Club Silencio

On the main site, we have a list of films considered to work with similar elements or themes to MD. It grew out of discussions on a huge thread on RT and we did some work when we opened the site to seperate those films that people just thought were cool from those that appear to share some similarities, so that when someone yells "TELL ME SOME SIMILAR MOVIES" we had a handy list we could go to.

As listed here; http://www.mulholland-drive.net/studies/recommended.htm, they are:

2001: A Space Odyssey (T)
3 Women (D) (I)
Abre Los Ojos (aka Open Your Eyes) (D) (I)
Adaptation. (T)
Angel Heart (H) (I)
Barton Fink (D) (H)
Being John Malkovich (T)
Black Swan (D) (H) (I)
Blue Velvet (S)
Body Double (D) (I)
Brazil (D)
Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Das (D) (I)
Donnie Darko (D) (T)
Eraserhead (D) (T)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (D) (T)
eXistenZ (D) (I) (T)
Femme Fatale (D) (I) (T)
Fight Club (T)
Inception (D) (T)
Jacob's Ladder (D) (T)
Jetée, La (short) (T)
Living in Oblivion (D) (H)
Lost Highway (D) (I) (S) (T)
Machinist, The (S) (T)
Memento (T)
Meshes Of The Afternoon (short) (D) (T)
Ôdishon (aka Audition) (D) (H)
Perfect Blue (D) (H) (I)
Player, The (H)
Point Blank (1967) (D) (T)
Prestige, The (I) (S) (T)
Requiem for a Dream (D) (S)
Run Lola Run (T)
Shutter Island (I) (S) (T)
Spider (T)
Stay (D) (I) (T)
Swimming Pool (I)
Tale of Two Sisters, A (2003) (I) (S) (T)
Three Colors: Red (I) (T)
Twelve Monkeys (S) (T)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (D) (S) (T)
Valley of the Dolls (H) (S)
Vanilla Sky (D) (I)
Videodrome (T)
Wild at Heart (S)
Wild Strawberries (D) (I)
Wonderland (2003) (S)
Zerkalo (aka The Mirror) (D) (T)

The legend for the letter coding is "Elements similar to MD: (D) Dreamlike; (H) Hollywood/destructive; (I) Tangled identities; (S) Self-destructive; (T) Time/space shifts"

Whilst the list has been added to occasionally over the past few years, I wondered if now would be a good time to review and maybe have a conversation about any films that people think may be contenders to add to the list.

Any suggestions from people for films and how they deal with similar themes to MD? New or old, interested in ideas.

For example, it may be obvious, but I think INLAND EMPIRE really ought to be added to the list under all the categories we have there.

Black Swan should also be on there. What an incredible film.

Added

I've got to say that I really do believe that Polanski's The Tenant should be moved to the list and not just be on the enjoyed by MD fans. There are strong similarities between the two. Especially similar is the underlying possibility that Simone (who is hinted is a lesbian) has revinvented herself as Trelkowski in order to be with her friend, Stella. This internal stuggle and denial may lead to Trelkowski's madness.

Never seen The Tenant, but I seem to remember Bob mentioning it one time.

Bob?

It is a film that is very worth seeking out. It deals very strongly with identity and Trelkowski's feelings of isolation mirror Diane's in MD. Polanski was also a big influence on Lynch.

Interesting, never looked at it from that angle. Blu, you gotta push The Tenant up your to-watch list.

I definitely recommend that the anime cult film Perfect Blue (1998) be added. A lot of people consider Mulholland Dr. and Black Swan a hybrid of "Perfect Blue" in some ways, specifically:

both films contain tangled identities
Perfect Blue is very dream like, similar to MD.
both films deal with a character / personality switch (PB less so than MD, but still towards the end)
both PB and MD deal with a woman struggling to find success and recognition in acting which leads to her own mental unraveling / psychosis

It should definitely be added to the list of recommended movies, as many people draw similarities between the two films!

I also think that BLUE VELVET should have the dreamlike (D) quality added, in fact its quite famous for having a very dream like quality. Same goes for Black Swan, very dream like as well, most people I spoke with who left the theatre felt as though Black Swan may have been some kind of dream / hazy state of consciousness.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Haven't seen much anime, but I love Ghost in the Shell. Will have to add this to my list. Google shows up lots of people connecting the two films, you're right. I won't read on and spoil too much for myself.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid ... holland+dr

Worth a look Bob ...

Noted!

Apparently, Perfect Blue outkicks MD badly in terms of online popularity http://googlefight.com/index.php?lang=e ... rfect+blue

Watched "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" the other day and thought it would make for a decent addition to the recommendation list, being even more relevant than e.g. Valley of the Dolls. Possible MD conecctions (no spoilers):

• two rival actresses (blond and dark haired sisters)
• Blondie enjoyed fame as a child singer/dancer (Jitterbug?) but failed as an actress later in life, winding up with bit parts provided by her brunette sister, now a big shot in Hollywood
• a crucial car accident
• theme of envy, cravings for revenge, delusion, living in a "dream world"
• a twist involving switched identities

The movie reminded me much of Sunset Blvd., another great classic which MD pays homage to.

I saw that "Sunset Blvd." was missing from the list. Come on! I know most here know of it, but that is a really important one. Both films use a famous Hollywood St. as practically a character in the film. And it is the only occurance I can find outside of MD where the actual abbrev. period shows up on the street sign, which also provides the opening titling in both films. And in both the fame and allure of Paramount Studios is prominent. And finally, the Gloria Swanson's old car (an Issota Fraschini) actually appears at the Paramount Studios gate in MD, just like it did in SB.

A second recommendation would be "Sylvia" which I just saw on Netflix instant play. This film really is "The Sylvia West Story." Beyond that, the connections to MD are modest, though it is a good film. Sylvia was an abused child with a horrible youth, who strives to become a wealthy socialite in California. She has a great work ethic and integrity, but her goals are kinda out-of-whack. It reminds me of the conversation between Adam and the Cowboy. The theme is philosophical, and initially I thought the Cowboy is suggesting a moral life with better goals. But instead, Adam is told to submit to the Cowboy's power. I think Lynch is playing with us, a bit.

May I present a few recommendations?

Scarlet Street (1945)




Woman In The Window



L'Appartement



Single White Female



Ghost World



Ne Te Retourne Pas

Enrico wrote:I saw that "Sunset Blvd." was missing from the list. Come on! I know most here know of it, but that is a really important one. Both films use a famous Hollywood St. as practically a character in the film. And it is the only occurance I can find outside of MD where the actual abbrev. period shows up on the street sign, which also provides the opening titling in both films. And in both the fame and allure of Paramount Studios is prominent. And finally, the Gloria Swanson's old car (an Issota Fraschini) actually appears at the Paramount Studios gate in MD, just like it did in SB.

It is Enrico!

There are some films suggested/linked away from that page as not just similar themed films to MD, but those that actually inspired it. The link is here:

http://www.mulholland-drive.net/studies/references.htm

Films are:

Gilda
Sunset Blvd
Vertigo
Le Mepris
Persona
L'Appartement
The Wizard of Oz
Alice in Wonderland
Mon Oncle
Psycho

Those are the films that we have generally considered to be the biggest influences on MD. Perhaps they ought to be worked into the longer list somehow tho.

Enrico wrote:A second recommendation would be "Sylvia" which I just saw on Netflix instant play. This film really is "The Sylvia West Story." Beyond that, the connections to MD are modest, though it is a good film. Sylvia was an abused child with a horrible youth, who strives to become a wealthy socialite in California. She has a great work ethic and integrity, but her goals are kinda out-of-whack. It reminds me of the conversation between Adam and the Cowboy. The theme is philosophical, and initially I thought the Cowboy is suggesting a moral life with better goals. But instead, Adam is told to submit to the Cowboy's power. I think Lynch is playing with us, a bit.

I've never seen Sylvia, but others have been very keen on pushing this connection too.

Bob - there's definitely something here that people see. Have you seen the film?

Xav

Could you expand on how you see the films you mention linking with MD? I'm with you on Single White Female - it's been a long time, but the identity thing for sure, with you there. What's the Ghost World connection (it's been a while) and I don't know the other Bellucci film.

As for L'Appartement, it's cited in the films that were a big influence I can talk about that til the cows come home. Definite influence on MD, some direct connections and I have spent a significant amount of time taking it apart and putting it back together again.

I would love to start talking about L'Appartement again.