Posted on 01/16/2025 11:09:11 PM PST by rexthecat
Yes, he was weird. At least he was original and had his own vision. I appreciate that in a world of woke cookie cutter Hollywood directors/screenwriters with absolutely zero creativity or originality.
He certainly has his fanbase. I only own one of his films, Dune, and that is his own personally hated creation. I’ve seen many of his movies, and they are mostly bizarre, albeit with interesting visuals and unique characters.
To call him The Master Of Cinema is something I would expect his die hard fans to say. IMHO he did not make banger after banger, he’s no Stanley Kubrick, or Akira Kurosawa, or even Quentin Tarantino.
When I look at David Lynchs style, and his characters and dialogue, saying he was Visionary is appropriate.
I didn’t realize he directed The Elephant Man. Mel Brooks was Executive Producer for The Elephant Man, which is kind of weird.
“Eraserhead”
For the past couple of years or more, I seem to be playing it safe with movies - generic comedies or action-comedies.
I often wonder if it is worth it to watch thoughtful deeper movies like Kieslowski’s or whoever their modern counterparts are.
Books-wise I seem to be in a comfort zone of historical studies and not interested in fiction or other stuff. I wonder if this phase would pass
Twin Peaks made way for such high quality, original TV epics as The Sopranos, Lost and Game of Thrones.
I can't stand Tarantino. There's a base, mean-spirited, ugliness of soul to his films.
By contrast, Lynch's works evoke a twisted beauty, without any mean-spiritedness.
A bit of it survives as this lovely little piece "And Then January": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ48xjA7mo8
“I seem to be playing it safe with movies”
The only movies we’ve gone to in a decade are “Maverick-Top Gun” and “Reagan”.
At home, we stick to re-watching Dirty Harry, Beverly Hills Cop, Die Hard, etc.
Yup, like me - playing it safe with the films I know and like
I hardly watch any new movies. I refuse to watch animated movies or comic book movies....and I also refuse to watch old movies where they substitute a left handed, Black, Transgender, Handicapped, Pedo for a Straight White Male protagonist after making the Straight White Male hero look weak and incompetent before killing him off, in their grand fight against “the Patriarchy”.
So that rules out the vast majority of what Hollywood’s been making for the last decade or so.
Nice. Thanks
Exactly. “Eraserhead” directly refutes any attempt to label Lynch as Master of Cinema. IMHO.
I never understood his appeal
“ and had his own vision.”
What was his vision?
He was weird no doubt. Still, Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart, Eraserhead, the Elephant Man, Blue Velvet....He had several films/TV series people liked. There are a bunch of directors who made one cookie cutter formulaic Hollywood movie after another whom nobody could name because there was zero creativity or talent involved in any of them. You actually knew who Lynch was and had an idea of what you were going to get when you watched one of his movies.
Do you think there was an underlying theme in his work?
It was strange for sure. Its tough to claim there was one underlying theme though they had certain things in common.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.