'The Alphabet' has to be one of the most successful attempts to bring the atmosphere of a nightmare to film, even more so than 'Eraserhead', which Lynch once described as a filmed nightmare.
The original inspiration for the film came from Lynch's then-wife, Peggy (who appears in the film as the little girl), describing to him how she heard her niece having a dream & repeating the alphabet.
This mostly animated short is very abstract & disturbing, with a suitably twisted soundtrack, & although it's based around the alphabet, there's plenty of blood & a bit of sexual imagery. It really does invoke the type of loose, irrational feel of an actual dream, as opposed to the usual filmed 'dreams', which try to define themselves as such with soft focus & slow motion.
The original inspiration for the film came from Lynch's then-wife, Peggy (who appears in the film as the little girl), describing to him how she heard her niece having a dream & repeating the alphabet.
This mostly animated short is very abstract & disturbing, with a suitably twisted soundtrack, & although it's based around the alphabet, there's plenty of blood & a bit of sexual imagery. It really does invoke the type of loose, irrational feel of an actual dream, as opposed to the usual filmed 'dreams', which try to define themselves as such with soft focus & slow motion.