Lynch on Lynch

by David Lynch

David Lynch erupted onto the cinema landscape in 1977 with Eraserhead, establishing himself as one of the most original and imaginative directors at work in contemporary cinema. Over the course of his career, he has remained true to a vision of the innocent lost in darkness and confusion, balancing hallucination and surrealism with a sense of Americana that is as pure and simple as his compelling storylines. In this volume, Lynch speaks openly about his films as well as about his lifelong commitment to painting, his work in photography, his television projects, and his musical collaborations with Angelo Badalamenti.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

Paperback

Published March 1, 2005

About the author

David Keith Lynch was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. He received acclaim for his films, which are often distinguished by their surrealist, dreamlike qualities. In a career spanning more than fifty years, he was awarded numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2006 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2019. Described as a "visionary", Lynch was considered one of the most important filmmakers of his era.
Lynch studied painting before he began making short films in the late 1960s. His first feature-length film was the independent surrealist film Eraserhead (1977), which saw success as a midnight movie. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for the biographical drama The Elephant Man (1980), the neo-noir thriller Blue Velvet (1986), and the surrealist mystery Mulholland Drive (2001). His romantic crime drama Wild at Heart (1990) won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He also directed the space opera adaptation Dune (1984), the surrealist neo-noir Lost Highway (1997), the biographical drama The Straight Story (1999), and the experimental film Inland Empire (2006).
Lynch and Mark Frost created the ABC series Twin Peaks (1990–91), for which he was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Lynch co-wrote and directed its film prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), and a third season in 2017. He also portrayed FBI agent Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks and John Ford in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans (2022), and guest-starred in shows such as The Cleveland Show (2010–13) and Louie (2012).
Lynch also worked as a musician, recording the albums BlueBOB (2001), Crazy Clown Time (2011), and The Big Dream (2013), as well as painting and photography. He wrote the books Images (1994), Catching the Big Fish (2006), and Room to Dream (2018). He directed several music videos, for artists such as X Japan, Moby, Interpol, Nine Inch Nails, and Donovan, and commercials for Dior, YSL, Gucci, and the NYC Department of Sanitation. A practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM), he founded the David Lynch Foundation to fund meditation lessons for students, veterans, and other "at-risk" populations. Lynch died on January 15, 2025, after being evacuated from his home due to the wildfires that started in Southern California earlier that month.

Reviews

[Ness · Rating 4 out of 5]

spending hours in David lynchs brain is an excellent way to spend time !

[Scot J · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 what you think

[Ian Young]

not really much more to ask for than to spend a whole month reading collected interviews with david lynch. he was just the best and i could imagine his voice in every line he spoke. so fascinating to just hear him go on and on about all he made (up until mulholland drive of course), and it’s just a great time all around. i will stand by the fact until the day i die that he was no creep, and was not a less than human person who hated women. he was the most compassionate and kind hearted person to ever grace hollywood and had nothing but love for everyone around him. the greatest of all time. hoping to read room to dream later this year maybe in november when i rewatch all his films.

[Juna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lynch's explanation of the artistic process, the origins of ideas, meditation practice, life and death, phoney baloney, along with the descriptions of sudden rises and falls in his artistic practice, personal life, and career, is invaluable to any aspiring filmmaker/artist. Started reading this because of curiosity and wanting to know more about Lynch and his films, and ended up with a guide offering important advice, reassurement and artistic encouragement.

[Justin Virge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fascinating mind behind some of the most important works of cinema. Love when he speaks his mind on the changing world, the violence that he feels has never been seen before. The section on Twin Peaks is phenomenal! Wish it contained an interview about Inland Empire, which is just so inaccessible at every level. Wonder if there’s an updated one…

[Izabela Dulapa · Rating 4 out of 5]

inspirujące, niekiedy zabawne, gratka dla fanów

[tang · Rating 5 out of 5]

david lynch i love you

[esha · Rating 4 out of 5]

January read of this year after I heard the news

[Will Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

RIP - Americas greatest ever artist

[george (taylor’s version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just spent 5 days in david lynch's mind this was awesome