Prominent filmmaker David Lynch’s death has caught the attention those that admired the artist’s work, nationally and locally.
The world of David Lynch
Filmmaker David Lynch passed away at 78 on Jan. 15 due to complications with emphysema, a lung disease caused by smoking, that the director had been diagnosed with in 2020.
Lynch’s sudden death hit fans hard, as the filmmaker’s work remains influential on the history of film. The director was heavily admired for taking on smaller actors for film projects, and pushing the boundaries of film, inspiring filmmakers for years to come.
The Director’s Guild of America recognized the tragedy that is losing Lynch, and the impact the filmmaker had on the film world in a press release on Jan. 17.
“There is simply no one like David. He was a visionary at his core — elevating visual storytelling in film and television to a whole new level, inspiring so many directors to take risks and see new possibilities,” DGA’s President Lesli Linka Glatter’s press release stated.
Lynch’s filmography is made up of numerous diverse stories presented in a creative and meaningful way to viewers, all of which have come to be classics by the film community.
Films created throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s like Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive stand out against others during the time for unique tones that other films failed to recreate.
Lynch earned the title of visionary in the field of film for capturing a strange, dreamlike energy onto screens and unusual stories that would make impressions on audiences for years to come.
“His unique ability to juxtapose middle-class values with the dark underbelly of American society has resulted in riveting and mind-bending cinema,” Selena Burks-Rentschler, film instructor at Wright State University, said.
Burks-Rentschler’s admiration for Lynch’s ability to create a unique world onto screens is a sentiment shared by many since the filmmaker’s passing.
Lynch’s legacy
Throughout Lynch’s career, the visionary amassed a large following and cracked into mainstream success with stories that could be described as surreal, psychological and strange. The filmmaker’s legacy is one that has affected lovers of film on a personal level.
“It wasn’t until I was a film student at [WSU] that I saw my first David Lynch film, “Mulholland Drive.” It instantly became my favorite. I had never seen anything so intense, frightening, and beautiful. From that moment, I became obsessed with Lynch’s filmography,” Burks-Rentschler said.
Lynch touched the hearts of not only fans, but also actors and peers the director worked with throughout his career.
Kyle Maclachan, an actor featured in numerous Lynch films including “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” and “Blue Velvet,” expressed the close relationship and profound impact the filmmaker had on Maclachan’s personal life and career.
“Forty-two years ago, for reasons beyond my comprehension, David Lynch plucked me out [of] obscurity to star in his first and last big budget movie…I owe my entire career, and life really, to his vision,” Maclachan said in a post on Instagram.
The body of work that has been left behind by the great David Lynch is as diverse in content as uniqueness, qualities which allow the legend to remain admired by past generations and those to come
