Line #10 Creator/DavidLynch


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DavidLynch1.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:David Lynch has a chicken.\
3	[[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Your argument is still valid]], though.]]
4
5	->''"It makes me uncomfortable to talk about meanings and things. It's better not to know so much about what things mean. Because the meaning, it's a very personal thing, and the meaning for me is different than the meaning for somebody else."''
6	-->-- '''David Lynch''' on most of his movies
7
8	David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946 in Missoula, Montana) is a filmmaker, artist, musician, writer, and occasional actor. He is considered one of the most influential filmmakers of his time for his idiosyncratic audiovisual style (since semi-formally dubbed "Lynchian"), as well as arguably the most popular director regularly associated with {{surrealism}}.
9
10	Like Creator/AlfredHitchcock, Creator/AkiraKurosawa, and Creator/KathrynBigelow, Lynch was originally trained as a painter. Motivated by a desire to see his paintings in motion, he went into filmmaking in the late 1960s. His short "[[{{Squick}} Six Men Getting Sick]]" won a cash prize; from this point forward, he would be a professional filmmaker.
11
12	Obvious influences on his films are Creator/FedericoFellini, Creator/BillyWilder, Creator/EdWood, ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', FilmNoir, 1950s pop music (and [[The50s '50s]] culture in general), [[{{Film/Dracula 1931}} Tod]] [[Film/{{Freaks}} Browning]] and [[Film/UnChienAndalou Luis Buñuel]]. [[ProductionPosse Frequent collaborators]] include Creator/KyleMacLachlan, Creator/LauraDern, Creator/IsabellaRossellini, and the late Angelo Badalamenti, Creator/HarryDeanStanton, and Jack Nance.
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14	If you want to appreciate Lynch's craft, traditional methods of interpretation or pop-psychoanalysis aren't going to cut it. Lynch resists any sort of attempts at rational analysis and is really concerned with being in gnostic control of his stories, such that any interview question regarding the meaning of his works [[ShrugOfGod gets shut down instantly]]. A conclusion many have drawn from his works' utilization of dream logic, and something he has spoken to on numerous public occasions when pressed for definitive answers about his stories, is that the metaphorical, figurative, or thematic connection between things is ''always'' arbitrary and that this can never be taken too lightly.
15
16	He also only conducts business deals at [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Bob's Big Boy restaurants]].
17
18	His daughter, Jennifer Chambers Lynch, is also a film director. Her best-known work, and certainly [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity most infamous]], is 1993's ''Film/BoxingHelena''. And no, it doesn't involve prize fighting (though Julian Sands gulping [[RawEggsMakeYouStronger raw egg smoothies]] might have spiced it up a bit).
19
20	Between May 11, 2020 and December 16, 2022, Lynch posted daily videos of himself reading the weather reports for UsefulNotes/LosAngeles and picking numbered balls from a jar on his [[https://www.youtube.com/c/DAVIDLYNCHTHEATER/videos YouTube channel]]. Yes, every single day. [[CrazyEnoughToWork And it grew]] [[MundaneMadeAwesome a dedicated fanbase.]] (He originally did them for a few weeks in 2009, but it didn't catch on. The UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic lockdowns greatly helped the second attempt.)
21	----
22	!!David Lynch's filmography includes:
23
24	* ''Film/TheGrandmother'' (1970) -- Short film.
25	* ''{{Film/Eraserhead}}'' (1977) -- Lynch's debut feature film, made over the course of 6 years; became one of the first films in the 'Midnight Movie' circuit.
26	* ''Film/TheElephantMan'' (1980) -- Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick, and unlike the later mentioned ''The Straight Story'', Lynch co-wrote the script.
27	* ''Film/{{Dune\|1984}}'' (1984) -- Based on [[Literature/{{Dune}} the novel]] by Creator/FrankHerbert; famous for making the already dense source material nigh-incomprehensible, and for being [[OldShame publicly disowned by Lynch]] due to the amount of ExecutiveMeddling he faced.
28	* ''Film/BlueVelvet'' (1986) -- Made after the failure of ''Dune'', deliberately on a smaller scale, and won enough critical acclaim to [[CareerResurrection realign his reputation]].
29	* ''Film/WildAtHeart'' (1990) -- Based on the novel by Barry Gifford.
30	* ''Series/TwinPeaks'' -- TV series co-created with Mark Frost, that aired from 1990-91 on Creator/{{ABC}} and returned in 2017 on Creator/{{Showtime}}, often considered a landmark in TV drama.
31	* ''Film/TwinPeaksFireWalkWithMe'' (1992) -- A theatrical film {{prequel}} to the TV series.
32	* ''On the Air'' (1992) -- A short-lived SitCom, also co-created with Mark Frost, that aired on Creator/{{ABC}}.
33	* ''Film/LostHighway'' (1997) -- A return to the neo-noir style of ''Blue Velvet'' with an even more surreal plot; co-written with Barry Gifford of ''Wild at Heart'' fame.
34	* ''Film/TheStraightStory'' (1999) -- Wait for it... ''[[CreatorsOddball a G-rated Disney movie with a conventional plot]]'' (as well as the only film of his he didn't write, which probably explains a lot).
35	* ''Film/MulhollandDrive'' (2001) -- Originally a pilot for Creator/{{ABC}}, was rejected until Creator/StudioCanal and Creator/{{Universal}} picked it up as a film.
36	* ''WebAnimation/{{Dumbland}}'' (2002) -- Animated web series that aired exclusively on his website.
37	* ''Film/InlandEmpire'' (2006) -- Originally an experimental project to test his digital camera, was later expanded thanks to funding from Studio Canal.
38	* ''Film/WhatDidJackDo'' (2020) -- 17-minute short film released on Netflix, originally made for an art exhibit in 2016.
39	* ''Wisteria'' (upcoming) -- A Netflix series that began production in May 2021. Not much is known about it at present.
40
41	He has also made many short films, television commercials, and music videos.
42	----
43	!!Tropes in Mr. Lynch's movies and life include:
44	* The50s: Aside from ''On the Air'' and a flashback in one episode of ''Twin Peaks''' third season, none of his works are actually entirely set in the fifties, but most of them are visually and thematically very clearly influenced by the era.
45	* AlanSmithee: Credited himself as "[[MeaningfulName Judas Booth]]" for the long version of ''Dune'', because in his view the studio had betrayed (Judas) and murdered (John Wilkes Booth) the film.
46	%%* AmnesiacDissonance
47	* ArcWords: There is not a single David Lynch film that doesn't depend on the use of repeated cryptic phrases to set a spooky or dreamlike mood.
48	* AuthorAppeal:
49	** Head injuries and/or deformities, the United States, mechanical/industrial imagery, [[LittlePeopleAreSurreal dwarves]], retro-style music, and people dancing, often at really weird times.
50	** ''The Wizard of Oz''. Judy Garland was the sort of person Lynch is fascinated by because her wholesome public image contrasted so much with her descent into drug addiction, eating disorder, and crippling debt. Referencing her also makes a connection with the ''Wizard of Oz'' and its parallel world dream travel.
51	** "LAST NIGHT I HAD ANOTHER Creator/{{MONICA BELLUCCI}} DREAM. MONICA WAS VERY PLEASANT." - Gordon Cole
52	** Going along with the above: cheery, sunny, and upbeat environments, frequently urban, that [[StepfordSuburbia secretly]] [[CrapsaccharineWorld house]] various forms of both literal and moral rot and decay and metaphysical evil, often personified by a [[SeeminglyWholesome50sGirl single woman]]. About the only films of his that ''don't'' involve outward glamor disguising inner decay are ''Dune'', ''The Straight Story'', and (arguably) ''The Elephant Man''.
53	** POV shots of vehicles driving down dark roads at night, often at extremely high speed.
54	* BerserkButton: According to Creator/LauraDern, bringing a water bottle onto the set.
55	* BigOlEyebrows: The Mentats in ''Dune''. And, indeed, Lynch himself.
56	* BodyMotifs: Injuries and/or deformities to the face and/or head
57	* BunnyEarsLawyer: He's an odd fellow, to put it simply, but an undeniably great director.
58	%%* CircusOfFear: The Elephant Man tries to escape one. (partial-context example)
59	* CityNoir: ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'', his un-filmed script ''Script/RonnieRocket'', ''Film/MulhollandDrive'', ''Film/InlandEmpire'', and large parts of ''Series/TwinPeaks: The Return''. The former two arguably fall under DieselPunk, while the latter three also encompass SunshineNoir due to taking place in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
60	* ColbertBump: Lynch is responsible for triggering Music/RoyOrbison's CareerResurrection in the late 1980s by featuring his music in ''Blue Velvet''.
61	* CoolOldGuy: Despite his eccentricity, he is by all accounts a very nice man who treats his actors well. His works also frequently feature such characters, including Pete Martell, Alvin Straight, Mr. Car-Gomm, and others.
62	** Special mention goes to ''Twin Peaks''' third season, where nearly every cool returning character from the first two series has become this or a CoolOldLady, simply due to the passage of time.
63	* CreepyHighPitchedVoice: Some of his songs feature him singing in an eerie tone. "Crazy Clown Time" is a notable example. It doesn't help that he has a slightly high, nasally voice normally.
64	%%* CrypticConversation: All the time. (Zero-Context Examples)
65	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Lynch is certainly one of these. Creator/MelBrooks once described him as "Jimmy Stewart from Mars." He also has a Twitter account. He posted twice about finding out whether he's connected to the moon and three times about buying an ax.
66	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut6zdE8qWj0 Without cheese there wouldn't be an Inland Empire.]]
67	* DadaAd: He directed a couple of commercials. They are [[MindScrew just as bizarre]] as you might expect from the man.
68	** Heck, just take a look at his Platform/PlayStation2 commercial.
69	** Or the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdlf1DzX0iQ&feature=related teaser ad]] he made for Music/MichaelJackson's ''Dangerous'', which later appeared on the compilation of music videos for that album.
70	** The weirdness of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vor65mNB8Uk this cigarette ad]] is compounded by the fact that it is backwards. Apparently.
71	* DadaComics: His comic ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Angriest_Dog_in_the_World The Angriest Dog in the World]]'' inspired ''Webcomic/DinosaurComics''. Every strip has the same repeated panels of the dog straining against his chain.
72	* DerangedAnimation: Occurs in his short films and music videos. A particular example would be the web series ''WebAnimation/DumbLand''.
73	* DroneOfDread: Nearly all of his films feature this in some fashion, whether it's the constant industrial ambiance of ''Eraserhead'' or the sinister synths in ''Twin Peaks''.
74	* {{Eagleland}}: A mixture of both flavors, Lynch likes to take both the proud and patriotic and juxtapose it with the ludicrous and depraved. All but two of his works (''Dune'' and ''The Elephant Man'') are set in the US. ''The Straight Story'' is, appropriately, the only er, straight example of Flavor 1.
75	* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Appears to have something of a fetish for this, akin to Hitchcock's for blondes.
76	* EmergingFromTheShadows: Often seen in his films.
77	* EvilDoppelganger: First appears in ''Series/TwinPeaks'', and become a recurring motif in his later works.
78	* ExistentialHorror: Some of his work could be said to have elements of this, especially ''Twin Peaks'' and ''Mulholland Drive'' due to their heavy focus on the fragility of human identity.
79	* FanDisservice: One of the hallmarks of David Lynch's projects is that they often prominently feature scenes that could or should be profoundly erotic, but which are instead horrifying or disturbing due to context or theme. This began with Creator/IsabellaRossellini's infamous nude scene in ''Blue Velvet'', which was ''so'' disturbing that many critics (most notably Creator/RogerEbert) flat-out accused Lynch of exploiting Rosselini (which she denied). ''Mulholland Drive'' is particularly notorious for it as well, and there's a famous sequence late in ''Lost Highway'' where Patricia Arquette is fully nude and it's somehow one of the most ominous shots in the film.
80	* HideYourChildren: He has rarely worked with child actors.
81	* LeFilmArtistique: Most of his films could qualify to a greater or lesser degree, but his early shorts and ''Inland Empire'' go above and beyond in terms of surrealism.
82	%%* FisherKing: In ''Dune'' (Zero-Context Example)
83	* GainaxEnding: Most of his films lack a comprehensible ending, including ''Twin Peaks'' but [[AvertedTrope excluding]] the aptly-named ''Film/TheStraightStory''.
84	* GrotesqueGallery: He's very fond of deformed or unusual-looking characters, such as the baby and the Woman in the Radiator in ''Eraserhead'', Joseph Merrick in ''The Elephant Man'', the pustulent Baron Harkonnen in ''Dune'', and the various Lodge spirits in ''Twin Peaks''.
85	* HorribleHollywood: ''Lost Highway'', ''Mulholland Drive'', and ''Inland Empire'' are all at least partially about what an absolutely terrible, soulless place Los Angeles really is for people who make movies.
86	* HumanoidAbomination: Lynch-land is these creatures' natural habitat.
87	* LaughTrack: Sinisterly parodied in ''Rabbits'', where it accompanies some genuinely absurd statements in a creepy setting.
88	* LicensedGame: ''Dune'' received one in the form of an AdventureGame with some strategic elements.
89	* LeaveTheCameraRunning: He's fond of sustaining camera shots for a ''very'' long time, which [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools frequently adds]] to the dreamlike, unsettling mood of his movies. ''Twin Peaks''' third season, for example, features a scene of popcorn being swept off of a barroom floor while Booker T. and the [=MGs'=] "Green Onions" plays. In its entirety. While nothing else happens.
90	* LighterAndSofter: ''The Straight Story'', an uplifting drama film with none of Lynch's trademark surrealism. No real explanation required considering that it is a Creator/{{Disney}} film.
91	* LouisCypher: Some of Lynch's creepiest characters, such as the Man in the Planet, the magician in "Silencio" and (possibly) the Cowboy are heavily implied to be this. ''Lost Highway'''s Mystery Man is either this or the AnthropomorphicPersonification of [[spoiler: sanity.]]
92	* MagicalRealism: Most of his films fall into the genre in some way or another. Some are realistic but extremely bizarre (''Blue Velvet'', ''The Straight Story'') while others go into the realm of pure fantasy (''Twin Peaks'') and beyond (''[=Eraserhead=]'', ''Inland Empire''). The rest is, well.... somewhere in between. [[MindScrew It's not like we can really be sure or anything.]]
93	* MetaTwist:
94	** ''The Straight Story'' is a completely straightforward film.
95	** To a lesser extent, ''Elephant Man'' and ''Blue Velvet'' have saner plots in comparison to Lynch's other films barring the aforementioned ''The Straight Story''.
96	* MindScrew: Mr. Lynch is a mental Lothario. So much so, in fact, that a woman named Lotje Sodderland wrote him a letter about how she suffered brain damage during a stroke and found that his films bore an uncanny resemblance to the way her mind worked now. Lynch responded by producing a documentary about her, titled ''My Beautiful Broken Brain''.
97	* MocksteryTale: He is quite fond of this; he's actually known as "the first popular surrealist" because his movies are MindScrew in trendy neo-noir wrappers featuring police, mafia, and conspiracies... as well as supernatural creatures and mind-boggling surrealism.
98	* MoodDissonance: He sometimes likes to set scary moments during daylight hours, often in normal, suburban locations. See, for example, the Winkies scene in ''Mulholland Drive''.
99	* MundaneHorror: Another one of his trademarks. The "man behind Winkies" scene in ''Film/MulhollandDrive'' and the party scene in ''Film/LostHighway'' deserve special mention.
100	%%* MythArc: Averted trope (Zero-Context Exaple)
101	%%** ''WildMassGuessing'', however, is put on another scale of existence. (Zero-Context Example)
102	* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: He wouldn't be David Lynch without this trope. Just check out some of his most disturbing works.
103	* NonActorVehicle: Lynch loves casting singers in acting roles. This starts with Sting's performance in ''Dune'', continuing to David Bowie and Chris Isaak appearing in ''Fire Walk With Me'', and Marilyn Manson and Henry Rollins have cameos in ''Lost Highway''; Billy Ray Cyrus has a hilarious cameo in ''Mulholland Drive''; Chrysta Bell in ''Twin Peaks: The Return''; also Rebekah del Rio in ''Mulholland Drive'', ''Rabbits'', and ''Twin Peaks''' third season, though she sticks to singing.
104	* NothingIsScarier: While he's ''arguably'' never made a straight-up horror film (except maybe ''Eraserhead''), plenty of his movies are terrifying beyond all reason nevertheless, even when there's nothing overtly scary going on.
105	* OstentatiousSecret: ''Mulholland Drive'' has a mysterious blue box, which has a matching blue key. It is shown to open once or twice, though the MindScrew makes it hard to tell what if anything is going on.
106	* PsychicNosebleed: When Paul takes the Water of Life in ''Dune''. Quite possibly Henry's nosebleed in ''[=Eraserhead=]'', even though the trope didn't really exist when that movie was made, originating in [[Film/{{Scanners}} a movie]] by [[Creator/DavidCronenberg a different characteristically-weird filmmaker named David.]]
107	* RenaissanceMan: Director, producer, screenwriter, actor, painter, and musician.
108	* RuleOfScary: A lot of the creepiest moments in his body of work come out of nowhere and happen for seemingly no reason at all, which only makes them more effective.
109	* ScareChord: He is ''really'' good at these. The diner scene in ''Mulholland Drive'' is only the most infamous example.
110	* SeeminglyWholesome50sGirl: [[AuthorAppeal A favorite character type]], most notably in the form of Laura Palmer.
111	* SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic: Fucked with. Brutally.
112	%%* {{Slipstream\|Genre}}
113	* StylisticSuck: The eight ''WebAnimation/{{Dumbland}}'' animated shorts, which are very crude in both design and [[RefugeInAudacity content]].
114	* SuburbanGothic: Most of his work either falls into this or CityNoir, with ''Series/TwinPeaks'' and ''Film/BlueVelvet'' the most famous examples.
115	* SunshineNoir: ''Mulholland Drive'', ''Inland Empire'', and the Las Vegas parts of ''Twin Peaks: The Return''.
116	* SurrealHorror: One of the masters of it. Lynch's hallmark as a director is his use of bizarre, disturbing imagery to invoke a persistent atmosphere of unease throughout his work.
117	%%* SurrealHumor: Here and there. (Zero-Context Example)
118	%%* SurrealMusicVideo: [[RuleOfThree Ditto.]] (Zero-Context Example)
119	* TakeThat: ''Mulholland Dr.'' and ''Inland Empire'' are obvious TakeThat at Hollywood. And ''Rabbits'' is probably this to some not-so-clever sitcoms.
120	* ThematicSeries: Many have deemed ''Lost Highway'', ''Mulholland Dr.'', and ''Inland Empire'' as this. All three films take place in Los Angeles or Hollywood and have themes emphasizing identity and self-delusion.
121	* TheVerse: Lynch has commented that some of his films have certain connections to ''Series/TwinPeaks''. He ''probably'' meant that they share the same artistic DNA and mindset rather than a true continuity. But many people have noticed that certain aspects of ''Film/LostHighway'', ''Film/MulhollandDrive'' and ''Film/InlandEmpire'' become, [[MindScrew if not clearer]], then at least even more interesting if considered through Peaks mythology.
122	%%* TomatoInTheMirror: Part of the plot of ''Mulholland Drive'', maybe. (Zero-Context Example)
123	* VillainProtagonist: About half of his films feature one, [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation at least to some extent.]]
124	* WildTeenParty: The music video for the song ''Crazy Clown Time'' depicts one.
125	* WorldOfSymbolism: His movies have a reputation for falling into this category. Though some of them do have a comprehensible story, there's simply no way to take movies like ''[=Eraserhead=]'' and ''Inland Empire'' on anything except a very symbolic, fever-dream level.
126	* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: He openly admits that he starts writing things without any idea how they will end, and films striking visual imagery that just happens to pop into his head without worrying about what it means or how it will fit in with everything else.

Context Creator / DavidLynch