Mulholland Drive (film)

Not to be confused with the 1996 film Mulholland Falls.

Mulholland Drive
Theatrical release poster showing the film's title against a dark blue image of the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles atop another still shot of Naomi Watts staring at something off camera toward the left side
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Lynch
Written byDavid Lynch
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPeter Deming
Edited byMary Sweeney
Music byAngelo Badalamenti
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • May 16, 2001 (2001-05-16) (Cannes)
  • October 12, 2001 (2001-10-12) (United States)
  • November 21, 2001 (2001-11-21) (France)
Running time
146 minutes[12]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[13]
Box office$20.1 million[14]

Mulholland Drive (stylized as Mulholland Dr.) is a 2001 surrealist neo-noir mystery film written and directed by David Lynch, and starring Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller, and Robert Forster. It tells the story of an aspiring actress named Betty Elms (Watts), newly arrived in Los Angeles, who meets and befriends an amnesiac woman (Harring) recovering from a car accident. The story follows several other vignettes and characters, including a Hollywood film director (Theroux).

The American-French co-production was originally conceived as a television pilot, and a large portion of the film was shot in 1999 with Lynch's plan to keep it open-ended for a potential series. After viewing Lynch's cut, however, television executives rejected it. Lynch then provided an ending to the project, making it a feature film. The half-pilot, half-feature result, along with Lynch's characteristic surrealist style, has left the general meaning of the film's events open to interpretation. Lynch has declined to offer an explanation of his intentions for the narrative, leaving audiences, critics, and cast members to speculate on what it means. He gave the film the tagline "A love story in the city of dreams".

Mulholland Drive earned Lynch the Best Director award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, shared with Joel Coen for The Man Who Wasn't There. Lynch also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director for the film. The film boosted Watts' Hollywood profile considerably, and was the last feature film to star veteran Hollywood actress Ann Miller.

Mulholland Drive is often regarded as one of Lynch's finest works and as one of the greatest films of all time. It was ranked eighth in the 2022 Sight & Sound critics' poll of the best films ever made and topped a 2016 BBC poll of the best films since 2000.

  1. ^ a b c "Mulholland Dr. (2001)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  2. ^ Dunkley, Cathy (July 4, 2001). "U gets into Focus with 'Mulholland'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "THE TWISTS, TURNS OF "Mulholland Drive'". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  4. ^ "Film clean-out begins at Vivendi Universal". Screen International. March 24, 2002. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference holden was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c "Mulholland Dr. (2001)". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  7. ^ ""Mulholland Dr." - US Poster 2001 Universal Pictures File Reference # 32509 260THA". www.alamy.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  8. ^ "Mulholland Drive - Original Movie Poster". www.alamy.com. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  9. ^ "US Magazine Ads". Lynchnet.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  10. ^ "United States theatrical trailer". mulholland-drive.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010.
  11. ^ Mulholland Drive (DVD). Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. 2002. UPC 025192178023.
  12. ^ "MULHOLLAND DRIVE (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 26, 2001. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  13. ^ "Mulholland Drive (2001)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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