Hotel Room

Hotel Room (sometimes referred to as David Lynch's Hotel Room<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>) is an American drama anthology series that aired for three episodes on HBO on January 8, 1993,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> with a rerun the next night. Created by Monty Montgomery and David Lynch (who directed the first and third episodes<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>), each episode stars a different cast and takes place in the same room of a New York City hotel, in the years 1969, 1992, and 1936, respectively. The three episodes (totaling 99 minutes<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>) were intended to be shown together in the form of a feature-length pilot, with the hope that a series in a standalone half-hour format would be produced later.<ref name="book">Template:Cite book</ref> Following a lukewarm reception, HBO chose to not produce more episodes.

Premise

The series opens with a narration written and spoken by co-creator Lynch: "For a millennium, the space for the hotel room existed, undefined. Mankind captured it, and gave it shape and passed through. And sometimes when passing through, they found themselves brushing up against the secret names of truth."<ref name="book"/>

Each story that follows takes place in a different year, but confined to room 603 in the fictional Railroad Hotel in New York City. The same bellboy and maid appear in each story, as if they do not age.<ref name="teleplays">Template:Cite book</ref>

Cast

Episode 1: Tricks

• Glenne Headly as Darlene
• Freddie Jones as Louis "Lou" Holchak
• Harry Dean Stanton as Moe Boca

Episode 2: Getting Rid of Robert

• Griffin Dunne as Robert
• Deborah Unger as Sasha
• Mariska Hargitay as Diane
• Chelsea Field as Tina

Episode 3: Blackout

• Crispin Glover as Danny
• Alicia Witt as Diane

Recurring

• Clark Heathcliff Brolly as Sean the Bellboy
• Camilla Overbye Roos as Maid

Production

Barry Gifford wrote and Lynch directed the first and third episodes; Lynch had previously adapted Gifford's novel Wild at Heart for his 1990 film of the same name. Jay McInerney wrote and James Signorelli directed the second episode. The series was produced by Deepak Nayar, who also worked with Lynch on Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and On the Air; and executive produced by Monty Montgomery and Lynch. Cinematographer Peter Deming previously worked with Lynch on On the Air. The music was composed, conducted and orchestrated by Lynch's frequent collaborator Angelo Badalamenti, while Lynch was responsible for sound design as in many of his other projects.<ref name="book"/>

According to Gifford, HBO was trying to emulate the success of its anthology series Tales from the Crypt, but "wanted sexier or comedic pieces, not serious sex and not satire exactly, but something else."<ref name="book"/>

Gifford wrote five scripts for the series, three of which HBO chose not to produce. He retained the rights to all five, and has turned them into plays performed in the U.S.<ref name="book"/> The teleplays for "Tricks" and "Blackout", along with the unproduced "Mrs. Kashfi", which HBO deemed too controversial,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> were published in a book by the University Press of Mississippi.<ref name="teleplays"/> "Blackout" was written in just two days, to replace a David Mamet script that Montgomery was dissatisfied with. Gifford's script was only 17 pages long, but Lynch's cut of it came in at 47 minutes, the longest of the three episodes. HBO aired a truncated version of it, but the VHS release of Hotel Room contains the longer, and director's preferred, version.<ref name="book"/>

Release

Broadcast

Hotel Room was broadcast on HBO on January 8, 1993, at 11 p.m., and again on January 9, at 12 a.m.<ref name="nytimes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The first broadcast was rated first in its time slot on HBO.<ref name="book"/>

Home media

The three episodes of the anthology were released on VHS by Worldvision Enterprises. In Japan, a LaserDisc with English audio and burned-in Japanese subtitles was released by Pony Canyon.<ref name="book"/> Bootleg DVDs captured from these sources also exist.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Reception

The New York Times wrote: "David Lynch has long raised suspicions that his work would be most at home on late-night television, but Hotel Room indicates otherwise. This setbound omnibus drama, produced by Mr. Lynch and featuring three weak episodes set in the New York City hotel room of the title, plays like a listless visit to a Lynch-style Twilight Zone where stories go nowhere, anecdotes are pointlessly bizarre and lame quips are echoed emptily, as if banality were a form of wit."<ref name="nytimes"/> Newsday had a similar opinion: "Even if you're a diehard Twin Peaks freak who's incorrigibly wild at heart, you'll be itching to check out of this 90-minute trilogy (premiering tonight at 11) long before the door finally closes on the tedious doings in Room 603 of the Railroad Hotel in New York City."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Variety was a little more positive about the third episode: "With the exception of a fine performance by Alicia Witt and a few intriguing moments, the episodes are flat and wooden, lacking the fascinating darkness of Lynch's other work."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Los Angeles Times wrote that although it wouldn't become a hit, Lynch fans would enjoy it: "As you might expect with the talent involved, this is the Grand Hotel not quite so much of the twilight zone as of hell itself, definitely not for the tastes of typical travelers but a marvelously absorbing stay for the Lynch true-faithful, at least."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In retrospect, the first episode's premise of Lou switching his identity with Moe, or possibly being his split personality, is a forerunner of the theme of identity switching that Lynch would continue to explore in Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Inland Empire and Twin Peaks: The Return.

See also

• Room 104, a 2017 HBO series with a similar premise

External links

• Hotel Room introduction, episode info, pictures, teleplay info at The City of Absurdity site
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0106029

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• Hotel Room episode guide on AboutLynch.com