Lost Highway (film)

Lost Highway
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Lynch
Written byDavid Lynch
Barry Gifford
Produced byMary Sweeney
Tom Sternberg
Deepak Nayar
Starring
CinematographyPeter Deming
Edited byMary Sweeney
Music byAngelo Badalamenti
Production
companies
Ciby 2000
Asymmetrical Productions
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 15, 1997 (1997-01-15) (France)
  • January 1997 (1997-01) (Sundance)
  • February 21, 1997 (1997-02-21) (United States)
Running time
134 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United States
  • France[2]
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3.8 million

Lost Highway is a 1997 surrealist neo-noir film directed by David Lynch, and co-written by Lynch and Barry Gifford. It stars Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, and Robert Blake in his final film role. The film follows a musician (Pullman) who begins receiving mysterious VHS tapes of him and his wife (Arquette) in their home. He is suddenly convicted of murder, after which he inexplicably disappears and is replaced by a young mechanic (Getty) leading a different life.

Lost Highway was financed by the French production company Ciby 2000 and was largely shot in Los Angeles, where Lynch collaborated with frequent producer Mary Sweeney and cinematographer Peter Deming. The film's surreal narrative structure has been likened to a Möbius strip, while Lynch has described it as a "psychogenic fugue" rather than a conventionally logical story. The film's soundtrack, which was produced by Trent Reznor, features an original score by Angelo Badalamenti and Barry Adamson, as well as contributions from artists including David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Upon release, Lost Highway received mixed reviews and grossed $3.7 million in North America after a modest three-week run. Most critics initially dismissed the film as incoherent, but it has since attracted a cult following and critical praise, as well as scholarly interest. Lost Highway is the first of three Lynch films set in Los Angeles, followed by Mulholland Drive (2001) and Inland Empire (2006). The film was adapted as an opera by the Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth in 2003.

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bifi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).