While David Lynch‘s “Twin Peaks” will always stand proudly as the moment the distinct filmmaker freaked out America on national network TV, once the show was done, he was finished working on the small screen format. Less known among his filmography is a detour to HBO in 1993 for the three part miniseries “Hotel Room.” Well, thanks to the glory of the interwebs, you can now spend the rest of the day hiding out from your boss and watching it in full.
Penned by Barry Gifford (“Wild At Heart” author, “Lost Highway“) and Jay McInerney (“Bright Lights, Big City”), the miniseries chronicles the lives of folks passing through a hotel in 1969, 1992 and 1936 (in that order). It’s apparently more straightforward than the kind of stuff Lynch is usually known for, but it’s also touched by the director’s unique sensibility. And the cast? As usual, a fantastic array of support with Harry Dean Stanton, Glenne Headly and Freddie Jones appearing in the first episode, Deborah Unger, Griffin Dunne, Chelsea Field and Mariska Hargitay in the second and with Crispin Glover and Alicia Witt in the finale.
And to get you in the mood, here’s the narration that accompanied the opening of each installment: For a millennium, the space for the hotel room existed undefined. Mankind captured it, gave it shape and passed through. And sometimes in passing through, they found themselves brushing up against the secret names of truth.
Hat tip to Dangerous Minds for the find. Watch all three episodes below and click while you can as these are not available on DVD and the VHS went out of print eons ago.