Eraserhead (1977)

Director:

David Lynch

Writer:

David Lynch (writer)

Release Date:

7 September 1979 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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:

Baby | Radiator | Apartment | Factory | Mutant Baby

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

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

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Spain:13 | Singapore:PG | France:-16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Denmark:7 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2008) | Portugal:M/16 | Chile:14 | 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:13+ (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:

Crew or equipment visible: Camera shadow visible, tracking into the light towards the end of the film.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinéma, de notre temps: David Lynch: Don't Look at Me" (1989)

Soundtrack:

In Heaven

Inside Lynch's Head

Typical ultra-weird Lynch movie, surreal to a fault and filled with incredible, off-putting images. It is Lynch's first feature length film. Unfortunately, the film reeks experimental cinema, which in plain English means that the movie is not for all tastes. It is fascinating to watch, but it never escapes the "student project" mentality. In fact, if this was a film made by a student at USC, I would have given it A+, but as a commercial enterprise this movie deserves C-. The movie provides food for the intellect (after all, the movie takes us inside the main character's brain), but it has little heart, a mistake that Lynch did not repeat with his next film, the gloriously weird, but heart-wrenching bio-pic "The Elephant Man (1980)." I admired Lynch's boldness, but I surely did not enjoy this film much. Still, it is a must-see movie for serious students of cinema. Lynch is a fascinating filmmaker and all his films are worth watching (yes, even Lynch's much-maligned "Dune"). I just found this one a little too cold, distant and not spontaneous enough. However, the film is indeed challenging and original. The DVD is amazing, though. I don't think the movie has ever looked this good. You can rent the DVD through Netflix or buy it from Lynch's own website.