Eraserhead

Eraserhead

Release Date

1977

Director

  • David Lynch

Cast

  • John Nance
  • Judith Anna Roberts
  • Charlotte Stewart

David Lynch's surreal first feature is a bizarre and disturbing look into a man's fear of parenthood.

A dream of dark and troubling things . . .
David Lynch’s 1977 debut feature, Eraserhead, is both a lasting cult sensation and a work of extraordinary craft and beauty. With its mesmerizing black-and-white photography by Frederick Elmes and Herbert Cardwell, evocative sound design, and unforgettably enigmatic performance by Jack Nance, this visionary nocturnal odyssey continues to haunt American cinema like no other film. [Criterion Collection]

Henry (John Nance) resides alone in a bleak apartment surrounded by industrial gloom. When he discovers that an earlier fling with Mary X (Charlotte Stewart) left her pregnant, he marries the expectant mother and has her move in with him. Things take a decidedly strange turn when the couple's baby turns out to be a bizarre lizard-like creature that won't stop wailing. Other characters, including a disfigured lady who lives inside a radiator, inhabit the building and add to Henry's troubles.

Banner image courtesy of Libra Films International/Photofest

Past Programs

2021