January 2026 would have been the 80th birthday of legendary director and artist David Lynch. To mark this, Smokies Walk With Me is organising screenings of all Lynch’s films in Arbroath across the year.
We’re kicking off in January with Lynch’s debut feature film, the enigmatic, disturbing and beautiful ‘Eraserhead.’ It’s the story of Henry, a man living in a brutal industrial environment who unexpectedly becomes a completely unprepared father of a strange and unusual baby. Surreal and cryptic, it’s a body horror and unique work of art.
‘Eraserhead’ was a labour of love that took Lynch and his small group of collaborators five years to make. The set was built in the disused stables of the American Film Institute, where Lynch worked and lived, going on past when he was no longer a student. The production was so difficult and took so long that Lynch’s father and brother advised him to quit and get a proper job.
But he persisted, working intricately on producing sets, props and particularly the sound design. This has produced a work that has been selected by the Library of Congress to be preserved because of its significance. Stanley Kubrick told Lynch it was his favourite filmed and screened it on the set of ‘The Shining’, H.R. Giger said it was “one of the greatest films ever seen”. This January, there’s a one-off opportunity to see this unique work of art in the way needed to best appreciate it: in the theatre, at Arbroath’s independent cinema Chalmers.
Please note ‘Eraserhead’ is rated 18.
Also check out other Arts events in Arbroath, Entertainment events in Arbroath, Theatre events in Arbroath.
