KinoCult presents: Lost Highway (1997) by David Lynch


September 24 | 19:00 | Lumiere Cinema 


“Lost Highway” begins with a sentence: “Dick Laurent is dead.” David Lynch recounts that the idea was born after a stranger called his home intercom and uttered these words, having dialed the wrong address. From a random sentence emerges one of the most enigmatic films in David Lynch's career.


Saxophonist Fred Madison begins receiving anonymous videotapes filmed outside his home. Shortly thereafter, he is accused of murdering his wife. While awaiting his death sentence, he inexplicably disappears from prison, and another man appears in his place. From this point on, “Lost Highway” follows the logic of a dream rather than reality.


Today, “Lost Highway” is regarded as one of the key works in David Lynch's cinema. As early as 1997, Jonathan Rosenbaum described it as “a bold move away from conventional storytelling,” while Jean-François Roger from Le Monde referred to it as “a mental labyrinth.” 


In interviews surrounding the premiere, Lynch admitted that he never starts with a completed script in his head. Everything begins with an idea or image that he “falls in love with.” Then more ideas come - like fragments that gradually start to connect with each other. “You can't force them. If you stay true to the idea, it will show you where to go.” - says David Lynch.


director: David Lynch
screenplay: David Lynch, Barry Gifford
starring: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake, Robert Loggia
cinematography: Peter Deming
editing: Mary Sweeney
music: Angelo Badalamenti
running time: 134 min.
language: English