May
21
Industrial Symphony No. 1
Filed Under David Lynch, Laserdisc
| Industrial Symphony No. 1 |
|
| Year | 1990 |
| Director | David Lynch |
| Actors | Julee Cruise Michael J. Anderson Laura Dern Nicolas Cage |
| Disc Layers | 1 |
| Source | Laserdisc |
| Image Quality | Very Good |
UPDATE: Industrial Symphony No. 1 is now available in the United States and other countries as part of the David Lynch Lime Green DVD Set. I no longer trade this title.
This collaboration between David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, an avant garde stage performance, takes all of Lynch’s signature elements and presents them in a surreal show filled with symbolism, the haunting voice of Julee Cruise, and the unforgettable music of Badalamenti.
Industrial Symphony No. 1 contains a large number of references to Lynch’s other work. It begins with two lovers breaking up over the phone (Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage in roles almost identical to those they played in Wild At Heart), then abruptly switches to a stage performance that symbolizes the thoughts inside the head of the heartbroken girl. Julee Cruise, seen briefly in Twin Peaks, is the focus of the performance as she flies about the stage and lip syncs songs from the two albums she created with Lynch and Badalamenti. Michael J. Anderson, the little man from Twin Peaks, plays an integral part, as do Lynch’s ubiquitous power lines and unsettling imagery. Badalamenti himself makes an appearance on stage and plays a clarinet.
What makes Industrial Symphony No. 1 interesting to fans of Lynch’s other work, however, may not be the music or the presence of Lynch affiliates, but how it predicts the “psychogenic fugue” style of narrative that he would fully explore seven years later in Lost Highway - a style that he has continued to develop and perfect. Lynch’s recent work tries to replicate that lucid dreaming moment when one is aware of being in the dreamstate. To fully enjoy films like Mulholland Drive or Inland Empire you have to sit back and imagine you’re enjoying a good dream - one in which logic, continuity, and linear storytelling are unnecessary. Looking at it this way, Industrial Symphony No. 1 is closer to Inland Empire than it is to Wild At Heart, which was made at roughly the same time as this performance. It moves through moments of calm, moments of nightmare, and moments of uncertainty like a bad dream. Or a really good one.
The source for this DVD is the Japanese laserdisc. There are no subtitles (all dialogue and lyrics are in English) and the picture quality is very good. It runs just under an hour.