By far Lynch’s most inaccessible film, ‘Inland Empire’ is an abstract, stream-of-consciousness epic. Three hours of looping, twisting, elusive anti-narrative madness. A series of fractured ideas, swirling around Laura Dern’s sensational central performance, as an actress caught in a surreal web of shifting identities and parallel realities. Filmed entirely on a handheld digital camcorder, the film pushed digital cinema (as it was in 2006 at least) to the limit, exposing both the stunning potential and ugly limitations of the format.

‘Inland Empire’ is a film of multitudes. A compelling character study, both fascinating and borderline incomprehensible. It’s difficult, it’s challenging, it’s hilarious, it’s horrifying, thrilling, and exhausting. It’s a pure, singular vision from the unique mind of one of cinemas most uncompromising artists. Mesmerizing and polarizing in equal measure, it’s quite simply a masterpiece.

Dern plays Hollywood actress Nikki Grace, who is shocked to learn that she has been cast in the lead role of a new film called “On High in Blue Tomorrows”. As she begins the rehearsals with the director (Jeremy Irons) and her co-star (Justin Theroux), Nikki’s real life, and that of her character in the film begin to blur. When the director confesses that the film is actually a remake of a German production that had to be abandoned when both leads were murdered, the stage is set for a dark and mysterious Hollywood thriller.

In the hands of another director, you might expect a film noir to emerge out of that premise. This is David Lynch though, and his version of this story is a fragmented, time-jumping horror film, featuring Polish prostitutes, menacing circus performers, dance routines, and a family of humanoid rabbits trapped in a nightmarish sitcom. I wasn’t joking when I said this is Lynch’s most inaccessible film. If you found ‘Mulholland Drive’ or ‘Lost Highway’ a bit too weird, this might not be the film for you.

The unfathomable and disorienting imagery is, as always, accompanied by Lynch’s trademark sound design of industrial static and pulsing distortions of reality, adding further layers of menace to what we are experiencing. And the only way to truly experience ‘Inland Empire’ is to let it wash over you. The visual and aural rhythms are so strange it’s almost impossible to engage with it intellectually, and any attempt to try and make sense of the plot will probably just make you hate it. So don’t even try. Just allow yourself to get lost in the mystery.

Switch over to disc two and you’ll find the special features, which kick off with ‘Lynch (One)’ a feature length documentary from 2008 compiled from behind-the-scenes footage of Lynch during the years he worked on ‘Inland Empire’. Essential viewing for fans of the director. This is followed with a short archival interview with Lynch, touching on digital filmmaking, his love of Hollywood, collaborating with Laura Dern, and his famous cow-based awards campaigning on her behalf. Finally, if the 180-minutes of mind-bending cinema wasn’t enough for you, ‘More Things That Happened’ gives you 75-more minutes of deleted scenes.

Cast: Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux Director: David Lynch Writer: David Lynch Released By: StudioCanal UK Certificate: 15 Duration: 180 mins Release Date: 19th June 2023

The post ‘Inland Empire’ Blu-ray review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

‘Inland Empire’, directed by David Lynch (‘Mulholland Drive’, ‘The Elephant Man’, ‘The Straight Story’), tells the story of ‘a woman in trouble’. It features an outstanding performance by Laura Dern as Nikki and Peter J. Lucas as Nikki’s husband, with supporting cast, Justin Theroux (Nikki’s co-star, Devon) and Jeremy Irons (Kingsley Stewart), as well as an original soundtrack by David Lynch himself.

Approved by David Lynch, this new 4K master was undertaken by ‘The Criterion Collection’ with the support of STUDIOCANAL. It features 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio and uncompressed stereo soundtracks, newly remastered by Lynch. Alongside it, original rerecording mixers Dean Hurley and Ron Eng.

To celebrate the release, we’ve got 1 copy on Blu-ray to give away. Enter below for a chance to win…

This competition closes at 23:59 BST on Wednesday 21st June 2023.

Terms & Conditions

1. The competition is open to all UK residents over the age of 15.
2. Winners will be selected at random.
3. By entering into the competition all entrants agree to be bound by the terms and conditions.
4. Entertainment Focus does not allow collective or proxy entries.
5. Entertainment Focus reserves the right to change or withdraw this competition without notice.
6. Entertainment Focus will not pass your details to any third parties and they will be used solely for communication regarding this competition.
7. Winners will be notified via email or social media and prizes must be claimed within 5 working days.
8. The supplier may change the prize offered without warning.
9. There is no cash or other alternative to the prize stated and the prize is not transferable. No part or parts of the prize may be substituted for other benefits, items or additions.
10. Entertainment Focus’ decision is final – no correspondence will be entered into.

The post Win David Lynch’s ‘Inland Empire’ 4K restoration on Blu-ray appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Bill Pullman is Fred Madison, a jazz musician living in LA with his glamorous wife Renee (Patricia Arquette in a striking brunette wig). They are going through a difficult period in their marriage, and Fred is suspicious of her. Then someone starts leaving anonymous videotapes on their porch. The videos are scratchy footage from outside their house, but then one of them is taken from inside the house, filming Fred and Renee whilst they sleep.

An encounter with an extremely creepy mystery man at a party—whilst Renee flirts with other men—does little to calm Fred’s nerves. The next morning another videotape arrives which he watches alone. It shows him hovering over Renee’s gruesomely murdered body. Fred is arrested for her murder and sentenced to death. This is where shit gets really weird. Whilst on death row, Fred disappears. A young man named Pete (Balthazar Getty) is found in his cell instead, with no memory of how he ended up there.

The narrative fractures and the film morphs into a surreal film-noir, with Arquette returning as Alice Wakefield (now a platinum blonde femme-fatale), the girlfriend of gangster Mr Eddy (Robert Loggia). She begins an affair with Pete, and coerces him into a scam to rob someone, so they can run away together. Small details from Fred’s story start to bleed into this one, and the plot begins to lead us on a nightmarish circular odyssey to god know’s where. 

Over the years, ‘Lost Highway’ hasn’t been one of Lynch’s more celebrated pieces of work, but it is an astonishing film, operating on multiple levels. He has called the film a “psychogenic fugue”, suggesting some sort of dissociative state might be the reason for what is happening. Whatever it is, Lynch isn’t concerned with it, and neither should the viewer. The core of ‘Lost Highway’ is really an exploration of male anxieties, and the darker aspects of a relationship. Whether it be infidelity (real or imagined), feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, and rage. The violating sense of another man being in your home. In your bedroom. Filming you as you sleep. It’s not subtle what he’s getting at here. 

Then there are the repeated visual motifs of people walking into darkness and re-emerging as something (or someone) else. He is asking us: what do we invite into ourselves as we stare into the darkness? Then from a technical standpoint, he does things with lighting, sound, composition, and camera movement that no other director does. A cinematic language all his own. Woozy and terrifying and filled with possibilities. 

But he isn’t just about symbolism and brilliantly designed images. There’s a deep emotional thread running through the film, and you feel that in the performances. Pullman and Getty are terrific as the two repressed men at the heart of this mystery. Robert Loggia gives a scene-stealing turn as Mr Eddy, and his ferocious assault of a tailgater on Mulholland Drive is an iconic moment. However, the film belongs to Patricia Arquette. Styled like a 50s bombshell, her fearless, dead-pan performance as Renee/Alice is astonishing, and the beating dark heart of a very dark film.

Having had a somewhat troubled home video history, it is great to finally have a definitive release of this film. However, as noted at the top of the review, there is a caveat. In the US, Criterion have released a Blu-ray edition, and a 4K UHD edition. The UHD comes in a gorgeous digipack release, which is in keeping with all previous David Lynch films on the Criterion label. In the UK however, we have only got the blu-ray edition, and it is in a regular clamshell case. It’s hard not to feel that UK physical media collectors have been slightly short changed yet again.

The supplementary features on the disc kick off with ‘Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch’ which is Toby Keeler’s feature length documentary from 1997. ‘Lost Highway’ is the predominant focus of the film, however there is wider discussion of Lynch’s career, with sections focused on ‘Eraserhead’ ‘Twin Peaks’ ‘Blue Velvet’ and ‘The Elephant Man’. The film also features interviews with many of Lynch’s collaborators from throughout his career. One of the highlights sees him in the workshop helping to build the furniture for the expressionist sets in ‘Lost Highway’. 

‘Next Door to Dark’ is a 43-minute audio recording of David Lynch and co-author Kristine McKenna reading a chapter from their 2018 book ‘Room to Dream’. This is followed by ‘The Making of Lost Highway’ which is a fairly run of the mill behind-the-scenes featurette from 1997, with interviews with the main cast and crew. There’s also a ten-minute archival interview with Lynch from 1997, and the theatrical release trailer.

The booklet that comes with the release contains an excerpt from Chris Rodley’s essential book ‘Lynch on Lynch’.

Cast: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Loggia, Robert Black Director: David Lynch Writer: David Lynch & Barry Gifford Released By: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Certificate: 18 Duration: 134 mins Release Date: 31st October 2022

[rwp-reviewer-rating-stars id=”0″]

The post ‘Lost Highway’ Criterion Collection Blu-ray review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Beginning life as a feature length pilot for television (it was ultimately rejected by ABC, the network which had aired Twin Peaks a decade earlier) ‘Mulholland Drive’ sees aspiring actress Betty (Naomi Watts in her spellbinding, star-making performance) arriving in Hollywood. Betty is going to stay in her aunt’s apartment while she is out of town, but when she arrives finds a beautiful woman (Laura Harring) already there. Having stumbled away from a car wreck with a purse full of money, a mysterious blue key, and no memory of who she is—she takes the name Rita from a poster for ‘Gilda’ which is hanging in the apartment—she is befriended by Betty, who promises to help Rita find her identity.

As the two women start doing some amateur sleuthing, completely unaware of what they are getting themselves into, Rita also helps Betty prepare for her first audition. A big part has just opened up on a studio picture being directed by Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux), however, he is being strong-armed by the unsavoury money-men financing the film, who want a specific girl for the role.   

Elsewhere, there’s a cop, there’s a hitman, and even a steamy romance. On the surface ‘Mulholland Drive’ could have been a film noir from the 1940s. But it’s not. It’s a David Lynch film, and even in the relatively straightforward main plot, he weaves it with surreal flourishes, and his trademark gift for making the seemingly innocuous feel deeply unsettling. A man sat in a diner recalling a nightmare leads to one of the most heart-stopping scares in recent memory.

When Lynch then upends everything, it is one of the great Pandora’s Box (literally) moments, deliriously transforming the film into something new, and making us reassess everything we have seen so far. His noir mystery morphs and transfigures into a savage satire of Hollywood, and the ugliness and cruelty that lurks behind the beauty and glamour. It becomes a dreamlike study of identity and obsession, lurching into nightmarish violence. Hilarious at time, and truly horrifying at others.

There’s a temptation to over-analyse – which I would guard against. The first viewing can be quite disorienting, but the more you revisit the film over the years, the more it makes a perfect kind of sense, as strange and disquieting as it is. Also, there is no one explanation fits all, simply by the fact of how this started as a TV pilot. Lynch introduces characters and plot elements that ultimately go nowhere, because he never got to make the rest of the show. But it all works, in a frightening and weird kind of way, and twenty years later, it remains Lynch’s masterpiece.

This 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition includes a 4K restoration (approved by David Lynch) on UHD and Blu-ray in an inner digipack. There are two posters and set of five artcards, a booklet including essays from Anna Smith and David Jenkins, and it all comes packaged in an outer clamshell box featuring all new artwork by Krzysztof Domaradzki.

If you’re stuck trying to decide which 4K UHD version to buy, it is worth noting that this edition compares very favourably to the Criterion release. More often than not, if there’s two versions available, and one of them is from Criterion, then that is the one to buy. That might not be the case here. StudioCanal and Criterion have collaborated on the 4K restoration, so the picture is identical in both releases, and I think this overall package of extras (most of which are ported from previous releases) and all new artwork might just have the edge. Of course, you could just double dip and get both! 

The extras on the disc kick-off with ‘Back to Mulholland Drive’ (23 mins), a French documentary from 2003 made by Canal+ which attempts to unlock the secrets of ‘Mulholland Drive’ and make it all make sense. Also from the archives is ’On the Road to Mulholland Drive’ (23 mins) which is a behind the scenes documentary from 2002.

There are two terrific new interviews with Laura Harring (14 mins) and the film’s editor Mary Sweeney (17 mins), as well as two archival interviews with composer Angelo Badalamenti (16 mins) and Cahiers du cinéma critic Thierry Jousse (10 mins). Finally, from 2010 is ‘In the Blue Box’ (28 mins) featuring a number of French filmmakers and critics, and also Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly talking about their love of the film. If they’d managed to get new interviews with Lynch and Watts this would have been the perfect release. Even so, it is still as essential as they come.

Cast: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux Director: David Lynch Writer: David Lynch Released By: StudioCanal Certificate: 15 Duration: 146 mins Release Date: 6th December 2021

[rwp-reviewer-rating-stars id=”0″]

The post ‘Mulholland Drive’ 4K UHD Collector’s edition review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

20 years after the film’s original World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001, where David Lynch was awarded the Best Director prize (famously shared with Joel Coen for ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’), the brand-new 4K restoration premiered as part of this year’s Cannes Classics selection. The 4K restoration will be released as a 4K UHD Collector’s Edition with new artwork by Krzysztof Domaradzki on 6th December 2021.

‘Mulholland Drive’, one of director David Lynch’s (Twin Peaks, Inland Empire) essential films, is also arguably one of the greatest films of the 21st century. It stars Naomi Watts in her breakthrough double-role as Betty / Diane as well as Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, and Melissa George. ‘Mulholland Drive’ is a dreamlike journey, as well as a captivating commentary on Hollywood, receiving continued acclaim from critics and viewers alike since its initial release.

This 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition includes a 4K restoration (approved by David Lynch) on UHD and Blu-ray in an inner digipack, 2 posters, a set of 5 artcards, and a booklet including essays from Anna Smith and David Jenkins packaged in an outer clamshell box featuring all new artwork.

Special Features include: 

• Back to Mulholland Drive
• On the Road to Mulholland Drive
• Interview with Laura Harring
• Interview with Mary Sweeney
• Interview with Angelo Badalamenti
• Introduction by Thierry Jousse
• In the Blue Box

A first restoration of ‘Mulholland Drive’ was undertaken by Criterion back in 2016. The original 35 mm negative was scanned and graded in 4K. The 4K graded scan was converted to 2K before doing the restoration. At the time, there was no 4K UHD available, so the film was only released in 2K (Blu-Ray).

For this latest restoration, StudioCanal and Criterion decided to mark the 20th Anniversary by restoring the film in 4K and premiering the film in Cannes. A process that often takes two years was condensed into several months with the help of David Lynch, who supported the restoration team.

4K UHD Collector’s Edition Available To Pre-Order Here

The post Stunning 4K release for David Lynch’s ‘Mulholland Drive’ coming in December appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The film begins in bizarre fashion (yes, I was surprised too) with Chris Isaak as FBI Agent Chester Desmond, who is sent to investigate the murder of a young girl in some small town in the Pacific Northwest. Agent Phillip Jeffries (David Bowie) who has been missing for years, materializes at the FBI field office in Philadelphia, ranting insanely about evil spirits. After Jeffries vanishes again, Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) is told that Agent Desmond has disappeared.

The action then jumps to one year later, and we are witness to the final days in the tragic life of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). On the surface her life is perfect, she is the homecoming queen, popular, and beautiful. But scratch a little deeper, and hers is actually a life of drugs, abuse, and exploitation. She is on a haunting and heartbreaking downward spiral, and the conclusion—we already know—is inevitable.

As a standalone film, it is borderline incomprehensible. As a companion piece prequel to the original Twin Peaks series, it answers a few questions, but raises even more. Following ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ however, it feels more of a complete piece, and critical to understanding some of the more unusual aspects of the latest series. David Bowie’s startling cameo, which once seemed like utter nonsense, now feels like the nexus of the entire Twin Peaks universe.

Lynch imbues every frame of ‘Fire Walk With Me’ with that thrumming, inorganic sensibility, which is such a key motif in his work. That nightmarish sense of something sinister travelling through the space where nature and industry collide. The hum and crackle of static electricity. The wind rattling through the trees. You can feel it pulsing in every scene, and it contributes to the overall sense of dread and unease as we wind our way to Laura’s murder.

It’s because of this sense of dread why I’ve always viewed ‘Fire Walk With Me’ as a horror film. The film contains some truly harrowing sequences. That scene with Killer BOB (Frank Silva) behind the chest of drawers is an all-timer. I remember it terrifying me the first time I saw it, and I can assure you it has lost none of its potency on re-watch. My blood was suitably chilled. The scene also confirms Sheryl Lee’s stature as one of cinema’s greatest screamers.

But she is so much more than just a run of the mill scream queen. Given something more to do than just be a corpse, or some ethereal figure in flashback, her performance here in her career defining role is sensational. Brilliantly capturing the duality and ambiguity of Laura Palmer, Lee plays her as the sweet girl everyone knows, but with that sense of reckless danger under the surface as she tries to numb the terror and trauma she has endured. She gives everything she has to this performance. The agony and anxiety of Laura is palpable. 

It’s not the most packed disc in terms of supplementary features, but what is there is very good. ‘The Missing Pieces’ is the main bonus feature on the disc. Those of you who already have the Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery box set will be familiar with this feature length compilation piece. It is over 90-minutes of deleted and extended scenes from ‘Fire Walk With Me’, cut together in an order that sort of makes sense. Do these missing pieces ultimately make any of the mysteries any less mysterious? Not really, but anything that gives you the opportunity to spend more time in Twin Peaks can only be a good thing.

Next up is a terrific 22-minute interview with Sheryl Lee from 2017 which covers lots of Twin Peaks related material. She talks about how she first got involved with the show, what it meant to work with David Lynch, and how her role was expanded from the initial 4-day shoot. She also speaks in glowing terms about her cast mates.

Another interview from 2017 is next on the disc, this time with legendary composer Angelo Badalamenti. He talks about the differences in musical styles between the show and the more dissonant, abstract jazzy sound of ‘Fire Walk With Me’. He also tells an extraordinary anecdote which involves Sir Paul McCartney and The Queen.

Finally on the disc is Between Two Worlds, a 30-minute programme produced by CBS in 2014. It takes the form of an actors roundtable discussion, with David Lynch, Ray Wise, Grace Zabriskie, and Sheryl Lee. Once the initial pleasantries are out of the way, this becomes a really interesting piece, with the actors being very candid about the impact the show had on them (especially Lee), and some of the choices they made in the show which they now regret.

This edition also comes with a booklet which includes excerpts from an interview with David Lynch from Chris Rodley’s 1997 book ‘Lynch on Lynch’.

Cast: Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Kyle MacLachlan, Chris Isaak Director: David Lynch Writer: David Lynch & Robert Engels Released by: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Certificate: 15 Duration: 134 minutes Release date: 13th September 2021

[rwp-reviewer-rating-stars id=”0″]

The post ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me’ Criterion Collection Blu-ray review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

For those unfamiliar with Eraserhead, the film tells the story of Henry (Jack Nance) who learns that his ex-girlfriend Mary (Charlotte Stewart) has had a baby which is his. The couple move in together in order to care for the child, which was born prematurely. Now, you might ask at this point, what is weird, horrifying, and surreal about that? Well…

Drawing heavily on the likes of Cocteau, Bunuel, and Fritz Lang, Lynch places his odd little domestic story in a world of dreamlike (or should that be nightmare?) imagery, where the strangest corners of the subconscious have manifested in the physical world. So Henry, who is reluctantly dragged into being a father, imagines his life is being controlled by a man pulling levers on another planet. When fantasizing about escaping this life, he imagines a woman lives inside his radiator and sings to him.

He lives in a strange and toxic industrial hellscape, and his apartment is full of rotten vegetation. The sequence at Mary’s parent’s house, when Henry learns of the child is a psychosexual freakshow (complete with man-made-miniature poultry) and surely a contender for the most excruciating dinner scene in movie history. Then there’s the child. A mutant overgrown embryo, held together by bandages, mewling and crying every minute of the day. So to conclude, it’s not your everyday domestic drama. 

Tapping into some of the visual and aural motifs that would run throughout his career, Lynch’s experimental masterpiece is an almost unique sensory experience. Eraserhead isn’t just a film you watch, it’s a film you must hear. The unnerving soundscape of the film is extraordinary. An ever-present discordant cacophony of organs and industrial machinery clanking and growling. It’s a nerve-fraying, teeth-grinding soundtrack, which perfectly complements the surrealist visuals on the screen.

Speaking of which, thanks to a stunning 4K digital restoration, this transfer of the film looks incredible. The picture is a clean, vivid monochrome, and the uncompressed stereo soundtrack is nothing less than an assault on the senses. It is a terrific upgrade. Over the years, I have owned this film on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, and this edition is comfortably the best yet. For further detail on how to get the best viewing experience, David Lynch has kindly provided instructions in the special features on how to best adjust your TV settings.

This release also comes with five short films directed by Lynch, spanning his early experimental animation in the late 60s to more recent offerings in the mid 90s. Each film comes with an introduction from the director. The shorts included are, Six Men Getting Sick, The Alphabet, The Grandmother, The Amputee, and Premonitions Following an Evil Deed.

The rest of the features are categorized by year. First up is 1977, which is the original trailer for Eraserhead. 1979 is a 17-minute interview with Lynch and cinematographer Frederick Elmes, conducted at one of the film’s industrial locations.

1982 is the trailer for Eraserhead used by the Nuart Theater when they used to screen the film for the Midnight Movie crowd. It consists of Lynch sat on a couch with five Woody Woodpecker stuffed toys expressing his thanks to the fans and to the Nuart for their support of the film.

1988 is a short excerpt from French TV show Cinéma de notre temps, featuring Lynch and Jack Nance driving to one of the film’s locations. 1997 is a series of interviews with Lynch, Nance, Charlotte Stewart, and Catherine Coulson, filmed as part of Toby Keeler’s documentary ‘Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch.’

2001 is the main event of the special features. Eraserhead Stories – an 85-minute documentary about the making of the film, directed by Lynch himself. Finally, the disc wraps up with 2014, a 25-minute segment of interviews conducted by the Criterion Collection, featuring Catherine Coulson, Charlotte Stewart, Judith Anne Roberts, and Frederick Elmes. 

Cast: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Judith Roberts, Laurel Near Director: David Lynch Writer: David Lynch Released By: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Certificate: 18 Duration: 89 mins Release Date: 19th October 2020

[rwp-reviewer-rating-stars id=”0″]

The post Eraserhead: Criterion Collection Blu-ray review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

David Lynch’s remarkable 1980 classic The Elephant Man arrives in 4K with an ultra-high definition restoration from Studiocanal, which is available now on DVD and Blu-ray. This follows a limited release in cinemas last month.

The Elephant Man is a slightly fictionalised account of the true life story of Joseph Merrick, a deformed and disabled man living in Victorian London. His physician, Frederick Treves, was a doctor at the London Hospital, and his autobiographical account of his time with Merrick forms the basis of this film.

The fate of ‘John’ Merrick (his name is changed for the movie) reflects both the best and worst of humanity, and it is that dichotomy that makes the story so compelling. At first, Merrick is nothing more than a circus freak, and treated by the vicious Bytes (Freddie Jones), the ringmaster, like one of his animals. Beaten, starved, kept in a cage: Merrick is dehumanised to the point where he remains dumb, and distrustful of everyone. When Treves sets his eyes on him for the first time, it is the possibility of advancing his own career that interests him. He borrows Merrick from Bytes, for a price, in order to show him off to his medical contemporaries as a rare find.

Yet Merrick recites Psalm 23, and speaks beautifully, and has a keen and enquiring mind. After a life of hardship, mockery and brutality, he is finally shown the milk of human kindness at the point where he dares to reveal his own humanity for the first time – his mask finally removed. The Elephant Man is at once touching and brutal, heart-warming and shocking.

David Lynch’s atmospheric black and white imagery does much to sustain the mood of the piece. The monochrome film stock enhances the depiction of late Victorian London, which is captured in compelling detail through costumes, props and well-chosen locations.

Yet it is the performances that make the movie so special. Freddie Jones, a distinguished and versatile character actor, achieves a career high with his depiction of the drunken, selfish, self-pitying Bytes, whose savagery is scarily believable. Michael Elphick also falls into the villainous category, though his character is opportunistic and callous rather than violent. Lesley Dunlop shows great compassion as Merrick’s nurse, who overcomes her initial fear to grow fond of him, and Wendy Hillier provides the love that follows from pragmatism.

There are strong supporting parts for John Gielgud and Anne Bancroft, and Anthony Hopkins provides a solid, grounded centre for the film. Unusually, for his style, Hopkins’ portrayal of Frederick Treves is restrained and understated, but when he truly loses his temper over the foul treatment of Merrick, it’s a moment that impresses. Throughout, we’re reminded of what a magnificent actor Hopkins is when he gives his all to a part. It’s John Hurt who inevitably attracts most of the plaudits. The physicality of his performance as John Merrick is, on a technical level, incredibly impressive. Yet he has to convey everything through his eyes and voice, given that his face, smothered by an astonishing make-up job, is almost immobile. Hurt finds Merrick’s dignity, sensitivity and creativity, and turns a ‘monster’ that on appearances people may be afraid of, into the most humane, forgiving and decent character in the film, who improves the lives of all those who take him to their hearts.

The Elephant Man is one of those rare films that, once you’ve seen it, you never forget it. Everything falls into place. It’s the right director for the right story, and a perfect cast. An eerie circus music signature theme, and the focus on Victoriana that we find endlessly fascinating, add nuance to an incredible story.

The Elephant Man is released over two discs. There are extra features on both, but they include a few interviews with director David Lynch, as well as a 25-minute talk with John Hurt about his approach to playing Merrick. You’ll also find an interview with Frank Connor, the stills photographer who had previously worked on great movies including Don’t Look Now and A Bridge Too Far. There’s a documentary about the real Joseph Merrick, which we found the most interesting extra feature, and the whole release is beautifully packaged and produced to a high standard. If you love The Elephant Man, you need to get your hands on this release.

Cast: John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Freddie Jones, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Lesley Dunlop, Michael Elphick Director: David Lynch Writer: Eric Bergren Certificate: PG Duration: 118 mins Released by: Studiocanal Release date: April 6th 2020 buy now

The post The Elephant Man DVD review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The new restoration of the 4k digital transfer, supervised by Lynch himself, is out now on DVD, Blu-ray and EST release through Studiocanal, to coincide with the hotly anticipated return of David Lynch’s cult TV show Twin Peaks.

Beautiful, bizarre and strangely addictive, the film begins as a botched hit results in the meeting of brunette amnesiac Rita (Laura Harring – Love in the Time of Cholera) and blonde would-be Hollywood actress Betty (Naomi Watts – Birdman, 21 Grams). Taking the viewer on a memorable neo-noir trip through Hollywood’s dark underbelly, Lynch dispenses with a conventional narrative in favour of a hallucinogenic assault on the senses that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Special features on the DVD and Blu-ray Special Editions:
• Back to Mulholland Drive featurette
• On the Road to Mulholland Drive featurette
• Criterion interview with Naomi Watts & David Lynch
• New Interview with Laura Elena Harring
• New interview with Mary Sweeney
• Interview with Angelo Badalamenti
• Introduction by Thierry Jousse
• In the Blue Box Featurette
• EPK Interviews: David Lynch, Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux, Laura Elena Harring
• Deleted Scene

To be in with a chance of winning one of 3 copies of the film on Blu-ray, just answer the question below correctly.

The competition closes at 23.59 (GMT) on Tuesday 6th June 2017.

*You can enter once per day to increase your chances of winning but please note, only one entry per day will be counted*

[brid video=”141853″ player=”531″ title=”MULHOLLAND DRIVE Official Trailer Yours to own now”]

[vfb id=1535]

The post Win Mulholland Drive on Blu-ray appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The new season is set 25 years after the residents of Twin Peaks were stunned at the murder of their homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) was sent in to investigate.

The new season will run for 18 episodes which are all directed by David Lynch. The plot for the new season has been kept incredibly secret. It’s not just the fans who are dying to know what happens, even the cast were kept in the dark during filming.

Many of the original cast are reprising their roles including Kyle MacLachlan, Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Grace Zabriskie, Dana Ashbrook, Mädchen Amick and Sherilyn Fenn.

https://twitter.com/skyatlantic/status/865496302720700416

There’s plenty of new stars joining the show including Naomi Watts, Laura Dern, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Robert Knepper, Tim Roth, Monica Bellucci, Amanda Seyfried, Michael Cera and Jim Belushi.

The two-hour season premiere of Twin Peaks: The Return will be simulcast on Sunday, May 21st at 9pm on Showtime in the US and Monday, May 22nd at 2am on Sky Atlantic in the UK. UK viewers can also watch episodes 3 and 4 on demand from 4:01am.

It might be worth grabbing yourself some damn good coffee and a slice of pie if you plan on staying up.

If you don’t fancy staying up in the UK to watch it or forget to record it don’t worry. The episodes will be repeated on May 23rd at 9pm which will be the regular timeslot.

View some images from Twin Peaks season 3 in our gallery:

The post Twin Peaks returns tonight with the first four episodes for the UK appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The acclaimed cult favourite from filmmaker David Lynch and writer/producer Mark Frost makes its Blu-ray debut 25 years after it first aired. Released on 29th July, the comprehensive collection contains every episode from the TV series along with feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

Twin Peaks follows the inhabitants of a quaint northwestern town who are stunned after the homecoming queen Laura Palmer is suddenly found murdered. The investigation that follows engenders an eerie chain of events with cataclysmic results felt across the entire town. The series features an ensemble cast including Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Sheryl Lee, Sherilyn Fenn, Lara Flynn Boyle, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Richard Beymer, Ray Wise, Peggy Lipton and Warren Frost.

The boxset features nearly 90 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes, newly transferred Log Lady introductions for each episode and picture upgrades to many shots in the TV series. There is also a new featurette with Lynch and the actors who portrayed the Palmer family.

Twin Peaks – The Entire Mystery will retail for around £69.99. Take a look at the packshot below:

The post Twin Peaks Blu-ray release confirmed for this month appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Side By Side is not a documentary for everyone. The documentary makers do give a history lesson of film at the beginning, but it is very heavy when discussing some of the more intricate parts of the filming process. At times it becomes far too engrossed in its own workings to care about what is being shown, and that makes the doc feel rather geeky in its portrayal of film styles so that the viewer can become detached from what is actually being talked about. It’s not to say it isn’t a relevant subject but with most viewers having no prior knowledge of a lot of these workings it can fell like too much information being forced.

The best moments in Side By Side is the honest interviews with the directors, DP’s, editors and colourists. They all have their own opinions and it’s refreshing to see that not all of them tow the same line. This can become bothersome when trying to make your own decision, however these are the people who work so close to this medium that you cannot disregard anything any of them say. The Social Network director David Fincher is pretty venomous in his attitude towards celluloid, but he makes some very valid points as to why it doesn’t work for the type of styling he wants to see in his films. The one huge worry that comes across is how much power George Lucas has had in the rise of digital film-making. Basically he decided after Star Wars that his company would help develop digital film and from then on he was constantly pushing that medium on everyone. His attitude to filming Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones solely on digital film was nothing short of aggressive to get the medium out there, it didn’t matter if studios, cinemas etc weren’t ready as he was just going to do it anyway and everyone else be damned.

But on the flip side The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan is very much a celluloid faithful and you feel his love for the medium when he speaks. Also his own Director Of Photography (DP) Wally Pfister gives some great perspectives as he see’s things from a slightly different film angle than Nolan, but still professes his love for real film.

During the interviews with the DP’s and editors, we started to get the feeling they are now truly worried for their jobs, and these are jobs that they have had to train for most of their lives to become accomplished in. Anne Coates, editor of Lawrence Of Arabia, says she had to go out and learn the new computer technology for herself, as for years she was used to the celluloid splice technique and then a younger generation set about doing away with that – “I thought a mouse was something you see running around on the floor” she says, but now she has embraced the new technology and is still applying her trade all these years later

Side By Side deals with an issue that is directly affecting every single person who works/watches films, whether they know about it or not. The documentary is as balanced as it could be considering the subject matter and at least one director, Danny Boyle, is very passionate for both sides. Ultimately it’s left to the viewer to make up their own mind.

The post Side by Side DVD review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.