Have you seen Eraserhead (1977)? ... spoilers!

by LoveUniHateExams 6 Replies latest social entertainment

  • LoveUniHateExams
    LoveUniHateExams

    I had heard a bit about it, most of it positive.

    I typed 'Eraserhead review' into youtube and quite a few videos came up that presumably attempted to explain the film.

    I couldn't be arsed watching a youtube vid with some artsy-fartsy person droning on about Eraserhead and Lynch so I thought I'd start an OP about it instead.

    I bought the dvd a few days ago. I gotta say, it's quite a strange film. I like some of the dream-like sequences. There is some strong imagery.

    There was a bit where Henry and his wife were laying in bed with the covers pulled up to their chins and the wind was howling outside. It made me think back to the time I was 5 or 6 when I dreamt that I was outside in a windy, rainy night and I looked into people's windows. Some had lights on and people were nice and warm in their living rooms. Others didn't and people were tucked up in bed.

    Well past the hour mark I started wondering why this is an R-rated film. And then Henry stabs his 'baby'. That was pretty shocking when it happened, although I kinda knew it was gonna come - it seemed the film was building up to it.

    There were long periods with no dialogue - that was quite strange, too.

    So, what do you make of it?

  • oppostate
    oppostate

    Eeeegads!

    I saw that in college, a few years after it came out.

    It was troubling, haunting and gave me bad dreams.

  • Half banana
    Half banana

    Original, claustrophobic, shocking and memorable but also entertaining.

  • Wasanelder Once
    Wasanelder Once

    I saw it in an Artsy theater when it came out. Can you say "pretentious"? I found it full of itself and pointless. Anyone can assign the meaning they wish. I guess its a bit Dada-ish. It wasn't for me. Everyone in college I knew felt compelled to sing its praises. When alone they would honestly say they could have cared less.

  • LoveUniHateExams
    LoveUniHateExams

    Can you say "pretentious"? I found it full of itself and pointless. Anyone can assign the meaning they wish. I guess its a bit Dada-ish. It wasn't for me. Everyone in college I knew felt compelled to sing its praises - yeah I can see why you feel that way.

    I checked it out on Rotten Tomatoes and read a few glowing reviews before I bought it so I knew it was a highly regarded film.

    On the dvd cover, on the back, it actually called the film a masterpiece.

    TBH, I find it hard to see how it's a masterpiece although perhaps repeated viewings will change my mind.

    Nevertheless, I do think it's a good film, with plenty of atmosphere and body horror. The sounds in the film are excellent, too.

    I also like the way it's shot in black and white; it brings out the bleakness of Henry's house and the industrial estate.

  • Nevuela
    Nevuela

    The most haunting thing about that movie, for me, isn't the baby, but the song that the lady in the radiator sings.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmyzYBeGrE8

  • glenster
    glenster

    It's the fantasy of Pinocchio's sister Hillary if lies made her cheeks expand
    instead of her nose. Gepeto: Michael Bloomfield

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