For years he has guided us through a universe of disquiet, suspended between dream and reality. The director of cinematic masterpieces such as Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, Blue Velvet and the cult series Twin Peaks.

David Lynch was born on January 20, 1946 in Missoula, Montana, in the heart of the United States. From childhood he showed a strong passion for art, which led him to study painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, before continuing at the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. It was in this city, immersed in a dark and vibrant atmosphere, that Lynch began to experiment with the language of cinema, combining his talent for visual art with filmic narration. When in 1968 he completed the short &quot;The Alphabet&quot; he was only 22 years old. The inspiration is the painting of Francis Bacon, whom he defines as &quot;a giant&quot;, a primary source of inspiration for his aesthetic universe.

In 1977, his first feature film, &quot;Eraserhead&quot; arrived, which immediately proved to be a cult work thanks to the visionary, surreal and disturbing style adopted by the director. This film attracted the attention of Mel Brooks, who decided to produce David Lynch&#39;s next project, &quot;The Elephant Man&quot; , of 1980. Based on the tragic story of Joseph Merrick, the film received eight Oscar nominations and established Lynch as one of the most promising directors of his generation.

Four years later he decided to take on the ambitious challenge of transposing Frank Herbert&#39;s novel &quot;Dune&quot; to the big screen. Although the work did not achieve the success the director had hoped for, it allowed Lynch to further consolidate his visual style. Two years later, with &quot;Blue Velvet&quot; - starring the fantastic and magnetic Isabella Rossellini and Kyle MacLachlan - explored the dark side of small-town America, telling a story of mystery and perversion hidden behind the perfect facade of an ordinary town. The critically acclaimed masterpiece redefined the boundaries of the psychological thriller.

In 1990, Lynch conquered television audiences with the series &quot;Twin Peaks&quot; - in Italian &quot; I segreti di Twin Peaks&quot; , co-created with Mark Frost. A mix of mystery, drama and surrealism that quickly became a cultural phenomenon. Three years later, &quot;Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) delved into the tormented story of Laura Palmer.

Among his most famous works are &quot;Wild at Heart&quot; (1990), based on the novel of the same name by Barry Gifford and winner of the Palme d&#39;Or for best film at the 43rd Cannes Film Festival, &quot;Lost Highway&quot; (1997), &quot;The Straight Story&quot; (1999) and &quot;Mulholland Drive&quot; (2001). The latter, considered by critics to be his absolute masterpiece, and starring, among others, Naomi Watts , Laura Harring , Justin Theroux , Ann Miller and Robert Forster , tells the story of an aspiring actress who has just arrived in Los Angeles , who meets and gets to know a woman suffering from amnesia , a story in which several other events and characters are intertwined. In 2006, with &quot;Inland Empire&quot;, Lynch explored a fragmented and dreamlike narrative, pushing himself to the limits of experimental cinema. &quot;In cinema, mystery is what opens the door to the imagination&quot;, he stated in an interview.

His closely guarded personal life included four marriages and as many children. Yet he remained an enigmatic figure, influencing not only cinema but pop culture. The term &quot;Lynchian&quot; entered the critical lexicon to describe the inexplicable beauty that lies in restlessness. &quot;Even in dark things,&quot; he said, &quot;there is beauty.&quot;

David Lynch, Director of 'Twin Peaks' and 'Mulholland Drive', Dead at 78

Recommended posts for you

Hommes

Stray Kids' Bang Chan Joins Fendi as Brand Ambassador

Fashion

Celine Celebrates the Lunar New Year With an Art Deco Moment in Shanghai

Fashion

The Irresistable and Avant-Garde Appeal of Fringes for Spring/Summer 2025

Culture