Some of these images here will stay inside my head forever. I was completely mesmerized by Eraserhead from its first frame to its last.
It is the easiest thing to make an incoherent film. It is the hardest to make an incoherent film with the artistic value of Eraserhead, with an energy that grabs the audience's attention, never missing a beat. Some viewers may consider it an exercise in self-indulgence, and they might be right. The film does not intend to satisfy its audience, but requires them to be receptive. We are dragged deeper into a surreal rabbit hole that plays like a nightmare. It reminded me that nightmares are not always scary, or even creepy. Sometimes they are just ambiguous, as many scenes in Eraserhead are.
Many filmmakers take a couple of films to fully establish their visual style. But not David Lynch. His first feature film is his most characteristic, with his weirdness pushed to the max. You can call Eraserhead pretentious. You can call it repulsive, or abstract. But there is no denying that this is one of the most unique presentations of any visual media. It is a groundbreaking milestone of experimental cinema.
Not many actors can represent Lynch's work in the intended way, but the cast of Eraserhead, particularly Jack Nance, answer his call by not overacting for the sake of being strange, but performing as straight as possible given the material. This fits the film better, because it would not have its effect if we are watching actors being weird. Instead, we are watching "ordinary" people make sense of their uncanny surroundings. It is true that the characters are never really developed, but they are never individuals that the film revolves around. They are tools used by Lynch to develop his ideas.
I think I can declare this a masterpiece. A fearless film, not holding back, and not following traditional film formats on expressing its concepts. It remains a bold and confident piece of art.
It is the easiest thing to make an incoherent film. It is the hardest to make an incoherent film with the artistic value of Eraserhead, with an energy that grabs the audience's attention, never missing a beat. Some viewers may consider it an exercise in self-indulgence, and they might be right. The film does not intend to satisfy its audience, but requires them to be receptive. We are dragged deeper into a surreal rabbit hole that plays like a nightmare. It reminded me that nightmares are not always scary, or even creepy. Sometimes they are just ambiguous, as many scenes in Eraserhead are.
Many filmmakers take a couple of films to fully establish their visual style. But not David Lynch. His first feature film is his most characteristic, with his weirdness pushed to the max. You can call Eraserhead pretentious. You can call it repulsive, or abstract. But there is no denying that this is one of the most unique presentations of any visual media. It is a groundbreaking milestone of experimental cinema.
Not many actors can represent Lynch's work in the intended way, but the cast of Eraserhead, particularly Jack Nance, answer his call by not overacting for the sake of being strange, but performing as straight as possible given the material. This fits the film better, because it would not have its effect if we are watching actors being weird. Instead, we are watching "ordinary" people make sense of their uncanny surroundings. It is true that the characters are never really developed, but they are never individuals that the film revolves around. They are tools used by Lynch to develop his ideas.
I think I can declare this a masterpiece. A fearless film, not holding back, and not following traditional film formats on expressing its concepts. It remains a bold and confident piece of art.