Catalin:

To my knowledge there has been no release of the famed FWWM DVD complete
with deleted scenes.  Apparently they're still discussing the
possibility of such a release, but no word yet as to whether or not it
will actually happen.  More info here:

http://www.dugpa.com/

As for Dan's question about whether or not Lynch's work is
philosophically interesting: I must answer an unequivocal yes.

My main research interest is in film sound theory, particularly the
debates surrounding the notions of "original" and "copy" that emerge
from the discourses of representation.  For an excellent run-down on
these discourses as they relate to film sound theory, see James Lastra's
"sound theory" chapter in his book "Sound Technology and the American
Cinema."  And for a more general discussion of issues in sound fidelity
outside of film studies, see Jonathan Sterne's chapter "The Social
Genesis of Sound Fidelity" in his book "The Audible Past."

The issues that are raised in these corners of sound theory are
absolutely front and center in the work of David Lynch.  Take something
as basic as the "is it live or is it Memorex" notion that sound
reproduction technology can re-create an "original" sound event so well
that the human ear can't tell the difference between the two.  Now think
about the basic book-end structure of Lost Highway: in the context of
the film's diegesis, we hear two versions of the phrase "Dick Laurent is
Dead."  The first version is mediated through the technology of the
intercom while the second is heard directly from Fred Madison's lips.
The question that frames the film is this: is it the same voice in both
versions?  

Lynch gives us over two full hours between the two readings which is far
more than enough time for the fidelity of our sonic memories to be
tested.  And as these two hours pass Lynch fills the film with scenarios
that explore the concept of fidelity.  For example, Fred suggests that
his own memory does not remain faithful to reality when he says that he
likes to remember things his own way, "not necessarily the way they
happened."  He says this to explain why he hates video cameras,
inferring that the technological representation of reality adheres more
faithfully to real events than his own experience can allow.  It is
significant that Fred makes this statement while seemingly in the midst
of suspecting that his wife is being unfaithful to their marriage vows.
Here he draws a connection between the way we think about fidelity in
marital terms and the way we think about it when discussing
representation.  As we ponder these issues, our minds slowly let go of
the first voice we heard and by the end of the film we honestly question
whether or not Fred Madison's reading could be the same as the one that
came through the intercom.  Is the mediated version the same as the
unmediated?  Is the copy faithful to the original?  To answer these
questions we must first discover what we mean when we use the words
"faithful," "copy," and "original" in the first place.  These are, at
heart, philosophical questions with as many answers as you can probably
imagine.  

Ultimately it is for this reason that Lastra suggests we stop talking
about sound "reproduction" and start talking about sound
"representation."  With this substitution in terms we can let go of any
lingering expectation for sound technology to re-create that which it
records and thus move away from the problems that bog us down when
thinking about sound technology and its relationship to the world.  But
I don't think Lynch is going to take Lastra's advice any time soon.  And
that doesn't bother me one bit.

Randolph. 

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