The Alphabet (1969)

A woman's dark and absurdist nightmare vision comprising a continuous recitation of the alphabet and bizarre living representations of each letter.

Director:

David Lynch

Writer:

David Lynch

Star:

Peggy Lynch

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peggy Lynch	...	Girl

Storyline

Against a backdrop of bizarre shapes and textures, a small organic figure gives birth to the letters of the alphabet while a mixture of children's voices and an operatic tune are singing out. The figure's head collapses causing blood to rain on a girl while she lays in her bed, resulting in the girl violently vomiting blood herself.

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Plot Keywords:

nightmare | inspired by dream | surrealism | experimental film | writer director | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Horror

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Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch (1997)

User Reviews

A Nightmare Caught on Film

This is probably one of the worst films you could use to teach your child the actual alphabet. While it does contain each of the letters of the alphabet, and in an extremely memorable sequence, you child will likely be very scarred if shown this film. It feels like it was just a nightmare David Lynch had and he decided to adapt to the screen.

A lot of Lynch's early short films like "Six Figures Getting Sick" or "Absurd Encounter with Fear" aren't all too spectacular (I mean, they're okay, but they lack anything really good in them), but "The Alphabet" is definitely one of the better ones.

It feels sort of similar to "Eraserhead" with its lack of true logic, horrifying visuals, and avant garde approach. However, "Eraserhead" actually has more of a plot than this film (if you can imagine that), while "The Alphabet" is simply just a collection of images (a lot of them made with animation), and what truly nightmarish images they are!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Alphabet

Filming Locations:

Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pensylvania Academy of Fine Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

4 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1