“I like a lot of people”: David Lynch names his favourite modern directors
It’s difficult to truly judge the influence of the pioneering American filmmaker David Lynch, with the director being one of the most unique and inspiring filmmakers of the contemporary moving image. Approaching the craft with an experimental eye that positions the majority of his masterworks in a strange otherworld, Lynch has created a remarkable body of work that includes such greats as the independent movie classic Eraserhead, the Palme d’Or winner Wild at Heart and the seminal TV show Twin Peaks.
Engaging with worlds and stories that concern themselves with existential concepts and ethereal dreamscapes, David Lynch consistently creates a mysterious, creeping tone that seems to suffuse into every film he produces. Unconcerned with shallow, throwaway films, Lynch explores his own concept of inspiration, stating in an interview with The Atlantic, “Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. They’re huge and abstract. And they’re very beautiful”.
His rise to fame throughout the late 1970s and 1980s inspired a swirl of change in the industry, too, with his influential, distinct films going on to become key texts for some burgeoning talents across the globe. Comedians like Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim saw the humour in his dark worlds, while David Robert Mitchell, of It Follows fame, extracted the inherent allure from his filmography.
Yet, despite the sheer number of people he has influenced, when it comes to who he himself is inspired by in contemporary cinema, Lynch notes that “he’s not a film buff”, adding that he “rarely has the time to go [to the cinema]”. Indeed, David Lynch’s eclectic taste comes from the many artists of cinema history, noting Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder, Federico Fellini, Jacques Tati and Alfred Hitchcock as particular directors of inspiration.
In 2013, during an interview in Madrid, however, David Lynch was asked about his favourite modern films and filmmakers and felt compelled to reply. “I like the Coen brothers, I think they’re always solid,” he admitted in respect to the seminal duo of American cinema, “I like Werner Herzog, I like Martin Scorsese, I like Aki Kaurismäki, I like a lot of people”.
Having risen to industry prominence at similar times, it’s no wonder that David Lynch appreciates similar masters of filmmaking like the Coen brothers and Martin Scorsese, while Werner Herzog well complements Lynch’s own meditative musings. Of the three well-known filmmakers, Herzog is the most obvious choice, once picking out his 1977 movie Stroszek as a personal favourite.
Typically, Lynch doesn’t elaborate at all on his choice, leaving fans and critics to merely speculate as to why it might be his favourite of Herzog’s marvellous filmography. A beloved arthouse comedy, the film tells the story of an alcoholic man in Berlin who, together with his best friend and sex worker acquaintance, convince themselves that there’s a better life across the Atlantic Ocean in Wisconsin.
Aside from Herzog, the addition of Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki is an obscure choice but not a surprising one, with the writer and director being known for vibrant, idiosyncratic tales.
Deadpan and droll, Kaurismäki has been compared to Dead Man filmmaker Jim Jarmusch but is certainly worthy of considerable praise in and of himself. Suffusing his films with a large dose of social criticism, empathy, humour and existential dread, the modern Finnish master of cinema has created a unique style of filmmaking that makes use of low-budget limitations. This self-expressive vibrancy, in spite of limitations likely makes Aki Kaurismäki such a favourite of David Lynch, with the Finnish filmmaker making such modern greats as 2011’s Le Harve and 2023’s Fallen Leaves.
The shortlist of four filmmakers may seem a little unsubstantial, especially when coming from one of modern cinema’s greatest creatives, but his selections are thoughtful and considered, giving us good insight into what Lynch watches at home while slurping a damn fine cup of coffee.
David Lynch’s favourite modern filmmakers:
- Coen brothers
- Werner Herzog
- Martin Scorsese
- Aki Kaurismäki
