an exquisite storyteller Hollywood mourns the loss of David Lynch What better way to honor the visionary director than with a watchfest of some of his greatest work? Jennifer Ouellette Jan 17, 2025 1:52 pm | 66 David Lynch played legendary director John Ford in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans (2023). Credit: Universal Pictures David Lynch played legendary director John Ford in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans (2023). Credit: Universal Pictures Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreVisionary filmmaker David Lynchwhose work spanned midnight movie staples like Eraserhead (1977), neo-noir psychological thrillers like Mulholland Drive (2001), and beyondhas died at 78. According to Deadline Hollywood, the director had to evacuate his home due to the LA wildfires. He had been diagnosed with severe emphysema a few years ago and rarely left his house due to COVID-19 fears. Following the evacuation, his health deteriorated, and he died at his daughter's house.It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch, the director's family said in a statement. We would appreciate some privacy at this time. Theres a big hole in the world now that hes no longer with us. But, as he would say, Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole. Its a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.Reactions from Hollywood were swift and heartfelt. Kyle MacLachlan, who became a star when Lynch cast him as Paul Atreides in 1984's Dune, Blue Velvet (1986), and the TV series Twin Peaks, described the director as "the most authentically alive person I'd ever met":What I saw in him was an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting inside him. He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to... David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human. He was not interested in answers because he understood that questions are the drive that make us who we are. They are our breath... I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he's gone.Lynch began making short films in the late 1960s and graduated from the American Film Institute in 1970. His first feature film was the cult classic Eraserhead, and that early success led to the critically acclaimed The Elephant Man in 1980. The verdict is more mixed on Lynch's adaptation of Dune; I personally found it unwatchable, but it has its diehard fans. It was a box office bomb (although still the director's highest-grossing film), and Lynch himself said in an interview last June that it "wasn't the film I wanted to make because I didn't have final say," adding, "I died a death. And it was all my fault for not knowing to put that in the contract.The success of Lynch's next film, Blue Velvet, helped assuage his disappointment, as did his move to television with the bizarrely surreal and influential series Twin Peakspart detective story, part soap opera, with dashes of sci-fi and horror. The series spawned a spin-off prequel movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), and a 2017 revival series, Twin Peaks: The Return, that picks up the storyline 25 years later. Many other TV series were influenced by Lynch's show, including The X-Files, Lost, The Sopranos, Bates Motel, Fargo, Riverdale, Atlanta, and the animated series Gravity Falls.His final feature films were an LA-centric trilogyLost Highway (1997), Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire (2006)and 1999's biographical road drama, The Straight Story, based on the true story of a man named Alvin Straight who drove across Iowa and Wisconsin on a lawn mower. It was acquired by Walt Disney Pictures and was Lynch's only G-rated film.A singular visionary dreamer Lynch launched Kyle MacLachlan's career when he cast him as Paul Atreides in 1984's Dune. Universal Pictures Lynch launched Kyle MacLachlan's career when he cast him as Paul Atreides in 1984's Dune. Universal Pictures One can never un-see a stripped-down Sting in a codpiece. Universal Pictures One can never un-see a stripped-down Sting in a codpiece. Universal Pictures Lynch launched Kyle MacLachlan's career when he cast him as Paul Atreides in 1984's Dune. Universal Pictures One can never un-see a stripped-down Sting in a codpiece. Universal Pictures The director's filmography also includes an assortment of short films, all bearing his eccentric stamp, including a surrealist short, Absurda, shown at Cannes in 2007, as well as Premonition Following an Evil Deed (NSFW YouTube link), Lynch's contribution to the 1995 anthology film Lumire and Company. All 41 featured directors used the original Cinmatographe camera invented by the Lumire brothers. Lynch was also an avid painter, cartoonist, and musician and directed several music videos for such artists as Moby and Nine Inch Nails. Until his death, he hosted quirky online "weather reports" and a web series, What Is David Lynch Working on Today? He even racked up the occasional acting credit.Lynch received an Honorary Oscar in 2000 for lifetime achievement at the Governors Awards after three prior nominations for The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive. Deadline's Pete Hammond called Lynch's speech "probably one of the shortest for any Oscar acceptance." Lynch briefly thanked the Academy, the other honorees, wished everyone a great night, then pointed to the statuette and said, "You have a very interesting figure. Good night." At Cannes, he won the Palme d'Or in 1990 for Wild at Heart and won Best Director in 2001 for Mulholland Drive.Naomi Watts, who played a dual role as doppelgngers Betty Elms and Diane Selwyn in Mulholland Drive, said that Lynch put her "on the map" as an actor by casting her. It wasnt just his art that impacted mehis wisdom, humor, and love gave me a special sense of belief in myself Id never accessed before," she said in a statement. "Every moment together felt charged with a presence Ive rarely seen or known. Probably because, yes, he seemed to live in an altered world, one that I feel beyond lucky to have been a small part of. And David invited all to glimpse into that world through his exquisite storytelling, which elevated cinema and inspired generations of filmmakers across the globe.""I loved Davids films, director Steven Spielberg said in a statement. Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and Elephant Man defined him as a singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade. I got to know David when he played John Ford in The Fabelmans.Here was one of my heroes, David Lynch, playing one of my heroes. It was surreal and seemed like a scene out of one of Davids own movies. The world is going to miss such an original and unique voice. His films have already stood the test of time and they always will.What better way to honor Lynch's passing than with a watchfest over the three-day weekend of our favorite Lynch creations?Eraserhead Credit: Libra Films How does one even begin to describe the surrealist oddity that is Lynch's first feature film? A young man named Henry (Jack Nance), living in a dank industrial neighborhood, finds out his girlfriend, Mary (Charlotte Stewart), is pregnant; when the baby is born, it is deformed with a snake-like face. Mary abandons them, and Henry, the reluctant father, begins experiencing strange visions about the Man in the Planet, a lady living in the radiator, and his own head popping off and being turned into erasers at a pencil factory.It's less a straightforward plot and more a collection of increasingly bizarre imagery. The finale combines sheer body horror with hints of sci-fi and the supernatural. Frankly, the film won't be to everyone's taste; at least one critic found the finale "unwatchable" when it was first released. But that boundary-pushing vision, plus Lynch's eerie black-and-white cinematography and ingenious sound design, combine to make it a cult favorite among film connoisseurs.The Elephant Man Credit: Paramount Pictures Lynch kept the black-and-white cinematography for his next film, The Elephant Man, which was much more mainstream than Eraserhead, although it also deals with physical deformityin this case, a tale loosely based on the late 19th-century life of John Merrick (John Hurt), a severely disfigured man with a skull so deformed that he would asphyxiate if he were to lie down. Merrick is forced to earn his keep as part of a Victorian freak show in London, where he is habitually abused and kept hooded by his "owner."Merrick is rescued by a surgeon named Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), who learns that Merrick is quite intelligent and makes him a permanent hospital resident, but Merrick still encounters those who see him as a horror. His climactic cry, "I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!" before collapsing, is a cinematic moment for the ages. Both Hopkins and Hurt give exquisite performances, with Hurt's portrayal being all the more impressive because he had to do so through elaborate prosthetics and makeup. (There is now an Oscar for Best Make-Up because of The Elephant Man.)Blue Velvet Credit: De Laurentiis Entertainment Group Blue Velvet combines classic Hitchcockian elements with Lynch's distinctive visual style and edgy sensibility. A young man named Jeffrey (MacLachlan) finds a severed human ear on a lawn while visiting his ailing father and gets drawn into a mystery involving a sexy lounge singer named Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini) and an abusive drug-huffing gangster named Frank (Dennis Hopper), who keeps Dorothy as a sex slave after kidnapping her young son. He will also only drink Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.It's a frequently violent, disturbing, and unnerving film with overt sadomasochistic themes, but it's also a quite brilliant ode to 1950s film noir that has a way of getting under your skin. The scene where Franks creepy associate Ben (Dean Stockwell) lip-syncs to Roy Orbisons In Dreams, while smearing lipstick on his face and kissing a restrained Jeffrey, is one that will linger well after the film's conclusion.Wild at Heart Credit: Samuel Goldwyn Company[1] Based on Barry Gifford's novel of the same name, Wild at Heart is Lynch's take on the star-crossed lovers-on-the-run trope, weaving elements from The Wizard of Oz and the songs of Elvis Presley into Lula's (Laura Dern) and Sailor's (Nicolas Cage) bloody rampage across the country. They are fleeing a private detective and a hitman, both hired by Lula's mother, who objects to their relationship. While the film polarized viewers and critics upon its release, it has since become a critical favorite.Just how violent is Wild at Heart? About 80 people walked out of a test screening during a graphic torture scene; 100 walked out during a second screening. Lynch realized the scene would kill his film, so he made some cuts to make it more palatable. He had to make further cuts to get a contractually obligated R-rating for the film's US release, using smoke to blur a moment where a character shoots off his own head with a shotgun. "But that was part of what Wild at Heart was really about," he later said. "Really insane and sick and twisted stuff going on." As for Gifford, he thought Lynch's adaptation of his book was "fantasticit's like a big, dark, musical comedy." If that's your jam, this is the film for you.Mulholland Drive Credit: Universal Pictures Mulholland Drive is arguably Lynch's masterpiece, widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. It's certainly a compelling and singular film, with double doppelgngers and a dream-like plot so convoluted and ambiguous that the director included a card with the original DVD release outlining 10 "clues" to unlock his psychological thriller. Other than that, he steadfastly refused to offer any insight over the ensuing years into how the film's events should be interpreted.The film opens with a woman (Laura Harring) nearly being shot by her chauffeur on the titular Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles, saved when another car crashes into them. Having lost her memory, she takes refuge in an apartment and is befriended by its tenant, aspiring actress Betty (Naomi Watts). The two set out to discover who the woman is and why she has so much cash and a blue key in her purse. There are decomposing corpses, a lesbian sex scene, a bungling hitman, a director being threatened by mobsters, Spanish crooners in a venue called Club Silence, and a heartbreaking finale. What does it all mean? Lynch is happy to let you speculate.Twin Peaks Credit: ABC If you're feeling super ambitious, the long weekend is the perfect opportunity to binge Twin Peaks. It begins with the discovery of a young woman's body on the beach, wrapped in plastichigh school homecoming queen Laura Palmer. FBI agent Dale Cooper (MacLachlan) comes to the quirky Pacific Northwest town to help solve the murder. It's the deftly drawn characterswho can forget the Log Lady (Catherine E. Coulson)?and quirky local touches that make the show unique. It's all anchored by MacLachlan's wide-eyed appreciation of the region's Douglas firs, good coffee, and cherry pieall dictated in great detail to his offscreen secretary, Diana.Sure, the acting is sometimes hilariously over the topwe're looking at you, Bobby (Dana Ashbrook)but that was par for the course in nighttime soaps of that decade. Twin Peaks takes creative risks that defied conventional industry wisdom at the time, and the first season's short eight-episode run is more typical of today's streaming model. (The second season had the full 22 episodes more typical of broadcast TV.) The unofficial third season, Twin Peaks: The Return, is even more strangely compelling, right down to the unforgettable finale.Jennifer OuelletteSenior WriterJennifer OuelletteSenior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 66 Comments