David Lynch is a famously outsider filmmaker, from Eraserhead right through Inland Empire. And he is no fan of handheld movie playing, as featured on the iPhone. Very funny iPhone parody ad by Brittney Gilbert.
Thanks, Gabo!
Tags: iphone, humor, David Lynch
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30 responses to “David Lynch loves the iPhone — NOT!”
whatever!!!!
Or maybe David Lynch is just an old OCD-ish cinephile?
This is the same guy that insisted on not putting chapter stops in Mullholland drive because it would “ruin the experience” in a similar fashion to what he is claiming here. He also claimed that “Exotica” was “sexy” (it’s not).
To expect a movie maker as radical as DL to love a hand held movie player is expecting Much!
Is there a QuickTime link? I’d like to watch the ad on my iPhone.
I’m going to have to agree with Lynch on this one. I don’t think you can enjoy a film as much when you are watching it on a mobile device as compared to a home theater / commercial theater. I don’t own an iPhone — but I doubt I would ever watch a movie on it (I do own an iPod classic and I still haven’t watched any video on it).
– thats why i have a cord that connects the ipod or iphone to a tv or projector- so gfy u pretentious director
I tend to watch films repeatedly. Some films I’ve seen 20+ times. I agree with Mr. Lynch, that films should be “experienced”, and that to do so requires high resolution playback on a large screen. The local movie theater (or a decent HD projector) provides that venue.
However, once I’ve seen / experienced a movie multiple times, I think it’s fine to watch that same film on a phone. Assuming the “phone” is an iPhone.
Seriously…
Macs are overpriced plastic.
You’re paying more for name and image than you are for performance.
Yea, it works.
I don’t care. I still feel like I’m using fucking Fisher Price My First Computer anytime I’m forced to do something on a Mac.
I totally agree.
Watching a moving is one thing, but experiencing film is another.
It’s too bad that a lot of people out there don’t, and will never “Get” this.
However, it’s kind of funny to see just how touchy Lynch is about the topic! :)
The video is no longer on youtube. :/
God forbid someone has the nerve to bash these precious gadgets. Watching movies on a 3 inch screen is a lame, sub par experience. Period. If you commute or travel, and want to catch up on some TV or whatever, fine, but trying to argue in favor of watching movies on a phone is ridiculous.
Trust me a 13 hour flight from LA to Sydney is a perfect time to enjoy a movie on a portable device. Better sound, your choice of movie, complete control over pausing… I managed to catchup on several TV shows as well.
Well, here’s the thing…. Has *anyone,* including fond Apple acolytes, ever argued that watching a movie on a small, hand-held device is superior to watching it on the big screen? I’ve never heard any such thing.
As other posters have said, watching a movie on an iPod is an expedient, something to keep you amused when you can’t go to the theater or revel in your home theater. It’s not a substitute for the real thing; I don’t know of anyone who has pretended that it is, and I don’t recall Apple ever pretending that it is. And as expedients go, it’s actually pretty decent.
So Lynch’s argument is something of a non-sequitur. He’s missing the point, as if he has no idea what it’s like to (say) travel a lot and have to sit around in airports  sitting around in airports being one of the dullest activities in which modern man sees fit to engage.
Doug — I too think that a hollywood director never travels via plane *eye roll*
The point is — video on the iPhone and iPod products is just really gadgety. It’s no replacement for the real experience and it’s not THAT revolutionary. I’d probably watch video on the iPhone if I were on a plane (though it’d probably be a TV show, not a movie), but there’s practically no scenario in which I would ever watch video on that little iPod Nano — the screen is just WAY too small.
He could be a little nicer about it. And I was about to watch Eraserhead on my phone. What was I thinking.