It was a film that took chances resulting in an uneven work, but in its successful dark moments was able to shine as a haunting film. The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s, Apparire/sparire, essere/riessere: il trucco dell'anima e i fuochi d'artificio dell'immortalità, 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment. [8], The scenes that involved nudity and sexual contact proved to be very difficult for Arquette because she considers herself a very modest and shy person. Nevertheless, she felt very protected by Lynch and the film crew, who would always give her robes at any time. 8. "[12], Actor Robert Blake was cast as The Mystery Man because Lynch liked his previous work and was always interested in working with him. Although Pete is released into the care of his parents, he is followed by two detectives who are trying to find out more about him. Fred and Renee attend a party at Andy's house where Fred lets slip that Laurent is dead, a fact which no one else knows yet. Robert Blake, Actor: Lost Highway. [29] The film was also noted for its graphic violence and sexual themes. Even as the story flies out of control (though Robert Blake's disturbing "Mystery Man" seems to know all the answers), Lost Highway remains a sound/image tour de force, particularly in the ultra-moody first half before the cacophony explodes in the second half. He came across the phrase "lost highway" in the book Night People (1992) by Barry Gifford. Fred Madison, a Los Angeles saxophonist, receives a message on his house intercom: "Dick Laurent is dead." [10][11] Actor Balthazar Getty was chosen for the role of Pete Dayton after Lynch saw a picture of him in a magazine and said that he was "the guy for the job. [6] Deming would occasionally pull out the lenses of his camera to defocus a particular scene,[17] while Lynch would often listen to music in his headset and to a scene at the same time to visualize the screenplay. [32] He also interprets the film's bipartite structure as exploiting "the opposition of two horrors: the phantasmatic horror of the nightmarish noir universe of perverse sex, betrayal, and murder, and the (perhaps much more unsettling) despair of our drab, alienated daily life of impotence and distrust. Lost Highway is a 2003 opera adaptation of the 1997 David Lynch ... Christopher Robson as The Mystery Man and David Moss as Mr Eddy/Dick Laurent. The German premiere was staged at the Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt by Yuval Sharon, with David Moss, among others. [10] According to him, "Sound and picture working together is what films are [...] So every single sound has to be supporting that scene and enlarging it. [44], Writing for the Chicago Reader, critic Jonathan Rosenbaum felt that Lost Highway was "an audacious move away from conventional narrative and back toward the formal beauty of Eraserhead". Pete gets a phone call from Mr. Eddy and The Mystery Man, which frightens Pete so much that he decides to go along with Alice's plan. Lynch defended these images, stating that he was simply being honest with his own ideas for the film. [16] The final car chase was shot with two different cameras running at different frame rates. I don't want anyone to see me naked." ... which deals with a man who killed his wife. [6] The paintings that are on the wall above the couch were done by Lynch's ex-wife and producer Mary Sweeney. [7] The film's opening scene, where Fred Madison hears the words "Dick Laurent is dead" over his intercom, was inspired by an analogous incident that happened to Lynch at his own house. Lynch felt it was a musical term, stating that "a fugue starts off one way, takes up on another direction, and then comes back to the original, so it [relates] to the form of the film. [36], Upon release, Lost Highway received mixed reviews from critics. "[32] This implies that Fred's madness is so powerful that even the fantasy where he sees himself as Pete ultimately dissolves and ends in a nightmare. Despite being a neo-noir, Lost Highway has several haunting elements. David Lynch's Twin Peaks and Lost Highway both feature villains with similarly ominous characteristics, and they may both be from The Black Lodge. Upon searching the cabin, he meets The Mystery Man, who begins filming and chasing Fred with a video camera. Lost Highway Mystery Man (1997) Electra Glide in Blue John Wintergreen (1973) Baretta Det. Watch Lost Highway movie trailer and get the latest cast info, photos, movie review and more on TVGuide.com. [15] Lynch owns the property that was used for Fred and Renee's mansion, which is located on the same street as his own house in the Hollywood Hills. Lost Highway is a cinematic lesson in mood, thematic depth and compelling rewatchability, although there is a sense of relief in its final twenty minutes as Pete transforms back into Fred, since Balthazar Getty’s performance of Pete Dayton leaves something to be desired, seemingly incapable of carrying so much of the film’s weight. [5] Some viewers think that the film is a homage to Ambrose Bierce's 1890 short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". It is not my custom to go where I’m not invited”. Bill Pullman .... Fred Madison Patricia Arquette .... Renee Madison/Alice Wakefield Balthazar Getty .... Peter Raymond Dayton The website's critical consensus reads, "Marking a further escalation in David Lynch's surrealist style, Lost Highway is a foreboding mystery that arguably leads to a dead end, although it is signposted throughout with some of the director's most haunting images yet.