Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Lynch/Oz Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 24, 2024

Alexandre O. Philippe's "Lynch/Oz" (2022) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Janus Films/Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include a program with the director and original trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

In recent years, many boutique labels began commissioning video essays in which critics would share their thoughts on a wide range of different films. These video essays do not follow a specific format. Some are quite long, some are short. Some summarize the career of a director and explain how the evolution of his style has shaped the identity of a particular film. Some do extensive deconstructive work that speculates how a particular film needs to be properly understood. However, a fairly large number of these video essays are simply free-style lectures that promote the cinematic knowledge and preferences of their creators.

Alexandre O. Philippe’s Lynch/Oz is broken into six chapters, and each is a video essay that could have been commissioned by a boutique label. While each of these video essays is a free-style lecture narrated by a different person, a common theme unites them all, which is a supposedly very obvious relationship between The Wizard of Oz (1939) and David Lynch’s cinematic universe. The narrators are: Amy Nicholson (Chapter One), Rodney Ascher (Chapter Two), John Waters (Chapter Three), Karyn Kusama (Chapter Four), Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Chapter Five), and David Lowery (Chapter Six).

Two-thirds of the information that is shared in the video essays is about the narrators’ initial experiences withThe Wizard of Oz and the impact it had on their lives, as well as their eventual realization that Lynch and his films were apparently influenced by it, too. Split screens with footage from The Wizard of Oz and different Lynch films are repeatedly used to highlight the supposedly obvious visual and thematic similarities. A few short archival clips with Lynch commenting are inserted as well.

The complete film is, perhaps unsurprisingly, wildly speculative. Sadly, it feels quite pretentious, too. Each narrator points out relationships that are either insignificant or simply non-existent and occasionally brings up visual similarities that are completely random, so the constant speculations that all Lynch films are not only influenced by The Wizard of Oz but have carefully crafted direct portals leading right back to the former’s spectacular dream world quickly become almost unbearably exhausting.

On top of all the wild and challenging speculations, the narrators routinely identify reoccurring thematic similarities that supposedly prove that The Wizard of Oz is the classic blueprint for films that set out to introduce and/or merge multiple realities where their characters roam free. In the process, most characters in The Wizard of Oz are treated with a pointless reexamination as well.

On paper, Lynch/Oz may seem like an attractive, even unmissable project, but the truth is that without Lynch having total control of it, meaning directing it, it was doomed to be an underwhelming project. Why? Because it is not breaking news that Lynch has been influenced by The Wizard Oz. What is not exactly clear is by how much, and the only party that can provide clarity with accurate information is Lynch himself. Are there any curious references in Lynch’s films that reveal the influence of The Wizard of Oz? There are a few, but they are not the consequential portals that the narrators in Lynch/Oz identify. Lynch’s films are unique projects with special identities, and what makes them effective is their connection to an entirely different place, which is the mind of a man with an extraordinary imagination.

Lynch/Oz 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, Lynch/Oz arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Janus Films/Criterion.

Lynch/Oz mixes up a lot of footage from various films, clips from archival content with David Lynch, and a small amount of original content. Unsurprisingly, the quality of the visuals can vary quite a lot. However, the fluctuations are inherited and the original content looks terrific, so the Blu-ray accurately reproduces the proper appearance ofLynch/Oz. Image stability is excellent. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our reviews either. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Lynch/Oz Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The narration and all dialog from the film clips are very easy to follow. For obvious reasons, some minor fluctuations in terms of clarity and dynamic balance are present, but the original music that is used to create a special atmosphere in each chapter sounds lovely. I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review.

Lynch/Oz Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Meet the Filmmakers - in this program, director Alexandre O. Philippe discusses his fascination with image composition in cinema and the goals of Lynch/Oz. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Trailer - presented is an original trailer for Lynch/Oz. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Lynch/Oz Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The original trailer for Lynch/Oz has the following quote from Rolling Stone: "A Must for Film Nerds". I have to disagree. There is nothing Lynch/Oz can offer to film nerds that they do not already know. It could have been a must-see project if it was directed by Lynch, who in the past has spoken about his admiration of The Wizard of Oz but never described it as the grand, consequential blueprint several celebrities apparently think it is. This release offers an outstanding technical presentation of Lynch/Oz.