Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch

Using mostly interview and set footage culled from the production of Lost Highway, this documentary takes a look at Lynch so broad and unfocused that it will provide few revelations for the die-hard fan (like myself) who is obviously the target audience. Sure, it's moderately amusing to see Lynch and company (including the late Jack Nance) revisit the Eraserhead set years later, and neat to watch him work on his paintings (one containing the corpses of a rat and a bird, as well as a large slab of meat being devoured by ants), but the overall feel is of leftover footage cobbled together, which never inspires or disturbs anywhere near the degree achieved by his actual works.

Why this has been released on DVD before Eraserhead and Lost Highway is a mystery to me. The book Lynch on Lynch covers everything this does and in much greater detail.

David Lynch went to visit friends for the weekend. Struck by artistic inspiration, he found a dead mouse which he glued to a plate, and collected a huge plastic bag full of flies for a future painting. When he returned home he discovered he'd forgotten his luggage. He described the contents of his bag to an incredulous courier over the phone; the bag was dumped on his doorstep, and before he could open his front door the delivery van had fled.

Toby Keeler's documentary Pretty As A Picture is crammed with such Lynchian oddities. Keeler should know them well - they have been friends and collaborators since Eraserhead (Keeler is billed as 'Fighting Man') in the early '70s. His cameras take us behind Lynch's cryptic masterwork Lost Highway, and he interviews key figures in the Lynch pantheon (including Blue Velvet's Dean Stockwell and Elephant Man producer Mel Brooks). Pretty As A Picture is billed as an 'authorised' biography. On the phone from Las Vegas, Keeler explains the tag: `I had to keep running it past David. I think I showed it to him three or four times - he kept saying 'Well, Toby, can we put in...'!'

Keeler has worked in the documentary field for thirty years, and his experienced eye is evident in the sharp focus on his subject. Lost Highway cast and crew take great pains to point out David is just a gee-whiz mom-and-apple-pie kind of guy totally at odds with his 'King of Weird' persona. But Keeler's picture of Lynch shows an affable guy with a loopy sense of wonder about him who happens to be completely absorbed in his art. His obsession with textures and impressions explain why he is an artist first and filmmaker second, and why his films' narratives tend to fly out the window.

Pretty As A Picture captures the PeeWee's Playhouse atmosphere of Lynch film sets. One poignant moment is the cast and crew's reunion at the site of Eraserhead's concrete mausoleum, showing the hair-raising Jack Nance (now bald) laughing and joking with the rest, just months before his tragic murder.

`I didn't set out to cover every movie, that's been done before,' says Keeler. `I didn't want to do a 'Behind the Scenes' documentary. What I wanted to achieve was a glimpse of Lynch as a serious artist at work.' Keeler succeeds. Pretty As A Picture is neither definitive Lynch or an insipid studio 'Making of...', but a series of fragments that make the picture whole: Lynch as a modern day Frankenstein totally immersed in the process of creation.

This documentary is one aimed pretty firmly at fans of David Lynch. It isn't probably going to do too much for those who are ambivalent about the director. It was made during the making of Lost Highway and features a fair bit of behind the scenes material from that film. This is a little unusual for Lynch seeing as he is usually loath to elaborate on his movies or describe the making-of process. He once said that he would never tell what it was that was used to create the baby from Eraserhead as that would render it an effect and strip it of some of its potency, which sounds reasonable enough to me. But whatever the case, it is quite interesting to see the great man in action behind the cameras here and to see some of his working practices. We also witness an on-location reunion of the Eraserhead crew, where they reminisce about the shoot.

As the title of the doc indicates, we also look at Lynch's other artistic endeavours, such as his paintings, photographs, models and furniture. It's very interesting to see this kind of stuff, and it really shows the wide range of Lynch's interests and skills. You really get to understand why his movies have a consistent look and feel, as his attention to detail is huge. The furniture he made for Lost Highway being a case in point. Similarly, his work with Angelo Badalamenti on the music is key. He has always had a specific ear for the scores in his movies and also the sound design generally. He really seems to immerse himself in this side of things it seems. Among all of this are interesting interviews with family members as well as people he has worked with on his movies. These provide an interesting view on the man.

In fairness, this is not a faultless documentary in many ways. It often feels more like a DVD extra that a true standalone piece. There isn't really a narrative to it as such and we don't even cover all of Lynch's movies up to that point. It would have been better if it had more focus on this. It's also a bit messily constructed and similar points are covered more than once. For example we have two extended parts at the beginning and near the end where we see Lynch work on the soundtrack to Lost Highway. It would probably have been better to have had just the one, as they cover very similar ground. So don't expect a definitive documentary on the great man, as this isn't it. But it is a very worthwhile one for fans and it does have some interesting bits and pieces that will stick in the mind.

An in-depth look at artist/filmmaker David Lynch's movies, paintings, drawings, photographs, and various other works of art. Features interview footage and commentary by family members, friends, fans, and people he's worked with, as well as behind-the-scenes antics of some of his most critically praised efforts. Also includes a compelling reunion with the cast of "Eraserhead" as they wander around the filming locations and recap funny stories about the movie's production. Filmed and compiled around the release of Lynch's "The Lost Highway", this was no doubt used as a promotional film. "Eraserhead" star Jack Nance died shortly after filming.

Comprised mostly of footage and interviews shot during the making of "Lost Highway," this excellent documentary provides a fascinating peek inside the world of the master filmmaker and his entourage of collaborators. Besides some amusing anecdotes from David himself, there's chats with his ex-wife Peggy, his children (including budding director Jennifer Lynch), his friend Jack Fisk, editor Mary Sweeney, producer Mel Brooks, writer Barry Gifford, actor Dean Stockwell, and "Eraserhead"/"Twin Peaks" almuni Jack Nance and Catherine Coulson. We also hear from the cast members of "Lost Highway," as well as learn the stories behind some of Lynch's characters (Bob, The Log Lady, Frank Booth, Mr. Eddy). Some of the more illuminating moments come when the focus shifts to his non-film projects, including some great footage of him working with composer Angelo Badalamenti and singer/violinist Jocelyn Montgomery (billed as Jocelyn West) on the unreleased track "And Still." His bizarre multimedia paintings are discussed, and there's a visit to a gallery show of his photography. He also created all of the furniture used in "Lost Highway." and we see a showcase of the odd tables and shelves he's made. The DVD edition outshines the shorter VHS version, with additional footage (with some Twin Peaks coverage) plus nice menu screens featuring clips from "Eraserhead,""Lost Highway," and his two early short films "The Grandmother" and "The Alphabet." All in all, any fan of the man's movies will want to check this one out. It's an interesting and inspiring portrait of a real American iconoclast.