
David Lynch (1946-2025) was one of the most indelible filmmakers of the past 50 years, and his filmmaking style was so unique that any film that came close to his method was dubbed Lynchian. He was certainly an important filmmaker to me in my formative years. As an avid film watcher in my youth, my life was changed when I saw a VHS copy of Blue Velvet when I was 13. No one ever made films like him and no one ever will again. His creativity and absolute command of all of the tenets of art bled out in every frame of his works.
An all-American boy, an Eagle Scout in his youth, he was once called Jimmy Stewart from Mars. An art student who was married and divorced at a young age. He moved to Los Angeles after a harrowing stint in a rough part of Philadelphia – this experience inspired many of his future works . He was one of the first students at AFI. His shorts were a window into the worlds and universes he would create. His 1977 film Eraserhead (along with The Rocky Horror Picture Show and John Waters’ Pink Flamingos) was the ultimate midnight movie. Stanley Kubrick named this as one of his favorite films, and so did writer Charles Bukowski. Even amongst Lynch’s work, there is no other film like it. Shot in black and white over five years, it is a truly unique experience that put his name on the map.
Unlike many so-called cult artists, his next film was the more mainstream The Elephant Man, thanks to producer Stuart Cornfeld suggesting Lynch to his then-boss Mel Brooks (of Brooksfilms) to direct the film. It is another truly magnificent film, this time within the confines of an Oscar film, a true-life story. An amazing performance by John Hurt, who would have won best actor had he not been up against Robert De Niro in Raging Bull. Anthony Hopkins in one of his best pre-Hannibal Lecter performances.
His 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune was a notable failure, not without its merits and was the one film that Lynch publicly did not want to talk about – though it was his first film with the actor with whom he worked the most, Kyle MacLachlan. Whereas he was already known in some circles he rose to prominence for the 1986 classic Blue Velvet. Woody Allen named it as his favorite movie of the year. Arguably the most essential of all his films, it cemented the style that he would become known for… Surrealist imagery, noirish crime, raw sexuality, sentimental Americana, 60’s pop songs, random violence, and monstrous villains, all shrouded in a sense of wonder and mystery. Blue Velvet will always be one of my favorite films, chock full of dozens of memorable moments including several with an unhinged Dennis Hopper.
Thankfully Mr. Lynch worked with our finest actor, the internet’s favorite movie star, Nicolas Cage, who is delightfully insane in 1990’s Wild At Heart with Laura Dern (another Lynch fave) has never been more alluring, the brilliant Crispin Glover, national treasure Harry Dean Stanton and phenomenal performance by Willem Dafoe as the erratic and unstable Bobby Peru. The film won the Cannes Film Festival that year, this decision was simultaneously met with celebration and scorn. 1990’s Twin Peaks was Lynch’s first foray into episodic television and is also one of the works he is best known for, including the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and the recent Showtime series Twin Peaks: The Return.
He also directed Lost Highway and Straight Story in the 90’s and made his final masterpiece Mulholland Drive, which was almost a TV series but thankfully was edited into a spellbinding feature that was completely riveting and unforgettable – I saw it again the next day after I went to see it at The Vista Theater (no better place to see a film). His last feature-length film Inland Empire was a fun trip as well and was highly experimental.
His collaborations with cinema craftspeople were some of the most fruitful in all of entertainment: Production Designer Jack Fisk, Cinematographer Frederick Elmes, Sound Designer Alan Splet, and Composer Angelo Badalamenti to name a few. He would continue working, he was a consummate Artist, Author, Musician, Cartoonist, Painter, Festival Organizer, YouTuber, and was the head of the Transcendental Meditation foundation called The David Lynch Foundation. He has so many achievements there are too many to be named here. His works are highly unique artistic achievements that will continue to be viewed, debated, and discussed as long as people watch film. He was an icon who will be sorely missed.
As a lifelong believer in the positive effects of mediation, I would imagine Lynch would want his Foundation dedicated to this valuable healing practice to survive, please donate if you are inclined.