From uwvax!zazen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!uunet!igor!rutabaga!jgp Sat Feb 9 13:59:46 CST 1991 Article: 10661 of alt.tv.twin-peaks Xref: uwvax alt.tv.twin-peaks:10661 rec.arts.tv:36686 Path: uwvax!zazen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!uunet!igor!rutabaga!jgp From: jgp@rutabaga.Rational.COM (Jim Pellmann) Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks,rec.arts.tv Subject: TP: Laserdisc review Message-ID: Date: 8 Feb 91 20:47:53 GMT Sender: news@Rational.COM Followup-To: alt.tv.twin-peaks Lines: 71 from the February, 1991 "Laser Disc Newsletter": Mountains, breasts, climaxes, owl eyes, fangs ... In the spirit of its own title, "Twin Peaks" has two of everything, from two creators and two heroes named after two Pacific Northwest legends (one a resident and one an outsider) to two burnt out actors from "West Side Story." And, as most of you have heard, there are two versions of the opening episode, the version which was shown on television and the version which was released to theaters in Europe. The 'European theatrical' version of "Twin Peaks" has been released in Japan (NJL35205, 4841 yen). Warner Home Video is scheduled to release the title domestically on video cassette some time this Spring, but a spokesperson informed us that there are no plans to release it on disc in the near future. The jacket cover alone is worth the price of the disc. The front cover is a headshot of Laura Palmer, very dead and blanched. On the back the biggest still is of the letter being pulled out of her fingernail. The picture transfer itself is fine, no more than an extra generation away from the broadcast version and just a touch more grainy, though the Japanese subtitles, which appear both at the bottom and along the right side, are more annoying than normal. The digitally encoded surround sound is also okay, if one can tolerate a slight level of noise. There are directional sound effects, but it is mostly Angelo Badalamenti's score which is enhanced by the surround, and the enhancements work wonders on the show's moods. Nothing we had read prepared us for the wonderful ending that David Lynch and Mark Frost concocted for this 'theatrical' presentation. We will not spoil it for you, since the surprise of its construction contributed to much of its fun, but we can say that reports concerning the 'different' murderer are poppycock. It is mentioned that 'Bob' is inhabiting a different character from the one who is revealed to be the murderer in the regular series, but this is a rushed line of dialog which is nearly impossible to catch, and is almost as irrelevant. The first hour and forty minutes of the disc contain the original television pilot (Agent Cooper's opening comments about Philadelphia will no longer seem like an idle remark if one has been following the series), up to the point at the end where Laura's mother begins to have a vision. After that, new footage appears, including an amusing scene involving Andy and Lucy preparing for bed. The action shifts to the hospital and there is an unnerving shoot out, followed by a brilliant title card--yes, title card--and familiar footage which, because of the title card, takes on the impact of Keir Dullea's final scenes in "2001: A Space Odyssey," a film which the current "Twin Peaks" may yet begin to imitate. Endings aside, the program is a superb mixture of mood, emotion, and humor. Although the episode was a TV pilot, as an independent feature the daisy chain links between the characters take on a different meaning and function. No longer serving as the 'introduction' to a soap opera, the film is instead an exploration of the secrets hidden behind the facade of middle America. The discipline imposed by the necessities of broadcast television is precisely the discipline Lynch and Frost required to keep their creativity focussed. "Twin Peaks" is not perfect. The supposedly fresh water lake shore where Laura's body is found is quite obviously a salt water tidal beach, and what high school students have early morning football practice in late February? We guess it doesn't matter, since although the program is set in Washington state, they haven't really made it clear that it takes place on Earth. Anyway, we hope that Warner will eventually release every episode the show has, because we dream of someday retiring, getting an easy chair and a sofa, and just sitting and watching "Twin Peaks," over and over again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For those who have forgotten the details of the European film ending, I'm reposting that message also. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There's no sense in being precise when | Jim Pellmann (jpellmann@rational.com) you don't even know what you're talking | RATIONAL about. --- John von Neumann | Santa Clara, California