me out like i haven't been creeped out in a long time :D

[Sedai]

I LOVE the Blake stuff.

"We've met before, haven't we.

I don't think so. Where was it you think we met?

At your house. Don't you remember?

No. No, I don't. Are you sure?

Of course. As a matter of fact, I'm there right now.

What do you mean? You're where right now?

At your house.

That's ****ing crazy, man.

Call me. Dial your number. Go ahead."

[genesis_pig]

So I was listening to Bowie on my player.. & I'm deranged (from the OST) started playing... & I was thinking: what an amazing movie!!

This should be in my Top 10.

[wintertriangles]

It still hasn't gotten a good dvd release, which is sad because the lighting alone deserves more justice

[genesis_pig]

I hope they come up with a nice dvd box for it..
I remember seeing one for Videodrome.. it was shaped like a videotape.

EDIT: Tried searching for it, maybe It wasn't for videodrome.. can't recall much at the moment.

[Iroquois]

There's an R4 2-disc special edition DVD last I checked.

[wintertriangles]

It's region 2 only

[Iroquois]

My copy's the aforementioned R4 2-disc edition.

[mark f]

The best thing I can say about Lost Highway is that it's better than Inland Empire. Sorry to be such a bitch...

[Daniel M]

Okay. So I just watched this film, I loved it, but I will write more about it again. At the moment I was just thinking about something though. Lynch said it takes place in the same world as Twin Peaks, and with Mulholland Drive didn't he say the original script was kind of based off Audrey's character heading off to become an actress. In this film I felt he took a lot of elements from the James Hurley character with Pete, a biker, car mechanic and womaniser :cool:

Basically, Lost Highway is about:

In order to hide the guilt of murdering his wife, Fred Madison dreams of becoming James Hurley

[Lucas]

^Crazy Theory.Even crazier film. Lost Highway is a tough nut to crack, it's Lynch turning the crazy up to 10. Mulholland Dr. and Blue Velvet are superior films though.

[Daniel M]

I prefer Lost Highway to Mullholland Drive, definitely. Well it's basically the same thing, but better in my opinion :p In fact I would unlike most people rate Mulholland Drive near the bottom of Lynch's films when ranked, but that's not to say I still don't like it. My top five Lynch films in no order are Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Inland Empire, Elephant Man and Lost Highway :p

And I was happy with Lost Highway in that as soon as I watched it I think I have pretty much worked out the film and I checked online and my theory pretty much matches what other people think, it wasn't that hard to work out in my opinion, makes much more sense than Inland Empire but that's not saying much.

[mark f]

You've been dippin' too much into the old quinoa.

[Daniel M]

You've been dippin' too much into the old quinoa.

I think Lost Highway is a much more accessible film than Inland Empire though, and I think it's an almost identical film to Mulholland Drive, so I am not sure why that film is so loved and this one so hated. I know you don't particularly like any (well, you prefer MD) though :p But I thought the dark visuals, story and cast were much more effective in this film than any other.

[BlueLion]

I prefer Lost Highway to Mullholland Drive, definitely. Well it's basically the same thing, but better in my opinion :p In fact I would unlike most people rate Mulholland Drive near the bottom of Lynch's films when ranked, but that's not to say I still don't like it. My top four Lynch films in no order are Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Inland Empire and Lost Highway :p

I've not seen the others that you listed, but Mulholland Drive is a million times better than Blue Velvet.

[Deadite]

Both have elements of horror and noir. I think MD is the better film overall but I also like LH a lot.

[Daniel M]

I've not seen the others that you listed, but Mulholland Drive is a million times better than Blue Velvet.

No it isn't.

[BlueLion]

No it isn't.

What exactly makes Blue Velvet better?

[Daniel M]

What exactly makes Blue Velvet better?

The way that it takes such a simplistic concept of good versus evil and that evil lying beneath a happy suburbantown and turning it into a powerful film. I've wrote a lot about it before. Mulholland Drive relies more on its unique narrative (or lack of) style that makes the story more mysterious, it works, but it gets weaker after the first viewing for me. I still think it's a great film, and I love it, just Blue Velvet has remained more powerful for me on repeat viewings. I have no problems with people preferring one over another, my direct comment was wrote like that seeing as yours was too :p Here's what I wrote about it in my top 150 thread: http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=905432

There's a load of Lynch films I'd rank ahead of Mulholland Drive that many would probably disagree with me over though, although I think that's the beauty of him as a director as his films are so polarising.

[BlueLion]

Mulholland Drive relies more on its unique narrative (or lack of) style that makes the story more mysterious, it works, but it gets weaker after the first viewing for me.

You obviously don't see the movie the way I do, then. That sentence alone was enough for me to understand why you prefer Blue Velvet.

Yes, Mulholland Drive's narrative style is indeed very unique, but that's not why I think it's a great movie. Memento also has a unique narrative style, but it has no emotion at all. Mulholland Drive, on the other hand, is a movie about life. That is how I would sum up the picture in one sentence. But I could go on for days, really.

[Daniel M]

I'm not sure if your trying to say I don't get Mulholland Drive, but if you are I think you're wrong. I've seen it a few times, and I could write a lot about it too, like I said, I still think it's a great movie, it's just that I prefer other Lynch works. Yes it is a very emotional film too that is beautiful and haunting without it's narrative structure, and it says a lot about life, dreams and other stuff, but I think in Lynch's other films he deals with human themes equally or with much more focus without needing the jumbled narrative.

[Lucas]

I personally like Mulholland Dr. more than Lost Highway for quite a few reasons. Lost Highway is very cold, and almost emotionless. Not a bad thing at all, but with Mulholland Dr. there's this sense of tragedy and lingering hopelessness in my eyes. The Club Silencio scene being especially powerful. I feel Lynch perfected his art style with Mulholland Dr. It looks warm and almost happy on the surface, but there's something darker and much more sinister lying beneath. A theme we've seen in both Twin Peaks, and Blue Velvet.

[wintertriangles]

but I think in Lynch's other films he deals with human themes equally or with much more focus without needing the jumbled narrative.Still not sure where this "need" is coming into play

[Daniel M]

Still not sure where this "need" is coming into play

Maybe need isn't the right word, but I just felt that it was less powerful on subsequent viewings knowing what had happened, and I prefer movies where he deals with similar human themes in other ways. And I feel without it people might think less of the film. It's not that much of a criticism of the film, it's just more my preference of other Lynch works that I've seen. Like I said, I still think it's a great film.

[Daniel M]

I personally like Mulholland Dr. more than Lost Highway for quite a few reasons. Lost Highway is very cold, and almost emotionless. Not a bad thing at all, but with Mulholland Dr. there's this sense of tragedy and lingering hopelessness in my eyes. The Club Silencio scene being especially powerful. I feel Lynch perfected his art style with Mulholland Dr. It looks warm and almost happy on the surface, but there's something darker and much more sinister lying beneath. A theme we've seen in both Twin Peaks, and Blue Velvet.

I agree with this. Mulholland Drive feels more tragic and hopeless as times, the female characters are used similarly to Laura Palmer, we have beautiful women with hopes and dreams that are being corrupted and we know they are powerless to stop the evil around them. The Silencio seen that evokes emotion is a typical Lynch device that reminds me of Julie Cruise singing "The World Spins" as we find out the killer in Twin Peaks.

I feel Lost Highway is actually, perhaps, Mullholland Drive's male counterpart. Mulholland Drive is Audrey, Lost Highway is James Hurley, the two most charismatic young souls of Twin Peaks (even if James is annoying at times).

Maybe spoilers ahead.

In Mulholland Drive the female creates a vision to hide her own guilt, and in Lost Highway a male does.

Lost Highway is about sexual paranoia, in most Lynch works he deals with sexual themes, and this one it's the main driving cause behind Fred's motivations of killing his wife. He is jealous and doesn't trust her, he is spying on her using the mysterious man figure that he has imagined up to hide this insecurity and eventually murders her and her lover. He tries to hide this and builds his own idealistic vision when he is the popular guy who is sleeping with another person's partner, the opposite situation to reality. It felt personal to me in this kind of way, and I was fascinated with Fred's character as I still am, I think it's a very powerful character study and the narrative structure is actual pretty linear and in fitting with the mind of Fred.

[Lucas]

^ I agree completely, and to be honest you've changed my entire outlook of Lost Highway. Woah. David Lynch films for the most part all feel very personal, and deal with these heavy themes in a professional,subtle ways. I must say i'm not the biggest fan of Eraserhead though, although I do respect how unique and unconventional it is.

[Daniel M]

^ I agree completely, and to be honest you've changed my entire outlook of Lost Highway. Woah. David Lynch films for the most part all feel very personal, and deal with these heavy themes in a professional,subtle ways. I must say i'm not the biggest fan of Eraserhead though, although I do respect how unique and unconventional it is.

David Lynch films are built for discussions and analysis, so discussing/arguing with others is always good, and I like to think that if someone asks I can explain my thoughts on Lynch and makes sense :p I would write a review for something like Lost Highway but I feel its better suited to this type of discussion, like I did with the Inland Empire thread.

And I don't share the same love for Eraserhead as others do either, but again I still think its a great film that is an interesting watch, its a very slow burner in terms of atmosphere even by Lynch standards, but I do love it's craziness with things like the mutant baby and a young Jack Nance lead. It's probably his most difficult and personal film though, I'd see it's even more pure Lynch than Inland Empire, where even he goes a bit over the top in experimenting with all sorts of things. I think after Eraserhead he had to settle down a bit, for better or worse, and made some more grounded films, then he did his 'dream logic trilogy' ending with Inland Empire where he had complete control. I wouldn't say I like the early, middle or latter section of his filmography any more than another, which is what makes dissecting his different films so interesting.

[The Gunslinger45]

I really dug Lost Highway when I saw it, and it is in my top 5 Lynch movies as well. I still prefer Mulholland Drive to it, but then again I prefer Eraserhead and Blue Velvet to both. Blue Velvet being a top ten favorite movie of all time.

Lynch does seem to be like Kubrick in the fact that he has made multiple masterpieces, and you can have a serious debate on which one is his best movie. Makes it half the fun of the discussion.

[Lucas]

I really dug Lost Highway when I saw it, and it is in my top 5 Lynch movies as well. I still prefer Mulholland Drive to it, but then again I prefer Eraserhead and Blue Velvet to both. Blue Velvet being a top ten favorite movie of all time.

Lynch does seem to be like Kubrick in the fact that he has made multiple masterpieces, and you can have a serious debate on which one is his best movie. Makes it half the fun of the discussion.

Plus David Lynch films are extremely divisive as are Kubrick films. What I think Kubrick and Lynch do that few directors can is push the boundaries of film and storytelling to new levels. Just look at 2001, or Mulholland Dr. Pretty much nothing like those films out there.

[The Gunslinger45]

Plus David Lynch films are extremely divisive as are Kubrick films. What I think Kubrick and Lynch do that few directors can is push the boundaries of film and storytelling to new levels. Just look at 2001, or Mulholland Dr. Pretty much nothing like those films out there.

Oh certainly! Some people thing 2001 is boring, others (like myself) see it as a visual spectacle, others think it is the greatest movie ever made. Some people adore Eyes Wide Shut, others think it sucks. Some people read different meanings into Kubrick's works. Either way, the men have left permanent makes on film for the better and have given us some brilliant films!