Here be some yarns, all right.
The one that is most obvious to talk about is how Lynch got hold of a dead cat, and all the stuff he did to the feline corpse . . . was this deceased animal used to make the monster baby whatsit? Lynch doesn’t say that, exactly, but he says some other things about it. Yeah . . .
This is an entertaining watch, but it is also the “official story,” produced by and centered upon David Lynch, so keep that in mind while watching. I found it generally convincing, but it is on-brand with Lynch’s policy of not explaining the why of things, what the movie means, things of that nature. There is a lot of how here, though, and that’s as it should be. There’s quite a remarkable story behind Eraserhead, one of absolute devotion to the pursuit of an uncompromised artistic vision despite every kind of hardship. Lynch and his collaborators lived and breathed this movie for about six years or so. Kind of unbelievable. But it’s all true.
And, yes, this does seem to be the start of a kind of brand identity for Lynch as an independent filmmaker, which he would carry on with Inland Empire a few years later. Eraserhead Stories seems to be the start of Lynch taking a hand in how he is documented as an artist at work, and more of his process as a filmmaker would be documented as it happened in behind the scenes special features for Inland Empire and Twin Peaks Season 3. Lynch seems to have an interest in controlling how he is perceived as an artist, which is interesting considering how cagey he can be in interviews. I get the impression that he wants to shift the emphasis solidly from why questions to how questions in this regard.
Lynch speaks into a microphone. There are curtains in the background. It’s in black and white. Great stories. Goes deeper than the usual behind-the-scenes puff pieces. You get an actual sense of what went into the making of Eraserhead.
Not much more to say about it on my end. Watch it after you’ve watched Eraserhead, is the only thing I can think to tell you.
Onwards . . .
