You have talked about Eraserhead many times on this board. So I rented it, as it was among your favorites, as a fellow movie aficionado.

It is obvious that Lynch spent a lot of time on the film, but it really is very confusing. It is visually stunning. Can you shed any light at all on the meaning?

Hoo boy - where to begin? First off, I'm just impressed that you found a copy. Second, I'm a guy that's all about value. I'll shop at Costco, I'll buy 5 pizzas for 12 bucks, and I'll purchase a DVD if I am sure that I will watch it at least 3 times.

Eraserhead ain't for the faint of heart. It's wierd and its' confusing. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure that I've unlocked all the symbolism in the film. Moreover, whatever MY take is - it would behoove you to make a quick Google search for Eraserhead fan sites, they could shed more light than I. Nevertheless, here goes...

The character of 'Henry' is basically David Lynch himself. And the minimalist post-industrial cityscape of the movie equates to the area of Philly that Lynch was from. Moreover, the 'white-afro' of Henry's isn't too far from Lynch's own pompadour.

The spermlike alien baby (at least in my interpretation) was the conflict that David Lynch had with being a new father and having a marriage on the rocks. This is pretty evident in the protrayal of 'Mary'. Henry's life becomes more and more nightmarish when Mary is introduced to the story. In real life, Lynch was apprehensive about becoming a father, he was broke, he wasn't prepared, etc. Hence, the scene in the bed, where Henry appears to remove large spermatozoa from sleeping Mary, and then crushes them underfoot.

As Henry's life spins into turmoil with the 'baby' in the apartment and Mary leaving him - he attempts to escape his reality by staring and daydreaming in the antiquated radiator. Here's where ya got me - I don't know why the woman in the radiator has enormous cheeks - it's just plain wierd. In fact, I'll list some of the things I can't quite get my head around.

- When Mary goes into a quick seizure before dinner.
- Why the Cornish game hens ooze goo.
- All the pudding the drawer
- When Mary's Mom start's hitting on Henry.
- I'm not entirely sure who the Man in the Planet is or the symbolism behind him.

Anyway, that's the best I can do off the top of my head. Personally, I'm always on the lookout for the 'extended' or 'lost' version that has about 20 minutes or more worth of scenes (I think it might be available at www.davidlynch.com, but I'm not positive)

Lastly, after recently watching 'Blue Velvet' last month, it was interesting to see that many camera shots and motifs were lifted straight from 'Eraserhead'. I just thought that was cool.

Thanks, I think I still have it at home (avail from Netflix), and I'll watch it again. He does a lot of radiator staring.
I think, also, that its overall 'feel' is one of depression. I don't want to live in a world like that. It almost feels like I'm febrile when I watch it. If you've ever gone in and out of reality during a fever, you know that you wouldn't choose to feel that way again. The movie is pretty visceral in that aspect. I have always sucked at interpretation of abstract art, and I thank you for your attempt.