He was one of my favorite directors for sure. Twin Peaks was absolutely iconic to me when I was in high school. There was no other mind like his in Hollywood.
God DAMN. Such an entertaining guy…so smart, so within himself. We watch “What Did Jack Do” every Christmas because it so perfectly captures him. RIP man.
Well dammit. I missed the announcement last year that he had emphysema so this is a surprise for sure. Odd that 78 seems youngish to die these days.
His work was always interesting and entertaining to say the least. Everything he did had a very definite originality and point of view.
I liked his adaptation of Dune. There. I said it.
I liked it too.
I especially liked On The Air (1992).
That show was such a blast. I understand why only about eight people got it, but there’s some brilliant comedy in there.
He was also the best thing in The Fabelmans. His portrayal of John Ford was amazing.
Blue Velvet was one of my ex-husband’s favorite films. He loved it so well, he went for Halloween one year as Dean Stockwell’s character. I wasn’t as big a fan, though I found Twin Peaks engaging for a long while and very original. Lynch wasn’t afraid to challenge norms.
His voice will be missed. RIP.
Bummer. Lost Highway bubbles up to the top of my Lynch favorites, but I like 'em all. Undeniably a unique vision.
Sad to see this, but not completely unexpected.
I love his movies, even as disturbing as some of them can be, and super loved Twin Peaks. But I also enjoyed getting little glimpses into his life through his Youtube output, particularly during the pandemic. I loved his “what is David working on” clips of his projects in his art studio behind his LA home…he built a urinal into the sink! He was a very unique and creative guy, but also seemed to be a very kind individual.
It takes me back to a simpler time in my life and yes, I greatly enjoyed it back then and when I rewatch I remember those times.
His version was great. Villeneuve’s films I felt like I spent 5 hours staring at sand.
There’s few directors with such a unique style that they become famous for it (Wes Anderson comes to mind for example). No one could do a Lynch movie, but Lynch. One of a kind.
I saw Eraserhead shortly after it came out, mostly because I was curious to know why it had created such a stir. I didn’t expect to care for it, based on the criticisms I’d heard.
I was in for a huge surprise. I absolutely LOVED Eraserhead. Most people said it was too weird, incoherent, and off-putting, yet it made perfect sense to me.
Blue Velvet was another favorite. There is a point in the movie, after we have been treated to the terrifying ravings of Dennis Hopper (“mommy, mommy…” - eeeeeekkkk! 
) when suddenly we are cut to a placid, stereotypical suburban scene. Inanity never looked so good.
I used Blue Velvet to get back at someone once. We had a houseguest back in the days where you went out and rented movies on videotape, and he offered to go get one. “I’m tired and don’t feel like thinking much,” I said. “So bring back something light, maybe a romcom.”
Said guest came back with Das Boot, which he had seen but which I was unfamiliar with so its depressing story was quite a shock. I was furious! A few days later, we decided to watch another movie, so I offered to go get one. “I’m tired and don’t feel like thinking much,” he said. “So bring back something light, maybe a romcom.”
I brought back Blue Velvet, which our guest was unfamiliar with. Ah, sweet revenge.
I never saw Twin Peaks. I haven’t seen most of his films. I have long wanted to see them though. i have seen Dune many times. While I do not entirely agree with his aristic vision of Dune, it is very clear he was a genuine artist and had a vision. I never understood why he voiced himself as the bartender in The Cleveland Show though.
He definitely earned his “-esque.”
I recently managed to find a copy of The Straight Story on BluRay, may have to watch that this weekend. Or Lost Highway, which I remember seeing opening weekend at the Sunset 5 when I lived in Hollywood. Takes me back, you can see my old office building in the background of one scene (it was down the street from Pryor’s garage).
A million years ago I worked on a low-budget movie that had Sherilyn Fenn in the cast. That was only a few years after Twin Peaks had been on the air, and huge fan that I was, my mind was blown every day she was on set (“Audrey Horne! Audrey Horne! Audrey freaking Horne!”) She was a genuine sweetheart, too. Lynch had a talent beyond the dreamlike visuals, he also created original and indelible characters.
I drove through a snowstorm to see Eraserhead at a nearby college. I’d read about it in Coinefantastique and had to see it. Weird film. Can’t say I loved it, but it was worth seeing.
I liked The Elephant Man, although it was very different from Bernard Pomerance’s play about Joseph Merrick, and took more liberties with the true story.
And I’m another one who liked his version of Dune. He disowned the TV broadcast version (it carried the credit “Directed by Allen Smithee”, which was used when a director didn’t want to put his name on something), but that version contained several good scenes cut from the theatrical release version, and it was put together by someone who knew and loved the source material, not a hack.
And, of course, I liked Twin Peaks quite a bit – at least the early episodes. It seemed to lose gas and peter out as it went along.
Heck, I hadn’t even heard he was sick.
He had emphysema, no doubt due to a lifetime of smoking. Last year, I think, he admitted that his lungs were in rough shape, and in a post-Covid era, he couldn’t risk his health by being on a crowded movie set for a long period of time any more, so he didn’t forsee making any more features.
i understand he started smoking at 7. 7! starting at that age, stopping would be extremely difficult.
His guest appearance on Louie was certainly memorable:
RIP to both an icon and iconoclast.
I was surprised to see him in the recent Beatles '64 documentary. Turns out he attended their first concert in the US at the Washington Coliseum.
When I was 12, Eraserhead was widely open enough that it was at a nearby theater. One of my brothers frriends said - “It’s got a four star review! [Newsday] It has to be good!” To me it was incrredible. Dunno about brother and friends yet maybe getting drunk before that film isn’t a great idea.
“Hwineken?! Fuck that shit. Pabst, Blue. Ribbon!”
Probably the movie he’ll be remembered for, at least in obit first lines. (ETA: Perhaps Dune as well which I liked having no clue of the source material and now that I do, I still like it)
I was in Australia for all of season two of Twin Peaks yet my father recorded every episode and there was no chance of getting spoiled. Fire Walk With Me I saw at perhaps the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan.
After Mulholland Drive the first time, the second time and third and on I understood how a film could be perceived and understood from so many angles. To me and I’m sure many others that it a favourite film. I mean for any director.