Synopses & Reviews
"From his early experimental projects to such films as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and INLAND EMPIRE, director David Lynch has created a body of work that continues to both intrigue and challenge viewers. In David Lynch: Beautiful Dark, Greg Olson explores the surreal intricacies of the director's unique visual and visceral style, not only in his full-length films but also in his early forays into painting and short films, as well as his television landmark, Twin Peaks. This in-depth exploration is the first full-length work to analyze the intimate symbiosis between Lynch's life experience and artistic expressions: from the small-town child to the teenage painter to the sixty-year-old Internet and digital media experimenter." "To fully delineate the director's life and art, Olson received unprecedented participation from Lynch, his parents, siblings, old school friends, romantic partners, children, and decades of professional colleagues, as well as on-set access during the production of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Throughout this study, Olson provides thorough analyses of the filmmaker's works as Lynch conceived, crafted, and completed them. Consequently, David Lynch: Beautiful Dark is the definitive study of one of the most influential and idiosyncratic directors of the past four decades."--BOOK JACKET.
Synopsis
For nearly 40 years, David Lynch's works have enthralled, mystified, and provoked viewers. Lynch's films delve into the subjective consciousness of his characters to reveal both the depraved darkness and luminous spirituality of human nature. From his experimental shorts of the 1960s to feature films like Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and INLAND EMPIRE, Lynch has pushed the boundaries of cinematic storytelling.
In David Lynch: Beautiful Dark, author Greg Olson explores the surreal intricacies of the director's unique visual and visceral style not only in his full-length films but also his early forays into painting and short films, as well as his television landmark, Twin Peaks. This in-depth exploration is the first full-length work to analyze the intimate symbiosis between Lynch's life experience and artistic expressions: from the small-town child to the teenage painter to the 60-year-old Internet and digital media experimenter.
To fully delineate the director's life and art, Olson received unprecedented participation from Lynch, his parents, siblings, old school friends, romantic partners, children, and decades of professional colleagues, as well as on-set access to the director during the production of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Throughout this study, Olson provides thorough analyses of the filmmaker's works as Lynch conceived, crafted, and completed them. Consequently, David Lynch: Beautiful Dark is the definitive study of one of the most influential and idiosyncratic directors of the last four decades.
About the Author
\Greg Olson is the Film Curator of the Seattle Art Museum. He has written on film for several publications including The Seattle Times, Moviemaker, Premiere and Film Comment. He has contributed to the books Vietnam War Films and Contemporary Literary Criticism. He is a board member of the Film Noir Foundation and a juror for the American Film Institute's annual 100 Years...100 Movies television programs.
Table of Contents
Fearfully and wonderfully made, 1946-1970 (the alphabet, the grandmother) -- Factory child, 1970-1976 (Eraserhead) -- Burden of flesh, 1976-1980 (the elephant man) -- Golden sands, heavy heart, 1980-1984 (dune) -- Night town, 1984-1986 (Blue Velvet) -- Buzz saw, 1986-1990 (Twin Peaks, season 1) -- Burning love, 1990 (wild at heart) -- Our schoolgirl of the sorrows, 1990-1992 (Twin Peaks, season 2 and Twin Peaks: fire walk with me) -- Head like a house on fire, 1992-1997 (lost highway) -- Autumn afternoon, 1997-2000 (the straight story) -- Road to Dreamsville, 2000-2001 (Mulholland Drive) -- Man of the world, 2001-2007 (DavidLynch.com, INLAND EMPIRE).