Eraserhead (1977)

Director:

David Lynch

Writer:

David Lynch

Release Date:

31 December 1978 (Poland)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Be warned. The nightmare has not gone away...

Plot:

Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Nightmare | Baby | Apartment | Radiator

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)
Brad Keeler	...	Little Boy
Peggy Lynch	...	Person Digging in the Alley (long version)
Doddie Keeler	...	Person Digging in the Alley (long version)
Gill Dennis	...	Man with Cigar
Toby Keeler	...	Man Fighting
Jack Walsh	...	Mr. Roundheels (as Raymond Walsh)

Directed by
David Lynch

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Lynch

Produced by
David Lynch	....	producer
Fred Baker	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
David Lynch

Cinematography by
Herbert Cardwell
Frederick Elmes

Film Editing by
David Lynch

Production Design by
David Lynch

Art Direction by
David Lynch

Production Management
Doreen G. Small	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Catherine E. Coulson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
David Lynch	....	sound effects
Alan Splet	....	location sound (as Alan R. Splet)
Alan Splet	....	sound editor (as Alan R. Splet)
Alan Splet	....	sound effects (as Alan R. Splet)

Special Effects by
Frederick Elmes	....	special photographic effects
David Lynch	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Catherine E. Coulson	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Jeanne Field	....	crew
Michael Grody	....	crew
Stephen Grody	....	crew
Toby Keeler	....	crew
Roger Lundy	....	crew
John Lynch	....	crew
John Lynch	....	crew
Dennis Nance-Kivell	....	crew (as Dennis Nance)
Anatol Pacanowsky	....	crew
Carol Schreder	....	crew

Thanks
Ron Barth	....	special thanks
Mars F. Baumgardt	....	special thanks
Ron Culbertson	....	special thanks
Frantisek Daniel	....	special thanks (as Frank Daniel)
Richard Einfeld	....	special thanks
Jack Fisk	....	special thanks
Mary Fisk	....	special thanks
Kenneth E. Fix	....	special thanks (as Ken Fix)
Marvin Goodwin	....	special thanks
Andre R. Guttfreund	....	special thanks (as Andre Guttfreund)
Randy Hart	....	special thanks
Roman Harte	....	special thanks
George T. Hutchison	....	special thanks
David Khasky	....	special thanks
Jim King	....	special thanks
Margit Fellegi Laszlo	....	special thanks
Paul Leimbach	....	special thanks
David Lunney	....	special thanks
Peggy Lynch	....	special thanks
Sarah Pillsbury	....	special thanks
Sidney P. Solow	....	special thanks
Sissy Spacek	....	special thanks
George Stevens Jr.	....	special thanks
Antonio Vellani	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• American Film Institute (AFI)
• Libra Films

Distributors

• Libra Films International (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• Creative Exposure (1979) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Mainline Pictures (1979) (UK) (theatrical)
• Toei Yoga (1981) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Palace Video (1982) (UK) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Comstock (1993) (Japan) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Davidlynch.com (2003) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Primer Plano Film Group Video (2003) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Raro Video (2009) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)
• Lume Filmes (2008) (Brazil) (DVD)
• David Lynch Project (2009) (Japan) (theatrical) (restored version)
• Chapel Distribution (2011) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm Print in conjunction with Umbrella Entertainment)
• Eye Film Instituut (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (restored version) (limited)
• Capelight Pictures (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• Cineplex Odeon Films (????) (Canada) (video)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray) (restored version)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD) (restored version)
• PolyGram Video
• Primer Plano Film Group (2003) (Argentina)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (all media)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (video) (VOD)

Also Known As:

"Eraserhead 2000" - USA (DVD box title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

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) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Spain:13 | Singapore:PG | France:-16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2008) | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Chile:14 | Japan:R-18 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2012)

Filming Locations:

Center for Advanced Film Studies, American Film Institute - 2021 N. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Film Institute (AFI)

Trivia:

Though "Lady in the Radiator" Laurel Near was an accomplished singer who had performed folk music with her sisters Holly and Timi, when she is seen singing "In Heaven (Everything Is Fine)" she is actually lip-syncing a vocal track of musician Peter Ivers, who composed the song at David Lynch's request.

Goofs:

Continuity: The boy who brings Henry's head to the pencil-making shop suddenly has glasses on when he faces away from the camera to enter the side door.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Beautiful Girl Across the Hall:Are you Henry?
Henry Spencer:Yes?
Beautiful Girl Across the Hall:A girl named "Mary" called on the payphone in the hallway about an hour ago. She said that she's at her parents and that you're invited to dinner.
Henry Spencer:Oh, yeah?
[after a long pause]
Henry Spencer:Well... thank you very much.
[Henry enters his apartment, while the girl slowly closes the door to hers]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Critic: Miserable (#1.4)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

In Heaven

The reason that I got into films in the first place!!!

In film school it is not cool to say you like David Lynch. Film students claim he is just a poor mans version of Luis Bunuel. Yes, I would say that Bunuel is more talented and is the king of surrealism. But Lynch is very good and his films do challenge the viewer. I actually have a deep affection for his films. When his films work, they really work! However, when they do not work, for example, Twin Peaks, Fire, Walk with Me or Lost Highway then they quickly launch themselves into self parody. Many people claim his material is too inconsistent and indulgent to be really liked very much.

What I find strange is that one reviewer here states that he feel duped by Lynch. Duped? Why? The films all have a story. They just have a narrative that works differently to conventional film making. If you look hard at the film and try to understand the subtext then you will pick up on what the film is about.

I saw this when I was 16. I knew nothing about films or film making then. A friend and I were bored so we decided to see a movie at capitol cinema. Capitol cinema used to be a cinema that played arty or small independent films. They used to play midnight showings of eraserhead. There was always someone smoking a joint in that place. However, you don't need drugs for this film. Lynch is drugs. This film just buzzes you out.

I had no idea what Eraserhead was about. I had never heard of Lynch and knew nothing about surrealism. I went in and was just totally blown away! Before this I had only really seen commercial blockbuster movies. Lynch gave me a whole knew perspective on what cinema is capable of. Eraserhead is the stuff of dreams. Lynch believes that watching a film is entering a dream state. Both my friend and I did not know what the hell was going on. I was fascinated...

Later I would learn this is a film about Lynch's own obsessions. His hatred of Philadelphia. His fear and anxiety at being a father. The film is just full of a kind of a compulsive, paranoid neurosis. It is a waking nightmare. He also seems to parody the nuclear family. 'Did you have sexual intercourse with my daughter?' Meanwhile that weird blond woman in his radiator seems to represent his escape. A way to transcend from his grim world. What I also find bizarre is that people then accuse him of having no sense of humor! What? There are always funny moments in his films. 'Did you have sexual intercourse with my daughter?'

Jack Nance is also very good as the main character. He seems to be playing the director and he gives a performance that is distant, spaced out and yet emotionally vulnerable. A really strange mix. The imagery is just brilliant. Black and white in an industrial wasteland. There is smoke here of course. It wouid not be a Lynch film without smoke! It also has a cool, grating industrial soundtrack that sets your nerves on edge. This is perfectly effective for the bleak tone of the film. It is so visually striking that the viewer will not forget the imagery quickly. There is a reason that this is a cult film. The other distinctive feature of this film is the long lingering shots. This reminds me of Jim Jarmusch and his movies like Dead Man and Ghost Dog. The length of the shots seems to have the effect of immersing the viewer in this strange industrial wasteland.

I have my own copy that I lend to friends. They then normally give it back to me saying that they only got through the first half hour. They also normally tell me that I am a weirdo for liking it. I think what frustrates people most about Lynch is that he will not give any explanations of what the film is about. So any interpretation is as good as any other. People want the film to be explained so they can understand it. Who said films must be understood or comprehensible? Why can't a film be abstract piece of art like a painting? Lynch's films are like an acid trip. To quote the great gonzo, Hunter S Thompson, 'buy the ticket, take the ride and if it gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, then put it down to forced consciousness expansion.'

So in other words, relax, stick it on and just run with it. Travel into someone else's nightmare for a change...