David Lynch

Masters of Cinema

by Thierry Jousse

David Lynch (USA, b. 1946) is perhaps the bestknown of all cult directors, whose Mulholland Drive marks cinema's arrival to the 21st century. His career began more than 30 years ago, with the groundbreaking, mystifying Eraserhead (1977). With Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990) and Lost Highway (1997) Lynch breathed new life into the sensory experiences of film audiences and disrupted narrative logic to mysterious and mystifying effect. In the early 1990s he invented a new TV series genre with Twin Peaks . Although he is a Hollywood director, Lynch works at the edges of the studio system, exploring the many facets of his artistic talent, whose creations, including photography, painting and music, are now making their way into museums and galleries.

Genres: Film, Media Tie In, Nonfiction, Art, Biography

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Thierry Jousse est un réalisateur, scénariste, acteur et critique de cinéma français.

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Lynch is extraordinary, he’s a really major director with a unique style, and he’s only made ten movies in 40 years – plus Twin Peaks of which he only directed 6 out of 30 episodes.

That said, I think he’s a bit of a fraud. Well, alright, a lot of a fraud! He’s made a career out of creating sumptuously, seductively, gorgeously filmed narratives that don’t make the least sense, that deliberately contain every non-sequitor, surrealistic cul-de-sac, meandering offshoot, curlicue and rococo dream sequence, and he has the utter gall to dump all this into the viewer’s lap and say here, make of this heap of fragments what you will, I’m done with it.

Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire are the big examples of this.

And he gets away with this! And it's so easy to create a film that doesn't make any sense! Just rip out every fifth page of the script! And then get the editor high and get them to shove in some random bits from uncompleted projects you happen to have lying around! And people lap up this stuff! (It does help to have beautiful lesbians in your makes no sense movie though. I admit that was a smooth move.)

He can be beautifully uncomplicated, and this is the David Lynch I like best – Elephant Man, Straight Story, Wild at Heart.

His very first movie, made as a student film and surreptitiously expanded into a feature over six entire years, is the utterly strange and unmissable Eraserhead. That film done my brain in when I saw it years ago. Sometimes I think I’ve never recovered completely. The Lady in the Radiator when she squishes things on stage and sings about heaven! Aaargh! The roast chicken moving round on the plate and bleeding! Aaaaurgh! The baby – noooooooo, not THE BABY! Aaaaaarhhhhhhh…….




"Heaven is really fine
You got your good thing and I got mine"

[Terri-Lea Chowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I finally got to read this and admire the photos of Lynch and stills from his movies. However, it contains a few typos and inaccuracies, like twice calling Sandy Jeffrey's fiancee in Blue Velvet, and saying actors wore donkey heads instead of bunny heads in Inland Empire.

[Ale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the films, life and character of David Lynch from his birth to the year of the book's publication, in 2010 (spanish edition).

[Lee Kofman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved this terrific little book on my beloved David Lynch. This was a truly insightful exploration of this filmmaker’s crazy, completely idiosyncratic yet so relatable (at least for me) universe. The book is also a visual beauty. The selection and quality of images, mostly from Lynch’s films, are superb and sexy.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short introduction to Lynch works. Nice for first-timers. Big Pictures.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts read a little too much much like a fawning press release, and there are a few inexcusable factual errors. So while more sycophantic than academic, it offers a concise overview and provides a modicum of interpretive traction for those slipping around in Lynch's universe. Not essential or especially stimulating if you're already well-versed in Lynchiana but a fair enough beginners guide.

[Bicho · Rating 2 out of 5]

No sé si esperaba mucho de este broli. Creo que no. Pero aún así me pareció bastante decepcionante. Es un recorrido por la filmografía de Lynch (hasta Inland Empire) con un par de lindas fotografías pero con unos textos que, creo yo, no valen mucho la pena.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and fun read and maybe I learned a little bit about Lynch and his themes. I would have loved to find out what the author thought about Twin Peaks: The Return (esp. Part 8, "Gotta Light"). Seemingly this encapsulated much of what Lynch sought to express...

[Rosalia Tenorio-Martínez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo mejor de todo son las fotografías que contiene.
Recopila exhaustivamente el trabajo cinematográfico de Lynch.
Me gustó mucho.

[Matteo Rotsaert · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise overview of Lynch's filmography up through Inland Empire offers a fair description of his themes and the strengths of his films. Some of the assessments are a bit inflated ("having proved himself [Lynch] the most influential director of his generation") to be sure, but the author makes some interesting connections through the auteur's films and techniques.

[Rowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor translation or--worse--written by someone with little enough respect for English to think it can be written by a non-native without sufficient editing.

Otherwise lightweight yet sometimes interesting take on Lynch's films. A couple of insights I hadn't seen before.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine as an introduction, but not much depth. Interesting assessments, but seems off the mark here and there. Also, confuses 'feature length' and 'full length.' Short films are complete films, even if they aren't 90 minutes. (One of my pet peeves.)

[Erin Tuzuner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very well done. Given the subject matter, the expectations should have been moderately met.

[Leif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poorly translated (!) and occasionally superficial, but still valuable and eminently readable. A good introduction to Lynchian scholarship.