Mulholland Drive: The Pilot

Hot
Updated
 
9.4 (5)
10307 0 1 0 5
Mulholland Drive: The Pilot
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Original Release Date:
1999
Original Running Time:
147
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
77
Time Cut:
70
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
In 1999, David Lynch created a pilot for ABC that they rejected. For nearly 20 years the pilot version of Mulholland Drive has been hard to come by and in poor quality due to the VHS source. This fanedit aims to re-create the pilot as closely as possible utilizing an HD source. Now you can experience the masterpiece as it originally was, a historical look into what ultimately became one of the best films of all time.

While every effort has been made to recreate the pilot as it was, due to the limitations of what is available on the officially released version of the film an exact recreation was not possible.
Intention:
To preserve as closely as possible the pilot of Mulholland Drive as it was presented to ABC.
Release Information:
  • DVD
  • Blu-Ray
  • Digital
Cover art by Q2 (DOWNLOAD HERE)
image

Trailer

User reviews

5 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.6(5)
Audio Editing
 
10.0(5)
Visual Editing
 
10.0(5)
Narrative
 
9.0(5)
Enjoyment
 
8.6(5)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Mulholland Drive is one of my favourite films and is easily one of the greatest films ever made, so the fact it was originally a rejected TV pilot is one of the most interesting pieces of film trivia I know. I've never read Lynch's original screenplay, so I can't speak to the accuracy of Q2's edit, but on the technical side, this is a flawless edit. If you're not to familiar with the original film, you won't notice any of the the trimmed scenes. Definitely gonna watch this now and again and I highly recommend to any fan Lynch.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
This fanedit is largely based off the original script for the pilot of Mulholland Drive, using footage from the film. It also includes a LQ bootleg copy with certain scenes replaced with HD scenes from the film wherever possible.
Overall, I quite enjoyed the edit, it was very interesting to see the different direction Mulholland Drive could have gone in. It definitely works well as a TV show. Very skilful editing here from Q2, both audio & visual. Adding in brief black screens for the ad breaks was a nice touch.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Overview - So-called pilot, which I ain’t buying (yeah, what a sorry attitude) of proposed television series from an auteur, known for his dismissive stance towards the medium.
Q2 delivers two editions of this. One is the purist cut, which I would not recommend because it seems little more than a rough cut or work print.
The real jewel is a beautiful overhaul (4.63 GB) which reconstructs Lynch’s original pitch as presented to ABC. For Lynch fans (confession, I am not one), this may be essential.

Video - 1920 X 1080 AVC. I viewed the purist cut first. Q2’s improvements will take your breath away. Colors are restored and regraded. The editing appears seamless. In an ideal world, the editor might consider doing a supplementary commentary track which could be muxed into the file. This ought to prove highly beneficial to aspiring editors. This is outstanding.

Audio - 640 kbps AC-3. Two channel stereo. No subs. Sound is fine throughout. Dialogue is clear, beginning to end, and I am especially fussy about that.

Narrative - For a pilot, this is extremely confusing. There are numerous storylines, though all seem to weave into the Hollywood entertainment tapestry. There are mysteries, though no real story. Viewers would have to accept on faith that Mr Lynch had an extended vision. One can well imagine how ABC execs, burned ratings wise with “Twin Peaks: S02,” would veto what appeared to be a confused, and open-ended series that never resolved.

Enjoyment - It is the very open endedness that makes the pilot so interesting. Character trajectories are different in the pilot. Nonetheless, if pinned down, “did I like this?” No. I appreciated Q2’s version far more than the purist cut. Still, the film wins hands down for me. The movie is my favorite Lynch work, and one of my favorite films. I try to watch it once a year.

Diehards already know this site. New arrivals to Mulholland Drive, visit at your own risk:
https://www.mulholland-drive.net/studies/theories.htm

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
Mulholland Dr. is the best David Lynch movie in my opinion (I am a fan of most of his other works). I think it's one of the best films ever made. For all the effort many have made to "figure it out," that doesn't really matter. Not to denigrate those efforts, and searching for logic in narrative as I actually think there's a very logical plot which makes every scene make sense. I'm just saying that it doesn't matter. The film is transcendent and wonderful on a visceral, semiotic level. I fell in love with it LONG before I ever put all the pieces together (with some help, thank you Internet).

This isn't just to wax on about the theatrical version, it's to say that the film is a visceral experience which doesn't make "sense" for the first two hours. The final act contextualizes what you saw previously. The pilot is made up of footage from the first two hours. I tried to put aside my knowledge of the movie and imagine a world in which Mulholland Dr. was a show. And holy shit, that's kind of a cool world. The characters are so interesting that I could see many side jaunts proving fruitful. Who wouldn't want to watch an episode centered around Joe, Dan or Det. McKnight?

I feel like it's prudent to mention the bootleg pilot here. As much as I'm a Lynch fan, I never watched it for a couple reasons. First, I'm a quality snob and it's so rough. Second, I used to not want to watch anything that the creator didn't like, or wasn't his or her vision (I've softened on that considerably since I found the world of fanedits haha). Third, the movie is pretty much perfect (kind of a dumb reason not to be interested in alternate versions, but I was kind of a dumb, snobby kid).

I did watch a little bit of it after watching the theatrical film and Q2's pilot preservation but turned it off pretty early into it. I just can't do that A/V quality. I'm sure that sounds douchey but it's a truth fact. I understand the edit had to take some liberties with the pilot due to not having HD commercially available footage, but I didn't notice anything wonky. It's not the tightest narrative in the world, anyway but it all worked for me. I will definitely revisit Q2's edit from time to time for a fun alternative experience. The theatrical stands tall and will never be replaced but that certainly wasn't this edit's goal, anyway.

Great edit and thanks for making it. Preserving a bit of film/TV history in the best quality available is a great thing.
T
Top 50 Reviewer 114 reviews
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
(Updated: May 25, 2016)
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
I wouldn't call myself the biggest David Lynch fan but I love the hell out of "Mulholland Dr." I don't think it was the first film of his I watched but it was certainly the first one I was crazy about. But I never bothered to watch the original pilot. I don't know why exactly but I kind of just felt that the movie was perfect and didn't have a desire to watch the failed version. So, when Q2 made this edit it was a good opportunity to check it out.

In order, I watched Q2's 16:9 HD edit, then the bootleg original pilot. And now I'll probably rewatch the whole movie.

What did I think? It was fascinating. Inferior to the final film for sure, but a look at what could have been. I could see the potential for a series and wanted to know where he would have gone with these characters. In the end I'm glad it failed and Lynch made the movie version, but this is a pretty entertaining episode of television.

What about the fanedit? Q2 achieved his goal of creating an HD version that is as close as you could to the original using only footage from the final film. An excellent editing job to recreate the cuts, and he even made the commercial break fade outs look the same. Overall though if I ever want to rewatch the pilot I'll most likely just rewatch the pilot and not this edit.

Recommended for fans of Lynch, but don't expect anything too different if you've seen the bootleg pilot already.

User Review

Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0