Wild at Heart | | Cast : | Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern | | Director : | David Lynch | | Studio : | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | August 17, 1990 | | DVD Released Date : | December 07, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 08, 2005 | | Summary | The last minute angelophany doesn't save this one. | Content
 | Nicolas Cage plays an Elvis-like drifter ("Sailor") whose on-the-road romance with Lula (Laura Dern) takes them on an odyssey of sleaze, crime, and violence.
Alternately cruel, violent, and sensitive, Sailor has a mesmerizing hold on Lula and - you can easily imagine - any other woman to whom he might take a fancy. He is the classic bad boy whose behavior is forgiven because he makes life interesting.
Well, sort of. How interesting, ultimately, is the endless procession of flophouses, seedy companions, and filthy toilets? And how interesting is a life in and out of prison, punctuated by periodic acts of sadistic violence and pools of blood?
Not very, I concluded. Nothing saves this film from a once-only viewing. Although there is less inexplicable weirdness than in many of David Lynch's films, the unremitting dreariness is not redeemed by the improbable, hokey ending. Two stars for a few good lines and Cage's snakeskin jacket ("a symbol of my belief in personal freedom"). That's about it.
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| Rating | | | Date | June 21, 2005 | | Summary | Far from Lynch's best, but very enjoyable | Content
| Shortly after beginning work on the TV show "Twin Peaks", David Lynch made "Wild at Heart", an adaptation of Barry Gifford's novel. Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern play Sailor and Lula, two lovers who are driving cross-country to escape from Lula's mother, Marietta (played by Diane Ladd, Dern's real-life mother). Marietta goes insane at the thought of any boys going near her daughter, but Sailor Ripley especially, because she suspects that he saw her murder her husband years ago.
Marietta has half the country out looking for Sailor and Lula, including the murderer duo of Reggie (Calvin Lockhart) and Juana (Grace Zabriskie); the bizarre hit-man Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe), and his partner, the beautiful Perdita Durango (Isabella Rossellini); and Marietta's ex-lover, the murderous Santos (J.E. Freeman). The only sane person searching for the lovers is Johnnie Farragut (Harry Dean Stanton), a level-headed man completely dedicated to Marietta.
David Lynch is famous for his weird movies, which are often incomprehensible during the first viewing. "Wild at Heart" is considerably less weird than Lynch's other movies, but that doesn't mean it isn't weirder than most movies. It also happens to be funny in many scenes. Of course, it can also be disturbing; there are many scenes of violence.
The cast is great. Cage is very funny with his Elvis-style accent. Dafoe is great. Harry Dean Stanton is very fine and quite likable as Johnnie Farragut. Diane Ladd is wonderful as Lula's mother.
Interestingly, there are numerous references to "The Wizard of Oz" in here; what made Lynch think of Oz is anyone's guess. "Twin Peaks" fans will notice many cast members from the show, including Zabriskie, Sherilyn Fenn, and Sheryl Lee.
The film features a very good soundtrack, a combination of country, Angelo Badalamenti's easygoing score and the occasional heavy metal.
All in all, I think "Wild at Heart" is an underrated movie that, while far from Lynch's best, is very enjoyable. It is well-filmed and -directed, and there is a feeling of strength and energy that makes the film even more appealing. Not everyone will enjoy the movie, but I sure as hell did. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 28, 2005 | | Summary | A Very Different David Lynch Film | Content
| I'm a big David Lynch fan and this is a very different film from Lynch. It's a love story and unless you count Willem Dafor, there is NO strange character (think Mystery Man in "Lost Highway" and Homeless Man behind Winkies in "Mulholland Drive")) It also has an unconfusing plot. It has a kind of Lynch mood to it, but it doesn't feel like a Lynch film, which is probably why it won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie is about Sailor and Lula (Nicolas Cage & Laura Dern). After Sailor gets out of prison for manslaughter, after Lulas mother Marietta tried to have him killed. Sailor and Lula drive off and end up having one of the weirdest road trips ever depicted in a film. There's a part where Sailor sings "Love Me" to Lula which is a great scene. There's a scene where Lula's psycho mother covers her entire face in lipstick. Then they meet Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe in one of his best performances) where we have a scene with Lula & him which is another spectacular scene. Then, "Wild At Heart" vies us one of the best (in my oppinion) death scens in history. There is a bank robbery (I won't tell who the robbers are) and one of them dies and it is just... WOW! We also have an unrecognizable Isabella Rosselini and Sheryl Lee who played the center of "Twin Peaks" Laura Palmer. This movie also has a strong "Wizard of Oz" theme, that may be stupid to some viewers, but I thought worked quite perfectly. A-. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 17, 2005 | | Summary | I'm making my lunch! | Content
| WILD AT HEART on DVD. I've been waiting on this day for a long, long, long time.
The first time I saw this movie, I was floored. Few movies excel in creating such an atmosphere of heat and humid drama on screen so well (DO THE RIGHT THING & STRAY DOG come to mind). Mr. Lynch brings the raw, kinetic lives of Barry Gifford's characters to the screen in his own particular way & everything about this movie just screams rock and roll and dangerous things. The design of the film recalls elements of film noir, motorcycle and B-movies from the fifties and even a dusting of the gritty seventies. As for the cast? Diane Ladd can wear puke & fly on a broomstick with sparkling brilliance. Harry Dean Stanton ain't nothin' but a hound dog; Willem Dafoe, rivaled only by Dennis Hopper, draws a wicked flame of evil as Bobby Peru - his scene with Laura Dern is incredible; Nicolas Cage channels alot of the same power that E had & Laura Dern fills her red ruby slippers with a delicious, trailer trash sweetness. Marcello Santos, Drop Shadow, Reggie, Mr. Reindeer, Uncle Pooch - characters all, shipwrecked on planet Earth. If you enjoy film noir, trashy romances - then say no more - this is just the one for you. The DVD transfer looks spectacular, the extras are juicy and the only thing lacking would be a commentary track, I guess. But the movie is certainly good enough to speak for itself.
OK - in reference to another reviewer (ixta coytl) - David Lynch guilty of plagiarism? A dog with a hand in its mouth is most certainly, most definitely taken from YOJIMBO. So what, it doesn't warrant "borderline plagiarism"? At the end of GOODFELLAS, the very last image of Joe Pesci shooting at the screen is taken from a silent film called THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (Edwin S. Porter). GOODFELLAS is now an imitation of that film? Artists borrow and steal from each other constantly; the above examples are hardly suggesting plagiarism. Also, checking your characters into a motel isn't grounds for plagiarism either - even if it is from the great TOUCH OF EVIL. The "seedy motel" has a long tradition in films that fall under the genres of film noir, southern gothic or the classic road movie. Everyone needs to stop somewhere for the night sooner or later.
So, keep on kickin' (...) on the dance floor & tellin' EVERYONE what's on your almost perfect mind...
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| Rating | | | Date | January 09, 2005 | | Summary | ...And Weird on Top | Content
| Filmed at the height of writer/director David Lynch's popularity and winner of the Palm D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, "Wild At Heart" is breathtaking. It is one of Lynch's greatest achievements, although not quite up to the brilliance of "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive." You can tell that David Lynch and everyone involved in making this movie had a great time doing it. "Wild At Heart" is a movie about "finding love in hell," and Lynch paints an insane, crazyquilt portrait of America while commenting on the escalating violence in the world. Sometimes it is pure fun to behold, other times it will terrify you or break your heart. Fueled by the success of "Twin Peaks," Lynch felt free enough to make his most whimsical movie idolizing American pop culture, chiefly Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and "The Wizard of Oz."
"Wild At Heart" tells the story of Sailor and Lula, two very passionate lovers played by Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern. They are on the run from Lula's crazed mother Marietta Fortune (Diane Ladd, who got an Oscar nomination!) who wants them torn apart, and are being followed by a shaggy dog private detective named Johnnie Farragut (Harry Dean Stanton). On their journey across America, they meet a very weird cast of characters including the sadistic Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe) and the enigmatic Perdita Durango (Isabella Rossellini).
As Sailor and Lula, Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern literally burn up the screen. Their relationship is so perfectly balanced and their sexual passion so believable that you can't help but fall for them yourself. Cage turns in an intense, insane performance as the Elvis-crooning Sailor Ripley, and Dern amazes as she playes wildly against type as the sexually voracious Lula Pace Fortune. Diane Ladd, also Dern's real-life mother, is great as the unstable Marietta. It's a risky, over the top performance that works. Willem Dafoe is creepy, disgusting, and completely mesmorizing as the unsavory Bobby Peru, his "say it" scene with Lula is unforgettable. Harry Dean Stanton shines in one of his best roles, and Isabella Rossellini is a delight as Perdita. Grace Zabriskie, Crispin Glover, W. Morgan Sheppard, Sheryl Lee, and Sherilyn Fenn are all wonderful in smaller roles.
While certainly not for everyone, "Wild At Heart" is definitely one of the best relationship movies ever made. The movie's explicit violence and sex may turn off some viewers, but those with a strong enough stomach will be highly rewarded. |
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