American filmmaker David Lynch has died at the age of 78, his family confirmed on Thursday. Lynch’s work, including movies Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet, and the famed TV show Twin Peaks, revolutionized cinema and surrealist filmmaking specifically, making him one of the most beloved and respected filmmakers in history.
“There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us,” the statement from Lynch’s family, posted on social media, reads. “But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the doughnut and not on the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
While the family did not share the details of Lynch’s death, the filmmaker had been diagnosed with emphysema, a lung disease that’s a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
For existing fans of Lynch’s work, to those who are compelled to dive into the “Lynchian” cinematic style, here’s how some of the filmmaker’s most notable work in Canada.
UNITED STATES – APRIL 08: TWIN PEAKS – Pilot – Season One – 4/8/1990, Homecoming queen Laura Palmer is found dead, washed up on a riverbank wrapped in plastic sheeting. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLaughlin, right) is called in to work with local Sheriff Harry S.Truman (Michael Ontkean) in the investigation of the gruesome murder in the small Northwestern town of Twin Peaks. , (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is easily one of the most important shows in TV history, and it initially only ran for two seasons, being cancelled in 1991, before returning for an additional season 2017.
Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Sherilyn Fenn, Mädchen Amick and Lara Flynn Boyle the series, created by Lynch and Mark Frost, is set in the fictional town of Twin Peaks. It begins with the murder of a teenage girl, Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), and FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) travels to the town to investigate the case.
Where to watch ‘Twin Peaks’: Purchase or rent on platforms like Apple TV
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive starring Naomi Watts, Laura Harring and Justin Theroux is easily one of Lynch’s most well-known films, and one of the most influential films in cinema history.
The 2001 movie begins with a woman, played by Harring, getting in a car crash on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles, resulting in amnesia. Now going by the name Rita, after seeing a poster of Rita Hayworth, she meets Betty (Watts), who moved to Los Angeles as actor hoping for Hollywood stardom. The two women end up going through this mystery together to discover Rita’s true identify.
Where to watch ‘Mulholland Drive’: Streaming on Crave
Blue Velvet
Isabella Rossellini as Dorothy Vallens in Blue Velvet is one of the most memorable performance of all time.
In the film, written and direct by Lynch, also starring Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern, Jeffrey Beaumont (MacLachlan) discovers a severed ear in a field, beginning an investigative journey leading to lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Rossellini) and psychopathic criminal Frank (Dennis Hopper).
Where to watch ‘Blue Velvet’: Purchase or rent on through platforms like Apple TV
Eraserhead
Eraserhead is one of the best feature film debuts for any director, and a perfect foundational piece of cinema to watch to setup the rest of Lynch’s work.
The surrealist masterpiece is centred around Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) whose girlfriend, Mary X (Charlotte Stewart), is pregnant. She gives birth to a mutant baby and Henry is tasked with looking after this child, triggering twisted nightmares.
Where to watch ‘Eraserhead’: Buy or rent through platforms like Apple TV
Inland Empire
The 2006 movie Inland Empire continues to be one of the most memorable performances from Laura Dern, marking Lynch’s first digitally shot feature.
Dern plays Nikki, an actor who takes on a role in a film, with co-star Devon (Justin Theroux), but she realizes that the film mimics real life and discovers that the movie she’s working on is a remake of a film that was unfinished due to a fatal tragedy.