While the films of David Lynch may not always do well at the box office, the maverick director has managed to carve out a loyal cult following around the world. With a critical eye towards the seedy underbelly of small town America, Lynch has populated his universe with some of the most bizarre characters to ever come down the pipe. Here are the top 10 David Lynch movies.
10. Dune – Based on the Frank Herbert novel about intrigues in and around a desert planet teeming with spices. Not popular with fans or critics at the time, Dune has since become a cult classic. Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Max von Sydow, Jose Ferrer and Sting.
9. Inland Empire – Another bizarre Lynch entry about a “woman in trouble.” Include such Lynch regulars as Laura Dern, Harry Dean Stanton and Justin Theroux.
8. Lost Highway – A saxophone player (Bill Pullman) is accused of murder, but then he transforms into a completely different person (Balthazar Getty) while sitting on death row. He must then learn who really committed the murders. Robert Blake, ironically, plays Death.
7. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me – Both a sequel and a prequel to the popular TV series Twin Peaks, the film mainly deals with the life (and death) of Laura Palmer. Fans of the show should be thrilled, while most others will be left scratching their heads.
6. Mulholland Drive – Originally shot as a pilot for a TV series, extra footage was filmed to put this theatrical version together. The basic story concerns a young actress who befriends an amnesiac, but there’s lots more going on (including several steamy lesbian scenes).
5. Wild at Heart – Nicolas Cage is a good-hearted con, and Laura Dern is his soulmate. When the two go on the run to escape her domineering mother, everyone from private eyes to mobsters get on their trail. Violent and surrealistic in true Lynchian tradition.
4. Eraserhead - In this surreal masterpiece, a man attempts to care for his wife and their mutant baby, but that’s really only the tip of the iceberg. Stanley Kubrick once listed this as one of his all-time favorite films.
3. The Straight Story - When his brother suffers a stroke, Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) wants to visit him, but his eyes are too bad for a driver’s license. Not one to give up, Straight hitches a small trailer to the back of a lawnmower and heads off on a cross-country adventure. Rated G, this family-friendly film was viewed as a major departure from the normally bizarre works of Lynch.
2. The Elephant Man – Based on a true story, The Elephant Man tells the tale of John Merrick, a British citizen with severe deformities. An uplifting film with an excellent cast (John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft and John Gielgud).
1. Blue Velvet – Small town America becomes a nightmare of lust and corruption in this film starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern and Dennis Hopper. Hopper is especially great as a psychotic criminal who like to inhale copious amounts of nitrous oxide.
This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2009 at 6:45 pm and is filed under Best Horror Directors, Best Horror Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.