Product Description

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.System Requirements:Running Time 89 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: UNRATED UPC: 858334001039 Manufacturer No: 400103

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2573 in DVD
• Brand: Ryko Distribution
• Released on: 2006-01-10
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 89 minutes

Amazon.com
This is where is the Lynchian nightmare began. Though he may have redefined surrealistic cinema in the 1980s and forever altered the face of television in the 90s, for many hardcore fans it is this infamous feature film debut that is David Lynch's crowning achievement. Many words have been used to describe Eraserhead (weird, bizarre, frustrating, enlightening, significant, unwatchable, meaningless, and momentous), but there is no denying it is completely unforgettable. As a surreal work of art, Eraserhead easily holds it own next to the works as Buñuel, Cocteau, and Dali. And like many surrealistic works, there is no clear answer on what Eraserhead "means." But, if you are trying to find a simple, linear, plot in Eraserhead, you are clearly missing the point. For Eraserhead is not simply a movie to view, but a true cinematic experience, like jumping into someone's nightmare and seeing it from their perspective. Whether you see it as a meditation on the terror of being a new parent, the suffocating feeling of living in an increasingly vapid, industrial wasteland, or a nightmare about the fear of loneliness, the film easily holds up to multiple viewings. And since this film is a dark visual ride and a supreme aural achievement, this long awaited, new transfer is an absolute blessing for David Lynch fans who will finally get to see, hear and experience Eraserhead clearly on DVD. Bizarre experiment? Surrealistic nightmare? Or a meaningless cult film? You be the judge. --Rob Bracco

Customer Reviews

"Bleakly Bizarre"
This is not so much a story, as it is a celluloid experience. As an artist who is well versed in surrealism, I find it fascinating to watch. I first saw it on Much Music or MTV years ago, when it became a mainstay of Halloween Week films they ran. I am entranced by the images and camera angles, film contrasts, lighting, etc., not sitting there with a wet hanky following the sad story line. Would a sweet and sentimental story, filmed this way have been as effective? Of course not. It requires total wierdness from all aspects. Would Salvador Dali's work have been as effective with pancakes and whipped cream, banana splits and teddy bears floating about? Of course not. It is a masterpiece of horrific bizarreness, shot in such a way as to emphasize the negative. Another artist's movie--maybe not for mainstream.

Bizarre and ugly
Not an easy movie to review. There's definitely symbolism here and, as most other Lynch films, it makes sense, even if only on some deeply subconscious level. Was it an interesting ride? Yes. But did I enjoy it? No. I didn't enjoy it not because I didn't "get it". I didn't enjoy it for the same reason I wouldn't enjoy looking at a car crash, or at a dead body in the morgue. Yes, I may stop and stare, just like scores of others, gripped by morbid fascination and compelled by my illogical, contradictory human nature. But I would not enjoy it. Some may say that movies this dark and disturbing are not to be enjoyed - and I will respectfully disagree. Shindler's List wasn't enjoyable to watch either; the enjoyment came not from the visual, but from the emotional fullfilment that the film brings the viewer. If you want a more relevant comparison, I would say see "City of Lost Children" - while it's also Bizarre with a capital B, there are nevertheless an original and imaginative plot, a rich world, and intriguing characters. There was none of the above in Eraserhead - at least, not in the traditional sense. If you want to see social commentary, deeper underlying meaning, and/or startling revelations, you probably will. But it's more possible that you'll see Eraserhead as nothing more than a collection of bizzare, disturbing, ugly images and sounds compiled to confuse and perturb the viewer. You might peruse the Internet to find frame by frame "guides" to this film - and that, to me, is an indication that no matter how original, Eraserhead is not true art. Hide it away and bring it back out a couple hundred years from now, and no one is going to understand it. True art does not need manuals or explanations, it speaks for itself. It survives the test of time. Eraserhead is not art; it is more like a nightmare - you know it's trying to tell you something, but you don't understand a thing, and you can't wait for it to end.

Eraserhead - short review behind a million others
This should be very short, as most of the other reviewers have captured bits and pieces of this film's effect on watchers. I'm very glad to see many likening this to a dream sequence or experience. THAT is what I want to convey to anyone with a question about what it's like to watch it. Every time I sit through this movie, I end up feeling like I just woke from a nightmare... not just metaphorically, but like I am lying in bed and just awoke and was having a dream I didn't want to stay in, but didn't want to leave, either.

Another fan at my workplace will often come up to me and say "What ya know, Henry?"...

Don't show this to small children!