Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

Laura Palmer's harrowing final days are chronicled one year after the murder of Teresa Banks, a resident of Twin Peaks' neighboring town.

Director:

David Lynch

Writers:

David Lynch, Robert Engels

Stars:

Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Mädchen Amick

4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sheryl Lee	...	Laura Palmer
Ray Wise	...	Leland Palmer
Mädchen Amick	...	Shelly Johnson
Dana Ashbrook	...	Bobby Briggs
Phoebe Augustine	...	Ronette Pulaski
David Bowie	...	Phillip Jeffries
Eric DaRe	...	Leo Johnson
Miguel Ferrer	...	Albert Rosenfeld
Pamela Gidley	...	Teresa Banks
Heather Graham	...	Annie Blackburn
Chris Isaak	...	Special Agent Chester Desmond
Moira Kelly	...	Donna Hayward
Peggy Lipton	...	Norma Jennings
David Lynch	...	Gordon Cole
James Marshall	...	James Hurley

Storyline

Essentially a prequel to David Lynch and Mark Frost's earlier TV series "Twin Peaks". The first half-hour or so concerns the investigation by FBI Agent Chet Desmond (Chris Isaak) and his partner Sam Stanley (Kiefer Sutherland) into the murder of night-shift waitress Teresa Banks in the small Washington state town of Deer Meadow. When Desmond finds a mysterious clue to the murder, he inexplicably disappears. The film then cuts to one year later in the nearby town of Twin Peaks and follows the events during the last week in the life of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) a troubled teenage girl with two boyfriends; the hot-tempered rebel Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) and quiet biker James Hurley (James Marshall), her drug addiction, and her relationship with her difficult (and possible schizophrenic) father Leland (Ray Wise), a story in which her violent murder was later to motivate much of the TV series. Contains a considerable amount of sex, drugs, violence, very loud music and inexplicable ...

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Plot Keywords:

surrealism | double life | incest | tragic female character | nonlinear timeline | 

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Taglines:

In a town like Twin Peaks, no one is innocent.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sex, and drug content, and for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chester Desmond is yet another reference to Sunset Blvd. (1950). He is named after Norma Desmond, who also inspired Norma Jennings. It also featured a character named Gordon Cole.

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Goofs

The cabin scene at the end of the film differs vastly from its depiction in the series. In the film the cabin has no red drapes, there is no phonograph left playing, nor does the exterior of the cabin even appear to be the same. Also missing/omitted from the narrative of this sequence: - No Leo's bloody shirt. - Waldo never leaves the cage & does not draw blood. - No broken One Eyed Jack's casino chip or "Bite the big one, Baby."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gordon: [shouting very loud] GET ME SPECIAL AGENT CHESTER DESMOND OUT IN FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA!

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Alternate Versions

In the original US theatrical release, the scene where Agent Desmond disappears concludes by fading to white. The director altered the video release so it fades to black.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Continuations of TV Series (2014)

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Soundtracks

Best Friends
Written by David Lynch and David Slusser

User Reviews

The most underrated movie of the 90's

This was one of the most critically panned movies of the decade, but only because the world's film critics are too full of their own self-importance to bother watching a masterful TV series like Twin Peaks. All Twin Peaks fans know that this movie is monumental enough to transcend criticism, sure it makes no sense to those who have never seen the TV series, but those people have never lived anyway. Twin Peaks: FWWM, brings a genuine sense of tragic martyrdom to the death of Laura Palmer, as well as being one of the scariest, most surreal and atmospheric movies ever made. Never seen Twin Peaks? Watch the TV series on video first, and then see this incredible prequel.

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 August 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Teresa Banks and the Last Seven Days of Laura Palmer

Filming Locations:

Fall City, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,813,559, 30 August 1992

Gross USA:

$4,160,851

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,183,547

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, CiBy 2000, Twin Peaks Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby DTS (DVD version) Dolby Digital (DVD version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1