Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Eraserhead Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 5, 2012

Acclaimed director David Lynch's debut feature film "Eraserhead" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailer for the film and a long and very informative interview with the director. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Going home

Eraserhead is David Lynch's debut feature film. It follows a young man, Henry (Jack Nance, Breaker! Breaker!, Barfly), who lives in an industrial desert together with his girlfriend (Charlotte Stewart, Tremors, Slums of Beverly Hills) and their child, a strange and apparently very sick creature with a seriously ugly head. As Henry's relationship with his girlfriend slowly begins to deteriorate while he takes care of their child, his fantasies begin to reshape the world around him.

Eraserhead is a very dark and at times seriously disturbing film that is wide open for interpretation. Some of Henry's fears and illusions are clearly borrowed from Lynch's real world, but logically explaining everything that takes place in the film is virtually impossible.

Certain logic, however, is present in the film. Henry's dark dreams are essentially Lynch's fears about a variety of different subjects. As the film progresses, some are identified, but others are at best only suggested, creating some confusion and even inaccurate perceptions about the main protagonist and his intentions.

Lynch spends a great deal of time studying Henry's face and his surroundings. There are select sequences where the dialog picks up, but overall the film is notably slow and moody, reflecting on ideas in unusual ways rather than promoting them.

The film boasts a remarkable soundtrack, arguably one of the most effective ever done for a project of this nature. It is an integral part of the industrial world Henry and his fears and illusions belong to. Lynch and sound designer Alan Splet (The Elephant Man, The Unbearable Lightness of Being) recorded the soundtrack using various tape recorders, filters and effects devices.

Eraserhead was one of Stanley Kubrick's favorite films. While shooting The Shining, Kubrick apparently repeatedly screened Eraserhead to the cast to get them in the right mood. The legendary Beat novelist Charles Bukowski was also a big admirer of Eraserhead and Lynch's work.

Notes: In 1977, Eraserhead was screened at the Chicago International Film Festival. In 1982, the film was also screened and promoted at Fantasporto, where it was nominated for Best Film Award. In 2004, Eraserhead was also submitted to the National Film Registry, which each year names "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films" for preservation.

Eraserhead Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, David Lynch's Eraserhead arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment.

The high-definition transfer appears to have been struck from the same MK2 master which Universal Studios/IndiVision had access to when they prepared their massive David Lynch box set in the United Kingdom - and this is certainly very good news as Eraserhead was one of the better looking films in it. During close-ups depth and clarity are very pleasing (see screencapture #5). Shadow definition fluctuates, but these fluctuations are part of the film's unique style, not a byproduct of a serious transfer issue. The daylight sequences, where Henry is seen walking, also boast surprisingly good depth (see screencapture #1). There are no traces of edge-enhancement. Some extremely light denoising corrections have been applied, but they should be on the MK2 master. Detail is not compromised. Lastly, color grading does not suffer from any inconsistencies - the whites and grays are well balanced, while the blacks remain stable throughout the entire film. There are no serious compression issues to report in this review either. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Eraserhead Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Umbrella Entertainment have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

Because this release comes only with a lossy track while the UK release has a lossless LPCM 2.0 track, I was expecting a rather big gap in quality between the two. This is not the case. Depth is marginally better on the LPCM 2.0 track, but in terms of dynamic movement the Dolby Digital 2.0 track performs very well. The unique industrial sounds are also as crisp as they are on the LPCM 2.0 track. The dialog is crisp, stable, and clean. Also, there are no sudden audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.

Eraserhead Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The supplemental features on this release are perfectly playable on all U.S. Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Eraserhead. (1 min, 480/60i).

• Making of Featurette - this is essentially one very long interview with director David Lynch in which he discusses how Eraserhead came to exist, some of the ideas he wanted to channel through the film, the initial 'script', the film's unique sound design, his mentor (the Czechoslovakian filmmaker Frank Daniel), etc. In English, not subtitled. (85 min, 480/60i).

Eraserhead Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I was sent this disc from Australia and I am glad I took a look at it because it is a very good alternative for fans of David Lynch's Eraserhead residing in Region-A land. Unlike the UK release, this release is actually Region-Free. All of the supplemental features on it are also perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3. If you can only play Region-A discs, consider adding it to your collections. RECOMMENDED.