I was watching Orphee again last night after not watching it for a few years and there are a number of things that Lynch as used from it especially for the Red Room scenes as well as other scenes such as radio electricity, electrical signals, chevron floors, mirrors, backward writing, classical statues, rose wallpaper, people coming back from the dead, backward walking, green gloves, a guide from the underworld guiding a person in this world. All these were in Orphee and I would say that this film with Vertigo, Laura, Peyton Place and Kubrick were the main films and directors that influenced him and Mark Frost when writing and directing Twin Peaks.
Thanks for sharing, Andrew; I'll have to see that now. The last part of 18 reminded me of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice because Cooper never looks at Carrie, or even responds to her, for almost the entire drive from Odessa to Twin Peaks—almost as if he is afraid she will disappear (in this case, AGAIN). I wasn't sure if this was significant or just something that resonated with me.
And what interesting/maybe relevant comments by Cocteau on his film:
"Orphée is a realistic film; or, to be more precise, observing Goethe’s distinction between reality and truth, a film in which I express a truth peculiar to myself. If that truth is not the spectator’s, and if his personality conflicts with mine and rejects it, he accuses me of lying. I am even astonished that so many people can still be penetrated by another’s ideas, in a country noted for its individualism.
While Orphée does encounter some lifeless audiences, it also encounters others that are open to my dream and agree to be put to sleep and to dream it with me (accepting the logic by which dreams operate, which is implacable, although it is not governed by our logic).
I am only talking about the mechanics, since Orphée is not at all a dream in itself: through a wealth of detail similar to that which we find in dreams, it summarizes my way of living and my conception of life."
Little OT : Orphée, one of the most important classic french movie, was digitally 2K restored in 2008 with the participation of many french movie institutions (including CNC, one of Twin Peaks The Return producers).
It was never released on Blu Ray, only on DVD.
The only BR edition was released in the US in 2011 (unfortunately coded region A, so not readable in Europe).
Shame.
Thanks for these tips. It's been, well 25 years since I saw that one too! More Trivia: Aside from all the elements that influenced Lynch, The Smiths used a frame from towards the end for the single "This Charming Man.".
All those cool film-school movies that you forget about as time goes on... I need to check it out again for sure. Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast is still one of my all time dream-like films- love that one!
Little OT : Orphée, one of the most important classic french movie, was digitally 2K restored in 2008 with the participation of many french movie institutions (including CNC, one of Twin Peaks The Return producers).
It was never released on Blu Ray, only on DVD.
The only BR edition was released in the US in 2011 (unfortunately coded region A, so not readable in Europe).
Shame.
Whaaaat? How has no one released that restoration in Region B! That's a real freakin' shame!
This all has me really intrigued to rewatch Orpheus again. Honestly, I'm curious if there are stylistic links found in the other films in Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy (Blood of a Poet and Testament of Orpheus). Some of the pioneering special effects used in all three I definitely see having made an imprint on Lynch's approach to them in TPTR. I'm especially intrigued about Testament having possible links as well, since it's all about Cocteau looking back on his work and his life through it, and TPTR DEFINITELY felt like that for Lynch (even if not as explicitly as Cocteau's film).
Fire walk with