David Lynch was a singular filmmaker. There’s never been anyone like him, and there never will be again. His work is by turns intriguing, funny, campy, and outright horrifying — sometimes all in the same scene.
In 2001, he released Mulholland Dr., a dreamy, nightmarish masterpiece. The film’s 4K Criterion Collection edition is currently on sale at Amazon for $20.87. That’s a new all-time low price, and a steep discount off the $50 MSRP. Whether you’re a longtime fan of Lynch’s work, or you’re interested in seeing what the fuss is about, this is a killer deal.
Mulholland Dr. - The Criterion Collection (4K UHD) for $21
Mulholland Dr. is a story about a woman with acting talent and Hollywood ambition, who comes up against stark reality — or surreality. It stars Naomi Watts as a young actress who makes her way to Hollywood in hopes of becoming a movie star. As soon as she gets her new apartment, she meets a woman who's been in an accident and has lost her memory, and she vows to help her figure out her identity.
The first section of the movie is bright and colorful, but as she gets into the movie business and her amnesiac friend starts to find clues about her identity, things get downright, well, Lynchian. The plot takes mysterious turns and things stop making sense, and before long the characters find themselves in a hellish dreamscape where logic has no pull.
Despite that the movie becomes harder to follow on a narrative level, it loses none of its power or intrigue. The first time I saw it, I was rapt from start to finish. I’d never seen anything like it. I've watched it half a dozen times since, and it still holds my full attention every time. It has more heart than some of his other films (like Lost Highway or Inland Empire), and it packs the whole weird Lynch vibe into a much more concise vehicle than Twin Peaks. I consider it basically a perfect movie.
This Criterion edition features a new 4K digital restoration that was overseen by Lynch himself before his death, along with director of photography Peter Deming. Of course, you already knew Criterion was going to do the 4K restoration right. The movie comes on a 4K UHD disc, while the special features are on a separate Blu-ray one. Speaking of...
Special Features
- Interviews from 2015 with Lynch; Deming; actors Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux, and Laura Harring; composer Angelo Badalamenti; production designer Jack Fisk; and casting director Johanna Ray
- On-set footage
- Deleted scene
- Trailer
- PLUS: An interview with Lynch from the 2005 edition of filmmaker and writer Chris Rodley’s book Lynch on Lynch
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