RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Eraserhead
Eraserhead

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Eraserhead (1976)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
90 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:40

Fresh:36

Rotten:4

Average Rating:7.9/10

Consensus: David Lynch's surreal Eraserhead uses detailed visuals and a creepy score to create a bizarre and disturbing look into a man's fear of parenthood.

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: Director David Lynch's feature-film debut is a masterpiece of the macabre and grotesque. Reportedly a reaction to the news that he was about to become a father, Lynch's ERASERHEAD follows a... Director David Lynch's feature-film debut is a masterpiece of the macabre and grotesque. Reportedly a reaction to the news that he was about to become a father, Lynch's ERASERHEAD follows a sensitive young man as he struggles to cope with impending parenthood. Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) lives in a hopeless industrial landscape, lusting after the beautiful woman who lives in the apartment across the hall. After his girlfriend, Mary (Charlotte Stewart), informs him of her pregnancy, he is forced to eat dinner with her extremely odd family. The baby is eventually born, only it isn't a human baby at all; it's a deformed creature that resembles a lizard. The baby won't stop crying, a horrifyingly piercing wail that drives Mary insane. Left alone with the baby, Henry is serenaded by a woman who lives inside his radiator, and soon he decides to murder his baby in order to stop the nightmare once and for all. Five years in the making, ERASERHEAD contains all of the trademark attributes of a Lynch film--haunting visuals, an ethereal score, unsettling sound design, and, most notably, a black sense of humor--creating a world onscreen that is exhilarating, terrifying, and unique. [More]

Starring: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates, Joseph Allen

Starring: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates, Joseph Allen, Judith Roberts, Allen Joseph, Jennifer Lynch

Director: David Lynch

Director: David Lynch
Screenwriter: David Lynch
Producer: David Lynch
Composer: David Lynch, Fats Waller, Peter Ivers

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jan 10, 2006

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Eraserhead

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

No review available.

comment Comment
08/04/04
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/27/04
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

May be the greatest debut by an American director after Citizen Kane.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/14/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Insanely inventive and evocative.

comment Comment
06/12/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Weird for weird's sake, but certainly memorable

comment Comment
10/17/03
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

No review available.

comment Comment
10/09/03
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

Seen today, Eraserhead may make no more sense than it did 30 years ago, but its casually sinister air can now be seen as so much a part of Lynch's mature work.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
08/27/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

It represented a monumental shift in how movies are seen and digested -- one that raised the level of aptitude and film literacy throughout the world.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
06/14/03
Douglas Pratt
Douglas Pratt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The purest essence of David Lynch. The DVD may be $40, but it's worth it, particularly if you've never seen it.

comment Comment
06/11/03
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

Gets under your skin in ways that very few movies ever have.

comment Comment
01/29/03
Blake Davis
Blake Davis
KFOR Channel 4 News

No review available.

comment Comment
01/27/03
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/08/02
Cory Cheney
Cory Cheney
Urban Tulsa Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
07/30/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Riveting, indecipherable and absolutely bizarre.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Eraserhead is a film that seems to require interpretation. Answers, however, are so distant that one wonders if they are even intended.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
04/03/02
Rumsey Taylor
Rumsey Taylor
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Compared to the rest of Lynch's work this is a crude assemblage of ideas that would be used to far greater effect in later movies.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC

...I found this imaginative work to be one of the more interesting films to come out of the '70s.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

What’s it about? I can hear you shout. Therein lies the rub: not much really.

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
01/01/00
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page

This is a classic, no matter how comfortable it is to watch.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Beard
Steve Beard
Empire Magazine

Offers so much to look into, and decipher for yourself.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ted Prigge
Ted Prigge
rec.arts.movies.reviews
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2
all

Latest News for Eraserhead

September 12, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: Pineapple Express is smoking hot; If in Eden Lake, DON’T Hug a Hoodie
This week we have the stoner action-comedy The Pineapple Express, with Seth Rogen, James Franco and new boy on the comedy block Danny McBride, plus My Little Eye writer James... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
78% 78% The Hangover
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
66% 66% Public Enemies
24% 24% G-Force
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
90% 90% District 9
86% 86% 500 Days of Summer
63% 63% Extract
06% 06% All About Steve
78% 78% It Might Get Loud

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Best of the Decade

Best of the Decade

Find out what movies made our list!

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2

Watch the brand new trailer now!

Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans

Prepare to Clash with Titans in this trailer!

Total Recall

Total Recall

RT looks back on Jude Law's best movies!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
24
  • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
18
  • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
14
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
16
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
  • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
1
  • How Avatar Happened: The Path to Innovation Source: CinemaBlend.com
19
  • Rob Marshall Says Pirates 4 Is Still a Maybe Source: ComingSoon.net
32
  • ET Teases Iron Man 2 Teaser Source: Collider.com
28
  • Tobey Maguire Refutes Hobbit Rumors Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Soars to #1 Spot
261
  • RT's Best of the Decade!
136
  • Brittany Murphy: 1977-2009
115
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
69
  • Total Recall: Jude Law's Best Movies
53
  • Critics Consensus: Sherlock Holmes Is Worth Investigating
33
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: District 9 and (500) Days of Summer
32
  • What We're Watching on Blu-ray from Disney!
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
8
  • Friday Harvest: Sherlock Holmes, Toy Story 3, and more!
7
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
69
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
24
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Eraserhead at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Best Dozen of the Decade
Best Dozen of the Decade External Link

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Top 50 of 2009
Top 50 of 2009 External Link

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Santa's Naughty List
Santa's Naughty List External Link

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

Top 10 Movies of 2009
Top 10 Movies of 2009 External Link

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Top 20 of the Decade
Top 20 of the Decade External Link

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.