ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (October 2022): Criterion's have released David Lynch's Lost Highway to 4K UHD. It is cited as a "New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director David Lynch." It has Dolby Vision HDR and a second disc Blu-ray with the film in 1080P and supplements. We've compared 6 different editions of the film (4 X DVD and 2 X Blu-ray) HERE. It's safe to say that there is plenty of disparity in regards to the visual appearance of Lost Highway on digital. I will admit that this is one transfer that we were not able to faithfully replicate in our  2160 simulation captures. Criterion's actual 4K UHD looks much better. I also have no idea what the original theatrical appearance was in terms of color and brightness. This has a stronger contrast from darker scenes and better lit ones and it supports the film with heavy grain textures, occasional deeper colors and superior balance. Without getting too deep into the minutia of the appearance - I can say that this is easily the best I have seen Lost Highway look on my system. The transfer has no trouble handling the dark scenes which were intentionally not adjusted during the film's post-production.    

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 60 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Videodrome (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR), It Happened One Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Mummy (1932)(software uniformly simulated HDR), Creature From the Black Lagoon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Bride of Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Amityville Horror  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The War of the Worlds (1953) (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Incredible Melting Man  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cloak & Dagger (software uniformly simulated HDR), Event Horizon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Get Carter (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Killing (software uniformly simulated HDR), Killer's Kiss (software uniformly simulated HDR), Out of Sight (software uniformly simulated HDR), Raging Bull (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shaft (1971),  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Double Indemnity (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Untouchables (software uniformly simulated HDR),  For a Few Dollars More (no HDR), Saboteur (software uniformly simulated HDR), Marnie (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shadow of a Doubt (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Fistful of Dollars (no HDR), In the Heat of the Night (no HDR), Jack Reacher (software uniformly simulated HDR), Death Wish II (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Apartment (no HDR), The Proposition (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nightmare Alley (2021) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Godfather (software uniformly simulated HDR), Le Crecle Rouge (software uniformly simulated HDR), An American Werewolf in London (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Hard Day's Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Piano (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Great Escape (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Red Shoes (software uniformly simulated HDR), Citizen Kane (software uniformly simulated HDR), Unbreakable (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mulholland Dr. (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Hills Have Eyes (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc),  Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Chernobyl  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsing (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

On their 4K UHD, Criterion give the option of a robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround or a linear PCM stereo track (both 24-bit). The surround sounds has some surprising separations and supports the paced rhythms of "Lost Highway." There is bass-driven aggression with intensity. Supporting the film is the moody score by Angelo Badalamenti with surreal qualities (he has done many David Lynch films including Mulholland Dr., Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks- Fire Walk With Me, Wild at Heart and The Straight Story among others. He's also done the score for Tough Guys Don't Dance, Schrader's Auto-Focus, and other films like 44 Inch Chest, The Edge of Love, The Comfort of Strangers etc.) It remains dark, mysterious, suspenseful, and the film is filled with eclectic sampling including David Bowie's I'm Deranged or other music by This Mortal Coil, Rammstein, Barry Adamson, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails ("The Perfect Drug" and "Driver Down"), Marilyn Manson, Antonio Carlos Jobim's Insensatez, Lou Reed's This Magic Moment, Richard Butler's White Lines and others. It sounds kinetic and highly effective in establishing a haunting nightmarish atmosphere. Criterion add optional English (SDH) subtitle options on their Region FREE 4K UHD disc (see sample below.)

Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch is an eighty-minute documentary made by Toby Keeler in 1997. In addition to footage from the set of Lost Highway, it includes interviews with David Lynch, Patricia Arquette, Angelo Badalamenti, Robert Blake, Mel Brooks, Catherine Coulson, Peter Deming, Jack Fisk, Balthazar Getty, Barry Gifford, Austin Lynch, Jennifer Lynch, Jack Nance, Dean Stockwell, and Mary Sweeney. There are 1/4 hour's worth of Outtakes from the documentary that you can watch as well. Included is a forty-three-minute audio recording of director David Lynch and his coauthor, Kristine McKenna, reading from the chapter "Next Door to Dark," from their 2018 book Room to Dream. There are archival interviews with Lynch and actors Patricia Arquette, Bill Pullman, and Robert Loggia. "David Lynch, 1997" is a dozen minutes piece with the director. Lastly is a short theatrical re-release trailer and the package has a booklet with excerpts from an interview with Lynch from filmmaker and writer Chris Rodley’s book Lynch on Lynch.

David Lynch's Lost Highway was supposedly partially inspired by the O. J. Simpson murder trial and the football player's inability to return to his previous lifestyle. The film was critically dismissed as "scattered" and "incoherent" upon its initial release, but has since been looked at with scholarly praise and has attracted a strong cult following. It has been described as "wildly brave and unique" incorporating mystery with a Fugue state of mental and behavioral disorder. The idea of amnesia over identity, memory and even personality runs through Lost Highway with detailed control by the director. This is often mistaken as "randomness" but is far from it. It would be acceptable to classify Lost Highway as Neo-noir although there are stylistic elements of German Expressionism, the French New Wave among other genre flourishes imbedded in the film. In 2003, it was, actually, adapted as an opera by the Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth. Criterion's 4K UHD release of David Lynch's Lost Highway is easily the best digital presentation of the film and it has some valued extras. For Lynch fans, and beyond, this is easily a must-own. Don't hesitate.

Gary Tooze