Lynch/Oz

The documentarian Alexandre O. Phillippe turns his attention to David Lynch and the influence that The Wizard of Oz has had on his movies.

Who would have thought that David Lynch, the great auteur, pays tribute in nearly all his movies to just one film? He saw The Wizard of Oz when he was a boy and yes, it’s true, his visual flair, his dreamlike imagination and haunting surrealism have been heavily influenced by Victor Fleming’s ground-breaking film. Writer/director Alexandre O. Phillippe is well known for his analytical documentaries on the cinema - 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene, Memory: The Origins of Alien, Leap Of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist and more recently The Taking, in which he examines the fascination with Monument Valley in Westerns.

Here, he invites five filmmakers to talk about Lynch’s oeuvre in reference to Oz: Karyn Kusama, John Waters, David Lowrey, Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, who also talk about their own work and their influences. Early black-and-white scenes in The Wizard of Oz inspired Lynch in Eraserhead and The Elephant Man, while Dorothy’s red shoes can be found in many of his movies like Wild at Heart. The curtain that hides Oz in the 1939 film is a Lynch favourite and is often used in Twin Peaks and, inevitably, in Blue Velvet. This fascinating documentary is perfectly complemented by a plethora of clips – a gift from Heaven for film lovers.

GEORGE SAVVIDES

Featuring  Rodney Ascher, Justin Benson, Karyn Kusama, Aaron Moorhead, Amy Nicholson, Jason Stoval, John Waters. 

Dir Alexandre O. Phillippe, Pro Kerry Deignan Roy, Screenplay Alexandre O. Phillippe, Ph Robert Muratore, Ed David Lawrence, Music Aaron Lawrence, Sound Phillip Lloyd Hegel. 

Exhibit A Pictures-Dogwoof.
109 mins. USA. 2022. UK Rel: 2 December 2022. Cert. 15.