Fans have been devastated with the news that legendary filmmaker David Lynch has died at age 78. His incredible body of work spans film, television, and a variety of other artistic mediums. However, for those wanting to revisit Lynch’s works during this time, they can do so by streaming a true David Lynch movie classic on Max.
Fortunately, Max actually has several David Lynch movies available for streaming. This movie in particular, however, is quite special for its place in Lynch’s filmography for a number of reasons. As such, it should certainly be one of the first considerations for any fan wanting to revisit his work.
One reason this movie has become so important in recent years is that it was reevaluated as such. Upon its initial release in 1992, the film was slammed by critics and moviegoers. Now, decades later, it has been reexamined and viewers now consider it a true classic.
The reason this film was so controversially-received when first released is that it followed in the footsteps of Twin Peaks. The hit television series was co-created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, and after being prematurely canceled in 1991, Lynch followed it up with a 1992 movie titled Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
The film was a massive project for Lynch who chose to follow the darker elements of Twin Peaks for its transition to the big screen. Naturally, this alienated fans who were expecting the warm, coffee-fueled hijinks of its predecessor. Fire Walk with Me instead tells the story of Sheryl Lee’s Laura Palmer, a character only briefly seen alive in the TV series, and the final week before her death which kicked off the television show.
While this could have been a straight-forward prequel, however, it is not. In fact, it might even work best as a follow-up to the TV series. Its plot revolves around several major twists that unfold throughout the television show, and as such, the movie works better with that context in mind. It was even supposed to launch several more Twin Peaks movies, but due to its failure at the box office and with viewers, it killed the brand for decades.
It wasn’t until 2017 that fans finally received more Twin Peaks content, and as one might expect, Fire Walk with Me plays a vital role in the continued storyline’s lore. This makes the film a proper stepping stone to 2017’s Twin Peaks: The Return, itself the biggest experiment of Lynch’s career, and proves just how important the elements introduced in this 1992 prequel turned out to be.
In addition to Sheryl Lee, the film’s cast includes the return of Ray Wise, Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Eric Da Re, and Miguel Ferrer from the television series. Meanwhile, Lara Flynn Boyle’s Donna Hayward was recast with Moira Kelly. Newcomers include David Bowie, Harry Dean Stanton, and Kiefer Sutherland. It’s an impressive lineup that David Lynch himself joins as his own beloved Twin Peaks character Gordon Cole.
One can also appreciate that the film’s score is composed by Angelo Badalamenti, the composer for the TV series, who resurrects and reimagines so many of the show’s iconic themes for this movie. While Lynch cut out much of the film’s humor and other scenes that referenced the TV series, it’s clear that he also carried over as much of the original show’s spirit as possible. Badalementi’s sweet, dark, and somber instrumentals are crucial to that process.
Ultimately, it’s a movie loaded with dark subject matter that most filmmakers wouldn’t dare consider touching. For Lynch, however, that was one of his specialties as a filmmaker. While he believed in the warmth and good of the world, he could also paint an excellent picture of its darkest corners. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me captures both of these aspects, and as such, it’s a perfect film for Lynch fans to revisit.