Mulholland Drive [Édition Collector-4K Ultra HD + Blu-Ray]

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To celebrate the 20 th anniversary of David Lynch’s MULHOLLAND DRIVE , STUDIOCANAL and CRITERION are thrilled to present a brand new 4K restoration of the iconic 2001 surrealist mystery-drama, supervised by David Lynch himself. Though it’s not surprising to find that supplements are limited here, as Lynch doesn’t like having his films explained,I must say I’m still impressed with what Criterion has pulled together, all things considered. Unlike Eraserhead, which was made up primarily of older special features (though did included his shorts), Criterion has recorded a lot of new stuff for this edition. Unfortunately, fans of the film will probably find nothing new here.

STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most important film libraries in the world, boasting nearly, 6,000 titles from 60 countries. Spanning 100 years of film history, this vast and unique catalogue includes among others the iconic Terminator 2, Rambo, Breathless, Mulholland Drive, The Pianist, The Graduate, The Third Man and Belle de jour. The entire film looks a lot smoother now. However, this isn't the type of smoothness that you would encounter on older, digitally manipulated masters. It is the type of organic smoothness that is introduced by exceptionally strong density and equally impressive fluidity. Indeed, while on the 1080p presentation from the Blu-ray trained eyes can spot some minor density fluctuations, in native 4K the same fluctuations become virtually impossible to identify. Another small but notable improvement can be recognized in the manner in which the 4K presentation handles highlights. The visuals can appear slightly darker now, but there are expanded ranges of highlights. Shadow nuances are expanded as well. How much exactly? Enough to positively affect the perception of depth. I think that the darker footage where neon lighting is present, for instance, can look quite a bit better. Colors look outstanding. The primaries appear lush and very healthy, but the notable improvements are in the expanded supporting nuances. I think that this superior color balance positively impacts the perception of depth as well, especially during indoor and nighttime footage. Image stability is outstanding. Unsurprisingly, the entire film is spotless. Please note that the main menu of the 4K Blu-ray disc does not have chapter stops. In the end, all of it worked to Lynch’s advantage as Mulholland Drive was very well-received when it was released, earning him an Oscar nod for best director, but also putting Naomi Watts on the map. Fragmented or otherwise, it’s a great piece of work. Laura Harring is brilliant even though her portrayal of Rita is seen through an unreliable Betty’s eyes. Watt’s performance as Betty meanwhile, is a tour de force and extraordinarily nuanced. An audition scene stands out and is as clever a moment as any in the film, but it lives and dies in her jaw-dropping delivery. Mulholland Drive might make you want to tear your hair out, but throw yourself in anyway and float through it, because there are at least two solutions: one of them is David Lynch’s, and he’s tantalisingly obscured it such that it will be discussed ad infinitum; the other solution is yours.

Mulholland Drive: Other Editions

Narrated in French, this is a brilliant dissection of the film, following David Lynch’s own “Ten Clues”, with fascinating demonstrations of where the scenes connect. It’s like a video game walkthrough. Maybe you want to know immediately, or give the film another run and see how much falls into place. Even then, there are intriguing omissions, but the last word is given to Lynch who has a beautiful explanation of where subjectivity ends in the creation of a feeling for the viewer and the role of intellect to appreciate the nuances.

Elsewhere, there’s a deleted scene that suggests the film’s original life as a TV series, featuring the deadpan detectives played by Brent Briscoe and Robert Forster, and an evocative collection of on-set footage that shows the filming of many significant scenes. The trailer and a long excerpt from Chris Rodley’s Lynch on Lynch round out a terrific supplements section. OverallThis calamity might be a blessing though, because the men in the limo seemed intent on killing Rita, a name that the woman assumes when she looks out of a shower in the apartment she’s soon hiding in, crippled with amnesia from the crash, gazing upon a poster of Charles Vidor’s Gilda in an image that’s fractured through the glass of the shower stall and the mirror hanging on the wall. It’s a brilliant image, partially for its casualness, for the confidence that Lynch displays in not holding it too long. The filmmaker sustains this mastery throughout this long, amazing film, fashioning portals within portals, refractions within refractions, reinventions within reinventions, and doubles within doubles as people in this dreamland scramble to preserve a grand, diseased illusion that’s eating itself alive. I thought the film was going one way but it took a different direction which had me trying to work it out and then it reveals the tragic truth.

David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive initially suggests another of the filmmaker’s thematically binary tales that contrast the innocent blonde with the brunette seductress. The film opens on the titular road, following a limo as it navigates the Hollywood canyons at night, and set to Angelo Badalamenti’s poetically oceanic orchestrations. The vehicle’s lights are glowing, blending with the pulsing street lamps of larger Los Angeles—a city of cinema, one of the world’s ultimate dreamlands. In this limo is a gorgeous brunette (Laura Elena Harring), who’s clearly made up for a night out, donning an elegant gown and makeup that allow her to rival the cinematic iconography of Rita Hayworth, whom she clearly recalls, and whose identity she borrows when the limo crashes into a car of rowdy drunks, killing everyone involved except her. Laura Harring recalls with affectionate detail her perception of the role. Harring clearly still enjoys talking about the film. It's not completely spelled out but you can piece it together. The sad thing is, despite it being a work of fiction, much of it is based on the reality of the movie industry in Hollywood.

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I tested the 4K Blu-ray release earlier today and was very impressed with the technical presentation. I used the HDR grade while viewing the film in its entirety, but the 4K Blu-ray has Dolby Vision as well. Nice behind the scenes piece because David Lynch is so open about his approach. This is far less spoilerific than the first extra feature, but should still only watch after the film. The image is fairly grainy. While Criterion is to be commended for preserving the natural film grain without trying to smear it away with Digital Noise Reduction or other artificial tampering, the encoding quality of the Blu-ray leaves something to be desired. The grain often comes across as noisy and sometimes obtrusive.

That all sounds too ordinary for a film with such a reputation. It really doesn’t scratch the surface considering that critics once voted Mulholland Drive the greatest film of this century so far in 2016. Rich in character, confidence and a weirdness that doesn’t feel at all out-of-place in LA, it’s hard to argue, even as you wonder, what on earth is going on? So yes, some aspects could probably be better but on the whole I was very happy with this; it’s sharp, substantially cleaner with more detailcompared to the Blu-ray, and range is striking. I think it’s a solid first go.

Mulholland Drive 4K Audio

So, how does Criterion’s first foray into UHD look? In all I’d say it looks quite good, a caveat or two aside. Firstly, it should be pointed out that the presentation found here runs circles around Criterion’s previous Blu-ray edition, looking significantly cleaner and smoother in motion, and those artifacts that became really obvious in the shadows are gone. Grain looks better and cleaner on the whole, though there are a few questionable shots where things get a little bit noisy, like the smoke in the aftermath of the opening car accident or in some of the deep blues in the theater sequence before the film’s climax. I’d say it’s ultimately a minor concern and you’d have to be looking for it, but it’s there. On the whole, I still thought everything was rendered well.