
Surrealist, avant garde, finder of odd things. Whatever you decide to call it.
David Lynch was the director & writer on Blue Velvet & Dune (the version with Kyle MacLachlan). He was the writer, director, & sound designer on The Elephant Man & Mulholland Drive. Lynch directed, wrote, & produced Eraserhead & acted in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans. In a variety of ways, David Lynch was involved in the show Twin Peaks, as well as the various movies that came out of the show. (The Quincy Public Library does have access to everything mentioned here, if you are wanting to rewatch David Lynch's stuff or to come to it for the first time.)
In 1973, David Lynch was introduced to transcendental meditation & continued to practice it afterwards. He even wrote a book on transcendental meditation, Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, & Creativity, in 2006. (If Lynch's book is of interest of you, the library can try to get it for you through interlibrary loan.)
Yes, David Lynch had an eye for the odd throughout his career but it served him well. He also was able to create well made material, that actors wanted to participate in & audiences wanted to see. Twin Peaks was nominated for all sorts of Golden Globes over time. In 1980, Elephant Man was nominated for a Best Director Golden Globe & two Academy Awards - Best Director & Best Screenplay. It was also nominated for two BAFTAs in 1981- Best Direction & Best Screenplay. Blue Velvet was nominated for a Best Director Academy Award & a Best Screenplay Golden Globe, both in 1986. Mulholland Drive was nominated for Best Director Academy Award in 2001, on top of the Best Screenplay & Best Director nominations at the Golden Globes. (Lynch did pick up an Academy Honorary Award in 2019.) Lynch was able to walk away from the Venice Film Festival with at least one Golden Lion Award & the Palme d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival
Lynch was diagnosed with emphysema in 2020, due to years of heavy smoking, & finally gave up the habit in 2022. As a result, he was reliant on supplemental oxygen to go about any daily activity. He passed away on January 15, 2025, shortly after evacuating from his home during the current fires in Los Angeles.
Steven Spielberg wrote of David Lynch: "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"
Martin Scorsese wrote of Lynch: "He put images on the screen unlike anything that I or anybody else had ever seen—he made everything strange, uncanny, revelatory and new."