BLUE VELVET (1986)

The Score: 10 out of 10

David Lynch received the Academy Award nomination for Best Director three times in his career: The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986), and Mulholland Dr. (2001). Although he never won the award, we argue he earned it each time. Strong arguments have been made that each of these could be considered Lynch's masterpiece, each film clearly ranking among the best films ever made. Even those who prefer Lynch's other projects will acknowledge the important place these three films occupy in his body of work. Blue Velvet is a powerful film, completely unique to his style. No other director could have made it the way David Lynch did.

DUNE (1984)

The Score: 10 out of 10

David Lynch proved himself with The Elephant Man (1980), gaining status as the hottest new director in Hollywood. His rising star even caught the attention of George Lucas, who released a little independent film of his own that year: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980). But the young artist's mainstream popularity would be threatened as he confronted the Hollywood system during the production of his science fiction epic: Dune (1984). Dune would be the first and last big-budget film of David Lynch's career, but is the most awesome attempt at a transcendent blockbuster ever committed to celluloid.

THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)

The Score: 10 out of 10

David Lynch first learned and employed several innovative film techniques during the production of Eraserhead (1977) that he would later master in his second feature film The Elephant Man (1980). David Lynch took Hollywood by storm on the release of this film, receiving some of the strongest critical acclaim of his career and enjoying more success at the box office than he would with any of his other films. The Elephant Man is widely considered Lynch's most accessible film for mainstream audiences, and is considered a good starting point for most viewers interested in his work.

ERASERHEAD (1977)

"In 2004 [Eraserhead] was deemed 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant' by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry" (Wiki Entry for Eraserhead). Since the U.S. Library of Congress only selects up to 25 films per year for preservation in the National Film Registry, the official archivists of the United States have essentially declared Eraserhead (1977) one of the most important films in American history.

35 YEARS OF DAVID LYNCH

Works of art are easy to overlook at first glance. Some art is so far ahead of its time that only the passage of years will help it be appreciated. Many films must wait for changes to cultural tastes and style before their audience's sensibilities are attuned to receive them. Many masterpieces of art and literature are greeted at first with underwhelming or even hostile reviews and bad word of mouth before one day gaining the recognition they deserve. Most films directed by David Lynch fall into this category.