the Missing Pieces

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Ross
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by Ross »

So why do we see a recycled shot of the same wall clock (2:30) in the janitor Laura/James scene (in the movie) and then in the Annie hospital scene (in the Missing Pieces)?
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by bosguy1981 »

james wrote:Since the noises the jumping man is making are new to the missing pieces scenes, the squawking is obviously disturbing and again fits into the whole circle of abuse relating back to Laura and Leland Palmer. What do others make of the noises we hear coming from jumping man, whether it be shrieking, distorted monkey noises or something more like the Baby in Eraserhead?
I'm sure it's not related, but when I heard the Jumping Man squealing and making those noises, it made me think of the pig that Sheryl Lee wouldn't film a scene with in Fire Walk With Me. Like a pig being slaughtered. For whatever reason, that's what I imagined.
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by FauxOwl »

As big a fan of Lynch and Twin Peaks as I am, I've never related to his work on a strictly academic level. I feel symbolism is most potent when it springs directly from the viewer's subconscious and conscious reactions, drawing directly from each viewer's perception and experience. My admiration for Lynch's work has more to do with how it makes me feel, not what it means. It's visceral. And the extended Philip Jeffries/Convenience Store scene was absolutely mesmerizing. Even though it was an extension of a scene I was already familiar with, the experience of viewing it was so distinctly different that it felt like a new scene. The sound alone was brilliant... not just the much discussed sound of the man in the mask. Lynch has always been a genius with sound, IMO that's been one of the most vital components of his work and style. Even watching the series Twin Peaks, you can almost tell which episodes he directed just by listening to the sound. I hesitate to use hyperbole, and saying something like this ventures close, but the extended convenience store scene may be the most impressive thing Lynch has done with sound. I could be saying that of course because I've just seen it and the raw impact of it is still fresh, but if it's not right at the top it certainly deserves to be on any list of the best scenes Lynch has created from an audio perspective.
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by LostInTheMovies »

FauxOwl wrote:As big a fan of Lynch and Twin Peaks as I am, I've never related to his work on a strictly academic level. I feel symbolism is most potent when it springs directly from the viewer's subconscious and conscious reactions, drawing directly from each viewer's perception and experience. My admiration for Lynch's work has more to do with how it makes me feel, not what it means. It's visceral. And the extended Philip Jeffries/Convenience Store scene was absolutely mesmerizing. Even though it was an extension of a scene I was already familiar with, the experience of viewing it was so distinctly different that it felt like a new scene. The sound alone was brilliant... not just the much discussed sound of the man in the mask. Lynch has always been a genius with sound, IMO that's been one of the most vital components of his work and style. Even watching the series Twin Peaks, you can almost tell which episodes he directed just by listening to the sound. I hesitate to use hyperbole, and saying something like this ventures close, but the extended convenience store scene may be the most impressive thing Lynch has done with sound. I could be saying that of course because I've just seen it and the raw impact of it is still fresh, but if it's not right at the top it certainly deserves to be on any list of the best scenes Lynch has created from an audio perspective.
Absolutely, and I can't wait to watch it again - my memory if it is vague but haunted by this grinding sound I can't get out of my head (like the image of Laura's smile on the staircase). Although I think he's a powerful (albeit unconventional) dramatist and his films do have something to say about human nature and spirituality my first viewings of his films tend to be most purely visceral. I usually don't know what to make of a Lynch immediately after watching, just that woah, was that an experience. I'm hard-pressed to think of another artist who works for me so purely on the sensory/gut level on first engagement yet also gives me more abstract feelings and thoughts to grapple with upon reflection and return visits.

And Lynch is one of the great geniuses of sound when it comes to cinematic soundscapes, there is no doubt about it. It's his most distinctive formal trait as a director.
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by Jasper »

LostInTheMovies wrote:
Jasper wrote:I believe that the ring both dooms the wearer and guarantees that the Garmonbozia will go to the lodge inhabitants (and not just out-of-control BOB, who’d like to steal it all for himself). BOB cannot possess the wearer, as the wearer is owned by the entire lodge. I think the ring doomed Teresa Banks, and naturally it doomed Chester Desmond. Jeffries says “I found something, and there they were.” Jeffries could well be talking about finding the ring.

Dale Cooper tells Laura not to take the ring (presumably because it will doom her to die). Laura ultimately makes the CHOICE to die because it is preferable to being possessed by BOB.

In the FWWM script, after MIKE/Gerard throws the ring into the train car, he’s laughing as BOB kills Laura (in the film it’s the LMFAP who we see laughing…and MIKE and the LMFAP are basically the same entity). MIKE and the others in the lodge will benefit from Laura’s death, as BOB won’t be able to steal the Garmonbozia for himself.

In the Missing Pieces, good Cooper is upset to realize that the ring is with Annie.

As for the Tremonds, I see them as strictly evil (at least in the film’s universe). They seem to have given the ring to the doomed Teresa Banks (and in the script Leland kills her in the Tremond/Chalfont trailer). They give the picture to Laura which leads her into the lodge and puts her into potential contact with the ring (which Coop warns her not to accept). It’s also worth noting that the Tremonds are among the presumably evil entities in the above-the-convenience-store scene, and the grandson even says “Fell a victim.” (as in felling a tree). Those entities are plotting to come to our dimension to feed on our pain and suffering. In the script, Mrs. Tremond makes the following suggestion, which to me cements her participation in the whole plot:
Image
Interesting reading. I think I (mostly) agree with the first part. I'm not sure about the second. One of the compelling elements of FWWM is how the Lodge mythology interacts with & amplifies Laura's own journey of self-discovery - in that sense, I see her entry into the Lodge during her dream as a positive development, aiding her in her quest for wisdom and truth (others read it differently; Thorne in particular sees the Laura in the door way as the "bad" Laura). In that sense I find the role of the painting - and the ring - to be ambiguous. It seems like the Lodge spirits have their own agenda which in some ways corresponds with Laura's. It would be interesting to see to what extent this mythology overlaps with aspects of Hinduism (Lynch being a devotee of the Maharishi) - not necessarily in a conscious way, but informed by it nonetheless. I'm currently reading David Lynch Swerves in which Martha Nochimson analyzes Lynch in light of quantum mechanics (which also ties into that Tremont photo above) & the Vedic texts - but it focuses almost exclusively in his last 4 films, I think.
I agree with the more ambiguous nature of the lodge inhabitants if we restrict this view to their portrayal in the series. I believe Lynch approached it somewhat differently in the film, where I'd classify the lodge inhabitants as 100% evil (notice that The Giant does not appear in the above-the-convenience store sequence). After all, this is the Black Lodge, not the White Lodge. Those not passing through or trapped against their will can be assumed to be wicked. I think the difference is that the evil of BOB (chaotic and highly malicious evil) contrasts with the more lawful and pragmatic evil of the other lodge inhabitants. Any perceived help coming from lodge inhabitants (with the possible exception of The Giant) can be seen as efforts to manipulate events so as to reign in their mad dog, BOB, whose power has grow disproportionate through his stealing of Garmonbozia for himself, which he's contracted to share with the lodge.

As for Laura's journey, all of us can learn from negative experiences with bad forces. So, I don't feel the hypothetical good/neutral/evil of the lodge inhabitants is necessarily relevant to whether or not Laura learns from those experiences.

As for the ring, I would classify it as 100% evil. The only good that comes of it is when Laura uses its dooming nature to escape the relatively worse fate of being inhabited by BOB. Going back to Jeffries, when he's rolling his head around on Gordon's desk in the Missing Pieces, he mournfully intones "The ring...the ring." So, I think that when Jeffries says "I found something . . . and there they were", we can safely assume that it is the ring he found at Judy's in Seattle, and that it is the ring that doomed him.
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by james »

FauxOwl wrote:As big a fan of Lynch and Twin Peaks as I am, I've never related to his work on a strictly academic level. I feel symbolism is most potent when it springs directly from the viewer's subconscious and conscious reactions, drawing directly from each viewer's perception and experience. My admiration for Lynch's work has more to do with how it makes me feel, not what it means. It's visceral. And the extended Philip Jeffries/Convenience Store scene was absolutely mesmerizing. Even though it was an extension of a scene I was already familiar with, the experience of viewing it was so distinctly different that it felt like a new scene. The sound alone was brilliant... not just the much discussed sound of the man in the mask. Lynch has always been a genius with sound, IMO that's been one of the most vital components of his work and style. Even watching the series Twin Peaks, you can almost tell which episodes he directed just by listening to the sound. I hesitate to use hyperbole, and saying something like this ventures close, but the extended convenience store scene may be the most impressive thing Lynch has done with sound. I could be saying that of course because I've just seen it and the raw impact of it is still fresh, but if it's not right at the top it certainly deserves to be on any list of the best scenes Lynch has created from an audio perspective.
It is possible to relate to Lynch's films on an academically emotional level though, right?

I'd go along with this scene being a visceral experience, but emotionally what did you get from it? I know you've written that it was mesmerizing, impressive and one of Lynch's best scenes in terms of audio - but what was your subconscious and conscious emotional reaction to it, please? (Since you mention that as being the primary facet at work)
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by FauxOwl »

james wrote:
It is possible to relate to Lynch's films on an academically emotional level though, right?
Of course it's possible! I hope that's not a question born from something I wrote. It shouldn't be. Certainly I was in no way challenging that, nor challenging academic analysis in general. My point, which perhaps I should have made more clearly, was everyone has a different experience, and I was simply relating mine.
I'd go along with this scene being a visceral experience, but emotionally what did you get from it? I know you've written that it was mesmerizing, impressive and one of Lynch's best scenes in terms of audio - but what was your subconscious and conscious emotional reaction to it, please? (Since you mention that as being the primary facet at work)
Again, if I mentioned that as the primary facet at work, I was doing so only as it relates to my individual experience watching the scene, and Lynch in general, and not as a challenge to those who may have a different experience. Having stated that I'm not so sure you would still find this worthy subject for further inquiry, but since you asked... honestly it's a challenge to articulate exactly how a scene like that makes me feel, which is part of the beauty and power of it. It was simultaneously disturbing and exhilarating... something akin to being transported into another dimension, and the unsettling sensation and thrill of experiencing something that is completely alien to my frame of reference. That I felt like this is more impressive to me because I am in fact familiar with the setting being presented, based on my many previous excursions into Twin Peaks mythology, including the original, shortened scene from FWWM.
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by HoodedMatt »

I'm a little confused now about the murder of Theresa Banks, specifically the motivation/s behind it.

Okay, I understand that the Lodge Inhabitants were always involved with Theresa due to the presence of the ring, but just how culpable is Leland regarding her murder?

In the TP finale and in the 'Between Two Worlds' feature, Leland says that he is not responsible for any of the blood on his hands, implying that Bob was in control during those times. In the Missing Pieces, however, now we are faced with Leland being blackmailed by Theresa which, to me, muddies these waters somewhat as it's clear that she can drop him in it with Laura at any time.

I guess my question is this: could Leland have allowed Bob in this time around to get rid of the danger to his family life and his reputation? And if so, does that make him an accomplice to murder, meaning his post-mortem protestations of innocence are nothing but lies?
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by LostInTheMovies »

HoodedMatt wrote:I'm a little confused now about the murder of Theresa Banks, specifically the motivation/s behind it.

Okay, I understand that the Lodge Inhabitants were always involved with Theresa due to the presence of the ring, but just how culpable is Leland regarding her murder?

In the TP finale and in the 'Between Two Worlds' feature, Leland says that he is not responsible for any of the blood on his hands, implying that Bob was in control during those times. In the Missing Pieces, however, now we are faced with Leland being blackmailed by Theresa which, to me, muddies these waters somewhat as it's clear that she can drop him in it with Laura at any time.

I guess my question is this: could Leland have allowed Bob in this time around to get rid of the danger to his family life and his reputation? And if so, does that make him an accomplice to murder, meaning his post-mortem protestations of innocence are nothing but lies?
I've always viewed the Teresa Banks murder as one of the biggest tip-offs tht Leland was far more culpable than he let on in the show. But then I think the whole movie pretty clearly indicates that he is responsible for what he is doing, even under Bob's influence - it's more like a silent partnership than demonic possession, in which Leland retains plausible deniability: Bob's almost more like an excuse for him, "the devil made me do it" (which is not to say the devil/Bob isn't real). Also central in this regard: Leland's fumbling avoidance/manipulation in the intersection scene & it's aftermath, and his whimpering "I always thought you knew it was me" in the train car. Despite Bob's statement on the show (in an episode notably neither written nor directed by Lynch) that "Leland was a babe in the woods," the film presents him as anything but.

Also in Between Two Worlds, Leland's insistence should not be taken at face value. Note how desperate he sounds in his denial, and observe Lynch's polite but disengaged response, especially compared to his warm reply to Laura. Then later he says the film is about incest; while this is true in a physical sense even if Bob is 100% in charge, Lynch has also talked before about "the torment of the father, the war inside him." Bob is somewhat like the Mystery Man in Lost Highway - real within the world of the film but a manifestation of evil in the killer rather than an escape clause for him.

One of the best readings I've seen of the film, which retains both the agency of the characters and the existence of the supernatural (Lynch once described Bob as "an abstraction with a human form") is here: http://babelwright.wordpress.com/2012/0 ... k-with-me/
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by Fred »

I would like to say how great it was to finally see the deleted scenes after all these years! I really enjoyed them!

Judy: Agent Philip Jefferies is looking for someone called Miss Judy in Buenos Aires. She also owns a convenience store and a flat in Seattle. She must be quite rich! Perhaps Judy is Josie's sister. Does that make her Judy Packard? I don't know Josie's maiden name! Can anyone tell me Josie's maiden name?

Convenience Store scene: The Electrician says, "Animal Life", not in the script. This could mean (a) taking on life as humans, instead of airy spirits or (b) taking on the form of the owl, monkey, and dog.

Major Briggs: He reads from Revelation ch. 11, 14, 15. (I went to a Bible study group once.) Does this reading correspond to the events that will shortly involve Laura? The Beast out of the Abyss = BOB. The Angel with the winepress = Angel in Red Room. It also mentions fire (perhaps fires of Hell). Many references to Christianity in the film.

Annie Blackburn: The nurse steals her ring. I think the Nurse will be the next victim (of BOB), instead of Annie.

Thanks for reading this!
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by FauxOwl »

I found the scene with Cooper and Diane odd, namely because she would seem to be right off screen in the office where Cooper is doing exercises in the doorway, yet we never hear her respond to Cooper. It's almost as if Diane is a figment of Cooper's imagination. Not that I'd interpret the scene that way... in fact it could be that we don't hear her because her voice would be added in in post and the scene was cut before they bothered with any of that. But the way the scene plays it doesn't give the impression Cooper is having a conversation with a real person.
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by Fred »

I think that Diane is real, because she send some ear plugs to Cooper's room at the Great Northern (to block out the noise from the Icelanders).
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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by sparco1979 »

After watching The Jefferies/Convenience store bit (while incorporating watching it into FWWM) it can be taken as maybe being Coop's dream he told him about - then Jefferies walks in... Just a thought


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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by sparco1979 »

The dream he told Gordon about


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Re: Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - analysis/thoughts etc

Post by musicaddict »

sparco1979 wrote:The dream he told Gordon about


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I would agree. I have always wondered why that scene with Cooper was left hanging where he says he had a dream. Also does anyone else notice that when Cooper and Gordon are reviewing the CCTV footage there are 3 video screens and if you look at the screen to the right as they mention Chet Desmond you can see a person in a long trench coat walk into that screen shot - looks a bit like Chet to me. Anyone else spotted this or has this been discussed previously?
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