The Short Films of David Lynch | 
| Actor: Short Films Of David Lynch
Studio: Subversive Cinema
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $17.31
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Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 15412
Format: Black & White, Dvd-video, Original Recording Remastered, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 400104
UPC: 858334001046
EAN: 0858334001046
ASIN: B000CQM2WQ
Theatrical Release Date: June 1, 2002
Release Date: January 10, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW Factory Sealed - Ready to be shipped within 24 hrs from California - Average 5 workdays delivery time - Excellent customer service - Buy with confidence!
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Product Description
Collection of highly sourght-after David Lynch shorts including his first works.A must-see for fans of the legendary filmmaker David Lynch this collecton features six short films from the master of the macabre. Spanning the director's career from early experiments to more fully realized visions this disc contains the shorts "Six Men Getting Sick" "The Alphabet" "The Grandmother" "The Amputee" The Cowboy and the Frenchman" and "Lumiere". Each film is preceded by an introduction from the director.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 858334001046 Manufacturer No: 400104
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
Little-seen Lynch December 16, 2005
Garry Messick (Boynton Beach, FL USA)
131 out of 132 found this review helpful
This collection of David Lynch's short films was originally only available through his Web site. This new edition is reportedly the same disc with different packaging (it lacks the oversized box and booklet of the first version), but it's considerably cheaper. You can watch each film with or without an introduction by Lynch. The films are:
SIX MEN GETTING SICK - This animated one-minute movie was Lynch's very first film. It was originally part of a multi-media piece and was projected over a sculpture on a continuously running loop. The title is an accurate description of the film, as several human heads become inflamed, catch fire, and vomit copiously. It's worth noting that, while 99.9% of movie directors become filmmakers because they're into films, Lynch came to filmmaking purely as an extension of his painting, and was never a movie buff. I think that simple fact goes a long way in explaining Lynch's originality as a director.
THE ALPHABET - A combination of animation and live action, this approximately 5-minute film is "about the fear of learning," according to Lynch. The soundtrack consists of children repeatedly chanting the alphabet, while animated letters seem to excrete and procreate and a woman in white-face cowers in a bed and eventually vomits blood (vomiting figures strongly in Lynch's early film work). It's a concentrated and eerie piece of surrealism.
THE GRANDMOTHER - A lonely, abused boy grows a grandmother from a seed in this, Lynch's first attempt at narrative (of a sort). There's some animation, but live action dominates. It's crudely made in comparison to his first feature, Eraserhead, but it's clearly the product of the same singular artistic vision.
THE AMPUTEE - Back around the time he was making ERASERHEAD, Lynch was offered some videotape for free, so he used it to shoot this short bit of black comedy. It stars Catherine Coulson (much later she became the Log Lady in TWIN PEAKS) and Lynch himself.
THE COWBOY AND THE FRENCHMAN - Made for French TV right after he finished BLUE VELVET, this is a virtually plotless exercise in comic surrealism, plopping down an absurdly stereotypical Frenchman (he wears a beret, and carries a bottle of wine and snails in briefcase) in the middle of a ranch inhabited by several stereotypical cowboys. It looks like it was mastered off a videotape source, which is odd. I wonder if the original film elements were lost.
LUMIERE - Originally titled PREMONITION FOLLOWING AN EVIL DEED, which I personally like a lot better than LUMIERE. This was made for the film LUMIERE AND COMPANY, in which acclaimed directors from all over the world were given a Lumiere camera (the very first motion picture camera) and asked to make a movie with it. Since the camera could only hold 55 seconds worth of film, the directors were retsricted to that running time. They also were not allowed to edit. If you've seen LUMIERE AND COMPANY, you know that Lynch's film is by far the most interesting and imaginative of the bunch. He ingeniously got around the prohibition against editing by constructing several sets side-by-side, and blocking the lens momentarily while he moved the camera to the next scene. The movie goes by in a flash of bizarre black and white images. Was that a naked woman floating in a huge glass tube? And what were those humanoid things and what exactly were they doing? You have to watch the film several times to begin to get a clear idea of what you've seen.
These shorts represent the more abstract side of Lynch's film work - they're much more the work of the Lynch who made ERASERHEAD than the Lynch who made THE STRAIGHT STORY. Your average Joe Filmgoer would hate them. But if you're a Lynch fan and haven't seen some or all of these films, you'll definitely want to get this.
 Some Like It Sick - Times Six May 11, 2006
El Lagarto (Ambler, PA)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
If you're a Lynch devotee, a student of the relationship between fine art and film, or you just like to stroll the docks late at night hoping to get beaten up, this is must viewing for you. The Short Films Of David Lynch showcases the celebrated eccentric's earliest efforts, some of which are only a few minutes long. Not only are they spellbinding, his commentary on them is as interesting as the subjects themselves. Watching these pieces, and they deserve repeated viewing, resolves the two most persistent questions about David Lynch. The first question is: Is David Lynch really as sick and perverse as he seems to be or has he cloaked himself in a mantle of depravity because such an affectation is considered hip in the art world?
After watching "Six Men Getting Sick" - six times in a row, you will have your answer. The Grandmother is equally grotesque and horrifying, foreshadowing the revulsion soon to come in his unforgettable Eraserhead. The Amputee is not really much different from many Monty Python sketches you've seen, except that the delivery is so deadpan as to be unpleasant if not twisted. Most illuminating of all, with respect to films made years later, is The Cowboy And The Frenchman - a frothy concoction of existential surrealism that dances between delightful absurdity and annoying stupidity with effortless ease. It has all the content of a Samuel Beckett novel.
Which brings us to the second question about David Lynch. Are his films pointless by design; is he completely uninterested in creating real characters and putting them in situations that have meaning? Or, to put it differently, does he view film as "moving canvas," a medium that shows but does not reveal, and in the process provides ample opportunity for him to unleash the bats in his brain that prevent him from sleeping at night?
The Short Films Of David Lynch answers this question too. The intentional lack of meaning and devotion to bizarre graphic style foretells what is to come, from Wild At Heart and Lost Highway all the way through to his masterpiece, Mulholland Drive. Lynch is brilliant, troubling, and hard to categorize. These short films, which just recently became available, provide valuable insight into the unique vision of our most painterly, unorthodox, and demented director.
Great Early Peek at Lynch's Strange Vision December 20, 2005
Mark Begley (Fresno, CA USA)
12 out of 21 found this review helpful
I saw The Grandmother and The Alphabet on the big screen in London way back in 1990 (on the same bill as Eraserhead and Blue Velvet, what a night!!), and had been trying to get my hands on them for years. I was so happy when Lynch finally released them (and the other films on this DVD) from his website a few years ago. I bought it as soon as it was available, and fell in love with his weirdness all over again. Fans of Lynch will love owning these films, but they aren't really for everyone.
It's easy to see the seeds of not only Eraserhead, but many of Lynch's later films in the early short films. The later entry, for the Lumiere DVD, is also exceptionally Lynchian. I could do without The Cowboy and The Frenchman, but all in all would recommend this for anyone who has seen and loved Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, or Mulholland Drive.
Some of the best parts are the introductions by Lynch before each film. He's so normal it's bizarre!! Great to have this collection and the new(ish) Eraserhead DVD available on Amazon!
 I liked it...but its still just OK to me. January 20, 2006
overlook1977 (Raleigh, NC United States)
10 out of 28 found this review helpful
So...this is an OK DVD.
Lumiere is my favorite (albeit only 55 seconds long). Its pretty tight.
Six Men Getting Sick is neat...very short.
The Alphabet is neat...also very short.
The Grandmother - this one is about 30 minutes. It has a bizarre, abstract feel to it, much like Eraserhead. My problem with this one is Lynch's choice to go between film and animations. The animations were very crude...seriously, it looked like a small child drew them.
The Amputee - I would skip this one. A woman is sitting on chair with bandages on her leg stumps, writing in a diary. A man is adjusting(?) the bandages and it starts bleeding. It goes on for about 5 minutes...I found it uninteresting and boring.
I havent watched the Cowboy & the Frenchmen yet. I didnt care for the premise.
In summary, I personally liked 3 of the films and would watch them again. Unfortunately they were the three short ones, so I spent 20 bucks on about 6 minutes worth of video I like. To each their own, im sure true Lynch fans will still be satisfied.
the films are great, got two defective copies in a row... March 9, 2006
John Anderson (Tennessee, USA)
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
the films are great, the lynch presence is there. i would oridnarily have no problem with this DVD, except for my original copy is missing the film "the amputee". i returned it only to find the same defect in the same place. that is the only reason i'm bummed. otherwise all the stuff ive bought have been in very good shape^^ i still want another copy that works guys!! thanks , John
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