Just watched L'enfer (1994) directed by Claude Chabrol

Plot summary:
Paul, the main character begins to gradually develop paranoid delusions about his wife's infidelity. As he succumbs to green-eyed jealousy, his life starts to crumble. Each step on his downward spiral to madness seems to accelerate, driving him further along the path to a personal hell. Finally, the former shell of his personality cracks completely, with tragic consequences.

Given that premise, it's no surprise Lynch would jump on it. Here's some obvious references I caught on my first viewing (spoilerless):

The mirror scene:
The jealousy-ridden main character walking through the dark hallways of his apartment, eventually meeting his twin which turns out to be a reflection in the mirror.



The amateur adult movie:
In L'Enfer there's a man walking around with a camera. In one scene his film footage is being screened in the hotel lobby. The protagonist's tormented mind then twists the innocent pictures into pornographic images of his wife's infidelity, making him snap. The Mystery Man in LH is having a camera of his own. We have to assume it's him who shot the porn movie in the mansion's main hall (featuring Alice) which sends Pete over the edge.



The hypnotic hotel corridor scene:
A raving protagonist trying different rooms in search for his unfaithful wife/lover.



Side note: Obviously both films deal with the same subject, but IMO Lynch does a better job of expressing the main character's twisted mental state.
LH (7/10)
L'Enfer (6/0)

Super cool!!!

I wish Lost Highway would show up on HBO or Netflix or something. I know I know. Just it's the one Lynch movie I haven't seen in like 10 years.

Haven't seen it in years either. Gotta give it a rewatch sometime.

I'll have to watch this. I love Chabrol films, anyway.

While at it, I highly recommend checking out the documentary about the failing of the original 1964 version of L'Enfer. That movie was to mark a new, hyper-experimental way of filmmaking but fell apart half way through production.
The remaining footage is a must see for any film buff

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So L'Enfer is actually a remake of an earlier project that was never finished... just like Mulholland Dr. and On High in Blue Tomorrows.

Perfect

Siku wrote: just like Mulholland Dr.

whereby the reason for the failure of both projects are diametrically opposed.

MD as a TV show fell apart due to too much executive meddling while in the case of L'enfer the producers gave the director unlimited financial and creative control, which he obviously couldn't handle.