The American-born film-maker and director David Lynch has passed away at the age of 78. He was born on January 20th 1946 in Montana. His mother was an English teacher and his father was a scientist with the Department of Agriculture, but he grew up to become one of the greatest film-makers in history. His films had intricate and well-written plots imbued with a surreal style and the phantasmagorical.
His first film was Eraserhead which debuted in Los Angeles in 1977: a horror movie that depicted a family with an ugly child in an industrial setting. The second film was a biography about Joseph Merrick who lived in London in the 19th century and suffered from neurofibromatosis. However, David Lynch became internationally famous with the launch of Twin Peaks in 1990 by the American Broadcasting Company. Twin Peaks was a TV-drama series about the fictional murder of a young woman in a small rural town in the United States.
David Lynch went on to create some major artistic film masterpieces including Mulholland Drive, Dune and Blue Velvet. He was also responsible for Lost Highway, Wild at Heart and other award-winning films. Murder and femicide were common themes in his films with the the murderers in his films often fantasising they are living in a different world whilst imagining themselves to have different characters and personalities from their real ones. Another theme common in his films was the traditional family unit which is often projected in a positive way. Throughout many of his films, the unconscious of the main characters is depicted extensively often taking a leading role in the character’s narrative.
David Lynch used diegetic music as a major feature in his films, as a result helping him turn the stories of his films into a phantasmagorical narrative. His artistic creativity in blending, music, film, photography so well together in a cohesive narrative made his works thrilling, captivating, and aesthetically rich. At a later stage in his life he also came out in support of the Black Lives Matter protests and condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He will remain beloved by many film and art fans across the world and will probably be remembered by many as the greatest film director to have ever lived.
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