jimbokwright
This was one of the worst viewing experiences of my life. Awful and pretentious under the guise of somehow being highbrow art. David Lynch's Uber weird just for the sake of being weird. He has no intention of entertaining the audience so do not watch this film if that's what you are seeking.
merelyaninnuendo
EraserheadIt defines the genre for not only its physicality screams horrific poems but so does its deeply layered thought-provoking concept and an heart-screeching exaggeration of the consequences of the actions of the humankind. The metaphorical term can be inedible and uneven for everyone to grasp it, even after the curtain drops for the feature remains subtle throughout the course of it and doesn't lose its tone at any point. It is rich on technical aspects like cinematography, sound effects, and editing. David Lynch; the writer-director, has done a brilliant work on writing the gripping script and has shown guts to pull off such a convoluted plot and get the anticipated vision on screen creating the perfect impact on the audience who is in awe of it. The performance is hold on tightly by Jack Nance on his portrayal of protagonist that is eerily sociopath and hard to be judged at. The only conundrum in here would be the imaginative bubble depicted in here which is dark and brutal and cringe worthy too, where the makers could have step lightly. Eraserhead is an art that neither can be erased nor ignored, it is bold, unafraid to tell its own story on its own terms.
Rachmaninoff28
Here's my take on this incredibly disturbing delight of a film.The film is an aural and visual depiction of Henry's nightmarish mental struggle with the idea of abortion -- of "erasing" the mistake of his and Mary's baby. A few examples:The lady in the radiator represents abortion/an abortionist. The first time she appears, she's "cajolingly" standing on fetuses/sperm/babies (they're all the same in the symbolism of the film, I belive) while there's the sucking sound of the abortion procedure going on in the background. More evidence of that is that she's both repugnant and beautiful, like the idea of a abortion to Henry.More evidence is the scene in which Henry finally touches her. She's been "wooing" him throughout the film with the idea of an abortion with her sweet smile and her song about heaven, and when he finally touches her (accepts the idea of abortion) he's released from the dark, troubling place depicted so well in the film (worry, fear, guilt over the pregnancy) into pure light. Not only that, after he touches her/accepts the idea of an abortion, you hear the suction used in the abortion procedure once again, and see what looks like a fetus, umbilical cord and placenta being sucked away across the stage.
BTW, I believe the little chickens are Mary's sexuality: They're tiny and underdeveloped, and when Henry sticks his phallic fork into one, it bleeds, like breaking the hymen. Mary's mum's reaction to the bleeding chicken and her announcement that Mary's had a baby straight afterwards make perfect sense, if that's the case. So does Henry's amazement that the baby's already at the hospital!If you agree with me, or anyone else, or not about what it all means, it doesn't really matter" This film succeeds in creating its own incredibly engaging "dream" world (emphasis on the word "dream" because that's precisely what the film is depicting: Henry's dream) even without a thought about what it might all mean. That's quite an achievement!
Asif Khan (asifahsankhan)
A young David slaved over this film for three years and even ended up sleeping in the same bed as Henry for over a year. All of it was worth it though. Even directing legend (and friend of Lynch), Stanley Kubrick loved the film and made the cast of his masterpiece, The Shining, watch Eraserhead to get in the right frame of mind.No one knows what the film is actually about, and no one ever will. Although, Lynch has said that in all these years he still hasn't heard the correct interpretation. There's no point trying to explain the plot, because that's something you have to figure out for yourself. The film is an utter dreams-cape which combines unsettling industrial sounds with startling, surrealist black and white photography. A man with groovy hair walks around a possible Dystopian future and encounters a series of strange events. One involves a moving tiny roast chicken which spurts some sort of liquid out and another involves a seriously creepy chipmunk lady who sings in a radiator and also stamps on sperm. Eraserhead is one hell of a trip, and it's a trip which thoroughly exhilarated me.
AD
