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| Sheryl
Lee, Ray Wise, Chris Isaak, Mädchen Amik, Kiefer Sutherland,
David Lynch, Harry Dean Stanton, David Bowie, Kyle McLachlan |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Carl (Harry Dean Stanton):
Goddamn, these people are confusing.
The last days in the life of Laura
Palmer, prom queen in the town of Twin Peaks.
 After
Lynch-mania had reached fever pitch among critics and audiences
at the time of the immensely successful first Twin Peaks series
and the simultaneous cinematic release of Wild at Heart,
a backlash seemed inevitable. With Lynch seemingly losing interest
in the increasingly oblique episodes of the series poorly rated
second (and last) season, he paid his beloved small town one last
visit in a cinematic 'prequel' that baffled critics and all but
the series' most devoted fans. What most audiences had loved so
much about the first series was its unique combination of lovable
small-town Americana mixed with psychological horror and groundbreaking
supernatural elements.
Clearly sending the message that he's done with the cosy mix of
drama, romance and comedy that are prerequisites of any primetime
TV show, Lynch rids his movie of all but the core elements in Laura
Palmer's story. Wittily indicating his approach with the opening
shot of a TV screen being smashed in, Lynch then concentrates on
the most disturbing aspects of the Laura Palmer tragedy. This makes
for some pretty strong stuff, as Laura's self-destructive nature
is more clearly made out to be the result of long-term incest. Lynch
portrays her experiences as an outright nightmare, complete with
unexplained visions of good and evil, and very few moments of levity
beyond the first half hour to provide even a minor bit of relief.
Looking back now on the initial hype surrounding the series' first
appearance and the understandable backlash that followed, it's easier
to mark the film's strengths and weaknesses. It's safe to say that
it was judged too harshly by most, as it simply failed to meet certain
expectations. It's a strong if somewhat uneven and exhausting horror
film that features some of its director's strongest work and has
many hugely unsettling shock moments. It's also so unrelentingly
nasty and endeavor, that it's still a film many will find hard to
love. But there's no denying that it holds much to admire, and it's
definitely in need of critical re-assessment.l |
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The Region 1 release was long held
up while distributor New Line tried to successfully negotiate for
the inclusion of the legendary deleted scenes (featuring several
members of the series cast who ended up on the cuttin groom floor).
Ultimately, they were unsuccessful and decided to release the film
with only a documentary and trailer on board. The Region 1 version
served as a basis for this review.
Various bare-bones releases are available for Region 2, but all
were mastered from a badly damaged source print and have disappointing
DD2.0 sound mixes.
The anamorphic widescreen image
is framed at an aspect ratio of approx. 1.85:1. Badly let down by
all previous home video versions, which either got the widescreen
framing all wrong or presented an unmatted fullscreen transfer,
this newly mastered presentation of the restored film finally does
justice to Lynch's original intentions. The image quality presented
here is outstanding, with colors that leap off the screen and nary
a blemish on the source print to distract from a great viewing experience.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 sound mix is less immersive than is usually the
case with David Lynch's pictures. Most sound effects remain firmly
anchored in the front soundstage, and there are barely any directional
effects. The music used in the score really gets the most attention
in the mix, and, surprisingly, benefits much more than anything
else in the soundtrack from a strong surround presence. There's
still a wealth of odd sounds and noises to enjoy in the soundtrack,
sometimes nearly getting the upper hand over the dialogues, which
are rather low in the mix. The DTS mix sounds identical to the DD5.1
track; there's also a Dolby Surround track on board, with slightly
better dialogue definition but much weaker score and effects, as
well as an annoying reverberation absent from the two discreet tracks.
Long New Line Home Video's most
requested title missing from DVD, this release was held up for over
a year while the producers attempted to secure the rights to the
famous deleted scenes, an inclusion Lynch was also a big supporter
of (as long as their image quality could be guaranteed). Sadly,
they were ultimately unable to reach an agreement with the French
production company CiBY2000, which holds the rights to the deleted
footage, so they finally released the title on DVD without the missing
scenes, which is a sad pity for all Twin Peaks fans. Instead, they
put together a documentary made up of interview
footage recorded for Artisan's Twin
Peaks - Season 1 box set, in which cast and crew members
(as well as some unidentified others) talk about some of their experiences
on the film, how they felt it related (or failed to relate) to the
series, and other things. The editing is willfully eccentric, with
playful cuts away from unfinished sentences and various other displays
of silliness. Some may find it a little too forcibly 'weird', as
though someone were trying too hard to avoid the conventions of
familiar film documentaries. It's still a welcome addition, and
one that offers at least a modicum of insight into the deleted scenes
that we still hope might surface some day. The theatrical
trailer (in anamorphic widescreen, with DD5.1 audio) is
the only other extra.The main menu screen is static, simply
presenting the navigation options over the familiar still image
of the welcome to Twin Peaks roadsign. The Extra Features screen
employs a nifty bit of looped footage of the Red Room, and the DVD
credits menu screen also has some unsettling footage running in
the background. The American DVD release strikes a good balance
between David Lynch's insistence that his films be viewed only in
one session from start to finish: on other American DVD release
of David Lynch films, there are commonly no chapter stops. Twin
Peaks: Fire Walk With Me thankfully does have the usual number
of chapter stops, but there's no scene selection menu. An excellent
compromise in our opinion, that will hopefully be repeated on other
Lynch DVD releases.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: May
19, 2002
Click
here for IMDB info on Twin
Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
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