Singular filmmaker, writer and artist David Lynch died Thursday at age 78, prompting an outpouring of tributes from fans and artists around the world.
Despite Lynch’s successful decades-long career, and his notoriety among those with a taste for the absurd, his distinctive, often-surreal filmmaking style meant he remained unknown to many.
Despite being active since the 1970s, Lynch did not receive an Academy Award until 2019 when he was honoured for Lifetime Achievement.
Lynch’s influence on filmmaking is undeniable, and even inspired the term “Lynchian” to describe a style that is slow and creepy, marked by the his penchant for mixing the disturbing with the mundane and using music to heighten often unsettling atmospheres.
For those unfamiliar with Lynch’s work and looking for a starting point, these are five of his most well known and highly acclaimed movies and shows, in chronological order.
Eraserhead (1977)
Lynch’s hallucinatory debut feature was inspired by his time as an art student living in a crime-ridden, run-down area of Philadelphia with his wife and baby daughter. Lynch wrote, directed, produced and edited the black-and-white film, which has been dubbed “surrealist body horror,” and also created its score and sound design. Eraserhead is centred around a man who descends into madness as he cares for his grossly deformed child, with a bleak industrial backdrop marked by periods of silence and droning. The film opened to minimal interest but slowly became a hit at midnight cinemas and is now regarded as a cult classic. Eraserhead can be streamed on Apple TV or rented on YouTube.
The Elephant Man (1980)
Impressed by EraserheadHollywood superstar Mel Brooks hired Lynch to direct The Elephant Man. Also shot in black and white, the film was based on the true story of John Merrick, a severely deformed man in Victorian London. Regarded as perhaps Lynch’s most conventional film, the exploration of how society treats outsiders was well received and brought Lynch into the mainstream conversation – The Elephant Man was nominated for eight Academy Awards in 1981. Though it did not win, actor John Hurt’s portrayal of the titular character did prompt the creation of the Oscars’ best makeup category. The Elephant Man can be streamed on Apple TV.
-Blue Velvet (1986)
Perhaps Lynch’s most well-known film, Blue Velvet delves into the mysterious underworld in a small North Carolina town, with Kyle MacLachlan playing a college student who has a love affair with a troubled lounge singer played by Isabella Rossellini. The mystery thriller weaves surrealist elements into a tale of murder, romance and strange characters that was initially rejected by several studios due to its sexual and violent content. The film is set to a dark and varied soundtrack, mixing vintage pop songs with a dark classical score by composer and conductor Angelo Badalamenti, who would become a frequent Lynch collaborator. Some critics consider Blue Velvet Lynch’s masterpiece, and the best film of the 1980s. It can be streamed on Apple TV and MGM+, and rented on YouTube.
Filmmaker David Lynch speaks to CBC’s Midday in 1986
The director of the movies Eraserhead, Dune, The Elephant Man and Blue Velvet discusses his latest film. Aired on CBC’s Midday on Sept. 22, 1986.
Twin Peaks (1990)
Lynch switched to the small screen in 1990, when he created the surrealist mystery crime series Twin Peaks with Mark Frost for ABC. Starring McLachlan as FBI Agent Dale Cooper, the darkly atmospheric show was set in a fictional town where high school student Laura Palmer was murdered. It delves into the hidden lives of the town’s residents as the mystery unfolds, set to Badalamenti’s haunting, iconic score. The show pushed the boundaries of complexity in TV shows, and some critics credit Twin Peaks with introducing “cinematic television.” The Emmy-winning series became a cultural phenomenon, spawning two seasons and the film Fire Walk With Me. It was revived for a final season in 2017. All three seasons can be streamed on Apple TV.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Mulholland Drive began as a TV pilot, but was dropped by the network and eventually made it to the big screen. The bizarre mystery stars Naomi Watts in her breakthrough role as an aspiring actress who befriends a woman suffering from amnesia after a car crash. The film uses dream logic in a dark, confounding tale that challenges the viewer’s perception of reality. While it may be hard to make sense of the plot – and Lynch characteristically declined to explain his intentions in interviews – Mulholland Drive is critically regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. A 2016 BBC poll of 177 critics worldwide named it the best film of the 21st century so far. Mulholland Drive can be streamed on Crave and Starz.
