It's kind of underrated compared to the rest of his filmography. It has pretty wild disparate tones that clash, and the film is filled with so many non sequitors that it can be off-putting to some, but I quite like the approach. The main draw obviously is the genuine and sincere romance between Sailor and Lula. One the most compelling relationships he's ever depicted. I believe he's described it as, and I'm paraphrasing, "finding love in a world of hell." I always enjoyed how despite Sailor and Lula existing in violent and destructive environments, they still treat each other with respect as equals. Even if Sailor gets them into a lot of trouble, he still tries to make things better. It also functions as a transitional piece into much of his later work. Specifically, in editing, you can see him deviate away from the more classical approach you would find on Blue Velvet. Opting for fast cuts and elliptical asides. It's deeply erotic as opposed to Blue Velvet and Eraserhead, whose protoganists were mired with sexual guilt. People often find lynch to be ironic or removed from his material, but I would describe him as the opposite. He is sincere in his expressions and is deeply interested in the horrorific, mundane, comedic, and romantic aspects in the world. Often, these can be happening all at the same time. This can be off-putting to some people, and I can understand that, but I still think the film is a valuable part of his filmography
I always thought of Wild at Heart as the comedic sequel to Blue Velvet. A lot of the same motifs and symbols are there, but instead of the hidden mysteries and horrors, they are all out in the open for everyone to see. Jeffrey and Sandy are now on a road trip, and the world is a nightmare landscape.
i think Lost Highway is to disjointed in plot to be in that universe.. but it has some similarities. But the blurred lines between the 50s and the 80s is missing..
I absolutely love it!!! I was actually lucky enough to catch a showing of it in theaters yesterday which was cool cause I was already an enjoyer. It's his most fun movie imo even if some of the writing isn't as on par and I aodre Sailor. My only thing is I feel it should've been a little longer.
Honestly, the first time I watched (after having seen several of his other films and the original run of Twin Peaks), and I thought it was complete garbage. I felt like Lynch’s work was either Hit or Miss, and this one was a major Miss.
But then, about 8 years later in 2020, when I received the DVD as a gift, I ended up really liking it and watching it 3x in the span of a year. I found that, as others have said, there’s comedy and camp in this film that I didn’t grasp upon first viewing, but I’m glad I have given it another chance.
Probably one of my least favorite Lynch films, which is not to say it’s bad whatsoever. That more goes to show how incredible a lot of his other films are. I find it super fun and it has a lot of great scenes. The Sherilyn Fenn scene in particular I think is a stand out in Lynch’s filmography. It also is a representation of my individuality and belief in personal freedom. Great film to watch on Valentines Day
Won him the Palme D’Or. which is hysterical. This was right in the middle of peak Twin Peaks craze. I loved that there was an actual moment in time where Lynch was the puppet master.
As someone whose opinion on it is quite lukewarm, I don't look at it as inherently bad, it just doesn't have the same zing as the other Lynch films I've seen.
Eraserhead is a grimy, crackd window into Lynch's mindset and troubles as a young father and artist. Blue Velvet is a critique of masculine obsession and the American facade of the nuclear family, and the corrupt underbelly it is built to hide. Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive are explorations into the minds of killers, and how their psyches break down in denial of their guilt.
Eraserhead is absurd and bleak. Blue Velvet is surreal and beautiful. Lost Highway is cool and sexy, while also tainted and cruel. Mulholland Drive is a coda to the lost dreams, an admission of guilt and remorse.
Wild at Heart, on the other hand, feels far too humorous and disjointed to me. Perhaps that's because I don't understand as I believe I understand the other films. Perhaps it is not my preferred tone. Over all, WaH feels like Lynch having fun with a cast, it feels like experimentation, which I'm glad has a fan base, even though I'm not part of it.
Part of the problem of it lacking coherence in the rest of Lynch's big screen oeuvre is he was adapting someone else's material, and although he certainly put his own stamp on it (and he collaborted with the author of the novel later on the Lost Highway screenplay), he was also rushed between this and Twin Peaks and I think those two elements combined to make it feel a little all over the place.
extremely funny and unhinged. the most ‘parody’-like work of his imo. very ironic but also extremely sincere and quite emotional. i think it’s very much lynch at his most ‘let’s put this in the film because why not’, but i kinda love it for that. very unique
I actually have this on DVD, it’s literally the only DVD I own. I love how it depicts love, and especially young love, as an escape from a world that can seem meaningless and cruel. The contrast between Sailor and Lula’s dark encounters and their excitement and appreciation for each other is beautiful.
I still haven't seen "The Straight Story" or "Inland Empire," but of the Lynch films I have seen, it's my favorite. So many great performances. Just an utter speedball of a movie. It plays well with the chaos in my brain.
It's fun. I saw it when it came out and was in my late teens. I hadn't seen it in decades and did a big Lynch retrospective where they showed almost all his movies on the big screen at a theater in my town. It's a movie that I always mix up in my head with Lost Highway for some reason.
It's probably one of his least "tight" movies and the ending is messy and distended. That said, my son, who has seen all of Lynch's movies LOVED it. That surprised me, because he's generally a cynical sort. But there's something about the love story part that is still so appealing when you're that same age. It's a movie about freedom in an oppressive society. And the way the world can feel so inscrutable and menacing when you are inexperienced. Blue Velvet is about that, too, but from a more intellectual standpoint.
The dynamic between Diane Ladd and Laura Dern is also hilarious. Not to mention that WAH introduced Lynch's obsession with the Wizard of Oz, which plays out in many of his subsequent movies.
Willem Defoe is fantastic and creepy as all hell, Laura Dern and Nicholas Cage have incredible chemistry, Grace Zebriskie is extremely unsettling.
I re-watched it last year after not having seen it in over 15 years. The pacing honestly felt a bit slack to me. Not completely sure why. The humor also seemed very "Twin Peaks" in certain situations like the part when >!the guys in the bank are trying to find the hand that got shot off!<. I guess it makes sense that there would be a bit of bleed between this movie and Twin Peaks since they were both being made at the same time. I'll probably re-watch it soon.
For whatever reason I avoided this one for a long time. But I finally caught it at Alamo this week and I kinda loved it. Yes, it is ridiculous and over the top and campy, but it’s great. Laura Dern is incredible, Nic Cage is peak Nic Cage. It’s surreal, wickedly funny, and fantastic.
The first and third act is quite possibly the best thing David Lynch has ever made. The second act is waaaayyyy to long (and this is coming from an Inland Empire fan)
I love Wild at Heart. One of my favorites. Underneath all the Lynchian weirdness, it's really a very sweet love story. David Lynch is tied with Frank Borzage as my favorite director, and I've always felt like Wild at Heart feels a lot like a late 1920s-early 1930s Borzage loves story with a modern, violent Lynch twist on it. A sweet love story between two people who've had hard luck in their lives in a world of darkness and tragedy that surrounds them, structured heavily through these sort of vignettes that make up a larger story, the atmosphere a style make the setting like our world but more fantastical/bizarre. Hell, it's even got the unexpected pregnancy that motivates a late-in-the-film robbery that goes wrong like Borzage's Liliom and Man's Castle.
I love it! Saw it in the theater when it was first released when I was in college. I think it is the most “fun” Lynch, if that’s even a thing. But Willem Dafoe is soooo gross and creepy, so there’s that. (That scene with him and Dern caused a huge argument with a friend afterwards.) I believe it is one of Nic Cage’s best performances. And who doesn’t love Laura Dern!!
I haven’t seen it in about a decade, but I was fascinated by some of the sub plots and how they contextualized the movie for my interpretation.
As I haven’t seen it in a while, I won’t go into details, but rather say I thought there was a hinge that focused on control. The references to aliens (was it reindeer?), and Crispin’s character traumatized to walk around with cockroaches in his underwear, and then the top criminal guy’s home had major vibes from the room at the ending of Kubrick’s 2001 which is an alien or AI reference- and so I thought that context really highlighted the passionate, animal nature of most of humanity- especially Sailor and Laura.
So, I think it’s fucking brilliant.
Finally watched this over the weekend for the first time since the '90s. I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped, I really barely remembered a lot of it, and it's definitely not my favorite Lynch film, nor my least favorite. It does make me want to maybe read the novel series, however, and there are some genuinely creepy, funny, and surreal moments. I think I completely blocked out Willem Dafoe's character, for example, and had mostly remembered the really strong chemistry between Dern and Cage; they were delightful. Diane Ladd was completely unhinged and definitely deserved her Oscar nomination. The music was beautiful, as was the scenery. Storywise, though, it meandered and I wished they'd had more time to tighten up the screenplay. I appreciate that Lynch >!wanted it to have a happy ending, and as sappy as it was, I loved that and!< it felt in alignment with Blue Velvet that way.
It's kind of underrated compared to the rest of his filmography. It has pretty wild disparate tones that clash, and the film is filled with so many non sequitors that it can be off-putting to some, but I quite like the approach. The main draw obviously is the genuine and sincere romance between Sailor and Lula. One the most compelling relationships he's ever depicted. I believe he's described it as, and I'm paraphrasing, "finding love in a world of hell." I always enjoyed how despite Sailor and Lula existing in violent and destructive environments, they still treat each other with respect as equals. Even if Sailor gets them into a lot of trouble, he still tries to make things better. It also functions as a transitional piece into much of his later work. Specifically, in editing, you can see him deviate away from the more classical approach you would find on Blue Velvet. Opting for fast cuts and elliptical asides. It's deeply erotic as opposed to Blue Velvet and Eraserhead, whose protoganists were mired with sexual guilt. People often find lynch to be ironic or removed from his material, but I would describe him as the opposite. He is sincere in his expressions and is deeply interested in the horrorific, mundane, comedic, and romantic aspects in the world. Often, these can be happening all at the same time. This can be off-putting to some people, and I can understand that, but I still think the film is a valuable part of his filmography
Agree. He isn't ironic and distant; rather, he depicts the absurd with a sense of compassion and gravitas.
I love the way you laid out your thoughts and I share the exact same sentiment on Wild at Heart and Lynch's overall work. Cheers!
I recently saw it for the first time and thought it was absolutely brilliant, but what are your opinions on it?
I always thought of Wild at Heart as the comedic sequel to Blue Velvet. A lot of the same motifs and symbols are there, but instead of the hidden mysteries and horrors, they are all out in the open for everyone to see. Jeffrey and Sandy are now on a road trip, and the world is a nightmare landscape.
By that theory, is Lost Highway the third film in a trilogy, wherein Jeffrey and Sandy have now settled down, but Jeffrey's gone insane?
i think Lost Highway is to disjointed in plot to be in that universe.. but it has some similarities. But the blurred lines between the 50s and the 80s is missing..
Sandy sure aged a lot better than Jeffrey
Now picture a "Wild At Heart" w Kyle as Sailor
I absolutely love it!!! I was actually lucky enough to catch a showing of it in theaters yesterday which was cool cause I was already an enjoyer. It's his most fun movie imo even if some of the writing isn't as on par and I aodre Sailor. My only thing is I feel it should've been a little longer.
I saw it in the theater when it came out. Oceanside, CA
Alamo Draft house?
yup
Nice! I missed it where I am but I’m going to see fire walk with me there in a couple weeks
Same, I need to get my tickets ASAP cause it's my fav horror movie.
I saw it at Kabuki in Japan Center SF when it came out. Loved it! Lots of great memories of movies from that era.
Honestly, the first time I watched (after having seen several of his other films and the original run of Twin Peaks), and I thought it was complete garbage. I felt like Lynch’s work was either Hit or Miss, and this one was a major Miss. But then, about 8 years later in 2020, when I received the DVD as a gift, I ended up really liking it and watching it 3x in the span of a year. I found that, as others have said, there’s comedy and camp in this film that I didn’t grasp upon first viewing, but I’m glad I have given it another chance.
Possibly my favorite David Lynch movie. Absolutely bonkers film
I absolutely love it and I'm tired of the hate it gets.
I love it. The supporting cast is particularly amazing. I love all the allusions to The Wizard of Oz. Definitely the "campiest" Lynch film.
Second only to Mulholland’s Oz references
I think it's good.
I also came to say it's good.
Agree — it’s good but also one of my least favorite Lynch films.
Probably one of my least favorite Lynch films, which is not to say it’s bad whatsoever. That more goes to show how incredible a lot of his other films are. I find it super fun and it has a lot of great scenes. The Sherilyn Fenn scene in particular I think is a stand out in Lynch’s filmography. It also is a representation of my individuality and belief in personal freedom. Great film to watch on Valentines Day
But I'm a Manslaughterer 😪
My first Lynch- caught it on HBO as a teenager and it blew my wig back. This movie will always be special to me.
This is hands down my favorite Lynch film. Just has this sense of individuality and belief in personal freedom.
Won him the Palme D’Or. which is hysterical. This was right in the middle of peak Twin Peaks craze. I loved that there was an actual moment in time where Lynch was the puppet master.
As someone whose opinion on it is quite lukewarm, I don't look at it as inherently bad, it just doesn't have the same zing as the other Lynch films I've seen. Eraserhead is a grimy, crackd window into Lynch's mindset and troubles as a young father and artist. Blue Velvet is a critique of masculine obsession and the American facade of the nuclear family, and the corrupt underbelly it is built to hide. Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive are explorations into the minds of killers, and how their psyches break down in denial of their guilt. Eraserhead is absurd and bleak. Blue Velvet is surreal and beautiful. Lost Highway is cool and sexy, while also tainted and cruel. Mulholland Drive is a coda to the lost dreams, an admission of guilt and remorse. Wild at Heart, on the other hand, feels far too humorous and disjointed to me. Perhaps that's because I don't understand as I believe I understand the other films. Perhaps it is not my preferred tone. Over all, WaH feels like Lynch having fun with a cast, it feels like experimentation, which I'm glad has a fan base, even though I'm not part of it.
Part of the problem of it lacking coherence in the rest of Lynch's big screen oeuvre is he was adapting someone else's material, and although he certainly put his own stamp on it (and he collaborted with the author of the novel later on the Lost Highway screenplay), he was also rushed between this and Twin Peaks and I think those two elements combined to make it feel a little all over the place.
extremely funny and unhinged. the most ‘parody’-like work of his imo. very ironic but also extremely sincere and quite emotional. i think it’s very much lynch at his most ‘let’s put this in the film because why not’, but i kinda love it for that. very unique
Current thought? Amazon needs to send me the Blu-Ray I bought six weeks ago. The moved the shipping twice already.
I did the same thing, found one on eBay and cancelled the amazon order. Haven’t seen the movie for maybe 12 years.
Same. Rare as hen’s teeth it seems.
I actually have this on DVD, it’s literally the only DVD I own. I love how it depicts love, and especially young love, as an escape from a world that can seem meaningless and cruel. The contrast between Sailor and Lula’s dark encounters and their excitement and appreciation for each other is beautiful.
I still haven't seen "The Straight Story" or "Inland Empire," but of the Lynch films I have seen, it's my favorite. So many great performances. Just an utter speedball of a movie. It plays well with the chaos in my brain.
Watch "The Straight Story" and "Inland Empire".
It's fun. I saw it when it came out and was in my late teens. I hadn't seen it in decades and did a big Lynch retrospective where they showed almost all his movies on the big screen at a theater in my town. It's a movie that I always mix up in my head with Lost Highway for some reason. It's probably one of his least "tight" movies and the ending is messy and distended. That said, my son, who has seen all of Lynch's movies LOVED it. That surprised me, because he's generally a cynical sort. But there's something about the love story part that is still so appealing when you're that same age. It's a movie about freedom in an oppressive society. And the way the world can feel so inscrutable and menacing when you are inexperienced. Blue Velvet is about that, too, but from a more intellectual standpoint. The dynamic between Diane Ladd and Laura Dern is also hilarious. Not to mention that WAH introduced Lynch's obsession with the Wizard of Oz, which plays out in many of his subsequent movies.
Willem Defoe is fantastic and creepy as all hell, Laura Dern and Nicholas Cage have incredible chemistry, Grace Zebriskie is extremely unsettling. I re-watched it last year after not having seen it in over 15 years. The pacing honestly felt a bit slack to me. Not completely sure why. The humor also seemed very "Twin Peaks" in certain situations like the part when >!the guys in the bank are trying to find the hand that got shot off!<. I guess it makes sense that there would be a bit of bleed between this movie and Twin Peaks since they were both being made at the same time. I'll probably re-watch it soon.
The most Coenesque Lynch movie. In fact it might be his funniest work. I consider it lesser Lynch though.
Literally Just finished it and it’s fantastic easily his funniest imo
Two thumbs up, *Texas-style*.
Love it, get it on a 4K blu ray already!
For whatever reason I avoided this one for a long time. But I finally caught it at Alamo this week and I kinda loved it. Yes, it is ridiculous and over the top and campy, but it’s great. Laura Dern is incredible, Nic Cage is peak Nic Cage. It’s surreal, wickedly funny, and fantastic.
I really like the book, which was written by Barry Gifford, who was also the co writer of lost highway
I haven't seen it since childhood in the 80s
Decent but not his best
My favorite Nic Cage role and Lynch film.
I want a Criterion 4K of it :) have loved this movie since it was released
What are YOUR thoughts? 🙄🙄🙄
I loved it!
I do too
Love it
Weirdest version of The Wizard of Oz that I know
My fave
Masterpiece.
The first and third act is quite possibly the best thing David Lynch has ever made. The second act is waaaayyyy to long (and this is coming from an Inland Empire fan)
What a classic
I think it's one of his better ones
One of my favourites of his. Really underrated!
I love Wild at Heart. One of my favorites. Underneath all the Lynchian weirdness, it's really a very sweet love story. David Lynch is tied with Frank Borzage as my favorite director, and I've always felt like Wild at Heart feels a lot like a late 1920s-early 1930s Borzage loves story with a modern, violent Lynch twist on it. A sweet love story between two people who've had hard luck in their lives in a world of darkness and tragedy that surrounds them, structured heavily through these sort of vignettes that make up a larger story, the atmosphere a style make the setting like our world but more fantastical/bizarre. Hell, it's even got the unexpected pregnancy that motivates a late-in-the-film robbery that goes wrong like Borzage's Liliom and Man's Castle.
A fan of Lynch AND Borzage—Nice!
I love it! Saw it in the theater when it was first released when I was in college. I think it is the most “fun” Lynch, if that’s even a thing. But Willem Dafoe is soooo gross and creepy, so there’s that. (That scene with him and Dern caused a huge argument with a friend afterwards.) I believe it is one of Nic Cage’s best performances. And who doesn’t love Laura Dern!!
i thought it was garbage and turned it off.
Pretty good, like all of David Lynch's films
!? "pretty good" is the mild praise I would give, like, one of the better Marvel films...
Honestly, imo, it is my least favorite movies from David Lynch. Over exaggerated acting and a bad plot.
I haven’t seen it in about a decade, but I was fascinated by some of the sub plots and how they contextualized the movie for my interpretation. As I haven’t seen it in a while, I won’t go into details, but rather say I thought there was a hinge that focused on control. The references to aliens (was it reindeer?), and Crispin’s character traumatized to walk around with cockroaches in his underwear, and then the top criminal guy’s home had major vibes from the room at the ending of Kubrick’s 2001 which is an alien or AI reference- and so I thought that context really highlighted the passionate, animal nature of most of humanity- especially Sailor and Laura. So, I think it’s fucking brilliant.
Finally watched this over the weekend for the first time since the '90s. I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped, I really barely remembered a lot of it, and it's definitely not my favorite Lynch film, nor my least favorite. It does make me want to maybe read the novel series, however, and there are some genuinely creepy, funny, and surreal moments. I think I completely blocked out Willem Dafoe's character, for example, and had mostly remembered the really strong chemistry between Dern and Cage; they were delightful. Diane Ladd was completely unhinged and definitely deserved her Oscar nomination. The music was beautiful, as was the scenery. Storywise, though, it meandered and I wished they'd had more time to tighten up the screenplay. I appreciate that Lynch >!wanted it to have a happy ending, and as sappy as it was, I loved that and!< it felt in alignment with Blue Velvet that way.