Mulholland Drive [Édition Collector-4K Ultra HD + Blu-Ray]

Product Information

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. So yes, some aspects could probably be better but on the whole I was very happy with this; it’s sharp, substantially cleaner with more detailcompared to the Blu-ray, and range is striking. I think it’s a solid first go.

What remains so delicious is how it all ties itself together, with seemingly innocuous scenes at the beginning becoming integral to the (eventual) understanding. There are dreamlike qualities, nightmare aspects and a deep-seated menace that underpins the whole Hollywood angle – shining a light on all the seediness years before it came out. The old Universal DVD had some cast & crew bios that I'm sure no one will miss. It also came with a printed insert containing David Lynch's "10 Clues" to look for when watching the movie, which were cryptic and vaguely patronizing. (In the new booklet essay, Lynch says that he was pressured to write them by the distributor.) On-Set Footage (SD, 25 min.) – Raw behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of a few scenes (all reshoots for the theatrical version, none from the original pilot). A little bit of this goes a long way, and there's a lot of it here. Naomi Watts is adorable when she flubs her lines and swears. Angelo Badalamenti Interview (HD, 20 min.) – The composer discusses his childhood (he only took up music as a way to get girls), his career, how he got into the movie business, his symbiotic relationship with Lynch, and his first and only attempt to act. (Badalamenti plays the gangster with an espresso obsession.) Criterion’s 4K Ultra HD release also comes with a Blu-ray of the film in 1080p. The following extras are included on the Blu-ray only:

Scores

Due to the abstract nature of the film there are many ways you can interpret the events and what really happened but the truth is in there. The previous Blu-ray release was only in 2017 and that was a brand new Director approved restoration, the best version of the film yet seen, until now. The UHD is absolutely worth yet another upgrade. Under supervision of David Lynch and cinematographer Peter Deming, Studiocanal worked with Criterion just this year to scan in the original 35mm negative to 4K resolution. We even get the Criterion logo at the beginning of the film. 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). That all sounds too ordinary for a film with such a reputation. It really doesn’t scratch the surface considering that critics once voted Mulholland Drive the greatest film of this century so far in 2016. Rich in character, confidence and a weirdness that doesn’t feel at all out-of-place in LA, it’s hard to argue, even as you wonder, what on earth is going on?

This was a film that I had heard a lot about over the years but I never got around to watching it until tonight. On a personal note, I love David Lynch’s work, but I’m in love with Mulholland Drive. It’s one of those films that grabs hold and never lets go once it has its claws in you. The Criterion Collection’s Ultra HD upgrade of the film is remarkable. The picture quality of their Blu-ray release was top of the line, but the 4K UHD is nearly definitive. Highly recommended. It's not completely spelled out but you can piece it together. The sad thing is, despite it being a work of fiction, much of it is based on the reality of the movie industry in Hollywood. The precise juncture where the TV pilot ends and the new footage begins is extremely easy to identify, almost hilariously so. It's punctuated, at literally the very moment when the TV-safe footage runs out, by an explicit sex scene that obviously couldn't air on network television. From that point forward, the movie is propelled into decidedly R-rated territory, and the narrative seemingly breaks down into an increasingly surreal series of scenes that radically deconstruct and reinterpret everything that we'd seen earlier.

The Criterion Blu-ray for 'Mulholland Drive' is sourced from a new 4k film scan supervised by director David Lynch and cinematographer Peter Deming. Despite this, my initial impression was that it looks hardly any different at all from the older import Blu-ray. Although there wasn't necessarily anything terribly wrong with the import, I perhaps set my expectations unreasonably high for Criterion's effort. While indeed different in a few respects, any improvements turn out to be very subtle.

I thought the film was going one way but it took a different direction which had me trying to work it out and then it reveals the tragic truth. 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. As with the video, the surround mix is remastered from the original negative. The sound design of Mulholland Drive is superb and serves equally the demands the variety of styles in the film make. The core is drama, where characters are centred and clear. But listen in particular to the diner scene early in the film where environmental sounds and Angelo Badalamenti’s subtle, haunting score work together to create a palpable sense of unease. Later, there are opportunities for musical extravagance: a Spanish rendition of Roy Orbison’s Crying or film-within-a-film 60s style pop earworms. Import DVDs and Blu-rays contained additional Electronic Press Kit material and unique interviews not found here, as well as a couple of (non-Lynch-approved) featurettes that attempted to interpret the movie's symbolism. Mulholland Drive might make you want to tear your hair out, but throw yourself in anyway and float through it, because there are at least two solutions: one of them is David Lynch’s, and he’s tantalisingly obscured it such that it will be discussed ad infinitum; the other solution is yours.

Mulholland Drive 4K Audio

Badalamenti is a composer that has worked with David Lynch several times. In Mulholland Drive he also has a very memorable cameo. He talks about his process and how he ended up in front of the camera for once.

Criterion's Blu-ray edition has been a long time coming. The disc has nice picture and sound that should satisfy most fans. While I might wish for more substance from the supplemental features, what we get is reasonably interesting. I'm not sure if this can really be called the definitive edition of 'Mulholland Drive', but it's the closest we've ever seen or likely will see for a long time. When the film was selected for the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Mr. Lynch again reviewed the film’s grading and made some tweaks for the cinema version. He was delighted with the restorative work. Additional color correction: George Koran/FotoKem, Los Angeles; Sheri Eisenberg/Colorworks, Culver City, CA. This is the exact same disc as the Criterion release in the US; just in case anyone is in any doubt, the Criterion logo boots up before the film starts.

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What makes Mulholland Drive so compelling is the non-linear narrative and the interpretation therein. Despite director David Lynch’s ‘ten points’ to unravelling the plot, the basic idea is relatively simple. But the interpretation of the various elements and their meaning within the larger picture remains enigmatic and thus is largely left to the individual. STUDIOCANAL and Criterion, as companies, but also as fans, deeply thank Mr. Lynch for his time and insight. MULHOLLAND DRIVE, which is not only known to be one of director David Lynch’s ( Twin Peaks, Inland Empire) essential films, but also one of the greatest films of the 21 st century, stars Naomi Watts ( 21 Grams, The Impossible) in her breakthrough double-role as Betty / Diane as well as Laura Harring ( Love in the Time of Cholera, The Punisher), Justin Theroux ( American Psycho, The Girl On The Train) and Melissa George ( Hunted, Triangle). MULHOLLAND DRIVE is a dreamlike journey, as well as a captivating commentary on Hollywood, receiving continued acclaim from critics and viewers alike since its initial release.