Wild At Heart
DAVID LYNCH: ABSURD ENCOUNTERS, PART VII
"This whole world's wild at heart and weird on top."
We close out our David Lynch: Absurd Encounters series with the wild, pulpy, Elvis-haunted fever dream that is WILD AT HEART.
Fresh off the first season of TWIN PEAKS, Lynch was handed Barry Gifford’s novel and immediately saw cinematic potential in the story of Sailor and Lula — a pair of outlaw lovers on a road trip across a surreal American wasteland. With Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, and Diane Ladd (Dern’s real-life mother) leading the cast, Lynch put together one of his most chaotic, explosive, and emotionally raw films to date.
In this episode, we trace WILD AT HEART from its rushed development and fast-paced shoot in New Orleans to its now-infamous screening at Cannes, where it divided audiences and critics — and still walked away with the Palme d’Or. We’ll also explore how the film fits into Lynch’s career, its rockabilly-meets-Lynchian tone, and its legacy as both a romantic epic and an unhinged pop-art provocation.
While this is our final episode in our current series covering the career of David Lynch, our journey through Lynch’s work is not over. In the coming weeks, we will be launching Fire Shock With Me, a TWIN PEAKS watch-along series where we will be working our way through Lynch’s seminal TV series in its entirety. Those episodes will be available exclusively to our $5 and up subscribers on CinemaShock+, where you’ll also find extended versions of all David Lynch episodes that include additional bonus segments. Join now at cinemashock.net/plus.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS:
Andrew C. | Andy Lancaster | Benjamin Yates | Curt M. | Elton Novara | Justin V. | Nate Izod | Nathan Kelley | Robert Stinson
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop & Todd A. Davis.
For episode archives, merch, show notes, and more, visit cinemashock.net