After a bad experience adapting 1984’s DUNE David Lynch retreated into his own imagination and emerged with his first masterpiece, a sexually-charged suburban noir that re-established him as a nightmare auteur and set the stage for his next project, TWIN PEAKS. (Screening in an optional double bill with MULHOLLAND DRIVE on Saturday 7/1 and Monday 7/3 as part of our David Lynch director series finale.)

College student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) returns home after his father has a stroke. When he discovers a severed ear in an abandoned field, Beaumont teams up with detective’s daughter Sandy Williams (Laura Dern) to solve the mystery. They believe beautiful lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) may be connected with the case, and Beaumont finds himself becoming drawn into her dark, twisted world, where he encounters sexually depraved psychopath Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).

“Every viewing yields new insights. A berserko modern classic.” – Little White Lies