DVD Review: Extras detail the road to ‘Mulholland Dr.’
It’s been a tad more than 14 years since the theatrical release of David Lynch’s “Mulholland Dr.” It’s widely considered a masterpiece — count me in on that — and, given its unpromising genesis, it would have been amazing for it to merely be good.
ABC hired the director to create a series, hoping for another “Twin Peaks.” They abandoned the project as soon as they saw Lynch’s pilot. A year or so later, a French producer offered Lynch a small sum so he could convert it into a feature. As the introduction to a TV series, the pilot set in motion several different plot threads — more than could be handled in a single feature. Lynch trimmed things down — which probably is why Robert Forster gets a major position in the opening credits, despite being on screen for maybe two minutes. Lynch managed to reassemble the cast and shoot new material that totally changes our perspective on the old.
The brilliant twist he came up with makes the feature much richer than the TV series would likely have been. Much of this rests on Naomi Watts’s stunning performance. She instantly went from minor supporting player to star.
The Criterion release boasts a new transfer, approved by Lynch and cinematographer Peter Deming. There is only one chapter — always Lynch’s preference, to make it harder for viewers to watch fragments of the movie. It’s a pain in the neck, but understandable. Lynch also dislikes commentary tracks, so there isn’t one here.
The main extras are interviews, all of them interesting, totaling 100 minutes. Lynch and Watts sit next to each other and talk for almost half an hour. Then there is a sort of “Making of” short of 35 minutes, comprising clips from individual interviews with actors Watts, Justin Theroux, and Laura Harring, as well as casting director Johanna Ray. There is also a 20-minute interview with Deming and production designer Jack Fisk (who dominates). Finally there are 20 minutes with composer Angelo Badalamenti, who is always a pleasure to listen to. (See this beautiful clip of him on YouTube, explaining how he composed the “Twin Peaks” Theme.)
There’s a 25-minute compilation of on-set footage, fun but only for one viewing. The last extra is a two-minute deleted scene of the cops played by Forster and Brent Briscoe chatting in the police station — nothing special or enlightening.
Mulholland Dr. (Criterion, Blu-ray, $39.95; DVD, 2 discs, $29.95)