Mullholland Drive

Started by modage, July 11, 2003, 05:51:44 PM

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Finn

Typical US Mother: "Remember what the MPAA says; Horrific, Deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty words."

rustinglass

are you serious? because it sounds a little like "the oliver north story", and this makes no sense, even for a lynch film.
"In Serbia a lot of people hate me because they want to westernise, not understanding that the western world is bipolar, with very good things and very bad things. Since they don't have experience of the west, they even believe that western shit is pie."
-Emir Kusturica

MacGuffin

Quote from: rustinglassIt's a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway.

One of Lynch's 10 clues is "Can you hear the name of the film they're casting for? do you hear it again?". Ok, so I heard it once, but I can't understand it and the subtitles don't cover that line and I've listened to it about twenty times! It's right as camilla rodhes is wlking into the booth when she sings, some one says "........... story, take one", so the title is "- something- story", does anyone understand it?

"Sylvia North Story. Camilla Rhodes. Take One."

It's said again at the dinner party. It's the project Diane and Camilla met on.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

NEON MERCURY

Quote from: MacGuffin
Quote from: rustinglassIt's a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway.

One of Lynch's 10 clues is "Can you hear the name of the film they're casting for? do you hear it again?". Ok, so I heard it once, but I can't understand it and the subtitles don't cover that line and I've listened to it about twenty times! It's right as camilla rodhes is wlking into the booth when she sings, some one says "........... story, take one", so the title is "- something- story", does anyone understand it?

"Sylvia North Story. Camilla Rhodes. Take One."

It's said again at the dinner party. It's the project Diane and Camilla met on.


yep...


also, i noticed something cool.......im not sure though if it has any relavance to the story.but in the begining of the film when L.E.H. character is walking at night trying to seek shelter after the crash ...she walks past this couple and the guy mutters."thats was just this/the thing".......this is exactly what the guy who has the black book says when talking to the guy w/ blonde hair .he goes.."thaty was just this/the thing..fucking car accident".....i thought it was interesting..............


basically, the moral of the story is always watch your films w/ subtitles on...........you might miss sh*t.......if you dont...

NEON MERCURY

my boy gamblor PM'd me this the other day.  looking for some help.  so, i asked him if it was cool if i posted what he sent me for all to see.  he said it was fine.  

Quote from: gamblorSo I was staring at your av, and the other day we rewatched some clips in class. I've seen the movie a few times, loved it of course, but the teacher mentioned that it was originally supposed to be a pilot, and that explains why there are little bits of nonsense that don't add up to anything. Now, I probably gave it too much thought, but it kinda of illegitmized the movie for me.I actually found myself disliking it! Make me like it again...somehow.[/u] Do it for David.

i dont think i am the best guy to do this b/c i cant spell, write articulately, or pose thoughful and meaninful points.  i am just fan.  but the sentences that i underlined is what made me try and help.  here's my "somehow"...

i am going to primarily hit on what i think the scenes that your teacher quoted as "little bits of nonesense".  well, first off if that teacher is teaching a film course or showing a david lynch film he/she needs to realize that lynch is a surrealist filmmaker.  surreallism deals with absurdity, irrationallity or in simple terms "nonesense".  but what i think sets davi dlynch apart is that his scenes of "nonesense" are so beautifully contructed and stay in my head.  like, um for alot of peopel who saw the film i am sure that the very well doen lesbian scene and all the tits and ass shown are very memerable.  hell, i like tiota and ass and vagibas and stuff too but the shi tthat sticks in my head fromt he film are the music, mood, and all the little things.  gmablor said the his teach planted a seed into him which got him rethinking the film and qustioning it.  well, for one thing its goood to question stuff.  its nice to have  a film that requires people to think and have emotions from it.  

scenes:
the two men in the diner:

i'l be honest, i hav eno clue as to the whole poitn and significance of that scene and the ramifications of it.  but what i can tell you is that this scene is my favortites scene in the ebntire film.  i love how the whole tiem in that scene the camera moves and floats ever so slowly.  its a great feeling that corealtes to the guy talkign abotu this dream or vison he had.  i love the guys big black eyebrows and hi swierdly smiling face.  but durign the whole time its almost liek th ecamera is hangign on a string.  its beautiful how it moves.  then they walk out side and turn the comer to met the bum.  i love the fuckign crwazy sounds and the muffled heart baet and vocals.  thast just cool to me.   its an etirely surreal scene.  thatas why i love lynch.  no other filmaker is makign shit like this.  you know how poepl say that he brown bunny is way to long and that that it shoudl have been a short film instead of a feature length film?  wel, thats because gallo doesnt have the talent to make his slow/ "nonesensical" monents like lynch does.  itas opposite from teh brown bunny as no one ever says "mulholland dr. should have been a pilot instead of a film."  and the payoff of th escne i love.  when watts in inthe diner and sh elooks at the registwer and sees the guy w/ big eyebrows.  i dotn have the slightest as to what it means but it just feels good.  lynch is just the shit.

scene II:
man shooting fat girl:

this to me is a very funny scene btu yet again i dont knwo the importance of it   except that the book that he steals shows up again in the diner w/ watts.     also, i mentioend before the fisrt line in that scen is "that was just the thing....fucking car accident".....in the beginnig of the film when herrign is walkign the streets at nigth a couple walkign down th estreet laughing [just liek the two guys werre] and saying "that was just the thing"...  but the scene is funny and twisted.  when the guy shoots the guy and teh camera shows a close up of some sticky strands of hair soked in blood at a perfect line.  wow.  then eh shoots the wall and the bullet hit s the fat girl and she says "somethign bit me bad" hahaha.   then when he's tryign to drag her to the previous room those squealing oises sh emkaes are disturbing and then the sound of her fist as she hiots th eguy in his chest.  and once hes near the room with the fat girl that janiotor comes around and hes like "hey man! i need some help"  the puzzled look on the janotors face is priceless.  and he shots the janitor and tries to play it off and missfires and shopot the electrric cords causing the fire alarsm to go off.  and just says "aww man"....haha.....

scene III

the cowboy

ah, this scene owns.  its funny, odd and classic lynch.  and i still ahve no idea of th epoint of it.  [later on that]  but its classic in that the cowboy is anothe roen of hsi oddball characters that steals the show.  like the little man from another place in twin peaks,  robert blakes character in lost highway, bobby peru in wild at heart, the guy who sings into teh ligh bulb in blue velvet..an dfrank boooth.  theres more but i think thats enough for my purpose.  its also classic lynch int eh fact that alot of hji smovies have a ligth bulb that flashes on and off.  electric malcommunications are frequent in his films. as for  apayoff to teh scene i remeber the cowboy saying "you see me one tiwem of you do good...two tiems if you do bad"..and then you see him twic elater on [i beleive] but at he party at teh end of the movie when you see the cowboy walk by in the back of the crowd i get chills up and down my spine.  i still dotn underdstand  but it seesm to fit and feel right.  

those three scenes are the ones that gamblor's was questioning b/c of his teracher.   i woudl liek to add another one.....

scne Iv:

two guys a girl and van:

this is one of the most "nonesensical" scnees in the film  but i love it.  its just two guy walkign and in between them is an attractive girl i even cant remember their conversation.  but what i do notice and admire the lynchian touches of the scene woudl eb th efact that she looks like shes been beat up w/bruises and shit on her arm.  i love ho wone guy eat sa hot dog then before he swallows the food he take a drag of his cigarrete.  and then h elights her up a cigarette.  [by the way the girl is th esame chick in showgirsl and shes got great tits].......and then the otheer guy smacks he ron the ass and then putsd her in the back of the van...
its wonderful.......

i dotn knwo why i like it but i do lynch's shit just clicks for me. even at he very end when watts shoots herself and the musci swells into teh "love theme"  and you see a flash of watta and herring and the whole nightime LA city landscape is spinning around ...then silencio......it all just feel like i watched soemthing so fuckign artistically beautiful, i cry.  

 well, gamblor i hope thsi helps some.....sorry for the fan boy rant to the others.............

Figure 8

I think those scenes all have little things, more minute details that go more in the background, that pertain more to the story, rather than the entire scene being completely important.

ono

I used to hate Mulholland Drive.  Loathe it.  But it's one of those films that keeps creeping up from your subconscious.

So a few weeks ago, fresh out of softcore lesbian porn, I popped this in to refresh my memory on what was one of the most frustrating, intriguing movies I've ever seen.

And what I found was a movie that was really much simpler than all other explanations have led you to believe.

Two things really helped.

1) Occam's Razor: the most simple explanation is the right one.
2) Jeremy Blackman, though his interpretation is brilliant, goes too far into the realm of subjectivity.  He nailed it, but he went too far.  Read his post, watch the movie, then simplify, and you'll have it.

I want to comment on the surrealism/nonsense thing.  Like pretention, this term is overused.  One of my favorite things my favorite film critic has said about films is they've changed the way we dream.  In doing this, films these days reflect our dreams.  Two greatest proprietors of this idea were Kurosawa and Welles.  So why shouldn't films be surreal?

I am going to elaborate on what NEON has said in hopes of shedding more light on to things.

The scene in the diner is beautiful for several reasons.  It perfectly captures a feeling of fear like no other.  It captures that nightmare feeling.  And it sets up future scenes in the film.

Betty is dreaming here, a final dream before she dies.  Her life flashing before her eyes, her nightmare, her regret, the fear of the unknown.  She's gone out to Hollywood, hopes it's beautiful, but knows there is danger lurking in the shadows.  Or rather should I say is paranoid.

The film changes once the key is put into the lock.  Dream over, reality begins.  Where Betty/Diane has been shafted by Rita/Camilla.  Where she decides to have her killed, and then kills herself over the guilt.  The dream is melodrama, wishful thinking of what happened.  That's why all the craziness.  That's why the pink paint.  That's why the cowboy.  That's why the conspiracy theories of weird little men in wheelchairs, and hit men.  That's why she turned an awful script into something beautiful.  She thought she was a much better actress than she was.  Vanity.  That's what the film is about, among other things.  Vanity, and how it will crush you.  I could go on and on, but when you have an epiphany, when a film like this finally clicks for you, it's better not to say too much, and only take questions that need to be answered.

The other key is, of course, the Silencio scene.  No Hay Banda!  There is no band.  Translation: everything is all a ruse.  A singer sings a song in Spanish (turn on subtitles), and then falls over dead and is dragged off the stage.  A perfect parallel for Betty's suicide.  She sings a song of love, but is faking (acting), and then kills herself.  Bam, there it is.  Lynch actually tips his hat here, telling you what you've seen is a ruse.  There is no band.  What you've seen is fake, and you will now see the reality of what has transpired.

The problem is, since the movie is so simple, you must then ask yourself if the obfuscation was necessary.  This and Lost Highway now diverge, but also become so similar.  The more Lynch's films are understood, the more similarities are found between them, the more simple yet complex they become, and how well woven they are.

hedwig


brockly

Quote from: onoNo Hay Banda!  There is no band.  Translation: everything is all a ruse.  A singer sings a song in Spanish (turn on subtitles), and then falls over dead and is dragged off the stage.  A perfect parallel for Betty's suicide.  She sings a song of love, but is faking (acting), and then kills herself.

ohh thanks for sharing that

Mulholland dr is my fourth favourite movie ever. I really disagree when people say shit about the whole dream part meaning nothing because it was never intended until after the series was rejected. what lynch did with it after getting the opportunity to turn mulholland into a film was really beautiful. the ideas came and he made them work. he put meaning to stuff he had left "open ended" with such passion. And it all comes together so beautifully that i really dont  think it matters what his original intent was. diane is fascinating and complex, like so many of lynch's characters, and what she goes through, and her fate, is very moving.  but this isnt the only reason i love the film so much. i first saw it when I was 14 or 15, back before I had any idea of what was going on, and loved it even then, though I wast sure why. ebert was right on the money when he said that the film "works directly on the emotions, like music." it just holds you from the very start and doesnt let go. And like neon said, there are so many moments that, even when you don't understand what they mean, play brilliantly on their own and somehow manage to fit in and feel right, like lynch is paying more attention to what your feeling and not what your comprehending. like in the silencio or cowboy scene

Pubrick

gamblor, did u seriously not know this started as a tv show?

i don't think it matters much how it began, ur teacher was talking shit basically.. it's not like lynch just slapped on an ending or an extra scene and shipped it off with (nonsense) bits hanging off awkwardly. i had similar reservations creep up on me when i read about the pilot, but ultimately the final product is brilliant whether i choose to believe it or not. and i do of course. this quote from an interview Fernando posted should put u at ease:

Quote from: Lynchy boy, on mully driveThis movie came in many pieces, and it was a strange route that tricked my mind. It started as a TV pilot, and then it changed. But the only way it could change was with a new influx of ideas. And one night, I sat down and these ideas came to me. That was the most thrilling part because it changed from an open-ended thing to a closed piece.
Originally there were many more things going on that were just threads, which had no end. So everything that we'd done up to then had to be restructured and thought about in a completely different way.
clearly u admire the movie, so i don't think it's a matter of convincing u it's good. instead just take comfort in the fact that all the energy u put into figuring it out/thinking about it/talking about it is not in vain. lynch actually made it better by turning it into a movie.
under the paving stones.

edison

with so many threads i'm not sure where to put this, but its a making of with bad sound. pretty interesting, especially hearing Lynch discuss the film.



there are also some deleted scenes if you look around youtube.

modage

Rumor Alert: 'Mulholland Drive' Sequel In the Works?
Source: Cinematical

On April 8, 1990, David Lynch managed to infiltrate the living rooms of innocent TV viewers with Twin Peaks. Even though it was only on for two seasons, the show earned an obsessively dedicated audience and critical acclaim for its story about a murdered homecoming queen and the surreal, seedy underbelly of an otherwise normal-looking town.

Since then, Lynch has continued to create unforgettable, and occasionally unfathomable, twisty turny movies for our enjoyment, as well as coffee, daily weather reports on his website, a self-help book on transcendental meditation and creativity, and a production company, Absurda, which is behind the fascinating Interview Project.

We never know what's up Lynch's sleeve, but according to NBC Miami, Mulholland Drive costar Laura Harring says there's a sequel in the works. As is appropriate for a Lynch leading lady, her statements are oblique and bizarre. "I'm very sure it's coming, it's being born... I cannot really tell you how I know."

O-kay. So it's not crystal clear whether or not she's talked to Lynch about this or if it's a message she received... somehow, but it's enough to dangle in front of fans to get our hopes up. The drama about amnesia, identity, and wanna-be starlets was originally cooked up by Lynch as a TV pilot, although probably with far less sexytime between its stars, Harring and Naomi Watts. It was also named the best movie of the 2000's by several critical surveys, including IndieWIRE, Film Comment, and Time Out New York.

Would this be a traditional sequel that picks up where the first left off? (Not likely with Lynch.) How would it be related to the original? What the heck would it be about? Or is this just a pipe dream?
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Pubrick

yeah that's not gonna happen, laura harring is just taking her role in gossip girl too seriously.. but i can't blame her, after starring in MD there is no way anyone would ever again be able to know what is real and what is not. that goes for any lynch film really.

it's a dangerous thing, but i think david lynch's transformative touch on his actors can be put to great use. he should only ever cast actors who are about to die, working on one of his films would put them in the perfect mental state to help them transition into that great dream and bring them peace in their final moments.

i believe this has already been done. just look what happened to farnsworth.
under the paving stones.

Pas

I would have a hard time believing it even if it came straight from Lynch, let alone Rita.

Who would ever want it anyway.

I hope he really works to make a good, enjoyable film for his next effort. Inland Empire was way too hard and all the shit he makes for his site is, well, shit.

modage

David Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive is the subject of dozens of interpretive theories. Roger Ebert decided it was impossible to figure out. Part of the mystery of the movie comes from how it was initially planned as a television pilot for ABC; Lynch combined pilot footage with a newly-devised ending to make the film. That pilot's script. The entire 90-minute pilot.

http://www.metafilter.com/103874/I-just-came-from-Deep-River-Ontario-and-now-Im-in-this-DREAM-place
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.