Sightlines · reception
How Lost Highway was received
1997 · David Lynch · Lost Highway on Sightlines
The arc
Dismissed by many critics in 1997 as Lynch at his most willfully impenetrable, it's since been reclaimed as the start of his great late-period LA trilogy — the film that paved the road to Mulholland Drive.
What’s debated
The forever-debate: is it incoherent lesser Lynch or a puzzle that rewards obsession — and does Mulholland Drive simply do the same trick better?
Its footprint
The Mystery Man's party scene is one of the most referenced jump-out-of-your-skin moments in 90s cinema, and the Trent Reznor–produced soundtrack (Bowie, Rammstein, Smashing Pumpkins) became an alt-90s artifact in its own right.
Where it stands
A cult Lynch pick that's climbed steadily into the canon — the 'actually, THIS one' choice for Lynch heads on Letterboxd.
Did you know? After Siskel and Ebert panned it, Lynch turned their verdict into the ad campaign — posters proudly declared 'Two Thumbs Down!' as 'two more great reasons to see Lost Highway.'