Don’t take the ring, Laura.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me rolled into Home Video this week in 1993, after an August 28th, 1992 US theatrical garmonbozia.
This one’s for you, Mr. Lynch.
I was definitely into the whole Twin Peaks Chic during its ’89-91 run on ABC. However, the series’ popularity waned heavily with the last season and the remaining fans of the show seemed turned-off by the ’92 movie’s drastic tonal shift and unbridled Lynchisms. I remember the backlash was fierce. Even Frank Swertlow’s quip on the poster proclaiming that “Sheryl Lee deserves and Oscar nomination” was rumored to originally end with the back-handed “…just for showing up.” But in 30 years I haven’t been able to substantiate that. Anyhoo… I loved it. This was exactly the caliber of art-house cinema that I, and my band of art-school misfits, was into at the time. The opening scene was clearly an indication that things were moving way beyond the confines of network TV… and I was down for every disturbing quirk. If I understood anything about David Lynch, is that I wasn’t supposed to understand everything.
This prequel/sequel doesn’t set out to answer many questions about the overall Lodge mythology, but it does present a few glimpses into the non-linear logic of the narrative – Gordon Cole’s “Mother’s sister’s girl” is practically a Rosetta stone for the series.
I definitely recommend watching the entire series in production order (Original Show, FWWM, Cut Scenes, Return), but if you haven’t visited Twin Peaks yet (and can’t spare the time to binge), this is a good back-alley entry into the darker corners of town.