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Eraserhead (1977)

Director: David Lynch

5

Time Out rating

Average user rating
2 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

The Greatest Student Film Ever Made returns to screens in a brand new print personally remastered by the director. The story– if it could be described as such– concerns Henry, a lonely man who discovers that the girl he loves has carried and given birth to something that might or might not be a baby…

Watching ‘Eraserhead’ today, what emerges is the sheer, immersive clarity of David Lynch’s vision, the sense of a world unlike our own and yet inextricably bound to it: a world in which all the light has been sucked out, leaving only horror and isolation, desperation and unattainable dreams.

Knowing the struggles Lynch and his crew underwent to complete this wildly uncommercial labour of love, over five years of scratching for every budgetary dollar, the absence of compromise astounds. ‘Eraserhead’ is a singular work of the imagination, a harrowing, heartbreaking plunge into the darkest recesses of the soul.

Author: Tom Huddleston 2008-09-09 10:40:15

Time Out London Issue 1986, 11-17 Sept


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User reviews of this film

  • Fiercehairdo said...
    Posted on Sep 09 2008 16:59 This film is an absolute work of art.
    It still is so startling, magical and shocking.
    Its complete lack of compromise and sheer originality and power puts so many other film-maker's efforts to shame.
    Lynch's first and one of his best.
    Report as inappropriate
  • Magmabulle said...
    Posted on Jun 08 2008 21:52 Eraserhead is by far the most disturbing, and at the same time fascinating, movie I have ever seen. It is slow, dark and sinister, and really leaves you thinking.
    If you let ten persons watch Eraserhead, you will probably hear ten different interpretations. Furthermore, if you watch it ten times, the result will be the same.
    One might question the storyline of Eraserhead; the story is rather weak, but on the other hand it is full of feeling and atmosphere. David Lynch is a true master of both light and sound, even though it is an early work.
    Report as inappropriate

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