David Lynch is one of the most creative and distinctive directors of this generation, and his favorite films may come as a surprise. Lynch is known for his dark and almost psychedelic dream-like movies. Differing from his own movies, the films that influenced him range from dramas to comedies, and also between very well-known films and those with a status closer to Lynch's own cult classics.

David Lynch was born in January 1946 and began his career with his first short film, Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times), in 1967. Although having a decade of short films under his belt, it wasn’t until Lynch’s feature-length debut, Eraserhead (1977) that he launched his career. Eraserhead, along with many of Lynch’s other films, are considered some of the biggest cult classic movies to date. Some of Lynch’s most popular films include The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986), Lost Highway (1997), and Mulholland Drive (2001). His cult-classic television show Twin Peaks only lasted one season, from 1990 to 1991, but is still beloved, even receiving a reboot series in 2017.

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Of late, the director has been a little under the radar in recent years, with his last directed film being in 2006, as he’s been focusing on other projects such as music videos and short movies. With this in mind, those wanting more major Lynch installments are better off looking into the director's own inspirations, and how they may have influenced his work. Here is a list of David Lynch’s favorite films, alongside an explanation of why he loves them.

8 1/2- Federico Fellini

Fellini's 8 1/2

Director David Lynch was interviewed on his five favorite films by Far Out Magazine and listed them in which order to watch. His first favorite movie is Federico Fellini’s 1963 film 8 ½. The semi-autobiographical Italian classic is about struggling director Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni), who is grappling with writer’s block, trying to decide what his next film should be about. As he is working on creating a film, he goes through many personal issues with past relationships, romantic and platonic, as well as his own psyche. As he tries to figure out his life, his films slowly turn autobiographical.

8 ½ is a classic, a movie on any film connoisseur’s must-see lists, and so it isn’t surprising that someone as influential as Lynch loves the film. When interviewed about his favorite movies of all time, Lynch stated, “The first would be 8½, for the way Federico Fellini manages to accomplish with film what mostly abstract painters do – without ever explaining anything, just by a sort of sheer magic” (via Far Out Magazine).

Sunset Boulevard- Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder’s 1950 classic Sunset Boulevard is a film-noir black comedy and the second on Lynch’s top 5 list. Lynch’s films often have a dark comedy element to his films, so Sunset Boulevard makes sense why it’d be on his list. The film is about an aging silent film star (Gloria Swanson) who, when talkies begin to rise, doesn’t want to accept her fate of an ending career. Refusing to be done with acting, she hires a screenwriter (William Holden) to help her make a comeback. The screenwriter isn’t who he seems and tries to manipulate her, which eventually leads to a lot of issues. Lynch’s liking of this film is similar to why he loves 8 ½. Both films use abstract ways to convey emotions, without directly shoving them in the audience’s face: “Even though Billy Wilder’s style is very different from Fellini’s, he manages to accomplish pretty much the same abstract atmosphere” (via Far Out Magazine). Director David Lynch isn’t the only fan of this film, as Sunset Boulevard is often regarded as one of the best films of all time, having a 98% rating (via Rotten Tomatoes).

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Lolita- Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick's Lolita

When asked who his favorite directors are, Stanley Kubrick comes up again and again, with Lynch stating that he could watch his movies without ever getting tired of them. Lolita (1962) is a controversial classic, based on Vladimir Nabokov 1955’s novel. The story tackles a middle-aged man’s (James Mason) sexual infatuation with a young girl (Sue Lyon). The film had extremely mixed reviews. On one side, it was bashed for limiting the book’s provocative plot due to the Motion Picture Production Code, and for others, critics were not happy with the way it romanticizes child sexual abuse. When interviewed, Lynch states why Lolita is his favorite of Kubrick’s: “Lolita is one of my favorite films. I don't know what words I would use… It's hilarious, but it catches hidden things” (via Youtube).

Rear Window- Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most influential mystery and horror film directors to date. He has a huge resume of films under his belt, including Strangers on a Train (1951), Dial M for Murder (1954), Vertigo (1958), Pyscho (1960), and The Birds (1963). Lynch’s favorite film of Hitchcock is his 1954 film Rear Window, a mystery thriller. The film is about a wheel-chair-bound news photographer who stalks his neighbors in Greenwich Village and believes he witnessed a murder.

Rear Window has influenced many directors, most recently Netflix’s The Woman in the House, but it also influenced Lynch. When listing his movie’s list, David Lynch says he would show Rear Window after Sunset Boulevard: “I would show Rear Window, for the brilliant way in which Alfred Hitchcock manages to create – or rather, re-create – a whole world within confined parameters. James Steward never leaves his wheelchair during the film, and yet, through his point of view, we follow a very complex murder scheme” (via Far Out Magazine).

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday by Jacques Tati

Monsieur Hulots Holiday

The last film on Lynch’s list is Jacques Tati's 1953 french-comedy Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday. The movie is a silly comedy, that seems to have influenced other comedies alike: Bean (1997) and Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (2012). Lynch loves the way that the film is shown from Tati’s point of view: “I would show Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday for the amazing point of view that Jacques Tati casts at society through it. When you watch his films, you realise how much he knows about – and loved – human nature, and it can only be an inspiration to do the same." (via Far out Magazine). Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday stars and is directed by Tati. The film is about Monsieur Hulot (Tati), a man who goes on vacation in a lovely resort on the beach, at a beautiful seaside. He goes for the hopeful relaxation that he needs, but due to his hilarious nature, he causes havoc on the peaceful town, leading the film to be regard as a hidden French film classic.

This movie strays from Lynch’s other favorite films, which have a more dramatic or dark comedy element. Whereas most of David Lynch’s own film work is somewhat trippy and illusive, the influence that he gets from Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday is unique. The way in which David Lynch is influenced by Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday isn’t as on the nose as the other movies, meaning it may surprise some to be held in such high regard by him in the first place. However, this works perfectly, as it further allows Lynch to be one of the most unpredictable directors of his generation.

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