Eraserhead (1977)

Director:

David Lynch

Writer:

David Lynch (writer)

Release Date:

7 September 1979 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

In Heaven Everything Is Fine.

Plot:

Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

Plot Keywords:

Midnight Movie | Stage | Low Budget | Enigmatic | Pencil Eraser

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Jack Nance	...	Henry Spencer (as John Nance)
Charlotte Stewart	...	Mary X
Allen Joseph	...	Mr. X
Jeanne Bates	...	Mrs. X
Judith Roberts	...	Beautiful Girl Across the Hall (as Judith Anna Roberts)
Laurel Near	...	Lady in the Radiator
V. Phipps-Wilson	...	Landlady (long version)
Jack Fisk	...	Man in the Planet
Jean Lange	...	Grandmother
Thomas Coulson	...	The Boy
John Monez	...	Bum
Darwin Joston	...	Paul
T. Max Graham	...	The Boss (as Neil Moran)
Hal Landon Jr.	...	Pencil Machine Operator
Jennifer Chambers Lynch	...	Little Girl (as Jennifer Lynch)

Also Known As:

Eraserhead 2000 (USA) (DVD box title)
Gardenback (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

89 min | USA:108 min (approx.) (premiere version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (re-release) | Mono (original release)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | France:-16 | Spain:13 | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | UK:18 (video rating: 1986) | UK:X (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | Ireland:18 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18 | Canada:18+ (Québec)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

American Film Institute (AFI)

Trivia:

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Camera shadow visible as it tracks in to the light towards the end of the film.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Beautiful Girl Across the Hall: Are you Henry?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Homestarrunner.com: Everything Else, Volume 1 (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

In Heaven

maybe art, but not a narrative

Before the advent of film and radio and television, elders told stories to their juniors. Some started with the phrase, 'Once upon a time...' and others started, 'A long time ago in a land far away...' What they had in common was that they were narratives; they told a story with a beginning and end; the stories went somewhere. 'Eraserhead' goes nowhere, which is okay as long as the viewer knows what to expect. If I go to an art gallery I don't expect all the paintings or photos to work together to tell a story, but when I see a movie, I do. 'Eraserhead' is like a disjointed dream, where events happen without reason or rationale and immune to the ordinary rules of genetics.

I think Lynch is very creative and imaginative and a talented cinematographer, but he is no story-teller in this effort. I liked the B/W treatment and I thought the movie has terrific visual impact, but very poor narrative. It's almost as if Lynch had been given 10 different story elements to put in a single story but couldn't tie them all together. Who is The Man in the Planet and what do the broken windows, levers, sores and twitches represent? What does the burned-meatball-of-a-planet mean? No one seems to want to discuss these items. Does it mean anything or is it all part of a inexplicable nightmare? I recommend the movie for its visuals and quirkiness but it's a bust as anything else.

I have read the 'fear of parenthood' theories and the 'fear of aging' theories and the 'fear of intimacy' theories, but none of those make sense to me in the movie's context. And maybe Lynch wanted to make a movie that wasn't sensible or logical. If so, mission accomplished!