Twin Peaks

[Paulos]

So last night I was watching episode 5 of the second series of Twin Peaks, it reached the courhouse scene and I nearly fell out my seat when I realised that Van Dyke Parks was playing a defence attorney! I've been a Twin Peaks fan for years but had never noticed Van Dykes small role before, I thought he had only been a child actor and hadn't acted since but I was wrong! Are there any other fans of Twin Peaks out there in Smiley land? One of my favourite shows ever, it's so creepy, unsettling, funny, smart and it's beautifully shot.

[ghost]

twin peaks is ok. his movies in general are more interesting. peaks is like this weird static feeling of familiarity, you just stick around with it because it's there. that's the tv programming schedule, more of the same this week viewers. eraserhead is like... a part of my brain. it exists, i just have to think of it and it's there i can recall perhaps the entire movie in my own way, how I remember it, not necessarily the way things were, although it's probably close. For example that classic scene of Henry walking in the beginning, it's like this alien view into this human creatures henry who waddles around unlike any other animal, not with precision and cunning or awareness and fear but in a confused aimless drifting absurdism. where is he, who is he, where is he going. where was he.

[Austin]

A couple years ago some friends and I made a tradition of having a Twin Peaks fest over the course of a couple weekends, in a converted garage that was, by coincidence, deeply Lynchian (red drapes, evocative lighting, coffee, etc). Brilliant show -- and they paused it once that episode so they could figure out why I was so excited to see Van Dyke Parks appear on the screen.

[Aegir]

According to IMDB, Van Dyke had a few roles in films and TV shows from 80 to 91, guess he decided to resume his acting career for awhile.

[?]

I think Fire Walk With Me is one of the finest films ever made.  As for the show, I think the Lynch-directed episodes are very good and the rest of it varies from mediocre to terrible.  That second season...ugh.  Just awful.

[Paulos]

Avan - Agreed with the latter half of the 2nd season, they just lost there way unfortunately.

Austin - that garage sounds very cool!

Ghost - I've never seen Eraserhead so can't comment.

Oh yeah, another great thing about Twin Peaks - all the beautiful girls!

[ghost]

Avan - Agreed with the latter half of the 2nd season, they just lost there way unfortunately.

Austin - that garage sounds very cool!

Ghost - I've never seen Eraserhead so can't comment.

Oh yeah, another great thing about Twin Peaks - all the beautiful girls!

Have you seen Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive? These might be up your alley if you like Twin Peaks first season. They are not as abstract as Eraserhead.

[Mike's Beard]

I remember seeing Van Dyke in the film "The Two Jakes", playing again a lawyer if my memory serves correct.

PS. I thought Twin Peaks sucked.

[Paulos]

Avan - Agreed with the latter half of the 2nd season, they just lost there way unfortunately.

Austin - that garage sounds very cool!

Ghost - I've never seen Eraserhead so can't comment.

Oh yeah, another great thing about Twin Peaks - all the beautiful girls!

Have you seen Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive? These might be up your alley if you like Twin Peaks first season. They are not as abstract as Eraserhead.

I've seen Mulholland Drive which I thought was great although very confusing, really need to see Lost Highway & Inland Empire too.

[?]

The Club Silencio stuff in Mulholland Dr. is really great, but the buildup to it is too made-for-tv for me (which it was) and ultimately the film is just a reiteration of themes he already did better with Lost Highway.  INLAND EMPIRE would be incredible if only it wasn't shot with ugly SD video.  That's a huge drawback for me.  But if you thought MD was confusing, IE will probably drive you crazy.

My current ranking, though I'm sure I'll change my mind again at some point:

Lost Highway/Fire Walk With Me (tie, I can't choose a favorite here)
Eraserhead
Blue Velvet
Wild At Heart
INLAND EMPIRE
Mulholland Dr.
The Straight Story
The Elephant Man

Dune doesn't fucking count, so I'm not listing it!

[ghost]

yes foolish of me not to suggest Blue Velvet since it has that same actor in it in a similar personality, enjoyable to watch.
I love the Straight Story too. it's great. Wild At Heart is one of my all time favorites type of thing. God,. I have to watch a lynch movie tonight.... WHICH

[onkster]

I really enjoyed Twin Peaks until the dual appearance of Waldo/Lydecker. Waldo Lydecker = that repressed columnist fellow from one of my very favorite movies "Laura". And then...I started to realize how much Lynch stole from "Laura". And a whole bunch of other things. Then I felt let down--was this just another spot-the-reference show? I stopped then.

After revisiting "Twin Peaks" years later, I still have to admit it's a nicely crafted thing, and I can still get into some of it. But the whole soap-opera nature of it--that it strings you along forever with no real payoff--tends to rankle.

Irrelevant work-related fact: I worked on creating a bunch of the menu loops for the box set.