David Lynch: The Lime Green Set

[mfunk9786]

I always get the impression that he's politely saying yes but he's really not all that interested.

But I never heard the Jack Nance angle before. That makes sense. Oh, poor Jack Nance. I can't even look at him without thinking of his tragic story, particularly the circumstances surrounding his wife's suicide (scroll down to "IT HAPPENED WHILE" if you haven't heard about this before).

[miless]

He has always stipulated that the editing and sound design need to be finished, which will take money... money which has always been hard to come by, especially given the troublesome reception the film received.

[mfunk9786]

It's a shame, TP: FWWM is definitely my favorite Lynch film.

[Tom Hagen]

What, no discussion of how awesome it will be to finally be able to hear Dennis Hopper scream obscenities at Isabella Rossellini in glorious Lynch-approved 5.1 sound? Surely that alone is worth the $179.95 sticker price for this set.

Seriously, this thing has "cash grab" written all over it. Lime is the wrong shade of green for this set. If I were a big Lynch fan, I would be steamed about this. I know that I would be extremely pissed off if one of my favorite directors made a handful cool previously unreleased works available exclusively in an exorbitantly priced box set consisting mainly of material that I have already purchased.

This is the worst kind of release: it has no appeal to the casual fan who would be otherwise interested in getting to know the filmmaker's work more deeply (but who would rightly be scared away by the sticker shock), and it screws over the hard core fans who are double dipping at a high premium to pick up a handful of irrestiable rarities.

[dadaistnun]

From where I sit, the two most likely possibilities for the "Mystery Disc":

1. The FWWM deleted scenes cut together into a "More Things That Happened"-style assemblage.

2. Lynch himself has no idea what he's putting on it. Lime Green Box gets delayed, finally streets in 2010 with "2008" printed along the side. By then, the economy has turned around and I don't feel like a complete tool for buying the set.

[Nothing]

He has always stipulated that the editing and sound design need to be finished, which will take money... money which has always been hard to come by, especially given the troublesome reception the film received.

Which is, of course, bollocks, especially given that Lynch has his own post-production facilities, including a mixing studio. The film is great as it is, though.

[miless]

Which is, of course, bollocks, especially given that Lynch has his own post-production facilities, including a mixing studio. The film is great as it is, though.

It's not just the facilities he needs, but new film elements to work with. the deleted sequences were probably never completed, which means they were probably never color-timed or even separated from the bulk of the original camera elements (and nothing more than work-prints were probably ever printed).

[OliverB]

If only a new transfer of Lost Highway were included in place of Dumbland and Wild At Heart... this sounds like a huge rip-off for what amounts to essentially three movies and filler junk. Dumbland sucks and is a chore to sit through. I'm no fan of WAH either..

[Faux Hulot]

I'm still pining for a DVD of the complete On The Air.

[flyonthewall2983]

I always get the impression that he's politely saying yes but he's really not all that interested.

But I never heard the Jack Nance angle before. That makes sense. Oh, poor Jack Nance. I can't even look at him without thinking of his tragic story, particularly the circumstances surrounding his wife's suicide (scroll down to "IT HAPPENED WHILE" if you haven't heard about this before).

Incredible story. I wonder if there was any breaks in the case following the time of the article's release.

Forgive me as I'm relatively new to the Lynch world, but wasn't there an actress who appeared in Lost Highway that died during or sometime after production and later on her story would be somewhat an ingredient in the plot of Mullholland Dr.?

[Street Dude]

Here's hoping when this fails to sell well they'll release Industrial Symphony No. 1 separately. Love Julee Cruise and the clips I've seen of it.

My roommate has Industrial Symphony No 1 on VHS, and boy, is it daft. I did enjoy how Lynch's obsession with wood cutting found its way into the production, but if you haven't seen Industrial, and are thinking you might want to buy it, do not buy it-- unless you're a completist. It's entertaining in a circus-zany-spectacle sort of way, yet it's something you only want to watch once per every five years.

I'm feeling indifferent to this whole lime green set. I would never buy it, because I already own most of the flicks-- I've already dropped the $40 on the short films (well worth it), but the packaging that Lynch's company designs/releases is always skimpy-- and poorly designed. The Short Films of David Lynch was $40, and inside, it only contained a two-sided slip that was promoting Lynch coffee or Dumbland or something stupid like that. And if I remember correctly, the Eraserhead 2000 box set wasn't anything special. And don't get me started on the INLAND EMPIRE design, packaging, and poster art. Unsightly.

And for those you have interest in Rabbits, it's nothing special, at all, so just download that off limewire or something.

And Dumbland blows.

[Nothing]

It's not just the facilities he needs, but new film elements to work with. the deleted sequences were probably never completed, which means they were probably never color-timed or even separated from the bulk of the original camera elements (and nothing more than work-prints were probably ever printed).

Okay so, at worst, you go in and re-telecine the negative for these scenes. This isn't expensive.

The 'mystery disc' will be some nonsense off his website. Probably something to do with TM...

[Tootletron]

I read a brief thing about this somewhere, but which DVDs of his have no chapter breaks?

Mulholland Drive.

[exte]

Eraserhead, too, I think?

[GTO]

Eraserhead, too, I think?

Yes (unless some were added to the release available in retail stores - I've only got the one from davidlynch.com). None on The Straight Story either.

[Awesome Welles]

I remember reading somewhere that Lynch said that he thought chapter stops were stupid and films should be watched in their entirety so any of his films that he has had involvement with on DVD will not have chapter stops.

[stereo]

The Straight Story. There is a card with the DVD that explains it:

DL: "I know that most DVDs have chapter stops. It is my opinion that a film is not like a book -- it should not be broken up. It is a continuum and should be seen as such. Thank you for your understanding."

Amen brother. Of course it's all kind of silly and frustrating for cinephiles, but it's a productive lack, in the same way Lynch refuses to provide commentary tracks (as do De Palma, Spielberg, and others) for the explicit reason they think interpretation should be up to the viewer. (that said, his video comments on Eraserhead could easily work as an audio commentary). By making cinema transparent and a mere research object for dissection, we potentially strip out the artistic aura correlated with ambiguity, mystery, etc.: you know, what Lynch would would wiggle his hand at up near his head and describe as that ineffable dynamically sadistic 'thing in the air.' At least that's my impression of the reasoning at work here.

[Andre Jurieu]

I remember reading somewhere that Lynch said that he thought chapter stops were stupid and films should be watched in their entirety so any of his films that he has had involvement with on DVD will not have chapter stops.

The Straight Story. There is a card with the DVD that explains it:

DL: "I know that most DVDs have chapter stops. It is my opinion that a film is not like a book -- it should not be broken up. It is a continuum and should be seen as such. Thank you for your understanding."

Amen brother.

I remember reading an anecdote about when Eli Roth was working at a studio and attended a meeting with David Lynch about one of his DVDs. Lynch was complaining about how chapter stops were pointless, but then Roth popped in a DVD of Bound and showed him how useful it was to have chapters because it allowed him to easily find the lesbian scene. Apparently, Lynch was very impressed by the demonstration and seemed to suddenly understand the appeal of the option. Lynch then asked if he could borrow a copy of Bound.

[swo17]

I thought that was the whole point of no chapter stops in Mulholland Dr.--that your hand would get tired trying to FF to the lesbian scenes, and you would just give up and watch the movie straight through.

[mfunk9786]

Inland Empire has chapter stops, and Lynch explains on 2nd disc that the reason for their inclusion is so that people watching the film might have to urinate during the course of a 3 hour movie. The way he gives/phrases the explanation is uncomfortable and hilarious, if I recall correctly.

[myrnaloyisdope]

I thought that was the whole point of no chapter stops in Mulholland Dr.--that your hand would get tired trying to FF to the lesbian scenes, and you would just give up and watch the movie straight through.

Now that's comedy.

[miless]

doesn't the French Mulholland Dr. disc have chapter stops based around all the lamps in the film?

[Robin Davies]

If ever there was a movie which needed properly indexed chapter stops so you could check up on details it's INLAND EMPIRE!

[mteller]

My roommate has Industrial Symphony No 1 on VHS, and boy, is it daft. I did enjoy how Lynch's obsession with wood cutting found its way into the production, but if you haven't seen Industrial, and are thinking you might want to buy it, do not buy it-- unless you're a completist. It's entertaining in a circus-zany-spectacle sort of way, yet it's something you only want to watch once per every five years.

I must respectfully disagree. It starts off rather slow, but the craziness level amps up considerably towards the end. I'd definitely watch it more often than the awful Wild at Heart. But I admit that your enjoyment of it is dependent on your enthusiasm for the music of Angelo Badalamenti and Julee Cruise.

And Dumbland blows.

Now that I can agree with.

[Mr Sausage]

If ever there was a movie which needed properly indexed chapter stops so you could check up on details it's INLAND EMPIRE!

Well, at least both this and and Fire Walk With Me have chapter stops, even if they're not indexed, so that your search can go faster. I don't know about anyone else, but I occassionally like to put in my FWWM disc just to watch the Questions in a World of Blue scene.