Left: 2015 Criterion Blu-Ray, Right: 1999 bootleg VHS
As most David Lynch fans know, the psychological thriller Mulholland Drive started off as television pilot for ABC that was ultimately rejected. The film itself is highly acclaimed by many critics and earned David Lynch his third Oscar nomination. But since the pilot never aired there is no officially released version available, only copies sourced from VHS bootleg copies exist. Lynch has even stated if there were a way to destroy all the VHS copies out there he would.
Shorty after ABC’s rejection of the pilot, Canal+ out of France bought the rights and gave Lynch additional funding to complete Mulholland Drive as a feature film. With funding secured, production began and an additional 50 minutes footage was shot.
From a historical standpoint, faneditor Q2 felt the pilot of Mulholland Drive was important to preserve to show the genesis of “one of the best and most important films of all time”. Because of that he is working to reconstruct it utilizing the material available from the Criterion Blu-Ray release. Additional details on the TV pilot can be found here.
No release date has been announced, only that it is “coming soon”.