Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow., 1 May 2005
Eraserhead is the most disturbing, warped, and surreal films possibly ever made. The movie is very well made, good acting, incredible cinematography and special effects (i.e. the baby) so well done it will make your skin crawl as you wonder "Is that thing real?" The baby is so hideous, it's slight off pitch cry is the only thing that is even remotely human about it. Would I recommend this movie? It depends. To most, I would strongy encourage them NOT to watch, it's too bizarre, it's too weird. But then, to some who can take it, I would highly recommend it. In terms of bizarreness, Pi is the only other movie that even comes close, but even that looks like Mr. Rogers Neighborhood in comparison to Eraserhead.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Suspend disbelief - here comes David Lynch, 28 Mar 2004
The first time I saw Eraserhead I had heard neither of the film itself, nor of David Lynch, and had no idea what to expect. To put it mildly, I was seriously uneasy - not sickened as in gore-fests, shocked as in the he's-behind-you school, nor even spooked by the supernatural. No, what makes this film disturbing is that Lynch has plumbed the film directly into the viewer's psyche. You understand what you seen on the screen, but can't understand or relate to it directly. And don't expect explanations or loose ends to be tied!Weird is one word, but it goes much deeper - a trance-like dream state where inexplicable events occur at random intervals, with no obvious rational logic or emotional consistency. By taking away many of the trappings of conscious reality and leaving you in a stylised world akin to a Dali painting where normal objects don't necessarily appear in the expected context, nor to behave as you would hope. From the odd appearance of John Nance, through to the bizarre roast chicken and all peculiarities thereafter, Eraserhead succeeds in disorientating the viewer better than any film I've come across before or since. In hindsight, the heavy metaphors about parenthood seem more obvious, but no less disturbing for all that. Even comedy in this context (like the roast chicken) can have the opposite effect. You might laugh, but it's tension relief with a difference. The suspense notches up another gear in the process. As another reviewer says, this is still fresh today, and certainly an alternative to the bland production line that is Hollywood. Perhaps the Hollywood machine toned down Lynch's act (though in the light of Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks and suchlike, not by that much!), but first films have rarely been more startling. If you're a student of David Lynch, look here to see where his creative imagination was fired.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
industrial noise never sounded so sweet, 19 Dec 2001
By A Customer
I first saw this film lying in bed at about 2am flicking between channels. Its first impression on me was 'great, another "art" movie for the pretentious and/or insomniac generation.' How wrong I was. One of the major things that I love about Eraserhead, and with a lot of Lynch's work, is the feeling that the film could be set in the past, present, or future. The viewer is not told of the era, location or any other trivialities that may cloud judgment on the plot. And what a plot it is, only surpassed by the soundtrack which is a blistering, frightening and yet enveloping enterage of industrial noise. Once agin the screenplay is limited, and speech relatively slow (considered) between the cast, a factor that is once agian reproduced in 'Lost Highway', one of Lynchs later movies.Basically this is a fairy tale for grown ups, and is mesmerising from start to finish. Its 18 certificate is merely to put the censors mind at ease, with no real 'gore' of mention present. This is horror, but in a differnt sense of the word. You are not going to find stereotypical horror processes here, just an original, yet strangely addictive film. The only reason this DVD dosent get ***** in my opinion is due to the realatively scarce extras. Trailer, and biography/filmography. Watch this on a nicam speakered TV in the dark with the windows open on a cold night I dare ya!
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