Wild at Heart (1990)

Young lovers Sailor and Lula run from the variety of weirdos that Lula's mom has hired to kill Sailor.

Director:

David Lynch

Writers:

Barry Gifford (novel), David Lynch (screenplay)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Sailor Ripley
Laura Dern	...	Lula Fortune
Willem Dafoe	...	Bobby Peru
J.E. Freeman	...	Marcelles Santos
Crispin Glover	...	Dell
Diane Ladd	...	Marietta Fortune
Calvin Lockhart	...	Reggie
Isabella Rossellini	...	Perdita Durango
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Johnnie Farragut
Grace Zabriskie	...	Juana Durango
Sherilyn Fenn	...	Girl in Accident
Marvin Kaplan	...	Uncle Pooch
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Mr. Reindeer (as W. Morgan Sheppard)
David Patrick Kelly	...	Dropshadow
Freddie Jones	...	George Kovich

Storyline

Lula's psychopathic mother goes crazy at the thought of Lula being with Sailor, who just got free from jail. Ignoring Sailor's probation, they set out for California. However their mother hires a killer to hunt down Sailor. Unaware of this, the two enjoy their journey and themselves being together... until they witness a young woman dying after a car accident - a bad omen.

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Plot Keywords:

avant garde | surrealism | domineering mother | forbidden love | nonlinear timeline | 

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Taglines:

A Love Story

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

David Lynch's Wild at Heart

Filming Locations:

243 South Santa Fe Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$14,560,247

Company Credits

Production Co:

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment,Propaganda Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The snakeskin jacket Sailor wears in the film was actually Nicolas Cage's own. Cage asked director David Lynch if he could wear the jacket in the film, as a tribute to Marlon Brando's role in The Fugitive Kind (1960). After filming was completed, Cage gave his jacket to Laura Dern. (On a side note, "The Fugitive Kind" was based on the play, "Orpheus Descending," by Diane Ladd's cousin, Tennessee Williams. Laura Dern's parents, Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern, met while appearing in a 1961 stage production of "Orpheus Descending.")

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Goofs

When they are in bed - he has a shirt on in one shot, the other one it's off, and then on again.

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Quotes

Lula: Cheez Louise! Sailor, baby, you're really somethin'!

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Crazy Credits

The ending credits play over footage of Sailor singing "Love Me Tender" to Lula, rather than a black screen.

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Alternate Versions

The original Australian theatrical release of "Wild at Heart" started with a short scene in which Nicholas Cage is seen having sex with Laura Dern's mother in a toilet cubicle. This scene has been excised from the Region 4 DVD release and instead the film starts with an unsubstantiated accusation of this, just before the fight.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Homoti (2011)

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Soundtracks

Boomada
Written and Performed by Les Baxter
Published by Bax Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Capitol Records
by Arrangement with Cema Special Markets

User Reviews

A Surreal, Nightmarish Road trip that's Wild at Heart and Weird on Top!

"Wild at Heart" is one deranged and twisted road trip as only David Lynch could bring you. It's so dark but at times funny too. Lula (Laura Dern) and Sailor (Nicholas Cage)are in love, but Lula's mother played by Laura Dern's real life mother Diane Ladd is evil. She doesn't want to see them together. Because of a murder, Sailor is finally released from prison. Lula's mom hires people to kill sailor. So Lula and Sailor go on a crazy road trip with dark and fellini like characters. William Defoe is unforgettable as the creepy and perverted Bobby Peru. The film almost received an X/NC-17 rating. It's easy to see why, it has lots of disturbing sex and violence. But than again that's a David Lynch trademark. This film is probably on my list of favorite road trip movies, next to Godard's "Weekend" (1967), "Thelma & Louise" and "Natural Born Killers". Both Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern give amazing performances. Dern's character Lula is the complete opposite of Sandy in "Blue Velvet", cause she's so wild and sexual. But Lula still has a naive child like charm. It seems that actor Nicholas Cage was born to play Sailor, a charming Elvis like ex convict who wants to change his ways. Also check out Berry Gifford's sequel to Wild at Heart, "Perdita Durango" (aka. dance with the devil) These films are both Wild at Heart and weird on Top!