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David Lynch's Inland Empire (Limited Edition Two-Disc Set) | 
 enlarge | Director: David Lynch
Actors: Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux
Studio: Absurda / Rhino
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy Used: $8.50
You Save: $21.48 (72%)
New (39) Used (22) from $8.50
Rating:  152 reviews
Sales Rank: 6430
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Polish (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 179
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: RKOD183036D
UPC: 858334001145
EAN: 0858334001145
ASIN: B000QQFKYE
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: August 14, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 08/14/2007
Amazon.com
Though Inland Empire's three hours of befuddling abstraction could try the patience of the most devoted David Lynch fan, its aim to reinvigorate the Lynch-ian symbolic order is ambitious, not to mention visually arresting. The director's archetypes recognizable from previous movies once again construct the film's inherent logic, but with a new twist. Sets vibrate between the contemporary and a 1950s alternate universe crammed with dim lamps, long hallways, mysterious doors, sparsely furnished rooms and, this time, a vortex/apartment/sitcom set where rabbit-masked humans dwell, and a Polish town where women are abused and killed. Instead of speaking backwards, mystic soothsayers and criminals speak Polish. Filmed on video, the film's look has the sinister, frightening feel of a Mark Savage film or a bootlegged snuff movie. Constant close-ups, both in and out of focus, make Inland Empire feel as if a stalker covertly filmed it. A straightforward, hokey plot unravels during the first third of Inland Empire to ground the viewer before a dive off the deep end. Actor Nikki Grace (Laura Dern) is cast as Susan Blue, an adulterous white trash Southerner, in a film that mimics too closely her actual life with an overbearingly jealous and dangerous husband. When Nikki and co-star Devon (Justin Theroux) learn that the cursed film project was earlier abandoned when its stars were murdered, the pair lose their grasp of reality. Nikki suffers a schizophrenic identity switch to Sue that lasts until nearly the film's end. Suspense builds as Nikki's alter ego sleuths her way through surreal situations to discover her killer, culminating in Sue's gnarly death on set. Sue's actions drag on because any sign of a narrative thread disappears due to idiosyncratic editing. Nonsensical scenes still captivate, however, such as when Sue stumbles onto the soundstage where she finds Nikki (herself) rehearsing for Sue's part. In this meta-film about identity slippage, Dern's multiple characters remind one of how a victim can become the hunter in their fight for survival. Lynch's portrayal of Nikki/Sue's increasing paranoia is, in its own confusion, utterly realistic. Laura Dern has created her own Lady Macbeth, undone by her guilt over infidelity. Even though Inland Empire is too long and too random, Laura Dern's performance coupled with Lynch's video experiments make it magical. --Trinie Dalton More Films from David Lynch 
Wild At Heart | 
Mulholland Drive | 
Blue Velvet | Stills from Inland Empire (click for larger image)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 147 more reviews...
Well, it's David January 8, 2009
At once tedious and interesting, INLAND EMPIRE reiterates Lynch's fascination with his home town of L.A. and what that screwed up, wonderful/terrible place can do to a mind.
That's it, in a nutshell, and the way he embroiders that idea continues to be interesting, but, quite demanding in terms of time. Definitely recommended for Lynch fans.
 Surreal but without nauseuam December 20, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I watched this movie once and will only watch it once. I do recommend it for Lynch lovers (as well as Dern lovers),lovers of surreal film and the avant-garde.
Others on this site have already relayed the plot and even sub textual discourses, but for me, at about the 2.15 mark I really just wanted the movie to end. I began to fast forward just to accomplish this. It wasn't a bad movie but I lost interest in the schizophrenia that ensues. Its much like a person with a multiple personality disorder came into your house, after a while you don't want to be around them, same with this film. But I was curious how it would end...would she find herself again? Is she doomed to die? Who would die as foretold by the old woman in the opening;I suppose the questions are answered in the end but we also are made to feel that there is no real resolution to Nikki/Sue's (Dern) dilemma. You as the bystander, targeted viewer, will suffer what the primary character suffers. Both for her and as well cause of her.
 SPOILERS ahead...if the concept of SPOILERS even applies to INLAND EMPIRE... December 11, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Did you enjoy Lynch's ERASERHEAD, LOST HIGHWAY, and/or MULHOLLAND DR.? Then you're bound to enjoy INLAND EMPIRE, and you owe it to yourself to check out this mind-spinning extravaganza of absurdism.
Just prepare to be somewhat confused and frustrated the first time you see it - the appeal of this film is that the plot is so complex and surreal that it stands up to almost unlimited viewings. I only began to truly understand it after the fourth (!) viewing.
The bonus disc is outrageously packed with goodies, including interviews with Lynch, a great documentary, and a 74-minute extension of the film.
SPOILERS (maybe):
Okay, now that the review itself is out of the way, I'm gonna try to break down this film's plot in the clearest possible way. Wish me luck.
Nikki Grace (Laura Dern) is an ageing actress with a fading career. She's married to Piotrek (Peter Lucas), an aloof and intimidating Hollywood power player. These two are having some serious marital problems.
Nikki has recently scored a juicy lead role in Kingsley Stewart (Jeremy Irons)'s latest film, entitled ON HIGH IN BLUE TOMORROWS (OHBT). Nikki will be playing the role of Susan Blue, an unhappy housewife who secretly becomes pregnant with her boss's love-child.
Before Nikki leaves for Hollywood, hubby Piotrek makes it ominously clear to Nikki's womanizing co-star, Devon (Justin Theroux), that there will be grave consequences if there is any hanky-panky.
So, of course, Nikki and Devon hop in the sack mid-way through production.
Something else that happens mid-way through the production is that Nikki begins to confuse herself with her character, Susan. And this is where things start to get funky.
Roughly a third of the way through INLAND EMPIRE, the story of Nikki, Piotrek, and Devon is replaced by the OHBT story of Susan Blue (Dern), Smithy (Lucas), and Billy (Theroux). But we're not watching the production of the film anymore - these are now real people and we're following their real lives. It's almost as if Lynch is telling us that the fictional characters of OHBT are just as real as the actors who play them - perhaps even moreso. Like I said: funky.
Anyways, things get even stickier when a third character played by Laura Dern enters the picture. This unnamed character may or may not be Susan Blue after Susan has possibly suffered a severe mental/emotional breakdown. Or is she another character altogether - as independant of Susan Blue as Susan Blue is of Nikki Grace?
Still with me? Kudos if you are. I'm not even gonna get into the obscure fourth character that Dern plays in this film - forget about it.
So, about three quarters of the way through the film, this third Dern character dies of a stab wound, and we return to Nikki's story, where Nikki has just finished performing the final scene of OHBT - Susan Blue's death scene. Nikki now appears to now be in a sort of trance.
Nikki shuffles offstage like a zombie, and ends up passing between a pair of Lynch's trademark red curtains - the red curtains that always lead to some strange other place where things are...Lynchian.
At this point, all of Dern's characters (however many you think there are - 2, 3, or 4) begin to merge, as do many of the story's disparate plot elements. It's hard to say just exactly what's happening, but things are definitely reaching a head.
After a series of dramatic confrontations and cathartic happenings, Dern's character/s manage to scream, shoot, and kiss their way to what appears to be a happy ending. Lives are saved, tears are dried, and three people dressed as rabbits disappear into thin air. OK, skip that last part.
The film finally ends where it basically began - back at Nikki's mansion, before she has even been offered the role of Susan Blue in OHBT. Was the whole story a cautionary dream-vision about the evils of Hollywood? Or maybe a terrifying excursion into parallel reality theory? An extended psychotic fantasy? A postmodernist commentary on the nature of films, reality, and madness? Maybe just an all-out psychic poltergeist?
The beauty of the film is that SPOILERS really don't seem to apply to it, and the rest is up to you.
Enjoy the mystery.
 Why? why? why? December 8, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This isn't really a movie. It's more like an abstract video with a bare semblance of 'plot.' It does have a cool, ominous soundtrack. Clearly, this is an art film, meant to be looked at and contemplated, not necessarily enjoyed as entertainment. For me, it just wasn't worth the effort. Watch if you are a dire fan of David Lynch only.
It's like a nightmare captured on film. December 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
INLAND EMPIRE is pretty similar to other David Lynch films like LOST HIGHWAY and MULHOLLAND DRIVE because it sort of alternates between two different worlds, both of which are almost the exact opposite of each other. And INLAND EMPIRE is similar to most David Lynch movies in that you don't know WHAT the Hell is going on half the time. So with that being said, I'm not really sure what INLAND EMPIRE is about and considering I've only seen it ONCE, it would be unfair to make any assumptions. I tried to follow along, take notes, and piece the clues together while watching the movie, but within an hour I gave up and decided to just watch it. Also the fact that the film is three hours long, made me want to just get it over with.
INLAND EMPIRE is basically a movie within a movie and it starts off somewhat normal. Nikki (Laura Dern) accepts a role in a movie that co-stars a handsome womanizing actor named Devon (Justin Theroux). As the film's production starts they find out that they are actually filming a REMAKE of a movie that had its production halted due to a murder involving the actors. There are also hints that Devon wants to add Nikki to his list of women that he's conquered, but he denies it. Nikki is already married, but there's sort of a tension between them and as they get closer and actually show affection, INLAND EMPIRE does a complete 180 and goes off into bizarre territories that only David Lynch could provide. It all starts when the line between Nikki's reality and the movie that she's filming, completely blurs. And YOU, as the viewer, don't even know if you're watching Nikki (the real character) or Susan, the character that she's portraying in her movie. After that, INLAND EMPIRE alternates between Nikki's world, which is one of luxury, and another world that's dirty and ugly and revolves around some sort of murder. There's also a lingering theme of prostitution. And again much like MULHOLLAND DRIVE, there's another woman that's introduced but you don't know if she's a completely different character, if she represents Nikki, or if she actually IS Nikki. As if the character that she plays (Susan) has jumped out of her script and come to life. Or maybe you're getting a glimpse into the world of the lead actors who were murdered during the original production of the film that Nikki is starring in. Confused yet?? I'll stop there...
Well, if you're a David Lynch fan you'll probably like this. Personally, I'm a huge Lynch fan. I enjoyed INLAND EMPIRE because it's just so weird that it's almost refreshing to watch. But I have to admit that it's definitely not one of my favorite Lynch films. It's interesting but it's not breaking any new grounds as far as Lynch's filmography goes and is too similar to some of his other films.
The DVD:
The quality of the film is horrible, but knowing David Lynch that was probably his intention so all I will say is that it's not a pretty film by any means. The overall quality looks really low budget, is shaky at times (hand held cameras), and parts of the movie look generations old. The lighting also makes it difficult to see in some parts. However, despite the bad quality, the actual SHOTS in the film are beautiful and Lynch shows that he really knows how to create both gorgeous scenes and incredibly ugly scenes (or sometimes both mixed together), ultimately creating a nightmarish effect.
The EXTRA FEATURES: MORE THINGS THAT HAPPENED (74:55) - Basically a bunch of deleted scenes that are all edited together so that you have to watch them as a whole. It's almost like watching a different version of the movie. I didn't watch it all because by the time I got done with INLAND EMPIRE, I was pretty Lynch-ed out if you know what I mean.
QUINOA (20:03) - David Lynch shows you how to cook his favorite dish called Quinoa, which is like a bunch of protein mixed with broccoli or something. It's really weird. It sounds like someone actually went out of their way to SCORE footage of David cooking. In between, he tells a weird story and randomly makes these weird gestures with his hands similar to what Dennis Hopper did in BLUE VELVET.
BALLERINA (12:19) - Edited footage of a ballerina dancing to music. You see glimpses of her toward the end of INLAND EMPIRE and I guess this is just a polished product of footage that was shot with her.
STORIES (41:37) - David Lynch sitting down and telling stories about the filming of INLAND EMPIRE.
LYNCH 2 (30:10) - My favorite Extra Feature on the DVD. It's basically real Behind-the-Scenes footage of INLAND EMPIRE, seen through the eyes (or lens) of someone who just follows David Lynch around the set. It's like they edited together a bunch of his weird antics. The footage mostly consists of Lynch yelling at cast and crew, getting hands on with the production (making props, etc.), going over scripts, making phone calls, and other random stuff. It's very entertaining.
3 stars
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