One of David Lynch's artistic influences is acclaimed Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman, who once remarked: "No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of our soul." Lynch was an apt pupil of Bergman's school of thought, leading him to develop a similar style utilizing many elements of drama, comedy, and horror in concert. This leads to some confusion when categorizing their films, since "thought provoking" and "soul stirring" are phrases typically not associated with the horror genre. But as you look over the work of Bergman and Lynch, you are hard-pressed to find a better way of describing their bodies of work.
35 YEARS OF DAVID LYNCH - INDEX
POLL RESULTS
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1st Place - Mulholland Dr. (2001)
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WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FILM DIRECTED BY DAVID LYNCH?
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2nd Place - Blue Velvet (1986)
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Our poll opened on November 03, 2010 with the release of our introductory article and we closed the poll last night on March 29, 2011 to coincide with the release of this concluding article. As you can see from the graphic above, we presented 11 choices in our poll for favorite David Lynch film. Although Lynch technically only made 10 feature films with theatrical releases to date, we included the
Twin Peaks Pilot (1990) in the poll because it is among his most popular and mainstream works to date and is a superior example of a feature film, let alone a TV pilot.
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3rd Place - Twin Peaks Pilot (1990)
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And according to the special features in
The Definitive Gold Box Edition
, the
Twin Peaks Pilot first screened at a movie theater in Los Angeles with the cast, crew, and some industry insiders. Therefore, we group it with Lynch's other feature films. And many of
Twin Peaks' fans desire an alternative to voting for the prequel film
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), which was a more controversial film that elicited more mixed reactions than did the TV Pilot.
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4th Place - Lost Highway (1997)
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By a large margin, a clear winner of our poll emerged:
Mulholland Dr. (2001). Not surprisingly,
Mulholland Dr. performed well at the box office, but by and large was essentially overlooked by most people until it was released on DVD. Along with the other puzzle-like film gems that year, like
Donnie Darko (2001) and
Memento (2001),
Mulholland Dr. found a larger following on DVD where the complex natures of those films could be re-watched more easily and examined more closely. In the year when
A Beautiful Mind (2001) took home the Oscar gold, we cannot help but think the Academy missed the boat by not honoring a far richer and more entertaining film about self-delusion and internally constructed fantasy worlds. It is not only David Lynch's masterpiece but also a film most critics and bloggers now acknowledge as the best film of the last decade (2001-2010).
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5th Place - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
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In second, third, fourth, and fifth places, we find
Blue Velvet (1986), the
Twin Peaks Pilot
(1990),
Lost Highway (1997), and
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). They feature similar themes and tones to
Mulholland Dr. (2001) and these films helped spin the world of cinema and television on their heads, helping to reinvent the way modern storytelling is done in motion pictures. In turns, channeling Hitchcock, Kubrick, and Bergman in a new context, these films epitomize Lynch's reinvigorating style of film direction. And tying for sixth place, there is
Dune (1984) and
Eraserhead (1977).
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6th Place (Tie) - Dune (1984)
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Although some think
Dune and
Eraserhead could not be further apart from each other artistically, we beg to differ and will use this tie between the two films as an opportunity to point out some overlooked similarities in content. First, both films feature a young man's frightening journey as he evolves into adulthood in an increasingly dangerous and frightening world:
Paul Atreides and
Henry Spencer. Second, both films feature extensive scenes of disturbingly mutated men pulling mankind's strings from across vast distances of space: the
Guild Navigators and the
Man in the Planet.
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6th Place (Tie) - Eraserhead (1977)
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Third,
Dune and
Eraserhead also feature premature births of young daughters,
Alia and
Little Girl (Premature Baby). And fourth, the two films feature an unusual amount of imagery of human fetuses, including adult men who appear to be fetuses: the
Guild Navigators, whose forced spice evolution has mutated them into that form, and
Henry Spencer, whose head transforms into his premature baby's head during his
Eraserhead dream sequence. Other correlations exist, but these examples are sufficient to make our point for now.
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7th Place - Inland Empire (2006)
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Coming in behind
Dune and
Eraserhead by just one vote,
Inland Empire (2006) took seventh place in our poll. It is David Lynch's first feature shot with digital cameras and his last feature film made to date. Here Lynch summons together a bizarre pastiche of all his past movies to create an amazing three-hour horror story that defies conventional portrayals of space, time, and identity.
Inland Empire might be a dramatized, multi-dimensional examination of an actress whose performance takes on a life of its own.
Inland Empire is a little rougher around the edges aesthetically than Lynch's other films, but it boldly encapsulates Lynch's artistic world view.
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8th Place - The Elephant Man (1980)
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The Elephant Man (1980) came in at eighth place in our poll, which is a little surprising since it is widely considered Lynch's most accessible feature film, frequently hailed as Lynch's only great film by many of his most vocal detractors. We will share our explanation for why this film likely placed so low in our poll when we discuss a similar issue below with
The Straight Story (1999). But
The Elephant Man remains to this day David Lynch's most financially successful film, which has garnered more Academy Award nominations than all his other films combined. Many thought this early success signaled a shift toward a more straightforward directorial career in Hollywood, considering it was only Lynch's second feature film under his belt. Unfortunately, this dream of mainstream appeal seemed obstructed when his under appreciated third film
Dune (1984) bombed at the box office.
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9th Place - Wild at Heart (1990)
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Of all the David Lynch films we reviewed,
Wild at Heart (1990) earned our lowest score, almost matching its ninth place position in our poll. But for those who love the film, our research leads us to believe some of this film's magic was lost when we viewed it on the small screen. So we hope to have an opportunity to see it in a theatrical setting one day, where we can view the film properly. Hopefully, some of that cinematic magic will return when this film is released with better image and sound quality on Blu-Ray in the U.S., which it already received in the U.K. and France. Although this film is currently our least favorite in Lynch's body of work, we still admire
Wild at Heart as a powerful and passionate work of art impossible to ignore. And we admit it is one of Lynch's greatest technical achievements in mastering the pure language of cinema, definitely earning him that
Palme D'Or at
Cannes.
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10th Place - The Straight Story (1999)
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The Straight Story (1999) scored last at tenth place in our poll, which like the
The Elephant Man's eighth place seems unusually low in the polls for David Lynch's two most critically acclaimed and watchable works. Not many of Lynch's films would appeal to mainstream family audiences, but
The Straight Story is a horse of another color and really needs to be seen by everyone of all ages. Probably the reason for this disparity in our poll is based on the fact that most of Lynch's strongest fan base is made up of horror fans, since his oeuvre leans in that direction. Therefore, the first readers of these articles and voters on this poll would have likely skewed toward those films more indicative of his overall style of dramatic horror.
MAINSTREAM ACCESSIBILITY
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David Lynch Voices the Recurring Character of "Gus the Bartender"
on the Hit Animated TV Sitcom The Family Guy (1999-Present)
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We look forward to continuing our discussion of Lynch's work in future articles, via our comments section, and through our
Facebook Page. Our ultimate purpose in writing these articles is to help open doors to Lynch's films for those who may have avoided watching them until now. We commit to further edit and refine these articles until this site is as useful a resource as possible to help you convince and prepare newcomers for the unorthodox yet powerful films of David Lynch.
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All David Lynch Has to do on the Set Today is Direct All His Actors to
Speak their Lines and Perform All their Actions Completely Backward
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Until now, we have watched David Lynch's films in chronological order to help us notice themes and recurring symbolic imagery. As we follow Lynch's creative process from the beginning of his career, we see the building blocks of his earlier films refined and altered in his later work. A more complete picture forms to help us understand what Lynch is communicating in his films.
David Lynch BAFTA Interview
As Lynch's films become clearer, you tend to take notice of how much richer and enjoyable they become to watch. But Lynch wants you to not accept anyone else's interpretations of his films, even his own. For this reason, Lynch rarely discusses his own meaning. He wants everyone to intuitively feel their way through his films. And when we do so, we discover more profound depths in them than we find typically at the cinema. We could never hope to replicate that viewing experience by way of analytic reasoning alone in these articles. His works of art need to be experienced and understood on a direct and personal level for yourself.
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Justin Theroux, Lara Elena Harring, David Lynch, and Naomi Watts
at the Cannes Film Festival (2001)
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However, half the battle in understanding David Lynch's films is forming a desire to watch them in the first place, a feat that might be difficult when so many voices brand his films as meaningless or unintelligible. We wrote this article series partly as a declaration that these films are meaningful and comprehensible, and feature surprisingly sophisticated narratives.
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David Lynch and Composer/Collaborator Angelo Badalamenti
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But for those hesitant to watch Lynch's films in chronological order, we suggest an alternative viewing order that emphasizes his most mainstream and accessible work first, before gradually transitioning into his more ambiguous and bizarre work. Like running on a treadmill, it is useful to start on a slower setting to warm up before running at a full sprint.
THE DAVID LYNCH WORKOUT: STEP 1 - WARM UP
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| Kyle MacLachlan Receiving Direction from David Lynch on the Set of Twin Peaks |
1.
The Straight Story (1999) - David Lynch's rarely seen Disney classic retells the true story of Alvin Straight, an elderly man who travels cross-country on his lawnmower to reconcile with his estranged brother. This film is appropriate for children and adults of all ages and is Lynch's only
MPAA rated "G" film (for general audiences).
2.
The Elephant Man (1980) - Filmed in gorgeous black and white film, this popular film portrays the true-life story of Joseph Merrick (renamed John for the purposes of the film) and was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Actor (John Hurt), Best Director (Lynch), and Best Picture. It features a young Anthony Hopkins in what is likely his best early film role. The MPAA rated this film "PG" (some parental guidance is suggested), but is appropriate for children who are comfortable with Charles Dickens-like stories of human cruelty.
3.
Dune (1984) - Although this film tends to split Lynch's fan base more than almost any other, we firmly stand on its side and love it as the most profound, yet entertaining science fiction epic on film. Certainly the film could be improved with a longer running time in a future definitive cut, a point we make at length in
our analysis of the theatrical and extended TV cuts of Dune. But regardless of what its detractors say,
Dune is a surprisingly sophisticated blockbuster that exceeds nearly all artistic expectations without compromising a strangely entertaining tone. In fact, this was our gateway Lynch film that prompted us to take a look at his other films and eventually helped inspire us to write this article series.
THE DAVID LYNCH WORK OUT: STEP 2 - CARDIO
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| David Lynch, Lara Elena Harring, and Justin Theroux at a Press Junket for Mulholland Dr. |
4.
Twin Peaks (1990-91) David Lynch co-created, co-wrote, and directed one fourth of the screen time on this groundbreaking TV series. Arguably the greatest achievement of his career to date,
Twin Peaks is a remarkably rich and rewarding viewing experience. We recommend saving its prequel film
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) for later viewing, though, since it reveals major plot twists from the series, spoiling many of the central mysteries. Also, the prequel film resembles more closely the tone and style of Lynch's less mainstream work and might be prematurely off-putting if not prepared to watch it.
5.
Blue Velvet (1986) - What begins as a sweet and fun-loving ode to small-town America quickly turns into something twisted as a young man gradually uncovers the town's mysterious and dark underbelly and faces his own demons.
Blue Velvet is not only one of David Lynch's best films but also one of his most linear and straightforward. The sex and violence inherent to the subject matter will be unsettling, but it never feels alien to the needs of the story.
Twin Peaks would later borrow its genre-blending style, mixing small-town mystery with dark comedy.
6.
Mulholland Dr. (2001) - Widely considered David Lynch's masterpiece, this feature film follows a young aspiring actress in Hollywood as she begins to uncover a darker side of the film industry and herself. The film is strange without ever feeling random and feels like a dream that folds in on itself as the main character confronts reality. Everything Lynch strove to do throughout his career feels perfectly executed here. Routinely named the best film of the last decade (2001-2010), if you only watch one Lynch film in your lifetime, this should be it.
THE DAVID LYNCH WORKOUT: STEP 3 - SPRINT
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| Unknown, David Lynch, and Jack Nance on the Production of Eraserhead |
7.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) - Speaking of which, if you pass through the fire of
Blue Velvet, then you are probably ready now to handle the prequel film to the TV series. Be prepared for a very dark ride as you experience firsthand the events of Laura Palmer's final week alive. It is as beautiful and cathartic as it is harrowing, so be aware this film is much darker in tone and content than the
Twin Peaks TV series.
8.
Inland Empire (2006) - Somewhat similar in tone to
Mulholland Dr., but the normal constraints of cinematic space and time seem irrelevant in this ode to an actress's struggle to perform her character.
9.
Eraserhead (1976) - David Lynch's first feature film and certainly the most trippy to watch. This movie will spin you around on your head and twist you inside and out.
10.
Lost Highway (1997) - You can see
Mulholland Dr. in utero here, but some of the stylistic concepts are not yet perfected or fully formed. Beautiful, disturbing, and a true descent into madness.
11.
Wild at Heart (1990) - Nicholas Cage rampages on screen as a man who seems to pattern himself after Elvis, finds himself in Oz, and is constantly getting in trouble for trying to do the right thing. David Lynch explores the question of whether someone
Wild at Heart can find happiness in this life.
THE FILMMAKER
David Lynch was raised in a different America than we know today. The frontier spirit of exploration and adventure was still kept alive, early TV airwaves were filled with classic Westerns that clearly emphasized American values, and it was generally a more innocent time in which to be raised. As a boy, Lynch frequently enjoyed the beauties and oddities of nature as he accompanied his forest ranger father into the woods on a regular basis in North Carolina and later on in Washington State. When he learned of professional artists and painters, Lynch began taking his artistic aspirations more seriously. He continued refining his talents and developed his skills to the point where he became a skilled artist and painter. And since then he has become a successful song writer/producer/singer and a truly singular filmmaker.
David Lynch Singing with Auto-Tuner
When we connect to the movies of David Lynch, we tend do so on a deeper level than with most other films typically encountered at the cinema. Like Ingmar Bergman and Stanley Kubrick before him, David Lynch makes movies according to his own sensibilities rather than mimic popular trends. For this reason, these three men's films tend to be more personal and meatier than most others, which frequently seem to be churned out simply to make money in the short term and yet be more disposable in the long. Many multi-hundred-million-dollar empty shells at the box office tend to slip from our collective memories as quickly as they arrived, but something about the films of Bergman, Kubrick, and Lynch stick to us through the years, as if revealing a style of film making belonging to humanity's future.
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David Lynch is Making a Documentary Right Now About
His Recently Deceased Friend, the Maharishi Yogi |
David Lynch is also an artist of many interests, so film enthusiasts are frequently made to wait longer than expected between his films. Lynch paints, writes lyrics, produces music, and just last week directed
Duran Duran's live reunion webcast in a fun, signature Lynch kind of way. For samples of the concert, check out the video clips at the bottom of the article. But in spite of these interesting artistic forays, we rarely feel so satisfied as when we watch one of his films. We hope he returns back to the medium to make many more. In the mean time, we will simply enjoy what we already have available.
David Lynch's New Film Maharishi
For now, David Lynch seems focused on his music and spreading awareness about transcendental meditation. We enjoy Lynch's music and we respect his beliefs, but few things compare to watching a new David Lynch film. So if you have friends who could conceivably warm up to Lynch's work, think about watching some of these movies and TV series with them. Perhaps we can expedite the production of the next Lynch film by increasing demand for the next one. Would it not be great to watch a Lynch film that does not fly below the public's radar for once? Let us take a closer look at his past films and increase the marketability and demand for his next. We want as many as we can get.
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David Lynch with His Trusty Sony PD-150 MiniDV Camera
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If you have been following along with our article series, then once a week for the last five months you have watched one of David Lynch's feature films or TV episodes in chronological order. We began with
Eraserhead and progressed through the rest of his body of work until we ended with
Inland Empire. We also included a brief overview of his short films, web projects, and commercials. In turns, we were shocked, enthralled, devastated, and touched by Lynch's work. Let's watch them again.
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David Lynch Frequently Broadcasts Interviews and Other Content from His Home Studio
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Except for
Dune (1984), David Lynch compiled
all his short and feature films since the beginning of his career up to
Wild at Heart (1990) in his
Lime Green Set on DVD. The set also includes his recent web projects and a video of his live stage production of
Industrial Symphony No. 1: Dream of the of Broken-Hearted. Although we have no official news about a future Blu-Ray releases in the U.S., we eagerly anticipate the day we can watch all his films in 1080p high definition. Currently, only
Dune
(1984) is available on Blu-Ray in the United States.
The other major David Lynch authored box set available on DVD in the U.S. is the
Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition. Rumors have circulated that a 1080p Blu-Ray release of
Twin Peaks is in the works, but for now the only way to watch
Twin Peaks in high definition is by purchasing it at the
Apple iTunes Store where the series is available in 720p HD. We recently watched the series in this format and we affirm the picture and sound quality is far superior to that of the DVD set, although is absent any special features.
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Thanks for writing this excellent series of articles! I've enjoyed reading them a lot. Nearly every article made me think about some aspect of Lynch's films that hadn't occurred to me before. I'll definitely be returning to these articles whenever I want to go through the Lynch filmography again.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading whatever this blog has in store in the future.
You are welcome, Ken. Many do not expect it, but David Lynch's films really seem to improve with time and multiple viewings. We are glad we could provide you with a good opportunity to view some of Lynch's movies in a new light.
ReplyDeleteAs we mentioned on our Facebook page, to meet our deadlines we frequently released articles before they were fully edited and enhanced, so prepare for a major overhaul of the site.
We will update you with any major changes on our Facebook page. We will improve the articles we already posted and provide new articles again in the near future. Thank you for reading and check our new "Movies We Recommend" web store to find other entertaining and artistically relevant films, some of which we will address in detail for future articles.
Thank you for reading everyone!
I’m impressed, I must say. Really seldom do I learn a weblog that is equally educational and entertaining, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteThank you IEBS. We are happy we both informed and entertained you along the way. We recently opened a new Private Facebook Group where everyone who enjoys these articles can join in on more involved discussions of David Lynch's work: http://www.facebook.com/groups/217604031652529/
ReplyDeleteYou can also "Like" our Facebook Fan Page where we regularly share other David Lynch videos and articles of interest, as well as updates on new and upcoming articles on our site: http://www.facebook.com/35YearsDavidLynch