criterionforum.org

Posted: **Wed Jan 12, 2005 2:09 pm**

Here's some tantalizing news from TVShowsOnDVD.com

Here's an excerpt:

Twin Peaks - It sounds like we're finally making progress!
Posted by David Lambert 1/10/2005

The last time TVShowsOnDVD had a Twin Peaks update was at the end of October, when we passed on Lynchnet.com's report that we're likely to see Paramount release the second season of the show in late-2005 (supposedly in September, according to a 2003 rumor report, which is when the rights are supposed to revert back to Paramount in their entirety {NOTE: in that report we quoted they said "2004", when the rights actually revert in 2005}).

At the time of this new October rumor, we asked Paramount for a comment, and they simply replied that nothing was on the schedule...yet. From what we know of the Paramount official schedule, it's still Peaks-less at the moment, but that might only mean a specific date hasn't been chosen. New evidence has recently surfaced that this item is being worked on, and we have a Home Theater Forum reader, Mark Wilson, to thank for the heads-up on this.

Extras aren't always a part of TV-on-DVD releases, but sometimes you can pretty much count on them for certain releases. Twin Peaks - Season 2 would be as close to a no-brainer for needing bonus material as you get, given the high level of fan anticipation for this title! And it looks like Paramount is delivering, with none other than Lancelot Narayan, the producer who brought supplements to such awesome Paramount releases as Once Upon a Time in the Old West and the remake of The Italian Job.

Another slick new DVD in the works for Paramount is a special collector's edition of the film Event Horizon, and Narayan is also working on that release. In an online discussion at the IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) message boards for Event Horizon, where the new DVD (tentatively scheduled for October 2005 in North America) is being discussed, Narayan made a side-remark that had to do with Twin Peaks:

I'm currently pulling my hair out working on the Extras for Season 2 of 'Twin Peaks'. If it's at all possible, 'Peaks' fans are more exacting than Trekers [sic]! I really want everybody that buys it when it comes out to be happy. In the end, you can only do your best.

Posted: **Thu Jan 13, 2005 8:55 pm**

HOORAY!!! I was to young, didn't care, or for whatever reason didn't watch Twin Peaks when it was on TV. I was about to buy the first season when a friend told me not to as the first season ends with a horrible cliffhanger, and it would be excruitiating waiting for the next season to come out on DVD. So I waited. I love almost everything that I have seen by Lynch, and can not wait to finally watch this serries.

Criterionradiohead

Posted: **Fri Jan 14, 2005 3:46 pm**

Criterionradiohead: You're in for a treat. Just try to avoid hearing anything about the plot of Twin Peaks until you've seen it. Spoilers are all over the Web for this show. Then be sure not to make the mistake of watching FWWM before you've seen every episode, in order. Have fun!

Posted: **Fri Jan 14, 2005 5:11 pm**

And try to watch the DVD Pilot if you can, as opposed to the VHS version.

Posted: **Fri Jan 14, 2005 5:13 pm**

Well, rumor has it that Paramount will re-release season one with the pilot.

Posted: **Fri Jan 14, 2005 9:38 pm**

I got the german R2 with the pilot with an excellent transfer! Just one more reason to go multiregion.

Posted: **Fri Mar 18, 2005 1:14 pm**

Might be a merely speculative move, but DVD Orchard is now taking preorders on the Region 4 Twin Peaks - Season 2. The price seems impropably low (only about $79 AUD). It doesn't state that you're not getting the entire season here, but there has been talk about releasing the second season in installments due to how long it is. Release date is listed as 6/23/05.

[url=http://www.dugpa.com/]Dugpa.com[/url], potentially negating the above, wrote:March 23rd 2005
Official Word from Paramount International Regarding Twin Peaks Season 2 on DVD

Below is an email that was forwarded to me by John Sullmeyer, creator of the Twin Peaks Season 2 petition from the Vice President of Marketing for Paramount Home Video International:

We're still pulling materials together, we have a lot of good interviews from the cast and Crew in the bag, but the biggest issue facing us now is resting on the masters, which are in a pretty poor state. We're hoping to have Mr. Lynch oversee the creation of the new masters and also the creation of a new 5.1 soundtrack!

so all in all, it's taken us longer than we hoped, but it's getting there - we're still planning to hold the Q4 release dates (if we can!).

So there you have it. Special thanks to John Sullmeyer for the great job on the Season 2 Petition which has over 20,000 signatures worldwide! It sounds like if all things come together, Twin Peaks fans will be in for a treat at the end of this year.

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2005 2:33 pm**

The only thing that I hope is that they release the pilot as it's own separate dvd so I don't have to buy season one all over again just to get the pilot. That or put the pilot in with season 2 as an extra, which would be pretty cool.

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2005 6:23 pm**

How about scrapping the 5.1 project and bumping the release up a few weeks guys.

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2005 6:40 pm**

skuhn8 wrote:How about scrapping the 5.1 project and bumping the release up a few weeks guys.

Especially since I'm sure it'll sound mono anyways. Maybe stereo.

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:50 pm**

I'd rather wait for quality. Othervise I could make do with my VHS copies.

Posted: **Tue May 10, 2005 5:13 pm**

The Invunche wrote:I'd rather wait for quality.

Well, I guess you'd better have a seat, sir. You're in for a long waiting. From dugpa.com:

Twin Peaks Season 2 DVD Delayed to Spring 2006
Today I have been given official word from Paramount that they will be pushing back the DVD release of Twin Peaks Season 2 on DVD to Spring 2006. The reason for the delay is to work with David Lynch to oversee the transfer of new masters. While it is another delay in such a long wait, at least it will be done right, which is by far the most important thing.

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 6:47 am**

If this is the wrong place for a thread about a television show, I apologize.

I just finished the series and I discovered that there was an extended, theatrical version of the pilot episode that was released in europe. Can anybody comment on this version? Is it available in region 1?

I suppose I'll add that as a whole, this series is probably the best thing I've ever seen from Lynch.
Feel free to discuss the series, the movies, and anything else Twin Peaks related.

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:21 am**

...an extended, theatrical version of the pilot episode that was released in europe. Can anybody comment on this version? Is it available in region 1?

Lynch created a separate ending for the European release of the pilot as a stand-alone movie, since European television would not be broadcasting the series at the same time the US would. Since Lynch and Frost wrote and shot the ending, it fits rather well with the style and creepiness of the first season.

Spoiler

Bob is a common (though clearly demented) serial killer, Mike (one-armed man) helps track him down (to a frightening Lynchian dank room), and all the hints and clues about the dysfunctional Palmer family are left as loose undercurrents. The best thing about the European ending is the inclusion of scenes from Cooper's dream at the end of episode 3, such as the red room and dwarf, the murder site, and Mike's poetic confession.

That ep.3 ending was among the most electrifying 10 minutes of TV viewing I've ever experienced; after the credits ended I remember calling friends for hours to discuss (this was all before e-mail, cell phones, chat rooms and blogs were ubiquitous). I had recorded it, so we could rewind and watch it over and over to decipher the clues.

You can find this version available on VHS.

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:31 am**

No, it's not available in R1. I haven't bothered to watch my R4* DVD to see if it's the extended version. The TV pilot was the same as the film screened theatrically in North America, so it should be of no surprise that after viewing it at the VIFF in 1989 I couldn't help but find it ridiculous that almost every conversation I heard upon exiting involved rather heated speculation as to the killer's identity.

Godot beat me to it, and may even be a bigger nerd than I am, although I still have all of those original broadcasts on tape in my storage room or my mother's basement, so...

*edit: I lied, my DVD is R3.

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 8:01 am**

Godot wrote:

That ep.3 ending was among the most electrifying 10 minutes of TV viewing I've ever experienced;

No kidding! I didn't know TV got this good! I surprised myself by screaming when the killer was finally revealed. Quite a terrifying scene for me.

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 8:05 am**

Ok, comparing the european pilot to Lynch's theatrical releases, where does it sit? Is it a great film in its own right, or is it just the watered down version of the series? How would it play in a double feature with Fire Walk with Me?

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 9:47 am**

Aside from the obvious innovative style, theme, format and film-like production qualities, what most linger in my memory are the occasional terrifying endings that Lynch and Frost concocted. In addition to the pilot's marvelous finish (Sarah's premonition of Bob) and Episode 3's Cooper dream, others that got under my skin for days were:

Episode 5: Hank sucking on the domino
Episode 8: Ronette's memory of the murder
Episode 13's interrogation of Mike ("He is Bob, ready for fun, he wears a smile, everybody run.")
Episode 14's Road House warning and Leland/Maddy's dance/murder
Episode 20: Leo in birthday hat: "Hello, Shelly"; Windam Earle's chess tableau

I love how many of these scenes are lit with limited, spot lighting (swinging bulb, flashlight), enhancing the nightmarish reveals.

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 9:55 am**

I totally agree, Ronette's memory of the murder and Mike's conversation were scary enough to keep me up at night. But that moment when Madeline sees Leland looking into the mirror and he chases her up the stairs... brr...

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 9:57 am**

Ok, comparing the european pilot to Lynch's theatrical releases, where does it sit? Is it a great film in its own right, or is it just the watered down version of the series?

The European version of the pilot is not a good comparison point; it's a bastardized version of his original work, veering completely away from the threads and creepiness he planted throughout the pilot. Still, it does have those fantastic scenes that reappear in Cooper's dream, which is nice to have if you have only one "Twin Peaks" example episode to show someone.

I count the TP pilot (as shown on ABC) among Lynch's greatest work (behind Blue Velvet, with Mulholland Dr., slightly ahead of Straight Story), and probably the best demonstration of his style, skill, uniquenesss and innovation (while also being among his easier films to watch, since it is necessarily PG-rated despite the sordid content). I think that US pilot episode actually plays very nicely as a stand-alone "film", unresolved as it is (one could cynically say the same of Mulholland Dr., with it's origins as a TV pilot). I have mostly watched the pilot and episode 3 independent of the series, just to marvel at how Lynch works his awkward yet stirring magic within the confines of network TV.

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 1:06 pm**

Godot wrote:I count the TP pilot (as shown on ABC) among Lynch's greatest work (behind Blue Velvet, with Mulholland Dr., slightly ahead of Straight Story), and probably the best demonstration of his style, skill, uniquenesss and innovation (while also being among his easier films to watch, since it is necessarily PG-rated despite the sordid content). I think that US pilot episode actually plays very nicely as a stand-alone "film", unresolved as it is (one could cynically say the same of Mulholland Dr., with it's origins as a TV pilot). I have mostly watched the pilot and episode 3 independent of the series, just to marvel at how Lynch works his awkward yet stirring magic within the confines of network TV.

Agreed. I would also add (as have others) that episode three stands alongside the pilot episode as some of the best work Lynch has ever done.

But back to the pilot... what I find so interesting about it is how it holds up to repeated viewings and how so many things reveal themselves and how different it was from anything on TV at the time. Finally, a show about someone who has been murdered where the ripple effects on those who knew her are shown in agonizing detail. For the first half of the pilot (or until Agent Cooper shows up) we see people openly grieving... the principal breaking down and crying, Donna crying, James breaking a pencil in half, Audrey with that mischievious half smile (what secrets does she have?), and of course the Palmers... that scene where Sheriff Truman tells Leland has to be one of the most heartbreaking in the series... and then there is that powerful cut to the dangling phone with his wife wailing like some kind of wounded animal... Such an outpowering of grief and sorrow that really conveys how important life is to these people and how death is not treated lightly. Powerful stuff indeed.

And as with others, I too remember the airing of that incredible episode 3 and watching Coop's dream sequence just spellbound... amazing stuff quite unlike anything that had ever been on TV. Just so strange and wonderful.

I think that what also made Season 1 work so well was the tight control Lynch and Frost had on it... handpicking directors (like River's Edge's Tim Hunter to direct episodes either before or after Lynch directed ones) and writing the bulk of the episodes. Sadly, I think that the show ran out of steam when they solved the murder of Laura (it's a shame because originally Lynch did not want to ever solve the murder but was pressured by the network) and you had all sorts of annoying subplots, like James and his little film noir-femme fatale plot and what was up with Coop wearing lumberjack shirts and going native?! Ouch.

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 3:03 pm**

Fletch wrote:For the first half of the pilot (or until Agent Cooper shows up) we see people openly grieving... the principal breaking down and crying, Donna crying, James breaking a pencil in half, Audrey with that mischievious half smile (what secrets does she have?), and of course the Palmers... that scene where Sheriff Truman tells Leland has to be one of the most heartbreaking in the series... and then there is that powerful cut to the dangling phone with his wife wailing like some kind of wounded animal... Such an outpowering of grief and sorrow that really conveys how important life is to these people and how death is not treated lightly. Powerful stuff indeed.

And even more importantly, Lynch presented all this grief, so spontaneous and realistic, so unlike the carefully constructed histrionics of Hill Street Blues (Frost's best previous work) or other fine TV dramas, all before the first commercial break. It's amazing to watch a recording of the broadcast, because the intrusion of the first commercial at the 30 minute mark (after the camera pans down the phone cord in the Palmer kitchen) snaps the audience out of that grief shroud and reinforces the TV context that this first half hour has just revolutionized. Lynch/Frost pulled weight to get that long segment before the first break, and it really pays off, because the audience is so conditioned to expect the 12 minute chunks of "entertainment", and this intro just went on and on, spiraling down (like real grief), with no relief. Watching it live, I remember the same as Fletch, just an uncomfortable feeling as all these characters cried (the first being Andy, breaking down as he shoots pictures of the corpse), at first funny/odd, then increasingly unsettling. Then after the first commercial break, Cooper is introduced and away we go.

I also loved the thread of reflexivity, most obviously in the soap opera the characters are watching ("Invitation to Love") that reflects the more nefarious TP activity, but also in the doubling (Mike/Bobby and Mike/Bob, Maddy/Laura, White Lodge/Black Lodge) and "acting" (Maddy as Laura, Agent Denise, Coop at One-Eyed Jacks, Audrey as Hester, Leyland of course). Remember, the very first (and last, it turns out) shots of the series are characters looking at themselves in mirrors.

One of my favorite exchanges that amusingly refers to that reflexivity:
[Lucy is watching "Invitation To Love"]
Sheriff Truman: Morning Lucy, what's going on?
Lucy: Er... thanks to Jade, Jared decided not to kill himself, and he's changed his will leaving the Towers to Jade instead of Emerald, but Emerald found out about it, and now she's trying to seduce Chet to give her the new will so that she can destroy it; Montana's planning to kill Jared at midnight so the Towers will belong to Emerald and Montana, but I think she's going to double-cross him and he doesn't know it yet. Poor Chet.
Sheriff Truman: What's going on here?

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 4:03 pm**

Since we're discussing TV Pilots made by Lynch (and also because I can't seem to find a Mulholland Drive thread using the search function) here's a nice little feature from DavisDVD.com that outlines some of the differences between the edited TV pilot and the final film:

http://www.davisdvd.com/misc/bin/mulhollanddrive.html

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 4:27 pm**

Godot wrote:Watching it live, I remember the same as Fletch, just an uncomfortable feeling as all these characters cried (the first being Andy, breaking down as he shoots pictures of the corpse), at first funny/odd, then increasingly unsettling.

Definitely. Another great example of that is when we see everyone at the high school find out and then suddenly it cuts to a girl running, screaming hysterically outside the window of Donna and James' classroom. That bit always gives me the creeps. What a great little bit of atmosphere to put the audience on edge!

Posted: **Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:08 pm**

My local used video store has the pilot on a standalone dvd. I dont know which version it is, but I can't seem to find it on amazon or ebay, which makes me think it's not a region 1, probably all region. Does this sound familiar to anybody?