Movie fans around the world are in mourning. This Thursday, January 16, 2025, we learned of the death at the age of 78 of David Lynch, who revolutionized American cinema with several films that have become cult like “Blue Velvet” (1986) and “Mulholland Drive” (2001). His surreal series “Twin Peaks”, released in 1990, is also considered a major turning point in television history. His family announced the sad news on their Facebook page. “His absence leaves a big void, but as he liked to say: 'Focus on the donut, not the hole.' It's a beautiful day, bathed in golden sunshine and blue skies“, we can read. The director revealed in 2024 that he was suffering from emphysema after smoking all his life and that he would probably no longer be able to leave his house to shoot a new film.
“Elephant Man”, a cinema masterpiece released in 1980
To pay tribute to one of the masters of the seventh art, Paris Première has decided to shake up its programming this Saturday, January 18, 2025. While the M6 group's channel would normally broadcast the comedy show “Les Bodin's Grandeur nature” at 9 p.m., it will be replaced by a masterpiece by David Lynch, she announced in a press release.
Viewers will be able to rediscover “Elephant Man”, made in black and white and dating from 1980. It is an autobiographical drama, loosely inspired by the life of Joseph Merrick, a man with numerous deformities who lived in London at the end of the 19th century. He is played by John Hurt, unrecognizable because of his impressive makeup, while Anthony Hopkins (unforgettable Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs”) plays his doctor and protector. Nominated for the Oscar for best director three times for “Elephant Man”, “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive”, David Lynch received an honorary Oscar in 2019 to reward his entire career.
