Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

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Audio:

Extras:
• New interview with codirector Jon Nguyen (16:24)
• Trailer (1:48)
• PLUS: A new essay by critic Dennis Lim

Bitrate:

 

Description: A rare glimpse into the mind of one of cinema’s most enigmatic visionaries, David Lynch: The Art Life offers an absorbing portrait of the artist, as well as an intimate encounter with the man himself. From his secluded home and painting studio in the Hollywood Hills, a candid Lynch conjures people and places from his past, from his boyhood to his experiences at art school to the beginnings of his filmmaking career—in stories that unfold like scenes from his movies. This remarkable documentary by Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, and Olivia Neergaard-Holm travels back to Lynch’s early years as a painter and director drawn to the phantasmagoric, while also illuminating his enduring commitment to what he calls “the art life”: “You drink coffee, you smoke cigarettes, and you paint, and that’s it.”

 

 

The Film:

David Lynch had a near-perfect childhood: an idyll of picket-fence tranquillity; loving parents who hardly exchanged a cross word. There’s no deep-rooted trauma to explain his art, with its insatiable spelunking into American nightmares. You can’t use Freud to solve him.

Nor could you use David Lynch: The Art Life as a behind-the-scenes primer on his filmmaking, because it isn’t about that. Not a frame of his post-Eraserhead work appears. Instead, Lynch himself is on screen a lot – daubing, smoking, recollecting. It’s about his early days as a fine artist, before the grants he won from the American Film Institute allowed his surrealism to migrate onto film.

Excerpt from EyeforFilm located HERE

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

David Lynch: The Art Life looks a strong replication of its HD source transferred to Blu-ray by Criterion.  There really is nothing to go wrong with the modern footage of Lynch, smoking, creating - and the old footage from 16mm and vintage photos looks authentically grainy - damage intact. Colors are bright and deep - contrast excellent. The art shown is fascinating. This dual-layered Blu-ray, with max'ed out bitrate, reproduced a flawless 1080P presentation.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Criterion use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround (24-bit) but there are few separations - being mostly dialogue/narration driven. The music in the documentary is credited to Jonatan Bengta, and we can also hear David Lynch and Dean Hurley performing their own compositions of I Have a Radio, The Night Bell With Lightning and Sparkle Lounge Blues. It plays well with the film. There are optional English subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A' disc.

Extras :

David Lynch: the Art of Life co-director Jon Nguyuen first collaborated with David Lynch on Lynch (2007), an intimate portrait of the filmmaker as he completed Inland Empire. In the included interview, shot for Criterion in March 2017, Nguyuen discusses the origins of this, their subsequent project together, the unique access his team had, and the challenges they faced in constructing the film. It runs just over 1/4 an hour. There is also a trailer and the package has a liner notes booklet with a new essay by critic Dennis Lim.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
David Lynch: The Art Life spends some marvelous, relaxing, time with a unique artist. Lynch provides interesting details of his life, maturing and his personal philosophy. Fans will love this as he is more in the retirement-mode than filmmaking... but the creativity never goes away. It's necessary for him. I'd love to get some of that art. This Blu-ray package is an easy recommendation. A fascinating exploration in one of the more profound directors and thinkers - who managed to stay true to his vision. Strongly recommended!!

Gary Tooze

September 6th, 2017