The Cinematheque

“Still about as effective an opening salvo as TV has ever produced … Outside of other David Lynch movies, there was no obvious pop culture analogue for the show’s mix of screwball humour and creeping nightmarishness.”

Noel Murray, The New York Times

The TV show that redrew the boundaries of the medium, Mark Frost and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks became an overnight sensation on the brilliance of its broadcast pilot, seeding the premise that would ensnare viewers the world over: who killed Laura Palmer? (The answer would prove increasingly elusive as the series unfurled.) Lynch, directing this movie-length proof of concept for ABC, arranges the pieces and quirky players with an irresistible combination of soap-opera pageantry, comedy as pathos, and levels of dread and discomfort unprecedented on network television. Unlike the soundstage-shot season that followed, the pilot was filmed entirely on location in the Pacific Northwest, forever equating the lumber town of Twin Peaks with the Snoqualmie Valley, a site of pilgrimage for fans. The ensemble cast, led by Kyle MacLachlan as the affable FBI agent assigned to the murder, is perfect, as is the ethereal theme song by Angelo Badalamenti.