Mulholland Dr. revisited!

[slinker]

Just watched `Mulholland Dr` for the second time and i have to say it was just as spectacular and hypnotic as before, its also very interesting to study each scene in more detail and try and patch together any misconceptions or ideas that you have from the first viewing....*spoilers*
I agree that the whole idea behind the movie centers around jealousy and desire....Betty is the naive sucsess that Diane desires to be....upon her waking we see her jealous and insecure about the way her career and lovelife has turned out. As for the box well it seems to me that its like the escape from the dream and the oracle from where Dianes demons emerge (her consiousness!) .Someone already summed this up in a previous thread i know but its just interesting for me to play it over again. The one thing that still puzzles me is the Tramp behind the Winkies ...the way the scene was played at the start reminded me of a nightmare, just the sort of thing you would wake up screaming from, maybe this was the dreams was of trying to wake Diane from her subconsious...but then the tramp features near the end of the movie and is holding the `dreambox` from where the demons emerge...hmm maybe im trying too hard to figure everything out and some things just dont have a logical explanation..i guess that makes sense in a Lynchian world!
Id definately recommend watching Mulholland Drive again and to be honest i now think thats its the best movie ive ever seen :)

[ReNeGaDe]

Mulholland Dr. is my favorite movie.. but theres still pieces missing

i think the man behind winkies is the devil, because at the end he holds the box. and i think the box is dianes soul cuz she exchnages her soul to kill cahmailla "more than anything in this world"

i dont understand the black book
i dont understand the cowboy
and i dont know why all of them were at dinner at adams house

but this is the most creative movie ever made

[rhett]

I just finished watching it for the first time today, and I loved it. Great film, Lynch knows how to blur dream and reality perfect in his films, and this is his finest work. Lynch is clearly the American protege of Spanish director Luis Buñuel, who has made a number of excellent films that Lynch has clearly borrowed from (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie comes to mind). Anyone else seen it?

It is very interesting to read about what you guys interpret the film to be about, I need to see it again though before I can even try and comment knowledgably on what went on in the film. Great film though!

[jeffschmidt]

I loved it to & some of the interpretations I've read sound pretty good to me.

I have 2 questions, though (go ahead, spoil me).

1.) Whassup with "The Cowboy"?
2.) Whassup with the little black book?

I guess you could write off the Cowboy as just a colorful player in Lynch's world, but what's the deal with the book? The scene where the scruffy guy steals it was pretty cool, but I don't get the significance of the book.

[Egg_Shen]

Originally posted by jeffschmidt
1.) Whassup with "The Cowboy"?
2.) Whassup with the little black book?

Let's remember that this was originally a TV pilot, and the above mentioned COULD have been intended to play out over a season or so. However, Lynch might of figured out a way to explain every minute incident, and I have yet to realize it. The cowboy told Adam he would see him again, but this never happened because in the later half of the movie his character became less important to the story. The same could be said of the black book, as that scene also takes place early on.

Maybe everything does have an explaination, but these two details don't seem so vital with what goes on in the end. Though the cowboy does wake Diane...

[slinker]

*Spoilers*
If you think that while Diane is dreaming events are somehow in her control, thats why Adams lovelife is a complete failure...her dream focusses on the bad side of his relationships I.E. his wifes infidelity and his movie being controlled beyond his means. The cowboy seems to be some kind of dream guardian as the second time we see him he is telling Diane to wake up, although the first time he is seen he is pressuring Adam to employ Camilla (Rita)...hmm im not so sure about the cowboy yet. As for the black book its definately connected to the hitman, as he seems to be covering something up when he goes to collect it..maybe it contains addresses and phone numbers for actors and actresses?? as he is about to bump off Camilla?? who knows :)

[Foxx]

I'm personally still a little hung up on the blue box. it seems like it could stand for anything you want it to, but for simplicity's sake I'll go with my first impression: when I first saw it I immediatley thought of Pandora's Box. opening it steals her fantasy away from her, and later out of it comes the two demonic old folks two drive her to suicide. apparently, when she opens the drawer to reach for her gun, the blue box is in the drawer...

I actually need to see the movie again now. watched it twice, read some stuff on it, and I'm just starting to make some coherent sense of it.. lol. on a funny related note... Roger Ebert likes to choose one movie each year and analyze it with a bunch of other people in an attempt to find meaning. this year they chose Mulholland Dr. and found... nobody could figure it out. :D

http://www.suntimes.com/output/eb-feature/cst-ftr-drive16.html

- Foxx

[life_o_petey]

you guys have some great ideas. I rented it last week and loved it, but reading this post makes me want to watch it again and pick up on all the things i've missed. It's not my favorite from Lynch, but it manages time better than his others...for a 2 and a half hour movie, it felt no longer than 90 minutes. I wonder how it would have turned out as a tv show...

[JW77]

Some theories of my own:

1) Quantum physics. Both segments are two different quantum realities. The box exists in both realities at the same time -- and might even act as a bridge between them. (There's a branch of quantum physics that says there are parallel universes, and that every choice we make is constantly creating new branches of reality.)

2) Betty/Diane is in hell after murdering Camilla/Rita. She is given an ideal life only to have it stolen from her. The blue box/blue key is a symbol of her "sin" of killing Camilla. The "monster" could then be seen as the Devil or some demon lurking around the shadows.

3) Both segments are equally real/fictional. David Lynch had an idea for two characters and the whole film is a character study, with the second segment acting as a dark reflection of innocence lost or what have you. Thus the film would be meant to be taken as more of a symbolic journey than a question of what is real and what is a dream. That would leave the box as being a deus ex machina.

[jeffschmidt]

Originally posted by JW77
Some theories of my own:

1) Quantum physics. Both segments are two different quantum realities. The box exists in both realities at the same time -- and might even act as a bridge between them. (There's a branch of quantum physics that says there are parallel universes, and that every choice we make is constantly creating new branches of reality.)

I'm waaay off topic here, but the "different universe for every choice we make" thing perplexes the hell out of me. Certainly, we can muse about parallel worlds where the Nazis won and stuff like that, but "every choice we make" just seems too infinite. Does that mean there's a universe where I ate 10 onion rings with lunch & another where I ate 9, and everything else between the two is equal?

I'm not ripping on quantum physics, I really do wonder about this whenever parallel worlds are brought up.

[KillerCannabis]

I loved this movie too. I saw it once in theaters when it came out and I've watched my disc of it 3 times since I bought it. I get almost all of the movie except, you guessed it, the Cowboy. I just dont know what he was all about. But the movie is fucking brilliant. I just love Lynch's movies and I'm going to go to his site and order Eraserhead and his collection of early films on DVD.

[DVD Connoisseur]

Finally watched Mulholland Drive last night....what a movie!:banana:

The reason for the long delay was that every time I ordered this title from the US, it never arrived. So I became sidetracked and have only just picked it up in the UK (in a sale).

Anyway, 2 questions (I have thousands but I have 2 containing the release itself):

The UK version came with just an insert featuring 10 clues. Is this the same as the US release?

Secondly, where's the digital fogging. Didn't spot it but I believe it's in every version of this movie.

Loved the haunting music, great performances and Lynch's cinematography. His movies have such a unique feel to them....this has to be one of my favourite films of all time. And to think, when he made Blue Velvet, I remember commenting that he'd never top it....

Cheers


DVDC

[Cydeous]

I like the Quantum Physics explanation but I don't think that it quite fits. I think that the first part of the movie, with Diane, is her vision of the ideal Hollywood while the second half is her reality. It definitely goes a lot deeper than that but that's the surface explanation that I like.

On the side, why can't there be parallel universes that differ slightly? Why should major events only dictate the splitting off point? We'll never know but infinity is a tough concept to grasp.

I agree with Rhett about Bunuel. I own "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" and "That Obscure Object of Desire" and I can say without a doubt that I see Lynch in those films... especially in the latter. They are both excellent filmmakers.

[Cujo108]

Ah, my second favorite film of all time. This film is just as wonderful as they come! An absolute masterpiece among masterpieces! I never thought Lynch would top LOST HIGHWAY, but he did with this film. Having been a Naomi Watts fan since the fourth CHILDREN OF THE CORN, I was also very pleased to see her in a film of Lynch's, who is my second favorite director of all time. Naomi absolutely shines in this film, moreso than I've ever seen her shine before. She is sheer perfection, and her performance is one of the best in any film IMO.

By the way, my interpretation of the story is that the first part of the film is a fantasy thought up by Diane to help her deal with the fact that she has hired a hitman to kill her former lover, Camilla. She is an actress who never made it in Hollywood, and I think Camilla (who she lost a movie part to) was the last thing that she held dear, and when she left her, that was the last straw. At the end, she kills herself, because she can't cope with the guilt. Slinker, the man behind Winkies (who still freaks me out after tons of viewings) I think represents Diane's broken dreams. I like the above mentioned theory that he represents the Devil too though. Personally, I like interpreting the film in completely different ways every time I watch it. The bottom line is, this film is just brilliant, and is by all Lynch's greatest film, which is saying alot. If you ask me, this film is perfect in every way. There is not a thing I dislike about it, not a flaw in the entire film. Between this masterpiece and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, the years 2000 and 2001 were the best in film for me!

[Deaddevilman]

I don't know. I did not like it the first time I saw it. I guess I need to sit down and take a good look at it. I like Lynch and think his two best movies are Elephant Man and Blue Velvet. Perhaps, he is aging like fine wine and requires a certain taste that I don't have.

[Revoltor]

Originally posted by Deaddevilman
I don't know. I did not like it the first time I saw it. I guess I need to sit down and take a good look at it. I like Lynch and think his two best movies are Elephant Man and Blue Velvet. Perhaps, he is aging like fine wine and requires a certain taste that I don't have.

Or perhaps he's an overrated hack.

[Deaddevilman]

Hmmm... Lynch, the fourth member of the has been club. Interesting...

[Cydeous]

Lynch, a has-been? Wow!!! I guess that attention span is a prerequisite for watching his films. Lynch does challenge his audience and usually the viewer will get out of it what he puts into it. He's one of my favourite directors and definitely not a has-been, or a never-was.

[fatclown]

The man who lives behind Winkie's is not a he but a she, played by actress Bonnie Aarons.

[puddytay]

I just love the lesbian scene. Other than that I dont know if I really enjoy the movie. Also after seeing most of lynches stuff I have decided that I dont like him. All his movies are incoherent. He tries way to hard to confuse his audience. I'd like to see what he could do with a Normal movie. Meaning easy to follow the story.

[Deaddevilman]

I thought Elephant Man was pretty normal and easy to understand. After that it's all south of the boarder.

[puddytay]

I have elephant man but havent watched it yet. I'll check that out next.

[Werner Von Wallenrod]

The UK version came with just an insert featuring 10 clues. Is this the same as the US release?

Yes.

Secondly, where's the digital fogging. Didn't spot it but I believe it's in every version of this movie.

It's not digital fogging like the typical Japanese stuff... Lynch darkened some bits so you can't see whassername's privates.

I got the TV pilot version of this film, but haven't watched it yet. I'm starting to fall behind in viewing my DVD purchases. I'll let you guys know if there are any interesting revelations therein once I finally do.

Also, if you're looking for more "normal," easy to follow Lynch, in addition to The Elephant Man, there's the much more recent example: The Straight Story. ...And Dune, I s'pose.

[MapleBob]

Originally posted by jeffschmidt
I'm waaay off topic here, but the "different universe for every choice we make" thing perplexes the hell out of me. Certainly, we can muse about parallel worlds where the Nazis won and stuff like that, but "every choice we make" just seems too infinite. Does that mean there's a universe where I ate 10 onion rings with lunch & another where I ate 9, and everything else between the two is equal?

I'm not ripping on quantum physics, I really do wonder about this whenever parallel worlds are brought up.

I think this is just what the equations suggest and is just one interpretation.

Personally, I don't beleive in the Multiple Universe Theory and have pretty much the same reaction to it as you do.

I think it is just an artifact of nine blind men telling their impression of an elephant, and for some reason, this interpretaion appeals to people.

I think that once you make a choice the potential of all the other choices you could have made simply collapses and so there is only one Universe, as far as that goes. Like a computer program: Every time you run it, it may end differently depending on the choices the programmer made, but there is still only one program.

But you are right, this is way off topic. Or not, 'cause we are talking about a Lynch film.