ERASERHEAD (1977) | David Lynch: Absurd Encounters

2024-07-26

After spending his youth pursuing "the art life," David Lynch dipped his toe into the medium of film with his shorts THE ALPHABET and THE GRANDMOTHER. With THE GRANDMOTHER, he received attention from the American Film Institute, who invited him to move to the West Coast, where he'd spend a whopping five years working on what would become his feature film debut, ERASERHEAD. In this episode, we'll discuss the creation of ERASERHEAD, through all of its ups-and-(many)downs, its mysteries, its near abandonment, and how it nearly didn't receive a release at all before being "discovered" by Ben Barenholtz, who turned it into a bonafide hit on the M...

After spending his youth pursuing "the art life," David Lynch dipped his toe into the medium of film with his shorts THE ALPHABET and THE GRANDMOTHER.

With THE GRANDMOTHER, he received attention from the American Film Institute, who invited him to move to the West Coast, where he'd spend a whopping five years working on what would become his feature film debut, ERASERHEAD.

In this episode, we'll discuss the creation of ERASERHEAD, through all of its ups-and-(many)downs, its mysteries, its near abandonment, and how it nearly didn't receive a release at all before being "discovered" by Ben Barenholtz, who turned it into a bonafide hit on the Midnight Movie circuit, forever altering the trajectory of Lynch's career.

Bonus content available for Cinema Shock suppporters: An extended episode with over 30 minutes of additional content, that includes, among other things, a Further Viewing segment — where we suggest other films to pair with ERASERHEAD — and the fan favorite Somebody Needs a Nap segment — where we read and react to some of the more ridiculous reviews of the film that we've found on the internet — and is available exclusively to our supporters in our $5 and up tiers. Join now on Fourthwall.

Up Next: David Lynch: Episode 3: THE ELEPHANT MAN.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS:

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop & Todd A. Davis.

For episode archives, merch, show notes, and more, visit cinemashock.net

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