2. The Man Behind the Diner Mulholland Drive (2001)
Originally written as a TV pilot before being turned into a film when ABC didnt pick it up for a series (could we have had a new Twin Peaks on our hands?), Mulholland Drive is Lynchs dreamy meditation on the nature of Hollywood and stardom mixed in with themes of grief, regret and guilt. Its a perfect mix of compelling narrative, astonishing performances (particularly from Watts) and, of course, Lynchs trademark strangeness, which ended up landing him his third Best Director Oscar nomination. A very memorable scene from Lynchs ninth feature film sits almost at the top of this list of moments for good reason. It centers on a man who is seemingly unrelated to the main thrust of the story about a hopeful actress helping an amnesiac woman find out her identity. He sits in a diner (a Winkie's to be exact) explaining to another man who appears to be his psychiatrist the dream he had the night before. He tells of it being almost exactly like this moment right now and that he was scared of a man who was in back of this place who he never wants to see outside of a dream. His doctor suggests that he came to see if the man was actually there. The two of them make their way slowly to the back of the diner, the man almost paralyzed with fear that his dream/nightmare will come true. Surely it cant? Think again. This scene still sends shivers down my spine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzWDzGxqqa0