NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray (March 2024): Janus Contemporaries have transferred Alexandre O. Philippe's documentary Lynch/Oz to Blu-ray. "Janus Contemporaries releases Blu-ray and DVD editions of first-run films, fresh from theaters, in association with Criterion." The first slate offered Jafar Panahi's No Bears, Jerzy Skolimowski's EO and Louis Garrel's The Innocent. The second wave of Janus Contemporaries Blu-rays include the Darndenne's Tori and Lokita, Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch's brilliant The Eight Mountains and Hlynur Pálmason's Dreyer-like Godland - next Christian Petzold's brilliant Afire. They are all very good!

The 1080P image quality of Lynch/Oz is... as flawless in replicating the 2022 film's appearance as one might expect. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and employs the typical contemporary documentary aesthetic, with a mix of stills, montages and archival interview snippets - ex. a David Lynch interview with Charlie Rose, Rodney Ascher B-roll, etc. plus this documentary has a mass of film clips - sometimes split-screen, from as diverse as John Ford's Stagecoach (1939,) Don Siegel's Dirty Harry (1971,) Easy Rider , Do the Right Thing, Fight Club, It's A Wonderful Life, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, John Water's films, Powell and Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death (1946,) Kiarostami's Through the Olive Trees and Where is the Friends' Home... with, obviously, The Wizard of Oz plus many more - and, of course, all of Lynch's work (plenty of Twin Peaks) including - notably - “Blue Velvet,” “Lost Highway”, “Mulholland Drive” etc. and rare shorts.

NOTE: We have added 46 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Janus Contemporaries use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original English language. Lynch/Oz has, essentially, narration and film clips with the latter having some aggression and depth. The Lynch-esque score is by Aaron Lawrence and supports the documentary credits - also used in a few sequences. Janus Contemporaries offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray offers a new 'Meet the Filmmakers' 18-minute interview with writer / director Alexandre O. Philippe who talks about this being his 10th feature - and Lynch/Oz is about the mysterious inspirations of the creative process. It was informative. There is also a trailer for the film and the package has liner notes with an essay by Michael Joshua Rowin.

Alexandre O. Philippe's Lynch/Oz is accurately described as "cinematic catnip". The film is divided into six 'visual essay' chapters hosted and narrated by filmmakers / commentators; Amy Nicholson (Chapter 1: 'Wind'), Chapter 2: 'Membranes' by Rodney Ascher (Room 237), 'Kindred' by John Waters (Polyester, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble), 'Multitudes' by Karyn Kusama (Jennifer's Body), 'Judy' by Aaron Moorhead (The Endless), and Chapter 6: 'Dig' by David Lowery (The Old Man & the Gun). There are theories on why The Wizard of Oz became so influential - especially to Lynch, the director's use of it as a fairytale, a nightmare universe, links to the films of John Waters, jabs at Hollywood superficiality, comparisons to other films of Lynch's with his repeated use of the ominous sound of wind, heavy curtains, slow pans and fades etc. I'm always keen to hear keen, deep, observations of David Lynch’s cinema art, surrealistic visuals with intelligent comparisons. This is that. Iconoclastic Lynch is famous for saying: “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about ‘The Wizard of Oz.’” Alexandre O. Philippe's documentary not only takes a stab at explaining why Victor Fleming’s film is echoing throughout Lynch's work, but also shows us numerous examples of where the connections are both obvious and subtle for other films as well. Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray will be enjoyed by curious David Lynch fans (hardcore Lynchians may be more dismissive) and cinephiles interested to learn more. Recommended.

Gary Tooze