Lost Highway (1997)

59% of critics liked it
(41 reviews)
86% of users liked it
(54,464 ratings)

Five years after the critical and commercial disappointment of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, director David Lynch returned to the big screen with this cryptic thriller about confused identities and erotic obsession. Fred (Bill Pullman) is an avant-garde jazz saxophonist who shares a luxurious but… More Five years after the critical and commercial disappointment of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, director David Lynch returned to the big screen with this cryptic thriller about confused identities and erotic obsession. Fred (Bill Pullman) is an avant-garde jazz saxophonist who shares a luxurious but fashionably barren house with his wife Renee (Patricia Arquette). Fred suspects that Renee may be unfaithful to him, but realizes he has bigger things to worry about when a series of videotapes appear at his door that prove someone is watching his home from the outside and inside. When Renee is found murdered, Fred finds himself behind bars, but one morning Fred is no longer in his cell. He has seemingly been transformed into Pete Drayton (Balthazar Getty), a young auto mechanic who foolishly allowed himself to get involved with the wife of gangster Dick Laurent (Robert Loggia), a luscious blonde named Alice who looks exactly like Renee. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 15 min.
Directed By: David Lynch
Written By: David Lynch, Barry Gifford
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Feb 21, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Mar 25, 2008

Critic Reviews

Sarah Wenk, Common Sense Media
Strange, disjointed; full of sex and violence.
Rob Nelson, City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
Here, the road leads nowhere in particular; what you pay for is the ride.
Sean Gandert, Paste Magazine
What Lost Highway lacks in originality--compared to the rest of Lynch's oeuvre--it regains when compared to anyone else's films.
Steve Biodrowski, ESplatter
Its demented darkness actually coallesces into a strange kind of giddy joy - not unlike the rush of adrenaline one feels after a brush with danger.
Jeremiah Kipp, Slant Magazine
We still await the definitive DVD release of Lost Highway, a film crying out for rediscovery.
Jeremiah Kipp, Slant Magazine
It's pensive male anxiety, and for some cultural reason it's easier for audiences to accept female hysteria than the insecurities of men.
Sean Axmaker, MSN.com
... a wild ride of doubles and doppelgangers, time shifts, surreal images and plot twists that will rattle around in your mind long after the film is over.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Mesmerizing yet cold and remote -- an exotic fish we can't touch.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
The film begins promisingly, when a young couple gets paranoid over intrusion into their home, before turning into a bizarre yarn that many viewers will find confusing; even so Lynch's direction is mesmerizing from start to finish.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's one of the downright spookiest films I've ever seen, and it gives me chills just to recall it.
Leo Goldsmith, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
With the hindsight of Mulholland Dr, the film is a lot more intelligible, with plenty of Lynchian themes in full blossom and a handful of excellent performances.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Ambicioso do ponto de vista narrativo e fotografado de forma sombriamente evocativa, o filme merece créditos por acreditar na inteligência do espectador, mas acaba parecendo um exercício para o superior Cidade dos Sonhos.
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Director David Lynch, the master of creepiness, is back with a femme fatale film that's sinister, disquieting and deliberately obscure.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean !

Another David Lynch film that will baffle you as you try to work out what is real, what isn't, what is going on? It's not quite as strange as some of his other films, but that's not saying much. He does have a slick style though, one film that will make you think about… More
Another David Lynch film that will baffle you as you try to work out what is real, what isn't, what is going on? It's not quite as strange as some of his other films, but that's not saying much. He does have a slick style though, one film that will make you think about it long after viewing.
Graham J

Underrated and creepy as hell, Lost Highway is two stories mashed together. Robert Blake is one of the scariest things I've ever seen in this one.
Tsubaki S

As years pass by i've started to like this one a lot more. Pullman plays a great lead role, and Robert Blake is pretty damn creepy.
Steven C

"Lost Highway" is weird. It's weird because, for some reason, it's not as alienating as other David Lynch films. Well, don't get me wrong, it's a cold, distant film, but it never stops being mesmerizing. Weather you love or hate Lynch, you simply cannot… More
"Lost Highway" is weird. It's weird because, for some reason, it's not as alienating as other David Lynch films. Well, don't get me wrong, it's a cold, distant film, but it never stops being mesmerizing. Weather you love or hate Lynch, you simply cannot deny that he is an expert at atmosphere and atmosphere is what "Lost Highway" does best. I love movies that use Los Angeles as a character, it's so visually unique and can be quite haunting, and no one knows this better than Lynch. He uses it to such an incredible effect there, too bad the story makes no sense- no, really, it makes no sense. Any meaning you take from this story will be your own interpretation. There are no answers here, like in "Blue Velvet" or "Mulholland Dr." but thankfully it's not as aggravating as "Inland Empire." "Lost Highway" should be seen by hardcore fans of David Lynch or simply to see how versatile the city of Los Angeles can be used on film.
Conner R

Everything about this movie just was the right kind've bizarre that David Lynch excels at. The narrative is split in the most awkward way possible, which really worked. Who else would've thought a human melting in solitary confinement? It makes perfect sense, only in the… More
Everything about this movie just was the right kind've bizarre that David Lynch excels at. The narrative is split in the most awkward way possible, which really worked. Who else would've thought a human melting in solitary confinement? It makes perfect sense, only in the world of David Lynch. The acting perfectly stylized as usual. David Lynch always gets these amazing stylized performances that I never get tired of, maybe because they're so subtle and full of different meanings. What I found different about this from David Lynch's other movies is that it's played dead serious. Most of his other work (aside from adaptions) seem to be sarcastic in some way, but this really felt like a great change of pace. There's some messages here and there that seem to suggest poking fun at the viewer, but the story itself is always respected completely. It's very similar to the way that The Seventh Seal has metaphors and suggestive imagery, but on the surface it's still straight-forward.
Anthony L

Lost highway is probably my favourite David Lynch film, it's not necessarily his best but it's the one I can happily get lost in the most often. It's suspenseful, quirky and effortlessly cool, I think you either love or hate Lynch's style, personally, I love. I… More
Lost highway is probably my favourite David Lynch film, it's not necessarily his best but it's the one I can happily get lost in the most often. It's suspenseful, quirky and effortlessly cool, I think you either love or hate Lynch's style, personally, I love. I love the Richard Pryor cameo too but what ever happened to Balthazar Getty? He was quite good!
Aditya G

"Lost Highway" is one of my most favourite films from one of my most favourite directors, David Lynch. It is the kind of film that makes you sit up and take notice. It is the kind of film that you simply cannot just sit back, relax, munch some popcorn and watch and then… More
"Lost Highway" is one of my most favourite films from one of my most favourite directors, David Lynch. It is the kind of film that makes you sit up and take notice. It is the kind of film that you simply cannot just sit back, relax, munch some popcorn and watch and then switch off your TV sets and DVD players. If that is the kind of expectation one has, then this movie is simply not for him/her. "Lost Highway" is something that you have to give yourself to, a film that demands the viewer to give complete attention to, so that the experience is fully enjoyed. That is the only way to do justice to this heavily misunderstood Lynch film, which while commercially as well as somewhat critically unsuccessful, still remains not only one of Lynch's best creations, but also one of the best films ever made! The story is about Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) who plays the saxophone in a local club. He lives with his wife Renee (Patricia Arquette). One day he starts receiving some anonymous video tapes, which seem to contain unclear images of a house. Strange things start to happen then, as he meets mysterious strangers who seem to know him, has haunting visions and bizarre experiences, which do not seem to make any sense. As in most of my reviews pertaining to such films, I won't give away anything beyond this! Suffice to say, this is yet another remarkably twisted story from the fantastic mind of David Lynch. And he clearly knows how to tell a story like this, with picture perfect cinematography to create surreal imagery, the brilliant use of sound to give the film that dream-like hallucinatory effect and a haunting music score from Angelo Badalamenti. There is some great acting performed by the cast, including Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Garey Busey, Robert Loggia and especially Robert Blake in a very chilling and interesting role. Lynch and Barry Gifford pen the script for this eerie and brilliant concept. Lynch, of course, directs with the kind of flair that he has for this kind of cinema and pulls it off like nobody else can. The music is excellent. Apart from the original music by Angelo Badalamenti, Barry Adamson and Trent Reznor, there are some great tracks from David Bowie and Rammstein used very appropriately in some of the film's most memorable scenes. "Lost Highway" is an abstract work of art, in which pieces are presented to the viewer and he/she is supposed to put them together! When you finally put it all together, you realize there might be alternate angles to the story! And indeed there are: and all theories seem to hold enough water to qualify as valid explanations to the movie! That is the magic of "Lost Highway". If you have the taste for some serious avant-garde cinema, if you like movies with weird, strange, unreal stories in which nothing is explicitly explained; if it intrigues you to know that this is the kind of film in which the film-makers choose to leave certain blanks for the audience to fill instead of spoon-feeding everything to them, then this one comes highly recommended!
Mark H

Bizarre film noir about a jazz saxophonist and his wife who begin receiving mysterious video tapes from someone who appears to be filming them while they sleep. Typically Lynchian, surrealist film kicks off with one of the creepiest set ups ever filmed, then trashes that story and… More
Bizarre film noir about a jazz saxophonist and his wife who begin receiving mysterious video tapes from someone who appears to be filming them while they sleep. Typically Lynchian, surrealist film kicks off with one of the creepiest set ups ever filmed, then trashes that story and completely falls apart. Fascinating first half gives way to a narratively baffling second half. Identities change, characters disappear and sexual encounters occur without even a trace of eroticism. A deeply flawed film, but the initial neo-noir mood is so hypnotic and spooky, it cannot be dismissed.
Dan S

A twisting, turning, utterly confusing yet often arresting story concerning a musician caught in the middle of a murder case, and how his mind enacts different personalities and bends reality to fit his twisted outlook on his life. You should expect nothing less from David Lynch, who… More
A twisting, turning, utterly confusing yet often arresting story concerning a musician caught in the middle of a murder case, and how his mind enacts different personalities and bends reality to fit his twisted outlook on his life. You should expect nothing less from David Lynch, who has a knack for telling stories in a unique and confusing way. To me, his classic "Blue Velvet" is entirely overrated, while "Mulholland Drive" is a classic that deserves to be seen. To me, "Mulholland Drive" did a better job creating suspense, not to mention the performances were outstanding. Here, the performances are sub-par, Pullman is a fine fit as the lead character, as is Arquette as his wife, but Getty is too boring and unemotional, while Robert Loggia is completely over the top, although Robert Blake gives a memorable, creepy performance as a mystery man. While, like with many Lynch movies, you'll have to do some extra digging and researching as to what the whole movie means, this is still a decent movie, not great, but watchable if you like these kinds of movies. I liked it up to a point, but some things definitely could've been sharpened a bit more.
Veronique K

"lost highway" is actually not as incomprehesible as most people think by first-time viewing, and it's probably the most "linear" storytelling of lynch, a zigsaw awaiting to be jointed together. from my perception, it's about a night-club jazz… More
"lost highway" is actually not as incomprehesible as most people think by first-time viewing, and it's probably the most "linear" storytelling of lynch, a zigsaw awaiting to be jointed together. from my perception, it's about a night-club jazz musician's suspicion upon his wife who constantly cheats on him and possibly an underground amateur porn actress. so the betrayed hubby sets his way to brutally slaughter all the cuckolds involved, then escaping the police as well as his chaotic life forever in the lost highway. the rest is his nightmarish imaginations of love, lust, self-loathe and hate. so he dreams of killing his wife to be sentenced to electric chair to be redeemed/rejunvenized as a stud-like young dude who gets laid around, particularly the blonde seductress who resembles his estranged wife (in reality, he's so traumatized by doubts that he cannot even consummate the intercourse, ain't we always dream what we can't have?). but when the issue of the woman's promiscuous treacheries occur, the gleeful dreams of erotica awakens by the gruesome reality as he gazes her orgastic expressions on the pornographic screen, shame and humiliation start to take over in its way to torment him. then he retreats to his impotent older true self after the young dude makes love and exclaims "i want you" repeatedly...the response is leanly echoed, as our femme fatale whispers insidiously "you will never have me!"(truth revelt.)...all this wronged husband could do is to obliterate his rival who disgraces him. at the last scene, he talks to the doorgate speaker "dillon is dead!"(as if his mission is completed) then drives toward the highways to get lost for good since his affections cannot be requited and his possessive lust cannot be fulfilled despite he revengefully gets riddance of his symbol of shame in the middle of desert. patricia arquette shall be one of the hottest actresses in the 90s, ideal incarnation of neo-femme-fatale, blonde bombshell and the gritty it girl with edges. she has to bare and dangle her tits over 5 men within this movie, from young to old, handsome to ugly(they're all lucky bastards. ha)...it surely does transmit a daredevil raw sensuality like a contemporary barbara stanwyck without hesitant pretension but brazenly unlimited sesuality while she struts naked in her immaculate luring body. spicy furry red heels or leopard short-jacket, any overly gaudy clothings just look right on her. she even has a bettie page reminiscence hairdo at the start.(everything about this woman is all sexualized.) in one moment, she even poses a gun to tease the man and tells him to stick it into his pants(what an obvious insinuation), and she wears leopard jacket like woman predator with a residual of vintage glamour. which actress in the 90s or 2000s could rival THAT? patricia arquette is the coolest postmodern femme fatale/phallic woman could ever be in the pinnacle of the prime stage of 1990s. bill pullman is a mighty surprise since he was the typecasting of mr. right in those 90s chic flicks. and belthazar getty does have it-boy aura of marlon brando in "the wild one" with his leather jacket and the big harley. (david lynch must love those archetypes since the vintage hollywood hommage appears even stronger in muholland dr.) "lost highway" would probably be the best neo-noir ever made in 1990s(letting alone the tarentino jokes) as well as lynch's most contagious work so far since it has one of the best soundtrack in contemporary cinematic history when industrial rock'n'roll weds so gluingly with improvised jazz.
Randy T

The more I see of David Lynch the more I'm convinced that he has little or no regard for the space/time continuum. Whether or not all the pieces of Lost Highway 'fit together' is a subject better suited for a film studies class than a Flixster… More
The more I see of David Lynch the more I'm convinced that he has little or no regard for the space/time continuum. Whether or not all the pieces of Lost Highway 'fit together' is a subject better suited for a film studies class than a Flixster review. All I know is that I enjoy Lynch's work far more when I stop trying to puzzle everything together and let myself get lost in the story. Lost Highway is spooky-good. A cinematic amusement park that's part roller coaster, part fun-house and part side-show. I absolutely loved it. *NOTE: Did anyone else get the impression that Robert Blake's character would feel right at home playing chess in an Ingmar Bergman film?
_kelly .

New favorite movie. Will figure out exactly why soon enough (besides all the obvious that many others have probably already mentioned). After a few more absorbs and reading the reviews already up, I'll add my highlights and "oops we missed this" commentary.
Pierluigi P

The O.J Simpson case through the deceitful mind of David Lynch. A powerful, twisted, devilish jigsaw. eerie Robert Blake.
A B

Typically weird but pointless, boring and a waste of time.
Chris G

Even though it's not as approachable as Blue Velvet or a total masterpiece like Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway once again represents the way David Lynch attacks filmmaking. He doesn't us a linear line from beginning to end. He shoots right for the heart and blows it to… More
Even though it's not as approachable as Blue Velvet or a total masterpiece like Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway once again represents the way David Lynch attacks filmmaking. He doesn't us a linear line from beginning to end. He shoots right for the heart and blows it to pieces. I'm not even going to start describing the plot- that would take forever and you wouldn't understand it anyway. The film deals with jazz musician Fred (Bill Pullman) and his emotions. Guilt, jealousy, rage, obsession. That's what the film's about and it all manifests itself into a demon keeping a tally in the butchers bill. Lynch's shots are great throughout the film and the details I noticed made me realize how in tune he is to his films. I never realized until watching Lost Highway that I had never actually heard the "boot-up" of a VCR in a film before. It's all in the details. Lost Highway isn't David Lynch's best work, but it does deliver a little thought process time that only a David Lynch film can do.
Stella D

fantastically twisted neo noir. my second favorite lynch film ... in spite of the marilyn manson porn. robert blake IS the devil
Curtis L

I have found 4 things universal to all David Lynch movies. 1) I never have any clue what the hell is going on. 2) I never care that I have no clue what is going on. 3) Lynch sexually exploits the crap out of whatever respectable female lead he has. 4) His fans would walk in front… More
I have found 4 things universal to all David Lynch movies. 1) I never have any clue what the hell is going on. 2) I never care that I have no clue what is going on. 3) Lynch sexually exploits the crap out of whatever respectable female lead he has. 4) His fans would walk in front of traffic to defend his piece of crap movies.
Gordon A

My favorite Lynch movie.
Lafe F

Confusing and nightmarish from start to end. Bill Pulman and Balthazar Getty play different sides of the same soul. Frank (Pullman) is accused of murdering his cheating wife and Pete (Getty) is sleeping with a gangster's wife. The women in both stories are played by Patricia… More
Confusing and nightmarish from start to end. Bill Pulman and Balthazar Getty play different sides of the same soul. Frank (Pullman) is accused of murdering his cheating wife and Pete (Getty) is sleeping with a gangster's wife. The women in both stories are played by Patricia Arquette; one brunette (Renee), another blonde (Alice). The two stories connect and shift at various points throughout the movie, causing some confusion. There are various hints Fred and Pete might be the same person, occupying different realities. Visiting both stories was the creepy Robert Blake "Mystery Man" character, a nymph-like spectre with a pale face and dark eye makeup. He seemed aware of what is really happening with both realities, but he doesn't reveal the truth. The viewers are left to decypher what truths exist. I found it interesting when Pete the mechanic chases Alice (the blonde Patricia Arquette) into the cabin on the beach, all he finds there is the Mystery Man instead... Even after reading the various Internet theories about what occurred, I'm still confused with many of the scenes. There could be a time loop involved, alternate identies, or a psychological personality split. Both stories had fantastic elements, so perhaps neither really occurred in whole. The characters are as confused as I was. I think it succeeds if it is indeed told from the point of view of an insane person. The experience does not add up to a cohesive reality, so the scenes must be appreciated for the bizarre and creepy collection they are. I'll watch it again.
El Hombre I

An eerie score by Angelo Badalamenti and great cinematography in a film that could be endlessly interpreted. Just when one may have the puzzle figured out, Lynch throws in a puzzle piece that is just slightly out of shape and negates any theories you may have had. Also, includes… More
An eerie score by Angelo Badalamenti and great cinematography in a film that could be endlessly interpreted. Just when one may have the puzzle figured out, Lynch throws in a puzzle piece that is just slightly out of shape and negates any theories you may have had. Also, includes Richard Pryor and Jack Nance's final screen performances. Lost Highway uses a technique that other films have used before, which is beginning with an end and ending with a beginning. However, Lost Highway is not a loop, it's a Mobius strip, turning itself inside out before coming back to the beginning. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view&current=mobiusstrip.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/mobiusstrip.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>