Lost Highway | David Lynch

Lost Highway is a 1997 surrealist neo-noir horror film directed by David Lynch, who co-wrote the screenplay with Barry Gifford. It stars Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, and Balthazar Getty. The film also features Robert Blake, Jack Nance, and Richard Pryor in their final film performances. The narrative follows a musician (Pullman) who begins receiving unmarked videotapes of his home before he is abruptly convicted of murdering his wife (Arquette). While imprisoned, he mysteriously disappears and is replaced by a young mechanic (Getty) leading a different life.

Financed by French production company Ciby 2000 and Lynch's own Asymmetrical Productions, the film was largely shot in Los Angeles, where Lynch collaborated with frequent producer Mary Sweeney and cinematographer Peter Deming. The film's surreal narrative structure has been likened to a Möbius strip, while Lynch has described it as a "psychogenic fugue" rather than a conventionally logical story. The film's soundtrack was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, featuring an original score by Angelo Badalamenti and Barry Adamson as well as contributions from Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, and the Smashing Pumpkins.

Upon release, Lost Highway received mixed reviews and grossed $3.7 million in North America after a modest three-week run. Most critics initially dismissed the film as incoherent; it has since garnered a cult following and scholarly interest. It is the first of three Lynch films set in Los Angeles, followed by Mulholland Drive (2001) and his final film Inland Empire (2006). The film was adapted into an opera by Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth in 2003. 

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

★ New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director David Lynch, with new 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack and alternate uncompressed stereo soundtrack
★ Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch, a feature-length 1997 documentary by Toby Keeler featuring Lynch and his collaborators Angelo Badalamenti, Peter Deming, Barry Gifford, Mary Sweeney, and others, along with on-set footage from Lost Highway
★ Reading by Lynch and critic Kristine McKenna of excerpts from their 2018 book, Room to Dream
★ Archival interviews with Lynch and actors Patricia Arquette, Bill Pullman, and Robert Loggia
★ English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
★ PLUS: Excerpts from an interview with Lynch from filmmaker and writer Chris Rodley’s book Lynch on Lynch

Film Details

United States
1997
134 minutes
Color
2.39:1
English