The Art Influences of David Lynch

Although David Lynch would become known as one of the world's best film directors, interestingly it was always painting that really absorbed most of his artistic attention and interest. Film production came almost as a side effect as he attempted to create paintings with motions and sound. So while most filmmakers tend to emulate the style of other filmmakers, David Lynch is more focused on creating an interesting combination of images, motion, and sound that captivates our attention and stimulates our imagination.

Creative Obsession: David Lynch

Today we continue our examination of the best David Lynch-related video essays on the internet with Jake Jarvi's Creative Obsession. Jake has fun with this essay, examining some of the absurd humor that Lynch favors using in his film style. To a degree, Jake is making more of a humorous profile on the master director, who somehow manages to extract exquisite performances from his actors, in spite of the very eccentric ways he sometimes uses to get there.

David Lynch: Film Auteur or Genre Manipulator?

A good video essay, but I have to ask: why an enforced either/or? David Lynch is both a Film Auteur and a Genre Manipulator, at the same time. One would say his style as a visual author is punctuated by the way he manipulates genres around in his films. It adds an unpredictable quality to all his films.

Mulholland Dr. - A Psychoanalytic Analysis

If there were ever a film in existence begging for some of the good, old psychoanalysis, it would be David Lynch's surreal dream shaped into cinematic form: Mulholland Dr. (2001). Like that crazy dream you once had that you desperately want an interpretation for, Mulholland Dr. taunts us with its occasional non sequitirs, yet deeply evocative and rich symbolism.

Mulholland Dr. - Subconscious & Identity

There are still moments I wonder how amazing a Mulholland Dr. TV series would have been if the Pilot had been successfully picked up and gone to air back in 1999, as originally planned. I imagine the labyrinthine plot unfolding week by week as an amazing cast and guest cast paraded on our TV's  as we follow Adam Kesher's journey trying to make his 60's era film. Or trying to keep track of the many mob and police characters searching for Rita.

Eraserhead - Capturing a Nightmare

Not the longest or deepest analysis of David Lynch's seminal film Eraserhead (1977), but Jack's Movie Reviews on YouTube does give a nice overview of this surreal dream for the new and old viewer alike. And importantly, he shares Lynch's own designs for the film to act like a dream for each person, meaning something personal and potentially different for everyone.

What Does "Lynchian" Mean?

Our quest continues as we explore YouTubers Eric Guzman and Justin Bibler collaborate on their video essay: "What does 'Lynchian' mean?" Although I do have some differing opinions on this subject, I still admire their work on this video and its editing. And much of what they say is believed by other Lynch fans.

Blue Velvet - Masterpiece Films

A fun homage to PBS's Masterpiece Theater, YouTuber Consequence of Sounds takes that old show's format to showcase classic films instead of books. Here she dissects some of the elements of David Lynch's 80's masterpiece to showcase why it still enthralls audiences as much (if not more) today than it ever did before.

Two World Theory of David Lynch

We continue our ongoing project to spotlight the best and most intriguing David Lynch related video essays currently available on the net. This week we begin with a look at YouTuber Astin Lopez's brief video discussing his "Two World Theory" of Lynch's film work. Although his essay presents some excellent examples from Lynch's early films, the analysis itself does not run particularly deep into exploring its intriguing subject.

Update on 40 Years of David Lynch Revisions

Thank you to the patience of the readers who have the preliminary copies of my books right now. I had intended on finishing them much faster than this, but several more unavoidable time-consuming distractions slowed me down. I will go into some more details about my crazy year below, but suffice it to say that I am a man of my word and I am determined to finish soon the final revisions on my all my books in the 40 Years of David Lynch series. Thank you again for your patience.

Twin Peaks: The Return Analysis - Malmrose Projects

And to finish off our look this week at Malmrose Projects various David Lynch video essays, we end with a look at his final analysis: Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). Although Malmrose shares many of my views on the new series from the dynamic duo of David Lynch and Mark Frost, but for my personal views I go into much more detail in my fourth volume of my book series: 40 Years of David Lynch.

Steamed Hams in Twin Peaks (A Parody of The Simpsons)

Perhaps it was just a matter of time before the classic "Steamed Hams" meme from The Simpsons (1989-Present) was crafted into the style of a Twin Peaks (1990-91) scene, but YouTuber First Issue Ever! (Steven Honeycutt) did it first and did it well. I like his re-editing to make it more in the style of David Lynch's TV series, utilizing a couple other Twin Peaks parody moments from The Simpson's run.

Inland Empire Analysis - Malmrose Projects

Next we explore Malmrose Projects's video essay on David Lynch's Inland Empire (2006). Where Mulholland Dr. (2001) was gorgeously filmed and executed, David Lynch's follow-up film was his first feature film to be entirely shot on home video quality Digital Video. Lynch said he liked the texture of the video, which reminded him of the silent film era of blotchy film.

Mulholland Dr. Analysis - Malmrose Projects

We proceed to the next David Lynch video essay by Malmrose Projects, the critically lauded Mulholland Dr. (2001). Sight & Sound Magazine declared it the best film of the 21st century, so far. Although the analysis here is brief, it is still engaging and well-explained. It is a pure cinematic dream and one of the most intriguing films to watch and discuss.

Lost Highway Analysis - Malmrose Projects

We happily present the next David Lynch-related video essay by Malmrose Projects, his analysis of Lost Hghway (1997). Unlike some of the other YouTubers on our list, Malmrose skipped over reviewing the majority of David Lynch's filmography. We can assume he is more interested in discussing Lynch's last three films released theatrically rather than analyze his work as a whole, which is why he skipped directly to what he cares about most. I would be pleased if one day he went back to address David Lynch's other films, which are an amazing odyssey.

R.I.P. Margot Kidder (Lois Lane)

Margaret Ruth Kidder, better known by her screen name, Margot Kidder, passed away yesterday and the world is a slightly darker place for the loss. Although she performed in many dozens of roles over the years, she will always be Lois Lane to the majority of us who grew up watching her exuberantly perfect performance in Richard Donner's Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980).

Eraserhead Analysis - Malmrose Projects

I have admired YouTuber Malmrose Projects for a few years now and I want to take this opportunity to point you to her channel on film and TV analysis. We begin with her study of David Lynch's feature directorial debut and student film extraordinaire: Eraserhead (1977). Lynch describes this "troubling dream of terrible things" as his "most spiritual film."

David Lynch Interviewed by Elvis Mitchell (1998)

Check out this informative David Lynch interview with film critic Elvis Mitchell. For those unfamiliar with Elvis, he has long been the host of a film-related interview show on the Independent Film Channel, as well as hosted numerous other TV shows, filmmaker Q&A's, radio shows, and podcasts. He is one of the most experienced and respected film critics in the world and has conducted a number of insightful interviews with the best filmmakers of the generation.

Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern Interview with Elvis Mitchell

Film Critic Elvis Mitchell invited Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern to visit with him for a brief Q&A to commemorate a special screening of their first and only other film together, David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986). This was all part of the celebration around David Lynch's ongoing music festival dubbed "Festival of Disruption." Of interest, the two actors were probably taking a break from filming their top secret scenes together on Twin Peaks: The Return (2017).

Laura Dern Interview on David Lynch, Big Little Lies, and Much More

Laura Dern grew up the child of two Hollywood actor/celebrities, Dad Bruce Dern, and Mom Diane Ladd. In spite of her parents years of warnings about the instability of an acting career, young Laura was always a natural from her first impromptu part as a little girl to her modern flourishing career as a strong, yet flawed woman in a number of high-profile movies and TV shows.

Twin Peaks Q&A: Lynch, MacLachlan, and Dern at FYC Emmy Panel

Before the Emmy's nominations are announced for the year, the TV industry conducts a number of For Your Consideration (FYC) special screenings, Q&A panels, and other events to help bring attention to the biggest Emmy contenders. And Showtime provided an excellent showcase and screened the final episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) and conducted a fun panel in the video below with David Lynch, Kyle MacLachlan, and Laura Dern.

Kyle MacLachlan Interview on Final Scene of Twin Peaks and Much More

Check out the latest interview of Kyle MacLachlan with the L.A. Times's Glenn Whipp. They discuss at length Kyle's acting process in bringing to life Agent Cooper, Mr. C, Dougie, and a couple of other variants of his character alongside director David Lynch while filming Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). I love this guy and his passion about his work.

David Lynch - The Elusive Subconscious

Here is an excellent overview and analysis of director David Lynch's work done by Lewis Criswell on his YouTube channel. I like his use of clips here to punctuate his video essay's points. Whatever personal conclusions you come to, the clips themselves are useful at setting up the mood and overall atmosphere of David Lynch's work.

Inland Empire Analysis - Renegade Cut

We end our presentation of Renegade Cut's David Lynch series of video essays with the YouTuber's analysis of the master director's final feature film to date to be exhibited in movie theaters: Inland Empire (2006). One could make the argument, like David Lynch did himself, that Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) is an 18-hour movie, but it was presented on a week by week basis as a TV show when it first premiered.

Mulholland Dr. Analysis - Renegade Cut

Now we come to Renegade Cut's extended video essay of the most praised film of David Lynch's career, the epitome of Lynchian filmmaking at its very best: Mulholland Dr. (2001). If you are going to watch just one film to sum up the director's style and aesthetic, then it is hard to do better than Mulholland Dr., which defies all expectations and delivers the closest thing possible to a pure cinematic dream.

Lost Highway Analysis - Renegade Cut

We continue our presentation of YouTuber Renegade Cut's video essay series on David Lynch films with his analysis of Lost Highway (1997). For whatever reason, he opted to skip an analysis on David Lynch's co-created TV series Twin Peaks (1990-91) and its prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). To be fair, Twin Peaks would be a tough nut to crack in just one or two relatively brief video essays. I am guessing it would be a little much to analyze so much material when he is accustomed to limiting his analysis to 90 to 150 minute films.