David Lynch: a life in surrealism

The 1980s and 90s belonged to David Lynch, the successful American film director whose widely influential movies peaked during those decades. Despite his unusual style and the strange worlds in his movies, Lynch became a household name in the US and beyond. The inimitable mixture of surrealism and expressionism on the big screen drilled holes deep into the subconscious of the films' viewers.

Lynch made his cinematic debut in 1977 with his first feature film, "Eraserhead." A horror film with a soft touch, the movie was a low-budget production for which the money came directly out of Lynch's pocket. A surprising success, "Eraserhead" (featuring Jack Nance, pictured here) made the American director world-famous. The movie enjoys a cult following to this day.

Three years later, Lynch took to the big screen to showcase his gift for dealing with abstract subject matters again with "The Elephant Man." The film is regarded as a sympathetic study in humanity that evokes a wide range of feelings in its viewers. The black-and-white movie tells the true story of Joseph Merrick, a man living with a genetic facial deformity in 19th-century London.

The sci-fi flick "Dune" is regarded as Lynch's singular misstep. Released in 1984, the high-budget film caved in under the combined weight of art and expectations of commercial success. Although many of the film's scenes remain fascinating even today, for the audience at the time of its release, "Dune" proved to be a bit too awkward.

The gripping story of college student Jeffrey Beaumont as told in the movie "Blue Velvet" is perhaps one of Lynch's best-known works. With a minimal budget, the mysterious story featuring previously overlooked actors Kyle MacLachlan and Isabella Rossellini as its protagonists took David Lynch's directing to the next level. It is a stylistic masterpiece that wowed moviegoers then as it does now.

In 1990, David Lynch was at the height of his career when he released his fifth feature film, "Wild at Heart." The movie is a potent mix of genre elements as it tells the melodramatic story of a couple on the run. Although Lynch bagged a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for the film, not all critics were sold, with some calling certain scenes too brutal and speculative.

The end of the 1980s saw Lynch take his talents to the small screen as well, as he made his television debut with the cult series "Twin Peaks." Before long, people around the world were wondering "Who killed Laura Palmer?" (played by Sheryl Lee, pictured at center). The series proved a huge success on television and is still seen by many as the forerunner for today's bingeworthy TV shows.

As Lynch began to dabble in transcendental meditation, his films also started to delve deeper into the depths of the human psyche. "Lost Highway" was the first of three movies ("Mulholland Drive" and "Inland Empire" followed) taking viewers on a gloomy, cinematic journey into the subconscious. The 1997 film remains a cryptic undertaking that has inspired tons of interpretations.

Regarded as one of Lynch's finest works, "Mulholland Drive" is another puzzle that has kept fans guessing since its release in 2001. The film explores the dark side of the lure of Hollywood after glamorous brunette Rita (Laura Elena Harring) suffers amnesia in a car crash. Rita becomes (more than) friends with Betty (Naomi Watts), who grows obsessed with finding out Rita's true identity.

"The Straight Story" surprised both critics and the viewing public alike when it was released in 1999. The most atypical Lynch film to date, the slow story follows a farmer as he makes his way through the United States atop a lawn mower. The movie was well received for its humane warmth and moments of quiet humor.

Fans of "Twin Peaks" waited for a quarter of a century to return to the Pacific Northwest town, when Lynch surprised them by announcing that another season would be released in 2016. With some extraordinary visual sequences dotted around, "Twin Peaks: The Return" is seen as a televized work of art. Like the original series, the 2016 production ends on a nail-biting cliffhanger.

Many people don't realize that Lynch was first of all a visual artist. He studied fine arts and produced a great body of mixed materials works, photographs and sketches. Whether people like his work or not, they can't deny that — like his films — they are impossible to ignore. Many feature images of strangely contorted humans with twisted limbs, as well as red dogs and scary houses.

Later in life, Lynch became the poster boy of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) community, traveling around the US in public appearances for TM. His art was featured in international exhibitions. His quirky weather reports from the 2020s became viral social media hits. He died on January 15, 2025, aged 78. The cause of his death was not revealed but he had been suffering with emphysema for years.