Eraserhead

there are few words that are more misused than surrealism. eraserhead is not a work of surrealism. surrealism links the unconscious with the conscious. bizarre, pointless images that come from nowhere and fail to connect two states of being is not surrealism. it's just disjointed and random oddness. i think the films of david lynch take the cake for inducing the emporor new clothes effect in people. i can follow just about anything, even the poems of antonin artaud, but this film makes no sense and doesn't even make sense in terms of making no sense. it connects nothing to nothing and doesn't even do that in an existential way. existentialism and surrealism are schools of thought and have rules and it amazes me how so many people get suckered into believing anything that is solipsistic or just plain weird is surreal. i hated this movie.

Easily the worst movie i've ever see. I have been told that this is not a movie, it is "Art". First of all, if this is not a movie then what the hell is it? Film is a form of art, so it cannot hide behind the idea that this is a piece of art separating it from other films, it is still comparable. This film was downright dis-interesting and boring, it's a relatively short film, but i swear i was sitting there for 3 hours watching this filth roll on. A film is also for entertainment. Film can combine both entertainment with symbolism and messages to create a piece of art that is aesthetically pleasing, refer to Stanley Kubrick and David Fincher. That is good film making. D'you know the real reason why Lynch never speaks of the meaning of this film? BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ANY. I picture, a uni student, with a bad haircut, taking LSD, thinking, "I know what's wrong with the world, let's make a film that has hidden messages that no one will figure out." wow great way to change the world genius. How d'you expect to get your point across, when you yourself have no idea how to convey it to the public properly. Easily the worst film ever made in my eyes. I have seen plan nine from outer space, said to be the worst film ever made. Well, at least it was good for a laugh.

I'm all for surrealism, hidden messages, and hidden meanings in films but, when your film's ONLY meaning is the hidden meaning and viewing it any other way is just a jumble of nonsensical scenes with an incoherent narrative, I have a problem. Especially when you (or rather David Lynch) refuses to even remotely explain the movie. I guess that sense of mystery and interpretation may have some appeal to others but, to me, this is hands down the worst film I have ever seen. I don't mean I dislike it. I mean it is LITERALLY at the bottom of the list of movies I've seen. To elaborate a bit, I've looked up several interpretations of the film and not a single one of them made the movie any better for me.

This film is the kind of self-indulgent trash which gives independent movie-making such a bad name. Truly a film which provides more nightmarish visions of filming technique than nightmarish visions. The actors can't act, they can't react, they look awful, and consequently none were ever heard of again. The positive aspect of this film is David Lynch's example that no matter how big a screw-up you make you can still achieve success!The worst film I have seen (out of around 1,500 films).

i sometimes wonder if people like lynch make movies with complete random crap in them just to see how many people they can convince that its art, or a masterpiece. i can imagine lynch sitting in a room reading all the praise for eraserhead and laughing at how many pretentious people buy it as a serious piece of film-making. that aside, before a hundred more 'open minded' sorts bash me for missing the point, i'd like to think i understand why other people like it. I hate this movie. I'm surprised i lasted the full running time. i don't think there's a film out there that i've seen, that has made me want to pierce my eyes and ears more than when i watched eraserhead (ok, 'love, actually'). And maybe its designed to make you feel uncomfortable, maybe that's part of its 'power', but to me that doesn't make it a good film. as far as i know, there are very few people who would actually take pleasure in wanting to stab themselves in the eye. To its credit, its a film open to interpretation, but all the people i know who enjoyed it are annoying film students who like to over analyse movies (but if he puts his hand there, what does that mean???... er nothing) and look as if their cultured and have a grasp of film language. Watch it if you like, you may take something away from it that i missed or ignored, but don't say i didn't warn you if you find your eye on the end of a fork.

I legitimately don't know how anyone could sit through this and say "yeah, that was amazing". Like are you serious? This was pretentious, forced, boring, and repetitive. Dialogue sucks, camera work sucks, the forced "making you think deeply" agenda doesn't work because there is no story. Complete and utter bore, anyone who says they understood or liked this movie is lying. I wish I could give it negative 50 0's. Do not waste your time on this trash.

I like to think I have an open mind and look at movies or art objectively, which is why I gave Eraserhead a fair go. And I'm happy with horror or any movie going back to the silent era. I have a complete open mind. Unfortunately I did not enjoy Eraserhead at all and I was happy when it was over. Why so critical of one of David Lynch's acclaimed early work you may rightly ask? Well nothing really happens in it. For most part of the film centres in one room and on two things: the main protagonist and a very unusual looking baby. There is little dialogue, no plot or story or character development. My imagination was put into overdrive working out the scenes, any metaphors, whether the story took place in the past, future, some parallel universe or the warped mind of the protagonist of the film. Not a lot is given away. Eraserhead is abstract art in black & white. This may have worked in 1977 but now it feels very dated, not the least bit frightening, way too long and I am afraid boring.

I don't even know where to begin. Watching Eraserhead was...unfortunately one of the most unforgettable experience of my life. Yea,there was some strange imagery that left you questioning, but it was either dragged on wayyyy too long or it was impossible to concentrate because of the ear-piercing noises in the background that make you lose focus. During this film i wanted to spoon out my eyeballs, put them in a flame resistant bowl, pour gasoline on them and light them on fire. I know it sounds like i'm being way over dramatic and i'm exaggerating...but seriously. Go out and rent this movie. I am not responsible for what may happen to your mental or physical state...it's all on David lynch for making this 'cult classic'.

You have to dissect it, watch it more than once, eat, breathe it and live it before you can get it. There are lots of explanations for all of the things that "make no sense"... it's art in it's purest form - you take away from it what you want! You can see Henry struggling with suddenly being thrust into the role of father and husband, his sin, his temptation, his life, his death, his dreams... too much symbolism to even get into here... anyone who dismisses this film as "junk that makes no sense" will never get it, and that's OK. But for the rest of us, it's on our "Top Ten Films of All Time" list. Brilliant and beautiful and horrifying! Makes you think for weeks... YEARS. I love it. Highly recommended to those who are open-minded! AMAZING FILM!!

This is an amazing film to read about in the reviews. Many give the film ratings of 9 or 10 and yet many give it 1--it seems that some consider it great art or genius and the others consider it pure excrement. There aren't a lot of opinions in the middle with this one! I'm not even going to bother trying to summarize what I saw--like practically everyone else, I really have no idea what it was all about though I suspect the film has no meaning at all and director Lynch had no idea as well. Yet, like much "art" that is confusing and controversial, many TRY to read meanings and symbolism into it. Sure, there is a lot of obvious sexual imagery, but what it all means seems pretty pointless and I truly think this is THE point of the film. In addition to having no point, the film also tries very hard to make an impression by pushing the audience's "gross-out buttons"! In other words, keep playing various horrific images in an apparent attempt to make people flinch or be repelled. Frankly, I've seen worse but would probably have to go back to a medical museum to find it again! It also tries to push the limits by making the film very unpleasant--not just appalling but also by making the whole thing rather boring and drab. So, you are left with a confusing film with probably no meaning, bizarre sexual imagery, gross special effects and complete utter boredom all wrapped up in one package. Some enjoy this and I say more power to them, but as for me life is just too short. Watch it if you want--I just can't see why!