Original subtitles

DAVID LYNCH: I think we should all

have as much technical knowledge as possible to make films.

The technical knowledge of a camera, lenses , film stock,

lighting, sound, editing machines.

But I think the main thing is to learn by doing.

When you have hands on and are doing things,

it brings you into the thing.

And you realize what this does, what that does.

And it opens up possibilities for the flow of ideas.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

You're learning by doing, not an intellectual understanding,

but an experiential thing.

That is so important, as far as I'm concerned.

All the different parts get into it.

And then in film school, if you're lucky,

you'll be with other students.

And if they're the right ones, you'll inspire one another

and light a bigger fire.

And you can meet people that you'll stay with, you know,

and work with.

And it could be really, really great,

this school learning environment.

Maybe get a camera.

Save up, figure out a way to get a camera

and learn how to use it.

Then get-- maybe get some friends

and write a scene based on ideas that you might have caught

and shoot that.

And then because you did that and you

see what the camera did, you see like, oh, I should

have been closer on that shot.

That-- that would have--

I-- I-- and then I should have--

and you start learning.

And then maybe you re-shoot the thing,

or maybe new things have come along and you learn by doing.

And then more ideas will come.

Because now-- once you start seeing what this particular

camera gives you if you have this particular light,

and you see this girl saying this thing in a certain way,

you start getting a--

the medium starts talking to you.

And it's like it introduces itself to you.

You get to know it.

And then the more you get to know it,

the more it helps you get ideas.

Oh, if I did this-- and that's an idea.

Oh, I could-- oh.

And then in they come.

And so you just stay alert, do your work.

Don't worry about the world going by.

It doesn't mean that you can sit around and not do anything.

You've got to get your butt in gear and do it.

And don't take no for an answer.

Translate those ideas to cinema, or to a painting,

or to whatever.

And figure out a way to get it done.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

This is a sculptured screen for "Six Men Getting Sick"

minus the film and the sound.

Two of the faces are me and one is of Jack.

And they're cast in resin, all put together

to be this screen upon which the film fell.

[SIREN SOUNDING]

What you just saw started everything for me in cinema.

That particular thing started with an idea or a--

kind of a experience that happened to me

when I was sitting at night.

I picture it being around 9:30 or 10:00

at night in a cubicle in a large studio room at the Pennsylvania

Academy of Fine Arts.

I'm in there painting a picture about three or four foot

square, mostly black, with these--

this green-- sort of a garden--

green coming out of the back.

I'm sitting back looking at this thing.

And as I'm looking at the painting,

the green began to move.

And from the green and black came a wind.

And I thought, oh, a moving painting.

And then I started thinking about a moving painting.

And at the end of every school year

there, they had a an experimental painting

and sculpture contest.

And I thought, oh, I'm going to build a moving

painting for that experimental painting and sculpture contest.

I didn't know anything about film.

Zero.

And I went down to this--

I thought 16 millimeter cameras were all the same.

So I called around and I got these varying prices,

some super expensive, some--

I ended up at this place called Foto-Rama,

downtown Philadelphia, because they are the cheapest 16

millimeter camera.

And I rented a little windup Kodak camera

that took single frames and had these little bitty cooked

lenses on it, a turret of three.

And I loved this little camera.

I mounted it on top of a dresser in an old hotel room

that the Academy had purchased this hotel.

And the rooms were all empty, but in the hallways

there were beautiful brass beds, and oriental carpets rolled up,

and all kinds of different pieces of furniture.

But the rooms were open for work.

And I built a sculpture screen in there.

And then I think came in faces, and the sound of a siren,

and them getting sick.

So it kind of started--

those ideas came.

And this siren was on a loop of quarter inch tape.

And the film was not from a negative.

It was a-- what do you call it?

Reversal.

It was-- what you develop is what you show.

And-- so it was really trashed by going through the projector

so much.

That whole thing cost $200.

And I said, this is absolutely ridiculous,

and I can't do this anymore.

It was going to be the end.

But a wealthy former student saw it

and commissioned me to build a moving painting for his home.

And that led further into the world of cinema.

And for me, I just started getting green lights

in that world.

The beautiful thing about making that was I

started to fall in love with cinema.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I think you should go into film history a little bit.

At the American Film Institute Center for Advanced Film

Studies, Frank Danielle had what he called a film analysis

class.

And I think this is a great, great thing.

There were maybe 10 students that would come to the class.

And we'd meet for a few minutes in Frank's office.

And he would say, OK.

You're in charge of editing.

You're in charge of music.

You're in charge of sound.

You're in charge of, you know, costumes.

You're in charge of this.

Give everybody something.

And then we go see a film.

And then we go back into Frank's office.

And each person would talk about a particular, you know,

element, like the editing, or the sound, or the music.

And it helps to realize that there

are these different sections.

And each one has so many possibilities to, you know,

realize those ideas in fantastic ways.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I love Billy Wilder for his timing, characters,

and sense of place.

I can't go on with the scene.

I'm too happy.

You see, this is my life.

It always will be.

There's nothing else, just us and those wonderful people

out there in the dark.

All right Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close up.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Doesn't get much better than that.

I love "Sunset Boulevard" with all my being,

and I love his film, "The Apartment."

And one thing I've noticed about both those films

is that places, they feel so good, so correct.

And it's just beautiful sense of place, time, mood, characters,

timing, humor, sadness, you know?

All this human condition just flows in a Billy Wilder film.

He's a great, great, great artist.

You know, "Sunset Boulevard" is one of my all-time favorites.

It captures the golden age of Hollywood, you know,

all the different things, the stages, the backstreets,

the mansions, this thing that Hollywood does.

It's just a magical, beautiful, incredible film.

This "Chinatown," I say is a great, great film

and will live on.

And one of the great things about it

is, I say, you know, like this thing, room to dream.

A film, even though it ends--

the thing I like about some, you know, endings--

and "Chinatown" is a perfect example--

the film ends, but there's still room to dream.

And in "Chinatown," the thing that makes it so much room

to dream is that last line.

"Forget it, Jake.

It's Chinatown."

Boom.

It just opens up this mystery of this place.

And the film continues, and continues,

even though it's over.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I love everything about Fellini.

One of the greatest filmmakers ever.

My favorite film of Fellini's is probably "8 1/2,"

but I love "La Strada."

I loved "I Vitelloni."

I've loved all of his work that I've seen.

Every single thing has just got Fellini's mark on every frame.

That's the thing.

You know it when you see it.

And his work is unique and fantastic.

GEORGE BAILEY: Have you see my wife?

Merry Christmas, Daddy.

Kids.

Pete.

Oh, oh.

Kids.

Janie, Janie, Tommy.

Oh, look at you.

Oh, I could eat you up.

Where's your mother?

She went looking for you.

With Uncle Billy.

Daddy.

Zuzu.

Zuzu, my little ginger snap.

How do you feel?

Fine.

Not a smidge of temperature.

[LAUGHTER]

Hallelujah.

Hello.

George!

Mary.

MARY: George, darling.

Where have you--

George, darling, where are you--

George.

George George.

Oh, George.

Let me touch you.

Are you real?

Oh.

George.

You have no idea what's happened to me.

You have no idea what happened.

Come on, George.

Come on.

Incredible.

Frank Capra was another one all-time greats.

And this-- this film, "It's a Wonderful Life,"

was made, I think, in '46 after the war.

And Jimmy Stewart had been in the war and for years.

And when he came out, he didn't know if he had the stuff.

And this thing came along.

He does some things in this film that are like--

[VOCALIZES]

There's one place in the film where he says the word, Mary.

It's unbelievable what comes out of his voice, his soul.

He is so great in that film.

Frank Capra is one of the all-time greats for sure

Frank Capra had a thing for this side of human beings

that was so beautiful.

MAN (ON PHONE): Mary, Mary?

I'm here.

MAN (ON PHONE): Would you tell that guy I'm giving him

the chance of a lifetime?

Do you hear?

The chance of a lifetime.

He says it's the chance of a lifetime.

Now you listen to me.

I don't want any plastics, and I don't want any ground floors.

And I don't want to get married ever to anyone.

You understand that?

I want to do what I want to do.

And you're-- and you're--

oh, Mary.

George, George, George.

Mary.

[CRYING]