Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Eraserhead Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 23, 2014

David Lynch's "Eraserhead" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include various archival interviews; new and exclusive interviews with director's assistant Catherine Coulson, actors Charlotte Stewart and Judith Anna Roberts, and cinematographer Frederick Elmes; calibration instructions by David Lynch; and six newly restored short films. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an interview with David Lynch from filmmaker and writer Chris Rodley's 1997 book "Lynch on Lynch". In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

His girl

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.

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 submitted to the National Film Registry, which each year names "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films" for preservation.

Also included on this upcoming release are six newly restored short films by Lynch. They are: Six Men Getting Sick (1967), The Alphabet (1968), The Grandmother (1970), The Amputee (Versions 1 and 2) (1974), and Premonitions Following an Evil Deed (1995). Each film comes with a two-minute short video introduction by the American director.

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 Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Supervised by director David Lynch, this new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner from the original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, jitter, and shrinkage were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, and flicker.

The stereo soundtrack was created by David Lynch and sound editor Alan R. Splet in 1994 from the original 1976 monaural mix stems. Additional digital restoration was performed in 2014, using Pro Tools HD, to manually remove any sounds not intended to be a part of the original soundtrack.

Transfer supervisors: David Lynch, Lee Kline.
Colorist: George Koran/FotoKem, Burbank, CA.
Film scanning: Metropolis Post, New York."

The screencaptures included with this review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures 1-18: Eraserhead.
2. Screencaptures 21-23: Six Men Get Sick (4 min, 1080p).
3. Screencaptures 24-27: The Alphabet (4 min, 1080p).
4. Screencaptures 28-33: The Grandmother (34 min, 1080p).
5. Screencaptures 34-35: The Amputee Version 1 (6 min, 1080p).
6. Screencaptures 36-37: The Amputee Version 2 (5 min, 1080p).
7. Screencaptures 38-39: Premonitions Following an Evil Deed (1 min, 1080p).

The high-definition transfer has little in common with the two high-definition transfers Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment and Universal Studios UK used for their local Blu-ray releases of Eraserhead (you can see our reviews of these releases here and here). The film now looks notably darker, but both shadow definition and image depth are superior (compare screencapture #2 with screencapture #5 from our review of the Australian release). More importantly, grain is significantly better distributed and resolved (see screencaptures #4 and 17). As a result, even in areas where light is restricted the film has a better balanced and ultimately more pleasing organic appearance. There are no traces of sharpening adjustments. Overall image stability is outstanding and there are no debris, scratches, cuts, or damage marks. Finally, the encoding is superior to that of the two Region-B releases mentioned above. To sum it all up, the new 4K digital restoration of Eraserhead is guaranteed to please fans of the film in North America. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Eraserhead Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

I was already very pleased with the lossless track from Universal's release of Eraserhead -- the Australian release has only a lossy track -- and I am equally pleased with this new LPCM 2.0 track (though from what I am hearing it appears that some additional work was done on it). The industrial sounds create and sustain a tremendous atmosphere. The screams are razor-sharp as well. The dialog is clean, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, crackle, audio dropout, or digital distortions to report in this review.

Eraserhead Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• 1977 - trailer/promo piece for Eraserhead. Industrial sounds only. (1 min, 1080p).

• 1979 - presented here is an archival interview with David Lynch and cinematographer Frederick Elmes which was shot by filmmaker Tom Christie for his television production class at UCLA in 1979. The American director explains how he chose the location (an old industrial park) for his film and discusses its tone and atmosphere, as well as the polarizing reactions the film generated after its premiere. Frederick Elmes contributes with small technical comments. In English, not subtitled. (17 min, 1080i).

• 1982 - presented here is an archival trailer for Eraserhead which was produced by twins Douglas Brian Martin and Steven M. Martin, with cinematography by Frederick Elmes. The trailer preceded the film at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles for several years it played there to sold-out Friday midnight movie audiences. The trailer is essentially a Thank You message delivered by David Lynch. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080i).

• 1988 - presented here is an excerpt from an episode of the French television program Cinema de notre temps, which was recorded in 1988 and broadcast on April 23, 1993. David Lynch and actor Jack Nance (Henry Spencer) visit the big dark tunnel seen in Eraserhead (see screencapture #2). In English and French, with printed French and English subtitles where necessary. (7 min, 1080p).

• 1997 - presented here is archival footage with David Lynch, actors Jack Nance and Charlotte Stewart (Mary X), and director's assistant Catherine Coulson. The group visits Mary X's house, and discusses the shooting and unique atmosphere of Eraserhead. The interviews were conducted by Toby Keeler for his 1997 documentary Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch. In English, not subtitled. (17 min, 1080i).

• 2001 - David Lynch made the excellent documentary film "Eraserhead" Stories in 2001. It focuses on the long and rather unusual production history of his first feature film. "Eraserhead" Stories contains a large amount of archival stills and photographs. In English, not subtitled. (86 min, 1080i).

• 2014 - presented here are new interviews with director's assistant Catherine Coulson, actors Charlotte Stewart and Judith Anna Roberts, and cinematographer Frederick Elmes. The interviewees discuss their initial encounters and professional relationships with David Lynch, as well as their contributions to Eraserhead. The interviews were conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (27 min, 1080p).

• TV Calibration - viewing instructions provided by David Lynch. In text-format. Calibration tests are also included. (Please see screencapture #19).

• Short Films - presented here are new 2K restorations of six short films directed by David Lynch. Each film comes with a two-minute video introduction by the American director.
  
  1. Six Men Getting Sick (1967) - one-minute film loop projected on a sculpted screen. Dolby Digital 1.0. (4 min, 1080p).
  
  2. The Alphabet (1968) - shot on 16mm. Dolby Digital 1.0. (4 min, 1080p).
  
  3. The Grandmother (1970) - shot on 16mm. Dolby Digital 1.0. (34 min, 1080p).
  
  4. The Amputee (1974) - two versions, shot on video. Dolby Digital 1.0. (6/5 minutes, 1080p).
  
  5. Premonitions Following an Evil Deed (1995) - shot on 35mm. Dolby Digital 1.0. (1 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an interview with David Lynch from filmmaker and writer Chris Rodley's 1997 book Lynch on Lynch.

Eraserhead Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It should not have taken such a long time for David Lynch, one of the truly great contemporary American directors, to enter the Criterion Collection, but this upcoming Blu-ray release of his debut feature Eraserhead is a special treat that was definitely well worth the wait. After a new 4K digital restoration, Eraserhead looks absolutely fantastic in high-definition, while the supplemental features on the Blu-ray, which include new 2K restorations of six short films by Lynch, are the best that I have seen produced for a home video release of the film in any region. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.