Eraserhead

Eraserhead (1977), directed by David Lynch, Criterion remaster, encoded in 10 bit HEVC with AAC sound, including original theatrical stereo and English subtitles.

IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074486/

Video encoded in two-pass 8 500 kbps x265 10bit with the veryslow preset for archive quality image.

English subtitles OCRed, proofed and corrected.

Note : David Lynch's debut feature is a stark black and white nightmare, a disjointed surrealist story of sex, monsters, man-made chicken, and a tiny woman who lives in the radiator. It's not easy to make heads or tails of, but it still feels perfectly clear, nothing is arbitrary, and most of the elements that would reoccur in Lynch's later films are already here in some form. Also, the mutant baby stands as one of the most unsettling and well-accomplished practical creature effects in film history, and Lynch still won't reveal how it was made ("or maybe it was found", he says).

The story isnt complicated, really, Henry works at a factory in some sort of industrial hellscape, and his girlfriend gives birth to a mutant baby that constantly needs care and attention, driving his girlfriend to abandon him, and leaving Henry with responsibilities to which he's ill suited. In the meantime, he struggles with attraction to his beautiful neighbor, as well as the musical numbers of the woman who lives in his radiator, and he's driven to commit extreme acts. It really is a must see, and its influence extends far, though the most obvious examples are probably Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Aronofsky's Pi.

This Criterion Blu-Ray isn't a very recent remaster, but it's really quite good quality anyway, with prominent but not annoying grain, good sharpness, and very well-managed contrast (this is one of the literally darkest films I've ever seen). The sound design, which was also done by Lynch, is probably one of the best things in the film, and is beautifully preserved. As is always the case with David Lynch movies, there's no commentary track or anything.

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