Mulholland Drive 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Mulholland Drive 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 24, 2021

David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" (2001) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive video interviews with director David Lynch, actors Justin Theroux, Laura Harring and Naomi Watts, director of photography Peter Deming, composer Angelo Badalamenti, production designer Jack Fisk, and casting director Johanna Ray; deleted scene; and archival on-set footage. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Betty (Naomi Watts, 21 Grams, King Kong), a beautiful blonde from Ontario, arrives in Hollywood to try her luck in the movies. She moves in her absent aunt’s apartment where she meets Rita (Laura Harring, Ghost Son), an elegant brunette. Betty assumes that Rita is a friend of her aunt.

But Rita does not know Betty’s aunt. In fact, she does not know who she is -- she can’t remember her name or where she lives. The only thing Rita seems to remember is that she was involved in a car accident somewhere on Mulholland Drive. Intrigued by Rita’s story, Betty decides to help her.

Rita and Betty begin reconstructing Rita’s life. There are small details about the car accident Rita begins to remember, flashbacks from her past, even feelings she can’t quite understand. But did everything she remembers happen? Or is her brain playing tricks on her?

Meanwhile, a successful director (Justin Theroux, Inland Empire) is ordered to offer the leading role in his upcoming film to a girl he does not like. He attempts to protest, but a funny looking cowboy (Monty Montgomery) appears and repeats the order. He also conveys to the director that it will be in his best interest if they did not meet again. The director gets it, and somewhere in Los Angeles a man in a wheelchair (Michael J. Anderson, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me) is immediately delivered the good news. Before the director begins shooting the film, however, he discovers that his wife (Lori Heuring) is having an affair.

While Rita is recuperating, Betty has a terrific audition. Shortly after, she has sex with Betty. Then the two attend a strange theater and discover a tiny blue box in Betty’s purse. When they open the box all hell breaks loose.

Approximately a week after Mulholland Drive was released in theaters, director David Lynch revealed ten clues that supposedly unlocked the secret of his film. I’ve seen Mulholland Drive a number of times during the years and to this day remain firmly convinced that its narrative actually allows for a number of successful interpretations.

Director Lynch has also revealed that Mulholland Drive is a film about unique feelings, and slipping into another world where specific intellectual judgments are to be avoided. This I agree with. One does not necessarily have to align properly all the scattered pieces in the giant puzzle Mulholland Drive is in order to experience its beauty.

The film is uncompromisingly hypnotic. Even if one does not understand the significance of everything that takes place on the screen, one feels an inexorable need to keep watching, and feeling, and speculating. It is a strange feeling for sure - like being awake in a bizarre dream.

As stunningly beautiful many of the visuals may be, Mulholland Drive would have been a very different film without Angelo Badalamenti’s music score -- a striking blend of ambient and electronic tunes that give the film its unique pulse.

*In 2001, Mulholland Drive won Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. A year later, the film also won Best Film and Best Actress (Naomi Watts) awards at the National Society of Film Critics Awards.

Mulholland Drive 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's first 4K Blu-ray release is a combo pack that has 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray copies of Mulholland Drive. Both are sourced from the 4K restoration of the film that was supervised by director David Lynch and director of photography Peter Deming. This 4K restoration was initially introduced on Blu-ray in 2015.

The screencaptures that are included with our review are taken directly from the 4K Blu-ray disc. However, they are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, when you view them, you should keep in mind that they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

I tested the 4K Blu-ray release earlier today and was very impressed with the technical presentation. I used the HDR grade while viewing the film in its entirety, but the 4K Blu-ray has Dolby Vision as well.

The entire film looks a lot smoother now. However, this isn't the type of smoothness that you would encounter on older, digitally manipulated masters. It is the type of organic smoothness that is introduced by exceptionally strong density and equally impressive fluidity. Indeed, while on the 1080p presentation from the Blu-ray trained eyes can spot some minor density fluctuations, in native 4K the same fluctuations become virtually impossible to identify. Another small but notable improvement can be recognized in the manner in which the 4K presentation handles highlights. The visuals can appear slightly darker now, but there are expanded ranges of highlights. Shadow nuances are expanded as well. How much exactly? Enough to positively affect the perception of depth. I think that the darker footage where neon lighting is present, for instance, can look quite a bit better. Colors look outstanding. The primaries appear lush and very healthy, but the notable improvements are in the expanded supporting nuances. I think that this superior color balance positively impacts the perception of depth as well, especially during indoor and nighttime footage. Image stability is outstanding. Unsurprisingly, the entire film is spotless. Please note that the main menu of the 4K Blu-ray disc does not have chapter stops.

*The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray release is Region-A "locked".

Mulholland Drive 4K 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.

I am aware that a lot of people would have loved to see a Dolby Atmos mix on the 4K Blu-ray release of Mulholland Drive. However, I think that DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is exceptional. I just cannot see any areas where some meaningful improvements can be introduced. Clarity, sharpness, depth, dynamic intensity and balance, as well as overall balance are outstanding. I did not encounter any technical anomalies on my screener to report in our review.

Mulholland Drive 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Bonus Features - all bonus features are placed on the Blu-ray disc. See description below.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Trailer - original trailer for Mulholland Drive. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• On-set Footage - in this archival featurette, director David Lynch, composer Angelo Badalamenti, and cast members comment on the ambiance of Mulholland Drive. The featurette also contains plenty of raw footage from the shooting of difrerent sequences from the film (with various instructions from David Lynch). In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080i).

• Deleted Scene: Int. Hollywood Police Station - Day - in English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Interviews -
  
  1. David Lynch and Naomi Watts - in this new video interview, David Lynch discusses the long and very difficult production history of Mulholland Drive, the beauty of Los Angeles and the mystique of Mulholland Dr., the success of his film, etc. Naomi Watts recalls how she was on the verge of giving up and going back to Australia when she auditioned for the film, her initial encounter with David Lynch, the shooting of various sequences, how her career changed dramatically after the screening of Mulholland Drive at the Cannes Film Festival, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion. In English, not subtitled. (27 min, 1080p).
  
  2. Laura Harring, Johanna Ray, Justin Theroux, and Naomi Watts - in this video program, casting director Johanna Ray discusses her professional relationship with David Lynch (which started with Blue Velvet), the casting choices that were made during the pre-production of Mulholland Drive (and how important head shots are for David Lynch), her interactions with Naomi Watts, etc. Justin Theroux and Naomi Watts also explain how they were cast for their respective roles and discuss David Lynch's directing methods. Laura Harring explains how various sequences from Mulholland Drive were shot (including the notorious lovemaking sequence), the film's screening at the Cannes Film Festival, etc. The interviews were conducted exclusively for Criterion. In English, not subtitled. (36 min, 1080p).
  
  3. Angelo Badalamenti - in this new video interview, Angelo Badalamenti discusses his long and illustrious career, his professional relationship with David Lynch (with excellent comments about the scoring of Blue Velvet), and the iconic soundtrack for Mulholland Drive. The composer also discusses the various ideas David Lynch had for the film's final sound design (sound effects/tempo management/dynamics). The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080p).
  
  4. Peter Deming and Jack Fisk - in this new program, production designer Jack Fisk talks about his friendship with David Lynch and the work they did together during the years, the different locations from Los Angeles that were used in Mulholland Drive, and the ambiance of the film (which comes from David Lynch's love for Los Angeles). Cinematographer Peter Deming explains in great detail how various sequences were shot (with some great comments about the one featuring Monty Montgomery's mysterious cowboy), the management of light and some of David Lynch stranger decisions, and the dual nature, moods and colors of Mulholland Drive. The interviews were conducted exclusively for Criterion. In English, not subtitled. (23 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an interview with director David Lynch from filmmaker and writer Chris Rodley's 2005 edition of the book Lynch on Lynch.

Mulholland Drive 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When the first 4K Blu-ray releases began arriving on the market, I created a small wish list of all-time favorite films that I immediately wanted to own in native 4K and David Lynch's Mulholland Drive was near the very top of it. (In case you are wondering, right in front of it were Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita and Walter Hill's The Driver). A 4K Blu-ray release of Mulholland Drive is now in front of me, and I could not be happier with it. In fact, the excitement I feel at the moment is identical to the one that materialized after the Criterion Collection began releasing its titles on Blu-ray in 2008. Next year will be incredible, folks, because I think that we will see some absolutely spectacular and of course definitive 4K Blu-ray releases of timeless classic films. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.