Why does David Lynch's ``Wild at Heart'' quote ``The Wizard of Oz''?

Was that classic a Lynchian movie?

The film ``Wild at Heart'' is based on the book of the same name by Barry Gifford. Film producer Monty Montgomery was so impressed with Barry's original story that he immediately bought the rights to make it into a movie. Montgomery and Lynch had previously worked together on television, and Montgomery wanted the chance to work with Lynch again. That's why David Lynch was chosen as the director. The director immediately wrote the first draft of the script. It seems that the story was completely different from the finished movie, and had a dark ending, just like the original.

However, as soon as actress Isabella Rossellini read the script, she declared, ``I would never star in such a tragic movie,'' so the director was forced to rewrite the script. And the director prepared a hopeful ending for Saylor and Lula. The source of this idea is the masterpiece `` The Wizard of Oz '' (39). The director has created ``Wild at Heart'' as a modern fairy tale by quoting this classic masterpiece. If you actually watch the finished movie, you'll probably see quotes from ``The Wizard of Oz.''

"Wild at Heart" (C) 1990 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

So why ``The Wizard of Oz''? Apart from being the director's favorite movie, what is the reason behind it? In many of the director's works, dreams and reality are depicted in a continuous space, projecting a strange world where it is impossible to understand how much is a dream and how much is reality. This will become more apparent if you watch his works after ``Wild at Heart''.

For example, ` `Lost Highway '' (1997) depicts the pathetic dreams of a man who kills his wife, and `` Mulholland Drive '' (2001) depicts the dreams and reality of an unsuccessful actress. In other words, ``The Wizard of Oz,'' which depicts Dorothy's dreams (or maybe they were real), is in a way similar to the worldview of Lynch's films, which depict the gap between dreams and reality. So, don't they have a lot in common? Was the Land of Oz really a dream, or maybe it was reality... This kind of consideration is common to Lynch's films.

For Saylor and Lula, the yellow brick road that stretches into the Emerald City (California) is nothing more than a hard concrete road cutting through a desolate land. Lula's mother Marietta chases her to the ends of the earth like a wicked witch, and the Wizard of Oz is a ruthless prey named Bobby (Willem Dafoe). But the future looks bright for Saylor and Lula. The famous song ``Somewhere Over the Rainbow'' is transformed into Presley's ``Love Me Tender,'' and it concludes with hope. This is a modern version of ``The Wizard of Oz.''

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Movie “Wild at Heart” theatrical program

Text: Hayato Otsuki

Born in May 1993 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Writer, editor. He started his writing career in 2016 and currently contributes columns, movie reviews, etc. to various media. By reading the creator's Arrival from a bird's-eye view, we incisively analyze and explain the original intention of the work. His writing publications include "THE RIVER", "IGN Japan", and "Real Sound Movie Club". My specialty is action and fantasy.

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"Wild at Heart"

Blu-ray: 1,886 yen + tax / DVD: 1,429 yen + tax

Publisher: NBCUniversal Entertainment

(C) 1990 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

* Information as of January 2020.

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