Eraserhead (1977) - David Lynch
Related: American cinema - 1970s film - 1977 - David Lynch
Finally out on DVD in the US.
Eraserhead (1977) - David Lynch [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Plot Outline: Henry Spencer's life spins out of control when conflict erupts in his strange yet simple world... --Amazon.com
Plot Synopsis: Is it a nightmare or an actual view of a post-apocalyptic world? Set in an industrial town in which giant machines are constantly working, spewing smoke, and making noise that is inescapable, Henry Spencer lives in a building that, like all the others, appears to be abandoned. The lights flicker on and off, he has bowls of water in his dresser drawers, and for his only diversion he watches and listens to the Lady in the Radiator sing about finding happiness in heaven. Henry has a girlfriend, Mary X, who has frequent spastic fits. Mary gives birth to Henry's child, a frightening looking mutant, which leads to the injection of all sorts of sexual imagery into the depressive and chaotic mix. --Amazon.com
Description
Eraserhead is a 1977 film directed by David Lynch. It stars Jack Nance as Henry, a man living in an industrial town set in the future. Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
His girlfriend Mary has a premature baby and he's forced to marry her. After she leaves him, he has to take care of the baby by himself. Throughout the movie, Henry finds comfort in his daydreams. The title comes from a fantasy scene where bits of Henry's brains are used to make erasers on pencils at a factory.
It is rumored that Lynch created the baby from an embalmed cow fetus. To this day, Lynch refuses to discuss how the baby was really made. The movie took five years to make, as Lynch had difficulty financing it because the finished script was only 22 pages long and most movie studios didn't want to touch it. The movie was financed by friends and family, including actress Sissy Spacek, who was married to Jack Fisk (The Man in the Planet) at the time.
Most of the actors in the film have appeared in few films since. Jack Nance would become a frequent cast member in most of Lynch's films (except The Elephant Man), including a stint on the show Twin Peaks.
Eraserhead has since become a cult classic because of its stark imagery and intensely surreal shots. Director Stanley Kubrick claimed it was one of his favorite movies. Lynch's first feature, Eraserhead eventually kickstarted his film career, as Mel Brooks gave him the director's chair on The Elephant Man after watching it. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eraserhead [Mar 2005]
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