{"id":77249,"date":"2013-10-11T16:00:03","date_gmt":"2013-10-11T23:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/?p=77249"},"modified":"2017-04-25T17:11:07","modified_gmt":"2017-04-26T00:11:07","slug":"david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2013\/10\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html","title":{"rendered":"David Lynch Presents the History of Surrealist Film (1987)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"oc-video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x5aox2s\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>What liv\u00ading direc\u00adtor has drawn the descrip\u00adtor \u201csur\u00adre\u00adal\u201d more often than David Lynch? If you\u2019ve seen, or rather expe\u00adri\u00adenced, a few of his films \u2014 par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly <i>Eraser\u00adhead<\/i>, <i>Lost High\u00adway<\/i>, <i>Mul\u00adhol\u00adland Dr.<\/i>, or <i>Inland Empire<\/i>, or even the first half of his tele\u00advi\u00adsion series <i>Twin Peaks<\/i> \u2014 you know he\u2019s earned it. Like any sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist worth his salt, Lynch cre\u00adates his own ver\u00adsion of real\u00adi\u00adty, with its own set of often unfath\u00adomable and inex\u00adplic\u00ada\u00adbly but emo\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly and psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly res\u00ado\u00adnant qual\u00adi\u00adties. In 1987, the year after his break\u00adthrough <i>Blue Vel\u00advet<\/i> opened in the\u00adaters, the BBC appar\u00adent\u00adly thought him enough of an author\u00adi\u00adty on the mat\u00adter of cin\u00ade\u00admat\u00adic sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adism to enlist him to present an episode of <i>Are\u00adna<\/i> on the sub\u00adject.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x5aovxi\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>And so we\u2019ve high\u00adlight\u00aded, just above in two parts, the fruit of their col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtion, with apolo\u00adgies for the straight-from-the-VHS qual\u00adi\u00adty of the video. (I just think of the slight mud\u00addled\u00adness as adding anoth\u00ader wel\u00adcome lay\u00ader of unre\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty to the pro\u00adceed\u00adings.)<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/UnChienAndalou_313\" width=\"640\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Lynch\u2019s duties on the broad\u00adcast include pro\u00advid\u00ading facts about the films and film\u00admak\u00aders excerpt\u00aded through\u00adout to tell the his\u00adto\u00adry of sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist film. (He also pro\u00advides sev\u00ader\u00adal choice opin\u00adions, as when he calls Philadel\u00adphia \u201cone of the sick\u00adest, most cor\u00adrupt, deca\u00addent, fear-rid\u00adden cities that exists.\u201d) We see bits and pieces of pic\u00adtures like Luis Bu\u00f1uel and Sal\u00advador Dali\u2019s 1929 <i>Un Chien Andalou<\/i>&nbsp;(above), Jean Cocteau\u2019s 1932 <i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2012\/11\/jean_cocteaus_avante-garde_film_from_1930_ithe_blood_of_a_poeti.html\">Blood of a Poet<\/a><\/i>, Fer\u00adnand L\u00e9ger\u2019s 1947 <i>The Girl with the Pre\u00adfab\u00adri\u00adcat\u00aded Heart<\/i>, and Chris Marker\u2019s 1962 <i>La Jet\u00e9e<\/i>. Not only does Lynch con\u00adtex\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adize them, he dis\u00adcuss\u00ades their influ\u00adence on his own work. Casu\u00adal film\u00adgo\u00aders who\u2019ve caught a Lynch movie or two and tak\u00aden them as the imag\u00adin\u00adings of an enter\u00adtain\u00ading weirdo will, after watch\u00ading this episode, come to under\u00adstand how long a tra\u00addi\u00adtion they fit into \u2014 and they\u2019ll no doubt want to see not just more of Lynch\u2019s work, but his sources of inspi\u00adra\u00adtion as well. (They may, how\u00adev\u00ader, after hear\u00ading all he has to say here, still regard him as a weirdo.)<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you would like to sup\u00adport the mis\u00adsion of Open Cul\u00adture, con\u00adsid\u00ader <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3EBHjtX\">mak\u00ading&nbsp;a dona\u00adtion to our site<\/a>. It\u2019s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3EBHjtX\">con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtions<\/a> will help us con\u00adtin\u00adue pro\u00advid\u00ading the best free cul\u00adtur\u00adal and edu\u00adca\u00adtion\u00adal mate\u00adri\u00adals to learn\u00aders every\u00adwhere. You can con\u00adtribute through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openculture.com\/help-fund-open-culture\">Pay\u00adPal<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3eB2GRB\">Patre\u00adon<\/a>, and Ven\u00admo (@openculture). Thanks!<\/span><\/i><i><\/i><\/p>\n\n<p><b>Relat\u00aded Con\u00adtent:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2013\/06\/dreams_that_money_can_buy.html\">Watch <em>Dreams That Mon\u00adey Can Buy<\/em>, a Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist Film by Man Ray, Mar\u00adcel Duchamp, Alexan\u00adder Calder, Fer\u00adnand L\u00e9ger &amp; Hans Richter<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2011\/06\/un_chien_andalou.html\"><em>Un Chien Andalou<\/em>: Revis\u00adit\u00ading Bu\u00f1uel and Dal\u00ed\u2019s Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist Film<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2012\/08\/ithe_hearts_of_agei_orson_welles_surrealist_first_film_1934.html\"><em>The Hearts of Age<\/em>: Orson Welles\u2019 Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist First Film (1934)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2011\/07\/the_seashell_and_the_clergyman_the_worlds_first_surrealist_film.html\"><em>The Seashell and the Cler\u00adgy\u00adman<\/em>: The World\u2019s First Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist Film<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2012\/04\/man_ray_and_the_icinema_puri_four_surrealist_films_from_the_1920s.html\">Man Ray and the <i>Cin\u00e9\u00adma Pur<\/i>: Four Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist Films From the 1920s<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2012\/02\/david_lynchs_surreal_commercials.html\">David Lynch\u2019s Sur\u00adre\u00adal Com\u00admer\u00adcials<\/a><\/p>\n<p><i>Col\u00adin Mar\u00adshall hosts and pro\u00adduces&nbsp;<\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.colinmarshall.org\/\">Note\u00adbook on Cities and Cul\u00adture<\/a><i>&nbsp;and writes essays on lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture, film, cities, Asia, and aes\u00adthet\u00adics. He\u2019s at work on a book about Los Ange\u00adles<\/i>,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kcet.org\/socal\/departures\/landofsunshine\/a-los-angeles-primer\/\">A Los Ange\u00adles Primer<\/a>. Fol\u00adlow<i>&nbsp;him on Twit\u00adter at&nbsp;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/#%21\/colinmarshall\"><i>@colinmarshall<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What liv\u00ading direc\u00adtor has drawn the descrip\u00adtor \u201csur\u00adre\u00adal\u201d more often than David Lynch? If you\u2019ve seen, or rather expe\u00adri\u00adenced, a few of his films \u2014 par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly Eraser\u00adhead, Lost High\u00adway, Mul\u00adhol\u00adland Dr., or Inland Empire, or even the first half of his tele\u00advi\u00adsion series Twin Peaks \u2014 you know he\u2019s earned it. Like any sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist worth [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>David Lynch Presents the History of Surrealist Film (1987)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2013\/10\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Colin Marshall\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Colin Marshall\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6876a344072c1e9dd894f4044f353ccf\"},\"headline\":\"David Lynch Presents the History of Surrealist Film (1987)\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-10-11T23:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-26T00:11:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html\"},\"wordCount\":458,\"commentCount\":6,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Film\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html\",\"name\":\"David Lynch Presents the History of Surrealist Film (1987)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-10-11T23:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-26T00:11:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/david-lynch-presents-the-history-of-surrealist-film-1987.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"David Lynch Presents the History of Surrealist Film (1987)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Open Culture\",\"description\":\"The best free cultural &amp; 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