The Criterion Collection • Page 54

Hard for me to rank his filmography, some days I think Blue Velvet is his best film, or Inland Empire. And then I remember how devastating Fire Walk With Me is and it might be his best too. It’s rare for someone to change the way you think or view ideas, David Lynch did that for me. Twin Peaks is his masterpiece and came to me at a time in my life that I needed it. It was comforting, and for anyone who has seen it, straight up horrific, weird, hilarious, and totally Lynchian. If you are brining up the greatest, most influential American directors of all time, his name must be spoken. The world feels like it lost some of its creativity with his passing, some of that mysterious comfort.

 

Yeah, I struggled hard with (and unfortunately did not enjoy) Inland Empire, but I am looking forward to revisiting even the films of his that continue to escape me, and I am glad that I still have The Return to experience for the first time.

 

Lunch IS a very important meal lol typo aside, I edited my post a bit so folks knew I wasn't trying to say anything out of pocket. I very much admired and will miss David Lynch's presence in this world.

 

i think i loved Inland Empire so much partially because it's hard to watch, and partially because of how liminal and dream-like it felt (i've had many dreams that flow like that movie, so seeing it put to screen was intriguing). it feels like an even greater mystery that i still don't fully get, but whenever i encounter someone else's interpretation, it makes me rethink everything and have a lot more respect for how it invites speculation (even if many could argue that Lynch just made it up as he went along, despite his insistence that he didn't). definitely not my favorite of his, but one i admire.

 

What?

 

wait i skipped over this. what?!?

 

I'm looking into year long hypnosis so I can experience The Return for the first time again.

 

i'd argue that The Return distills all the best parts of his prior work into one project, even improving on attempts made by others that are largely less-accessible (especially Inland Empire by the end of it).

 

Watching The Return weekly was truly a magical experience. And now I realize I'll probably be chasing that high again forever.

 

Need to see if it's steaming anywhere right now. Would probably rewatch the original series and film before moving forward with it tbh. I do have 8 weeks parental leave coming up...

 

I’ve honestly never seen such an outpouring of love for any celebrity before. over the last two days so many people and publications have paid tribute to him and it’s just beautiful to see and the only real consolation I have right now

 

it was on Showtime when it aired, so i believe it streams on Paramount+ (in addition to the original series). FWWM is on Max and the Criterion Channel (with The Missing Pieces also being available on Criterion Channel).

 

i remember exactly where i was for all the groundbreaking episodes. such a fun summer.

 

It is probably the hardest a death has hit me other than Akira Toriyama. It is a little bit worse because Toriyama's work was more in my past while it felt like Lynch would inevitably do something new one day.

Robin Williams' death was definitely a shock, and I remember a professor letting us out of class early when Michael Jackson died.

 

I didn't really like Mulholland Dr. and Inland Empire the first time I saw them, mostly because I didn't know enough about film, but Blue Velvet was a transformative experience. I mentioned this somewhere already, but his ability to make something so benign so terrifying was a skill he had that no one else can match. Someone like Dennis Hopper, who I knew from a handful of pretty mediocre roles, becoming this monster was so affecting. A lot of filmmakers have tried to do the whole "the real terror is beneath the veneers of the suburbs" routine, but he is the one who got it.

 

Making the benign terrifying is exactly right. That scene in the Straight Story, when Farnsworth (whose character was an alcoholic) walks into a bar is so disquieting, you feel that anxiety and the stakes, but yet at the same time there’s really nothing special about it. He orders milk and just talks war stories. Then it becomes this really warm, compassionate moment. That scene is like a magic trick I think about all the time.