Cinema
Horror film
Eraserhead (1978): Cast, Ratings, Box Office & Plot
Eraserhead is a 1978 horror film directed by David Lynch, starring Jack Nance, Jack Fisk and Charlotte Stewart. It runs 1 hour 29 minutes and earned $37,796 worldwide. Critics gave it 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and 87 on Metacritic.
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- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 29m (89 min)
- Director
- David Lynch
- Genre
- Horror
- Original language
-
English - Studio
- Libra Films International
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
The story
What Is Eraserhead About?
The premise of Eraserhead without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
In the bleak industrial setting of Eraserhead, Henry's solitary existence is upended by an unexpected pregnancy. His former lover, Mary, arrives, and he finds himself facing the daunting prospect of parenthood. A bizarre and unsettling infant further complicates matters, and as Henry struggles to care for it, he encounters the strange and unsettling residents of his apartment building. Reality and sanity become increasingly difficult to distinguish within this unsettling and dreamlike world.
Eraserhead Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- surrealism
- nightmare
- experimental film
- radiator
- avant garde
- cult film
- baby
- dream sequence
- midnight movie
- metamorphosis
- seizure
- dadaism
+38 more Show fewer
- loneliness
- apartment
- low budget film
- pencil eraser
- feature film directorial debut
- synthetic meat
- surprise ending
- mutation
- severed head
- pencil
- worm
- dissection
- mysterious man
- national film registry
- one word title
- elevator
- singing
- singer
- alienation
- planet
- outer space
- unplanned pregnancy
- grocery shopping
- disability
- motif
- dancing
- absurdism
- disturbed person
- nihilism
- very little dialogue
- scissors
- art horror
- fatherhood
- sleeplessness
- chicken meat
- sickness
- nosebleed
- live action and animation
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Cast & crew
Eraserhead Cast
Jack Nance leads the cast, with Jack Fisk and Charlotte Stewart. Directed by David Lynch; 10 actors are credited in all.
-
Director David Lynch
Also Starring in Eraserhead
· 6 more From the director
More from David Lynch
More films directed by David Lynch, best-rated first: The Straight Story, Mulholland Dr., Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man.
Ratings
Eraserhead Reviews & Ratings
Critics gave Eraserhead 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and 87 on Metacritic.
-
Rotten Tomatoes 87% Tomatometer
Popcornmeter 82%
See on Rotten Tomatoes -
Metacritic 87 Metascore
User score 7.3
See on Metacritic -
TMDB 74% User score
See on TMDB
Plot
Eraserhead Plot Summary
What happens in Eraserhead from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 15 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 4-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
The film begins with Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) floating aimlessly in space, with a surreal depiction of his brain represented by a rocky planet visible through his head. This rocky landscape houses a peculiar structure featuring a significant hole in its roof. Within this haunting building, the Man in the Planet (Jack Fisk) diligently operates levers that symbolize Henry’s central nervous system. This unusual opening sequence serves as a metaphor for Henry’s intimate encounter with Mary X (Charlotte Stewart), culminating in a bizarre imagery of a spermatozoon emerging and diving into a watery abyss, indicative of Mary’s anatomy. Time lapses and from the depths of darkness, a creature emerges.
Full summary
The whole story of Eraserhead, scene by scene
Box office
Eraserhead Box Office
Eraserhead grossed $37,796 worldwide.
Worldwide gross
$37.8K
- International
- $23.9K
Videos
Eraserhead Trailers & Videos
3 videos: 1 trailer and 2 featurettes.
- Featurette Patton Oswalt introduces Eraserhead
- Featurette Richard Linklater on Why Eraserhead Blew His Mind
Quiz
How Well Do You Know Eraserhead?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
Who is the main character of 'Eraserhead'?
Details
Eraserhead Also Known As
20 alternative titles, including “Labyrinth Man” and “Cabeza borradora”.
- Also known as
-
- Labyrinth Man
- Cabeza borradora
- Голова-гумка
- Cabeza de borrador
- 이레이저헤드
- 이레이저 헤드
- Eraserhead - La mente che cancella
- No Céu Tudo É Perfeito
- 橡皮头
- Голова-ластик
- Radírfej
- Mazací hlava
+8 more Show fewer
- ראש מחק
- Głowa do wycierania
- 橡皮頭
- イレイザーヘッド
- Гумена глава
- Гумкоголовий
- Kustukummipea
- Dzēšgumijgalva
Seen Eraserhead?
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From the blog
Articles About Eraserhead
2 articles about Eraserhead. The latest: “The Legacy of Cult Directors and Their Impact on Cinema”.
FAQ
Eraserhead FAQ: Cast, Box Office & Runtime
Runtime, release date, director, cast, box office, ratings and post-credit scenes of Eraserhead, each answered in a sentence.
How long is Eraserhead?
Eraserhead runs 1 hour 29 minutes (89 minutes).
When was Eraserhead released?
Eraserhead was released on February 3, 1978.
Who directed Eraserhead?
Eraserhead was directed by David Lynch.
More films by David Lynch Who is in the cast of Eraserhead?
Eraserhead stars Jack Nance, Jack Fisk and Charlotte Stewart, among 10 credited actors.
How much did Eraserhead make at the box office?
Eraserhead grossed $37,796 worldwide.
How is Eraserhead rated?
Eraserhead has 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, 87 on Metacritic and 74% on TMDB.
Does Eraserhead have a post-credit scene?
No. Eraserhead has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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