Mulholland Drive

Given the troubled production history of Lynch's nightmare noir -- it was originally a pilot for a US television series which was cancelled -- it's nothing short of miraculous that Mulholland Drive shines with the filmmaker's idiosyncratic brilliance.

Although set in the present day (albeit with retro styling), Lynch draws on his fascination with 40s and 50s Hollywood and its secret history of crime, here involving two actresses, amnesiac Rita (Harring) and amateur sleuth Betty (Watts).

The proceedings veer into the kind of waking nightmare territory that either flummoxes or delights viewers, as Lynch mixes the bizarre and almost laughable with the moments of electrifying fear.