Although the end results may prove to be too alienating for some viewers, they are nevertheless astonishing to behold in terms of their formal beauty and are even more so when one considers that the film was shot piecemeal over the course of a couple of years, first with funding provided by the American Film Institute and, when that ran out, with funds supplied from such sources as production designer and Lynch friend Jack Fisk , Fisk's wife Sissy Spacek and money Lynch earned from a paper route.
In one of the DVD supplements, Lynch points out a moment where Henry opens a door to note that the scene of him entering the room itself was shot more than a year later. Despite the gaps in its production, the film as a whole creates a singular mood and sustains it from the first frames to the last. That mood has lasted from the time of its premiere until today and much of that is due to the fact that, unlike virtually every other classic film, "Eraserhead" is a work that resolutely defied all attempts to explain either what it means or even the mechanics of how it was produced.
The script is a brilliant mixture of narrative and experimental structure that provides just enough storytelling points to give viewers something to hang on to, at least in the early going, before completely subsuming them with its more avant-garde moments later on.
The result is a film in which all of the elements may not necessarily add up but which nevertheless maintains a logical consistency throughout that is too often lacking in a lot of experimental cinema—even if you don't quite get what you are seeing, you never get the sense that Lynch is just making stuff up as he goes along in order to score an immediate visceral impact to the detriment of everything else.
At the same time, while some have attempted to explain "Eraserhead" as Lynch's nightmarish take on the perils of domesticity or as a pro or anti-abortion tract, it is a testament to the power and purity of his vision that even after all of these years, it still cannot simply be reduced to a bunch of talking points.
To "explain" "Eraserhead" would be like cutting a drum open to see what makes the noise—you may get your answer but you tend to ruin the drum in the process. Thankfully, this is a drum that should continue to make noise for decades to come. Significantly, even though this Blu-ray is filled with bonus materials that tell the story of how the film came to be, it nevertheless manages to leave its deepest mysteries—from what it is all "supposed to mean" to the exact mechanics behind the presentation of the baby—as perplexing as ever.
When "Eraserhead" premiered in , it received largely poor reviews and minuscule returns at the box office and might have drifted off into obscurity were it not for the efforts of distributor Ben Barenholtz, whose championing of Alejandro Jodorowsky's " El Topo " a few years earlier made it a cult sensation through regular screenings on the then-developing midnight movie circuit.
Based on little more than a gut feeling, Barenholtz took the film on, and, even after its initial playdates met with little success, he continued to have faith in it and convinced a theater owner in New York to keep it on until it eventually developed a loyal fan base that kept it playing for the next few years and made it one of the most in famous of all cult movies.
Much like the image of Harold Lloyd dangling from the clock, even people who haven't seen the film certainly recognize the iconic image of Henry and his inimitable hairdo.
Today, this would be all but unheard of—even if the midnight movie scene existed as it once did, a film of this sort would almost certainly be relegated to a couple of underground festivals and even if a distributor were to take a chance on booking it commercially, it is unlikely they would have the patience to give it a chance to attract viewers before yanking it in order to play something with a better chance of attracting audiences.
As a result, watching "Eraserhead" today can be a somewhat melancholic experience in this regard for those who once experienced it in its after-hours glory and realize that the time when something like this could thrive has long since passed. First Name. Last Name. By signing up, you agree to receiving newsletters from Rotten Tomatoes.
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View All Videos 1. View All Photos Movie Info. Henry John Nance resides alone in a bleak apartment surrounded by industrial gloom. When he discovers that an earlier fling with Mary X Charlotte Stewart left her pregnant, he marries the expectant mother and has her move in with him. Things take a decidedly strange turn when the couple's baby turns out to be a bizarre lizard-like creature that won't stop wailing. Other characters, including a disfigured lady who lives inside a radiator, inhabit the building and add to Henry's troubles.
David Lynch. Jan 10, Jack Nance Henry Spencer. Charlotte Stewart Mary X. Allen Joseph Mr. Jeanne Bates Mrs. Laurel Near Lady in the Radiator. I would love if people decided to do a piece on the Man in the Planet, because I find myself wanting to know more about exactly what part he plays in this film. My take has always been that the lady in the radiator is in heaven where everything is fine.
She turns into a scolding bright light, untouchable. I believe he just tried to cut the swaddling off of it not realizing he was cutting into the baby. After the real father of the baby kills Henry can Henry be with the lady in the radiator. The organ thrust out of Henry is very similar to the lymbic system, or the part of the brain that processes our emotions.
She is vulnerable, and put trust in him, and his true inner weakness scares her off. Him reaching out for her acceptance in bed and her rejection is what I believe makes the baby cry.
Henry is at the mercy of his lovers, and sees how casually his neighbor lover tosses him aside. This is evident when he loses his bricked up head and the baby, consumed by terror, comes out. Then towards the end of the film right when he is confronting his fear and acknowledging it he cuts the bandages to see the baby for what it really is , after the baby approaches him and the lights go out we see a whole blow through the planet.
Henry looks awe struck. Eraser shavings floating around his head. The man in the planet can not control the levers that control Henry any longer. Wow what an amount of conflicting interpretations. To me, however, certain things are very clear about the movie. That Henry got the baby was an act of an ugly god pulling a lever, which means a random unplanned and unfortunate coincidence. Henry deep down knows his responsibility is to accept his role as a father. So for him, everything is fine, just a small issue is that the woman looking at her is as ugly as the baby.
This means his head is just full of a wish to erase what happened: to erase the mistake with the baby. He is not ready to accept his parenthood but is absolutely just trying to escape it. But this time he is ridiculed by the fact that the she already had another man. At this point a clear vision strikes him that he is the baby himself. It is he who is the ugly baby, refusing to take his responsibility and acting childish instead. Remember, the baby is himself.
The solid rock surface is now open wide. He has broken the rock and stopped escaping the parenthood via realising that he is only disgusted at himself. The nightmare is over. Username or Email Address. Remember Me. Don't have an account? Search Search for: Search. Cart 0. Home News Latest. Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Pinterest. Comments Blog comments 17 Facebook. Reply with GIF. Fear IS the mind killer. And I agree. I look forward to reading your analysis of the Lady in the Radiator scene.
Vote Up 0 0 Vote Down 0. Life is horrific. Only dreams can make life bearable. Same for your comment..! Loading… 0. Who is Judy?
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