Mulholland Drive [DVD]

My first introduction to Mulholland Drive came when my family went to see it. Upon their return I asked them what the film was about. Their response? 'You can't describe it'. So I went with a friend to the cinema to see for myself. The film was trully stunning and one of the greatest cinematic experiences of my life. But I could not understand what the Hell had just happened! We spent the next two hours walking through town, eventually sitting down by a basketball court with a couple of cokes trying to work out just what is supposed to have happened.The film is incredible on so many levels; its unusual structure to the plot allows for many, otherswise impossible occurances like the creepy meeting in the coral with the 'Cowboy', the strange, crippled mobster and the eccentric, espresso loving gangsters, the 'monster' behind Winkies and many others. The best scenes in the film are the terrifying discovery in Diane Selwyn's house, the audtion for the singers (with the dream Camilla singing a cheesey 50s style lover song that makes me shiver now), the scene in the bedroom (hey, I'm only a man) and the shudderingly powerful part in Club Silencio.The directing is unique and very innovative, the acting is outstanding, especially Naomi Watts (not since Al Pacino had an actor changed so subtely, so much in one film) and the plot (both before you understand it but even more so after) is amazing. Without doubt, the best film so far this millenium, I believe, that like Citizen Kane, Shawshank Redemption and others overlooked at the time, it will be remembered as a trully great film. Watch it, then watch it again, and again until you get it, trust me , it's worth it!

As a David Lynch film, this is great, one of my favorites. What I really was hoping for in getting the Blu-ray from the UK (it's region B btw, so you'll need a player that does that) was that maybe, just maybe, that little bit of censorship in the scene with the two lovely ladies would not be there. Alas... the stunning Laura Harring drops her towel and that big blurry triangle is still there, and on Blu-ray it just looks ridiculous (why even do a full frontal nude and then censor it like that??). So, basically it's the same as the US release ever since I saw it on DVD... And in following up on the whole issue apparently it was Laura who requested that DL do that for the DVD release... so we can stop looking for an HD format that doesn't have it.The other thing I find rather annoying (which might have been in the DVD too, don't remember) is there's no proper scene selection - it's totally random, and the chapter cue buttons are disabled, too. WTF.The transfer looks AWESOME though, great color and resolution - going back to the scene when Laura Harring takes off the towel, after that there are nice shots of her face close-up and the detail of her lovely features is amazing. Also, this disc features four language selections (I think it's French, Italian, Nederlands, and UK) right up front and tailors the UI from that point based on your selection. It will ask again each time (at least it did on my player) so I actually checked it out with UK and again in French.

I remember the first time I finished watching this. The last word was spoken, and the credit rolled. I sat there in a state of complete bewilderment, still trying to piece together what I'd just seen. It was dazzling, enthralling, fragmented and spell-bounding. I knew I'd just watched something special but couldn't tell you exactly what it was. And therein lies its genius. In Mulholland Drive, Lynch has crafted a puzzle with no obvious meaning. In fact, no one meaning at all. This is a movie that can be taken and interpreted in different ways, all of them valid.For me, the movie is about a death-trip. I think the most common explanation for the movie, the 'dream theory' simply doesn't account for various aspects of the movie and allows the viewer to overlook critical points by saying "oh, well that was just a dream", something Lynch has never done with any of his earlier work. There are theory sites that expand on that more and reading up on how different people have attempted to explain this movie really does add to the pleasure.Mulholland Drive put Naomi Watts on the map. Her performance is nothing short of a masterclass in acting, with her delivery of key lines deliberately insightful into where you're at in the movie in terms of what's real, and what is important. Her scene in the audition with the absurdly orange actor playing opposite her is extraordinary.Put simply, this is easily in my top five movies of all time. It's the kind of film to watch without preconception of expectation, in the knowledge that when it's over you'll have no more idea what it's about than when it started, and that the enjoyment of this movie extends far beyond it's running time. Lynch doesn't spoon-feed the viewer the plot; he gives you the pieces and your job is to arrange them into the picture that works best for you.An absolute work of art.