Lost Highway
Explained: A Web Site
A Project by Jason Dessel
brought to you by...
Starring...
Bill Pullman as Fred Madison
Patricia Arquette as Renee/Alice
Natasha Gregson Wagner as Sheila
Robert Loggia as Dick Laurant/Mr. Eddie
Balthazar Getty as Peter Dayton
Robert Blake as The Mystery Man
Angelo Badalamenti - Musical Composition
Peter Deming - Director of Photography
John Ross - Sound Recorder
Jocelyn West - Sang some of the beautiful Angelic pieces in the background
and played the violin. (She's also really cute! )
Welcome to The Lost Highway Explained: A Web Page!
Most movies tell a story. I go to the movies to forget my problems
for a few hours and instead watch a small part of someone else's life. If I'm lucky, the
movie will touch me in some way, or better yet, I'll be able to relate the story to some
event in my life. Whatever the case may be, I'm still only watching the movie, sitting
comfortably in the movie theater - in a different world from the actors on the screen.
Lost Highway attempts to bridge these two worlds by making the viewer feel as though they are actually experiencing the
character's life, instead of just watching it. As with many of David
Lynch's movies, this film is instead a powerfully unique and fascinating journey that will
make you feel as though you have entered the mind of the main character, and if you're
like me, you'll find it very hard to escape!
It is the story of Fred Madison, a man who has committed a horrible crime but now cannot accept this within himself. Fred soon finds out that he still must pay the price for his wrongdoing, despite his denial. After all, this is reality ... but for how long? Since reality won't allow Fred the escape that he seeks, his only choice is to create a way out, within his own mind... and soon Fred finds himself riding on the "Lost Highway" ...
I saw the following message posted on a David Lynch newsgroup:
"I just saw Lost Highway for the first time here in the UK last night...
What? Who? Where? Why? etc.
Any suggestions as to what the heck it all meant would be appreciated. Thanks."
What Inspired Me To Do This???
In my opinion, this was a superb movie. Behind the story
presented on the screen was a deep philosophical message that the viewer was left to
unfold. When I began to think about the movie, and this message slowly started to dawn on
me, I couldn't believe how cleverly integrated it was into a film that might, at first,
appear as nothing more than abstract art on a movie screen.
After watching the movie around five times, reading the script twice,
and participating in various discussions, I felt inspired to put all of my thoughts into a
web page. Hopefully after you read through here you'll have a better understanding of this
film, so that you can build your own interpretations and appreciation.
Who is David Lynch?
David Lynch is a Renaissance man - a
painter, photographer, sculptor, sound
producer, and writer. He is best known as
film director whose wholly unique vision
had captured the imagination of filmgoers
worldwide; his startlingly original films are
as popular as they are peculiar and
distinctive.
-from the Images Jacket cover
Lynch's use of symbolism and imagery to bring life to intangible
concepts such as emotions and feelings is unparalleled by modern American filmmakers In
addition, the art that he incorporates into his movies is something that most of
the "Hollywood Formula" movies of today don't include.
Lost Highway is no exception to David's wishes in that I don't
think it will ever be totally figured out. I also believe that there could be (and
apparently are!) many interesting and provocative interpretations of the film that might
not even agree. Please consider this when reading this web site.
Thanks, David, for another brilliant film!
Credits:
The contents of this page is a combination of my own interpretations as well as discussions that I had with a number of people. Some of the ideas also appeared in newsgroup discussions regarding the movie. I'd like to thank all those who (unknowingly!) helped me put all of my ideas together. Of course, much of the movie (or maybe all of it!!!) still remains a mystery. I'd like to especially thank Kevin Patterson for some insightful discussion as well as his help in organizing some of the discussion on the Internet that occurred right after the movie opened.
Welcome to My Lost Highway Hotel...
...Please Choose a room!
My Recommendation: Go into the rooms in order. Each page kind of builds on previous ones...
Room 1: The Lost Highway: A Road to a New Reality
Room 2: Symbolism in Lost Highway: What the characters represent in the film
Room 3:
Detailed
Analysis of Fred Madison's New Identities
If you're still thirsty for more, check these out...
Room 25: Interesting Tidbits, Stuff to Ponder, and Things to Discover in Lost Highway
Room 26: Downloadable Stuff from the Movie!
Movie:
Mystery Man
talks to Fred for the first time (3 megs)
Sound Bit: The Mystery Man's Laugh
Sound Bit: Fred Meets the Mystery Man... for the
first time!
Sound Bit: "Deranged" -- The Lost
Highway Theme Song
Room 30: View the entire Lost Highway screenplay!
Lost Highway Hotel, Building #2: All about David Lynch
Click here to go to building #2:
David Lynch: Exclusive Interviews and other David Lynch stuff!
click here to send me an
e-mail...
please delete 'REMOVETHIS' from the email address. You can thank the
spammers for this inconvenience!!
...or
better yet, post your thoughts about Lost Highway Explained: A Web Site in
My
Guestbook for all to see!
Go to "Lost Highway: Explained"
Part I - A Road to a New Reality
Go to the "Lost Highway Explained"
Main Page
Go to the "David Lynch Interviews and
other TidBits" page
