People really misuse the word Surreal in place of unreal. Surreal is derived from the art movement of surrealism. There are certainly moments in life where the term surreal is used appropriately, but when misused constantly in place of unreal. It loses its meaning.
Right? We got happy easy goin guys bringing my nightmares to life in film, and we have rapist felons making award-sweeping “high dramas”.. are you sure this is real life??
He seems like such a genuinely good guy. I think he's one of the only living heroes I have left. Given enough time I feel like most heroes will disappoint you, but I just sort of trust that David won't.
Its similar to Chris O'Niel from oneyplays. He's a great artist but what he draws it mostly just creepy shit but he's a hilariously goofy person. The duality of man is beautiful.
The way the main character is trying to keep his cool, trying to make sense of the situation while also attempting to supress a palpable nervousness in his voice, gradually, more and more obviously sinking into panic towards the end - is amazing. Many comments are fixated on Mystery Man but Bill Pullman's acting is so subtle and real.
It's an incredible and underrated performance. Pullman in Lost Highway also reminds me a bit of Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut - another performance where non-verbal acting and general less-is-more approach yields great results. There's a certain repression and insecurity to both of their characters, although Fred Madison is much more edgy and obviously probably psychotic whereas Bill Harford seems more easygoing as he masks his emotions and insecurities behind a big fake smile. But both films are kind of similar, thematically, and the way they use a similarly stylized kind of acting with lots of pauses and emphasis on the non-verbal.
@@CircuitRider Can you believe Pullman learnt to do those out of control amazing sax solos for the movie, not being a player? I can stop rubbing my eyes and ears
@@TheChzoronzon I didn’t know that! You can tell, though. He’s really going at the sax in that scene lol, just pure rage and frantic passion like some big premature ejaculation of sound (fitting given the sad sex scene between him and Renee).
I don't get a creepy vibe, just a "WTF" vibe. Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer sends a creepy voice. This is Lynch. Lynch specializes in surrealism, mind-fuckery and badass dialogue/monologue, but psychological horror (while there) is much more subtle and not the sole intention of Lynch's work.
@exa121RETURNS - I definitely agree with you. David Lynch is all about really bizarre, really disturbing situations; even dialogues and contexts. But that's it. (which is already creepy!) - Psychological horror is not really his style.
+exa121RETURNS I don't know, I first saw this scene a couple of years ago and since then it's stuck with me as the creepiest thing I've seen in a film.
The way everything around Fred becomes silent and almost nonexistent--as if time halted when the Mystery Man approached him never fails to give me chills
I like to think of it as him having a conversation with an aspect of his own psyche, and since the unconscious mind is located outside of time and space, the conversation creates a kind of pocket of time dilation and inattentional blindness. Like when you get lost in thought.
Nice move by the actor starting that line with a "Mmm" or "Hmm" before the laugh, inferring, "That's exactly the question, and wouldnt you like to know?"
What makes this so powerful is that it's at a party. It's supposed to be a very chill atmosphere, and in the space of a few seconds it becomes extremely tense and uncomfortable.
The Real Mr J. spot on. to me the best horror comes with the most comfortable seeming setting...well lit, plenty of people around...one should be secure. and that's the terror of it, you are alone and at the precipice of terror with no one to assist u or even be aware of the situation. it is why 99% of what passes for horror is never horrifying. after all, if we expect the horror tropes, where is the unknown (ie the home of fear)?
Between feeling fine and feeling pure fear lies a large grey area of subconscious anxiety and foreboading. Lynch dominates that grey area unlike any film-maker.
if you like Lynchian style psychological horror, I highly suggest you check out a film named "Jacobs ladder". One of the most underrated horror films ever made. It lingers with you for a while after you watch it, like a lot of Lynches work.
+ted the commenter I agree with this endorsement; Jacob's Ladder is my favorite movie, I've seen it like 10 times. You get a little more from it every time you watch.
Robert Blake's restrained, insane tension in this scene is so incredible. He looks like his skin is ready to jump off his body, like he's about to snap and take a bite out of Pullman's neck at any second. Really one of the greatest performances ever in its subtle power
the mystery man becomes more and more like himself - rage-filled, malicious, violent as the film goes on, like fred is realising his true self at the same time, accepting the fact that he's a killrr
@@fire.walk.with.me.430 I kinda saw the mystery man as either some divine punishment that sends Fred to hell (which would help the “it is not my custom” line make sense) or the part of him that sees through his delusions and excuses and is trying to get him to admit his crime (which would explain why he executes Fred’s scapegoat, Dick Laurent)
Blake is BOSS in this scene. His personal life is a mess but you MUST admit the man can ACT!!!! In Cold Blood is another testament to his talent. I have never seen this movie but I remember when it was in theaters. The entire scene is ALL BLAKE!!! The music stops when he comes on the scene AND his dialogue, "give me back my phone" and the WAY he says it is toooo much. Blake has always had intensity to spare and the way he looks at the man is intense.
Lol, I've seen Lost Highway maybe 10 times while clear. Freaks me out each and every time. Think it's about time to kick it up a notch. Gonna smoke me a whole bush and implode my mind with the best film DL ever made.
This guy is way creepier then Death in “The Seventh Seal”. Death in the “The Seventh Seal” is more mysterious, however, I prefer my Mr . Death to be more like the one in “The Meaning of Life” , lol
@@gibberconfirm166 Malefic barely human magicians who spin dreamworlds that the characters are trapped in, is one of the eeriest motifs in occult lore. I think my favorite version of that idea is that God got trapped in its own art installation, either accidentally or for immersion because eternity got boring
He probably would have answered the random phone number, then while you're still on the phone, called you from your home phone, on threeway. That would have been the most 90's shit ever.
Lynch pays attention to sound, it's one of the subtle details that makes his work stand out. You just gotta look at the first words of twin peaks the return: "listen to the sounds"
Alan G. Oh I was talking about the main character.. that sand color too that black t-shirt .. looks wrong but yes the another guy scared the living sh*t out of me too..
I don't think there's a noticeable shift at all, or at least an intentional one. Digital color grading didn't exist until "O Brother Where Art Thou" three years later so it would've been really difficult to do this on purpose..
@@hendrikalbert3910 I see what you're saying about the wall. I think that is because there is reflected light from the large green wall structures to the left. As they move off frame, the fact of the reflected light is evident. The colour in the rest of the scene does not change, e.g. Blake's face.
I love the way Lynch writes and films dialogue. There are pauses, almost like a laugh track should go there. But instead it’s just a couple of short seconds of surreal tension. Amazing.
I remember watching this movie late night in my dark basement all alone :D At the point he goes downstairs towards him I was truely shocked by the subtlety. You automatically know when you first see him that he's inevitablely going towards Fred but like him you're trying to deny it, look away, act normal, the party music goes out, "normal" people still everywhere partying, the picture seemed to get cold. Most creepiest and amazing scene I've ever seen.
I like to think that Lost Highway and Mullholland Drive are both connected to Twin Peaks and the Black Lodge is the center for all the weird shit that happens. Even if it's probably not true at all
Yeah, I know this movie is serious and creepy and all that, but does anyone else find it kind of amusing when Blake says "Give me back my phone"? I find much of Lynch work (even the scary parts) often have an underlying surreal humor about them. Twin Peaks blended horror and humor much more openly, but I think you find it here too.
"How did you get inside my house?" "You invited me. It is not my custom to go where I am not wanted." I love this dialogue/scene. What a brilliant way of illustrating how we ultimately, choose to take part in "evil" actions.
@@alongalostaway the mystery man is a not flesh and blood man, but a representation of some aspects of Fred's mind or thoughts. There are many clues to this during rhe film, but not necessarily one concrete, "true," interpretation of the character.
@Cap Archer Definitely. “We met earlier. Don’t you remember? At your house.” That was when his wife gave him the humiliating little pat on the back after sex.
@Cap Archer Not really, his wife actually does cheat on him in the movie by the way. The Mystery Man represents the Id, or the base animalistic impulse, the Freudian shadow. So he's the Id, Dick Laurant is the moralizing superego and Fred is the ego between the two. Fred's fate of delusional disaster had already been sealed when his shadow or Id announced to him through his intercom that Dick Laurant (the superego) had been killed, ergo his animalistic impulses had already overcome his superego in the first scene.
What the fuck would you even do if someone walked up to you and did this? I mean besides have a nervous fucking breakdown and never go to your house again of course?
MilkoOfficialChannel Lmfao seriously man. I mean after that you can't really have anything scarier/tripper happen so mine as well go down to Skid row and grab some LSD and Ketamine. Haha
This was the scene that really drew me in. Watching his films I never felt the need to understand what was going on, I simply aprreciated the feeling and the flow. How he managed to do that to me, when generally I am so curious to figure out the meaning of things, is completely beyond my comprehension. It's a type of magic.
Any slasher horror monster/killer can do all kinds of hideous things to screw your body up, but the real horror comes from when something can screw your mind up.
Blake's laugh echoed back through that phone intensifies this scene all the more. Such intricate attention to detail (specifically with audio) in all his films. One of the best directors of our time. Lynch has a tendency to inject raw fear into the most unsuspecting moments. Enjoy the ride. Over and over again...
What makes this part feel especially weird is that MM isn't really acting threatening towards Fred. He has an intense, unsettling demeanor but he's very calm throughout this scene and he almost has a sort of playful attitude about doing the trick with the phone. That friendliness (?) makes MM all the more inscrutable, as it's hard to figure out what his angle is. It also makes it more jarring when he suddenly gets really angry and starts swearing later in the movie.
Lynch's surrealism is able to plumb the depths of psychological anxiety and fear in ways more direct thriller or horror narratives simply cannot. It sometimes gets away from him and become excessive to the point of distracting, but when it's on-point there's nothing more unsettling.
TheMrdannyharrington David Lynch always has an element of humor like that along with the disturbing surreal horror. Even Eraserhead can be pretty hilarious at times.
I actually think it was pretty much the absolute perfect line right there: It's precisely where he starts to feel out of his comfort zone. The thin line between "Who is this weirdo" to "Who is this crazy maniac". Very natural reaction and a pretty fine delivery if I may!
For me, that line is crossed once the Mystery Man picks up the phone on the other end. The look in Fred's eyes completely sells it, as he goes from amused at this wierdo, to "Holy shit, what's going on?"
Dude, that and Eyebrows here, goes from an intimidating supernatural threat to “Give me back my phone”. So fucking mundane haha. Like even the reality warping demon still needs you to hand the damn thing back to him. Gotta love when his films don’t take themselves so seriously all the time. Or it’s just bad writing.. either way, good times
In fairy and djinn lore, when someone meets an Other they are often asked to eat some kind of fairy food as a trick in order to be “glamoured” (deceived) into becoming a prisoner in the Otherworld...is the MM’s taunts to take the phone and dial the number establishing the very “invitation” he claims has already happened? Another strange looping of time and identity...
+Actuality “NRkE” Factuality Being able to appreciate another's interpretations of an art piece > insisting on one's own. I even wrote a paper on it, and someone agreed with it which means I'm right
I do appreciate your comment about Jung, and the shadow self, I incorporated it in my paper as well. But, its not the it all and everything about Blake's character.
Tom Waits Yeah but all that those phones did was call people. There wasn't even texting. Hell it wasn't even any fun because most people couldn't afford one and weren't home when you called. An Ipad is a hand-held computer.
I love this scene but I don't like this film. I wanted to like it and I like other David Lynch films. Hey, didn't Robert Blake murder someone in real life? If so, it makes this scene even more creepy.
the irony is this film pulled heavily from the OJ Simpson trial, where he killed his wife, similar to this film, where it is suggested that the protagonist killed his wife, and yet again, Robert Blake is accused of murdering his own wife.
The thing that personally gets down to my bones about this scene is that when I was a kid I had a dream similar to this. It confused me a lot and scared the crap out of me. Seeing this film years later made me shiver. I fucking loved it. It's like Lynch literally got into my head.
'' The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door.'' From the story ''Knock'', by Frederic Brown. I love this spine tingling crap.
+Tony D Have a quote then: "When the first living thing existed, I was there, waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job is finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave." -Death, The San∂man, issue 20
The best part about this scene is if you haven’t seen the movie you probably just think you have no context. Nope, you’ll have about the same amount of context if you’ve actually been watching the movie.
Of course Blake deserves so much credit for bringing so much dread to such a creepy character, but can we take a moment to appreciate how good Bill Pullman was in this film?
One of David Lynch's coolest scenes ever (and that's saying a lot) It also doesn't hurt that both Bill Pullman, and Robert Blake are both brilliant i.e. 'perfect' in this as well. Lost Highway, Elephant Man, Wild at Heart, and The Straight Story are my favorite Lynch films.
Just heard that Robert Blake died. Came here to check out my favorite performance of his, which has always chilled me, but he was also distinguished in Baretta, In Cold Blood, and Electra Glide in Blue. RIP Robert.
I love how the music just totally cuts out when the mystery man approaches Fred, like he's entering some sort of dreamy/nightmarish dimension That's simply brilliant
