This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of my favorite David Lynch film, Wild at Heart. Released in 1990, Wild tells the tale of Sailor and Lula, a red-hot couple who are reunited when Sailor is released from prison. The pair take off on a cross-country road trip that turns into a journey that resembles The Wizard of Oz on mushrooms. The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival before becoming mired in controversy. The movie’s opening scene finds Sailor (Nicolas Cage)smashing the head of a would-be attacker hired by Lula’s (Laura Dern) mother against a marble stair step until his brains slurp out of the back of his head. Commentators claimed to be shocked by the scene — and they probably were — but the reaction against the film seemed to have more to do with the overall violence of the bizarre imagery and strange set scenes that make up this weird and wonderful tale.
Here’s an interview with Lynch, talking about the film in 1990…
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