1175 Inland Empire

[Michael]

I fail to see how DV dates a film. It's kinda new and been around for a little while and will probably be around for the next two decades at least. Maybe in a century, people will still think IE was very recently made.

[Barmy]

The DV films up until recently look VERY dated. That muddy washed out look will not age well. Now that the technology has improved, the dating issue may fade away.

[exte]

I fail to see how DV dates a film. It's kinda new and been around for a little while and will probably be around for the next two decades at least. Maybe in a century, people will still think IE was very recently made.

I disagree. DV has been around since before 1999, and right now there's a lot of new camera technology pushing out the door. However, the reason this film and Iraq in Fragments look so good is because of the post production process involved in cleaning them up. I seriously doubt DV will still be used in the same fashion in two decades. What we have here is a great film shot on a very shitty technology. If he had access to the red camera, who knows what that would've looked like, but it probably would've encumbered him far more than the PD150...

[Michael]

Thanks for the info. My knowledge of DV is super extra lean. However IE's photography still looks great to me - just perfect for the mood and atmosphere of the film. I've never seen DV work looking like it - it's wholly unique and beautiful, standing on its own. The photography as well as everything about the film affected me very profoundly.

[marty]

Has Lynch explained the reason why film is dead to him and also why he prefers DV?

Village Voice interview here.

[Oedipax]

If he had access to the red camera, who knows what that would've looked like, but it probably would've encumbered him far more than the PD150...

Yep, I wouldn't necessarily expect Lynch to move up to something like the Red camera. One of his big reasons for liking the PD150 so much is its autofocus capabilities - in the interviews I've heard with him that talk about it, to him the autofocus was good enough that he didn't really even have to worry about it and could focus more on other things. The other big draw of the PD150 is it has some of the best low-light performance of any camera in that class, definitely something Lynch wanted to push as far as it could go.

With a Red, you will absolutely need to be very adept at focus-pulling - either as a solo operator or as a dedicated focus-puller. With greater resolution comes much greater sensitivity to these matters - if focus is just a hair off at 4k, it will be glaringly obvious. In terms of low-light performance, though, Red is showing some absolutely stunning results, which might just be enough to convert Lynch. They've gotten useable footage at as much as 8000 ISO! Insanity.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Interesting that Lynch relented on the issue of chapters; I guess the running time compelled him to cut us a break on this one.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I pre-ordered from Amazon and I can hardly wait to see it! I just wish that I'd had the theatre experience to see it, too. Shall I watch it straight or after not sleeping for three days?

As to the Beaver review, why did he put up so many caps of the calibration page. Not to complain because it looks like a goo idea, but I was hoping for more of the movie.

[miless]

I pre-ordered from Amazon and I can hardly wait to see it! I just wish that I'd had the theatre experience to see it, too. Shall I watch it straight or after not sleeping for three days?

do as you wish, but I would recommend sleeping beforehand... as it is long, and not all of it is as obsessively interesting as his previous films (I almost fell asleep once or twice during the film, in the theater... and I had even taken a nap beforehand!)
although, those few times I almost dozed off I was violently awaken by some startling moments (and some old girl-group musical sequences featuring suicide girls)

[Michael]

I pre-ordered from Amazon and I can hardly wait to see it! I just wish that I'd had the theatre experience to see it, too. Shall I watch it straight or after not sleeping for three days?

Unlike miless, I was completely enthralled by every pixel of INLAND EMPIRE. Being whirled into the epic vortex of dreams with ghosts mingling about for three hours, I was never bored. A very emotionally draining masterpiece that shook me very hard. I still can't understand those dismissing IE for being dated from its low-grade digital video photography. To me, this film will never become dated because it's among the most original and stunning pieces of art ever. It's like saying Suspiria is dated because it was processed in Technicolor.

[miless]

I still can't understand those dismissing IE for being dated from its low-grade digital video photography. To me, this film will never become dated because it's among the most original and stunning pieces of art ever. It's like saying Suspiria is dated because it was processed in Technicolor.

What I'm saying is that IE will be dated due to its DV format in that anyone watching it will know that it was not made before (lets say) 1995. Film, however, has been around for well over a hundred years, therefore giving a wider time-frame for certain films to "belong to."

I think that Inland Empire, Julian Donkey Boy and any number of Dogme films will always be seen as early entries into DV features (in the days before HD took over the DV market).

It's like watching porno shot on vhs in the 80's and comparing it to modern HD pornos.

[Oedipax]

What I'm saying is that IE will be dated due to its DV format in that anyone watching it will know that it was not made before (lets say) 1995. Film, however, has been around for well over a hundred years, therefore giving a wider time-frame for certain films to "belong to."

I think that Inland Empire, Julian Donkey Boy and any number of Dogme films will always be seen as early entries into DV features (in the days before HD took over the DV market).

Sure, but films are dated for any number of different reasons, not just the technical specifics of their production. Besides, the same can be said of film, just look at the grainy quality of 1970s color stock versus the insanely clean stock used today.

But to go a little deeper into the whole idea of dating a film, isn't it inevitable? Can there really be immortal works of art, our perceptions of which don't shift at all over time? I think we always read the present into anything from the past; these days it's hard to watch a film that has footage, say, of the twin towers and not make some kind of brief connection to 9/11, and so forth. Maybe it informs the narrative in some unexpected way, maybe not. But film isn't produced in a vacuum - our attitudes toward it will never remain static.

Inland Empire is certainly a time capsule of (somewhat) early digital experimentation, but I don't see how that hinders it. In the long view, it's quite possible that 35mm will be relegated just as much to a certain era.

[Michael]

I received the dvd today and took a quick look at it. It looked incredibly sharp unlike the very grainy print I saw in the theater. I was amazed. I'm just waiting for the right time and mood to settle into the film.

[Robert de la Cheyniest]

My copy of this has still not shipped from DVDPlanet but my copy of the Taxi Driver re-release (which comes out on the same day) shipped two days ago. This angers me. Can't wait to see this again, I saw it at the IFC Center in December and was absolutely knocked out, certainly the best film of 2006 by far.

[lord_clyde]

I pre-ordered from Amazon and I can hardly wait to see it! I just wish that I'd had the theatre experience to see it, too. Shall I watch it straight or after not sleeping for three days?

If you watch it after not sleeping for three days you will sleep right through it. I had trouble in the theatre after being up for two days, but like someone else said there are moments that will knock you awake (After the locomotion sequence I was wired) but I would recommend being well rested and having caffeine or a rock star on hand. Might not hurt to take a break halfway through either.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

there are moments that will knock you awake (After the locomotion sequence I was wired) but I would recommend being well rested and having caffeine or a rock star on hand.

Breasts tend to have that effect.

[miless]

Breasts tend to have that effect.

let's hear three cheers for breasts!

[Michael]

I've been having insomnia for weeks now. Last night I couldn't sleep so at 2 am, I felt like watching something - either INLAND EMPIRE (the dvd I received that same day) or the pretty "theme park" horror film Dead Silence. I picked IE. 5 am came and I was still awake, floating somewhere in one of the film's many glorious wormholes.

And I slept like a baby afterward. There's something so serene about the ending - a sense of peace and calm swept over me. The morning after, I'm thinking - jeez, this has to be the zenith of Lynch's art as much as 8 1/2 is Fellini's.

[rs98762001]

In case anyone is in Los Angeles and interested, Lynch is signing copies of the INLAND EMPIRE DVD on Tuesday evening at Borders in Westwood between 7-9pm.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

In case anyone is in Los Angeles and interested, Lynch is signing copies of the INLAND EMPIRE DVD on Tuesday evening at Borders in Westwood between 7-9pm.

HOLY SHIT, I AM THERE! I'm asking for the night off for this.

[Cosmic Bus]

If anyone is willing, I'd be more than happy to Paypal funds for the DVD and shipping if someone could get one signed for me...

[Rsdio]

Ha, I was going to ask if there was any chance of that too. Or maybe I could buy and send over an R2 release that's difficult to get hold of, something like that. You'll be able to spot people who post on message boards a mile off, they'll be the ones with bin bags over their shoulder overflowing with DVDs.

[Faux Hulot]

One of his big reasons for liking the PD150 so much is its autofocus capabilities - in the interviews I've heard with him that talk about it, to him the autofocus was good enough that he didn't really even have to worry about it and could focus more on other things.

Speaking as a shooter who's used the 150 quite a bit, I found myself wishing Lynch had turned the "auto" function off more often. In some particularly low-light scenes, the lens' constant back-and-forth searching for focus was driving me to distraction.

I pre-ordered from Amazon and I can hardly wait to see it! I just wish that I'd had the theatre experience to see it, too. Shall I watch it straight or after not sleeping for three days?

do as you wish, but I would recommend sleeping beforehand... as it is long, and not all of it is as obsessively interesting as his previous films (I almost fell asleep once or twice during the film, in the theater... and I had even taken a nap beforehand!)

Seeing it for the first time in a theater, I fell asleep briefly a few times (which is a comment on my work schedule, not the movie itself) and I daresay the slipping in and out of dreamstate may well have enhanced the experience.

[blindside8zao]

weird that your copy from DVDPlanet hasn't yet shipped because mine arrived today. there's quite a nice advertisement for David Lynch coffee.

[Robert de la Cheyniest]

weird that your copy from DVDPlanet hasn't yet shipped because mine arrived today. there's quite a nice advertisement for David Lynch coffee.

It actually just shipped today after I--ironically enough--tried to call and cancel my order. I figured since it was so close to the release day I could just cancel and then go pick it up at Best Buy, but I guess I'll just have to wait a few days. At least Taxi Driver should arrive tomorrow and will tide me over for the time being.