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Barmy wrote:If he continues with cheap digital, it is all downhill from IE. Even the highest grade digital, such as Apocalypto, cannot substitute for film, although maybe in a few years that will no longer be true.

marty wrote:

Barmy wrote:If he continues with cheap digital, it is all downhill from IE. Even the highest grade digital, such as Apocalypto, cannot substitute for film, although maybe in a few years that will no longer be true.

I think you will find that 35mm film will soon disappear and will only be used by purist directors. The day will come when digital video will be the norm and digital projectors will be in all cinemas and thus cutting the ridiculously exorbitant costs of prints that distributors have to bear.

Antoine Doinel wrote:

rumz wrote:

Antoine Doinel wrote:The jokes (and the film has lots of them) just aren't as funny as Lynch thinks they [are].

Harry Dean Stanton bumming money off most everyone else in the film? Hilarious.

Of course, it would've been funnier if it wasn't done twice.

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK
Donovan, Lynch: Mellow fellows
The master of subconscious cinema and the Hurdy Gurdy Man promote Transcendental Meditation with freewheeling reminiscences.

By Ann Powers, Times Staff Writer

Since word got out that David Lynch and Donovan would appear together in three cities — New York, Washington and Hollywood — people have been buzzing about the unlikeliness of the pairing. What could the master of subconscious cinema share with the flower-power Hurdy Gurdy Man, beyond a devotion to Transcendental Meditation (TM), the spiritual path this mini-tour promoted? It was like putting Anne Rice and Bob Newhart on tour together because they're both Catholic. But Sunday at the Kodak Theatre, some signs emerged that Lynch and Donovan share more than a spiritual path.

The free event opened with Lynch in an "Actors Studio"-style Q&A, responding to questions from the audience read by his muse, actor Laura Dern. Then Donovan, whose music, Lynch declared, "conjures magical feelings," played his hits interlaced with anecdotes culled from his recently published memoir. Proselytizing was kept to a minimum, with each artist instead using the evangelizing tool of personal reminiscence.

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What the night revealed in both men is an immovable innocence — a belief that art can and should be free from over-intellectualism or aesthetic second-guessing. This conviction takes Lynch into weird, disturbing psychic corners; for Donovan, it's connected to childlike wordplay and storytelling. Though one operates in the rarified world of art cinema and the other is a pop star, each has produced bodies of work that don't quite fit into traditional canons, serene in their outsiderness.

Fielding questions seemingly chosen to split the focus between his filmmaking and TM advocacy — his new foundation, featured in a glossy handout available at the theater doors, seeks to provide schoolchildren with scholarships to pay for the $2,500 TM instruction fee — Lynch took the folksy, direct tone that dominates his new book, "Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity." Much of what he shared, from his love of sawing pine logs to his preference for digital video over film to his credo that "the artist does not have to suffer to show suffering," appears almost verbatim in the book.

Still, he managed to seem unrehearsed. Compulsively fluttering his right hand as if it were a lost character from "Eraserhead," he spoke in friendly, oddly Reaganesque tones about how meditation has helped him shed "the rubber clown suit of negativity" and could do the same for America's youth. "Ramp up the light of unity and all diversity is appreciated," he said. It's an uncomplicated solution to America's education crisis, more "The Straight Story" than "Lost Highway." But this was an evening of appreciation, not debate. The crowd cheered his every word.

Donovan set himself up for maximum approval too, structuring his set around irresistible hits like "Jennifer Juniper" and sharing tales of hanging out with the Beatles and Bob Dylan (he even sang a "lost verse" George Harrison wrote for "Hurdy Gurdy Man"; too bad it was nothing special). After his career cooled in the 1970s, Donovan suffered accusations of being an imitator, but in recent years his reputation has been repaired. With sunshine pop back in vogue, his hook-happy songs now sound sweet instead of corny, and he can mention his famous friends without seeming like a hanger-on.

As he wiggled his hips and finger-picked his guitar, Donovan showed himself more the heir to Buddy Holly than Woody Guthrie. His great gift is for irresistible hooks and meaningful free association.

"Happiness runs in a circular motion," he crooned, getting the ultra-cool Hollywood crowd to sing along with a fa-la-la. Like most of his lyrics, it sounded a bit like a Zen koan, a bit like a schoolyard chant.

Not every tune Donovan trotted out was as light-filled and charming. An obscure number about a wild week in Mexico fell flat. (Another, "Young Girl Blues," had a nice cynical edge.) A meditator's hymn that will appear on his next album was ponderously literal. His bassist and percussionist didn't stand out, though his daughter Astrella, who joined him on several songs, offered a wistful self-penned ballad, "Dream," that would fit better on a David Lynch soundtrack than anything her dad has written.

Fellow TM enthusiast Mike Love of the Beach Boys wandered onstage to join in a finale of "Mellow Yellow," and then Lynch strolled out. The filmmaker read a version of a Buddhist loving kindness prayer from his book as his pal softly picked his guitar. Then they locked arms and left the stage, two soldiers of innocence decamping for the night.

chaddoli wrote:I can't predict the future, but I highly doubt David Lynch will ever make a better film than Mulholland Dr.

Having said that, I do still find Inland Empire to be incredible. I think part of the mystery lies with the Polish woman, crying alone in the room, watching the film unfold. I assume she is the original slain actress, and Nikki/Susan must find her. When she does, they kiss, and Nikki/Susan disappears - what a beautiful moment!

Oedipax wrote:Thomas Pynchon? That's gotta be some kind of mistake (or some musician's alias).

blindside8zao wrote:when can those of us in places like Georgia or North Carolina expect to see this movie, whether in theaters or DVD?

chime_on wrote:the official website has been updated with a lot of new cities on the release schedule (including Raleigh/Durham, which means I get to see it a few more times in the theater!)

blindside8zao wrote:when can those of us in places like Georgia or North Carolina expect to see this movie, whether in theaters or DVD?

Oedipax wrote:You might've already heard, but it's playing in Atlanta now, at least through this Thursday. I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but I'm hopefully going sometime this week...