Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Lynch/Oz’ on Criterion Channel, a Film-Study Documentary Digging Deep Into David Lynch’s Influences

Cinephiles will devour Lynch/Oz (now on the Criterion Channel, as well as VOD services like Amazon Prime Video) for its deep, thoughtful analysis of how David Lynch, one of our greatest treasures of cinema, was, is and always has been influenced by another treasure of cinema, The Wizard of Oz. Director Alexandre O. Philippe specializes in documentaries that deep-dive into a filmmaker’s work or a specific film – his other titles include The People vs. George Lucas, 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene and the excellent Memory: The Origins of Alien – and in this case, he solicits six filmmakers and critics to share their fascinating insights into how Dorothy’s trip down the Yellow Brick Road arguably made Lynch a filmmaker with such a singular voice.

LYNCH/OZ: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: OF COURSE in a movie about David Lynch, there’s a segment titled “Membranes,” because any analysis about David Lynch that doesn’t incorporate membranes is incomplete by definition. That’s the portion of the film narrated by Rodney Ascher, director of Room 237, who discusses how realities in Oz and Lynch films are separated by thin membranes, specifically between the black-and-white and Technicolor realities Dorothy experiences, and, for example, the leap between the surreal and even more surreal realities Agent Cooper jumps between in Twin Peaks. This segment is notable for drawing quite the parallel between The Brain from Planet Arous and Paths of Glory, a prime instance where the movie’s myriad film clips are arranged in a rather precarious and off-kilter manner. 

That’s just one of the six chapters comprising the doc. Renowned film critic Amy Nicholson narrates the “Wind” segment, which opens Lynch/Oz and sets the table by declaring Oz “the quintessential American fairy tale” that “trains you” to not take things at face value. She points out how the film opens with the sound of voices oohing and ahhing like wind; compare that to how you always hear the air in a Lynch movie, usually as an ominous ambient rumble. One titled “Kindred” finds the voice of John Waters – and oh, do we cinephiles love the voice of John Waters, almost as much as we love the voice of Werner Herzog and Lynch himself – sharing how he and Lynch are kindred spirits in many ways; Water reveals that he has an autographed photo of the Wicked Witch of the West actress Margaret Hamilton, because Of Course He Does, and it concludes with a mention of the famous photo of the two men shaking hands in front of a Big Boy statue. I mean, that couldn’t not be mentioned, could it?

Director Karyn Kusama is next with “Multitudes,” examining the meta-text of Oz (e.g., Judy Garland’s tragic life) and how it relates to the complex characters who populate Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet. Notably, Kusama once worked at a diner Lynch frequented, and he always ordered pancakes with lots of syrup, so do what you will with that information. That neatly segues into “Judy,” where directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Synchronic and Something in the Dirt) find the spirit of Judy Garland in his films, and examine Lynch’s obsession with the dark side of the 1950s; they even stretch to draw comparisons between Oz and Apocalypse Now, which I found fascinating. Finally, David Lowery (The Green Knight, A Ghost Story) narrates “Dig,” sharing how he only ever watched Oz on a black-and-white TV when he was young, and notes how Lynch examines dark components of humanity while still remaining an optimist at heart. He also ruminates on the importance of the artist’s subconscious influences on their art, which might explain why there’s always either blatant or subtextual Oz references in Lynch’s work.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Lynch/Oz offers thoughtful and provocative analysis without delving into goofy conspiracy-theory stuff like Room 237 did via The Shining; it’s not as focused as Memory: The Origins of Alien, which is a prime example of documentary-as-film-analysis. (There’s also VOIR, the David Fincher-produced series on Netflix, one segment of which features frequent Decider contributor Walter Chaw). Also, David Lynch: The Art Life also digs into Lynch, from a different, similarly fascinating angle.

Performance Worth Watching: This bevy of film clips flows so eerily smooth, it frequently renders Lynch/Oz mesmerizing. So let’s give this one to editor David Lawrence, who does his job with considerable skill. 

Memorable Dialogue: This Lynch quote is the onus of the film: “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about The Wizard of Oz.”

Sex and Skin: Clips of sex scenes from my favorite Lynch film, Wild at Heart.

Our Take: I’m not sure Lynch/Oz ever coalesces to make a sharply honed point; consider it more of a collage or mosaic than an incisive essay. But it’s a highly entertaining assemblage of hundreds of film clips illustrating Lynch’s genius and speculating about what influenced him, and by “highly entertaining assemblage of hundreds of film clips illustrating Lynch’s genius,” I mean, “movie normies not invited.” It’s more rich and insightful than most for-fans-only fodder, it deepens one’s appreciation of both Lynch and Oz, and most crucially, makes you want to rewatch the Lynch oeuvre with eyes and ears freshly primed for munchkin spotting, interdimensional leaps and curtain appreciation. So many curtains.

Lynch is notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to explaining the origins and meanings of his work, possibly because he fears spoiling our interpretations, possibly (and this is the theory I subscribe to) because he doesn’t know the origins and meanings of his work, and functions like an otherworldly artist who’s cultivated such a direct conduit to his vivid subconscious, he just lets it flow and lets it be and lets us wrestle with it. This isn’t to imply that he works without intent, but his work is singular in its ability to be simultaneously repulsive and beautiful, haunting and innocent, about darkness and about love. All that stuff is in there, in our brains, and he taps into it like no one else can. And the thing about Lynch/Oz is, it’s pretty convincing that The Wizard of Oz does all that too, and is ground zero for better understanding Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive and The Elephant Man and Twin Peaks and maybe ourselves and the collective subconscious and the manner and method of the making of art. 

Our Call: Lynch is deep and rich and Lynch/Oz pulls a big syrupy scoop of syrup out of the filmmaker’s stream of consciousness and soaks our pancakes with it. STREAM IT.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.