Why did Quentin Tarantino hate David Lynch’s work?
Quentin Tarantino and David Lynch remain two of the most influential modern filmmakers, with two very distinctive styles. Tarantino is known for his post-modern potpourri of influences, wherein he draws upon various notable areas to create a style unique only to him. As for Lynch, his dark surrealism has often provided a lens through which to scrutinise some of the darkest aspects of the human condition, shocking us with the extent of horror inherent to life despite the fictional parameters of his stories.
As is the case with most consequential filmmakers, whilst Tarantino and Lynch boast famous aesthetic and compositional styles, they have covered a variety of differing genres in their time. Exploitation, spaghetti western and mystery are three the Pulp Fiction director has explored, with Lynch delving into body horror, biographical drama, and neo-noir. Just as Tarantino leans most heavily into stylised violence, Lynch does so with psychological horror.
Despite the pair ranking as peers given their widespread influence on filmmaking and popular culture, Tarantino once revealed that he hated the work of his older counterpart following the release of one of his hit movies. Notably, Lynch divided audiences by taking his surrealism to new heights with 1992’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. A prequel to the hit TV series, the project struck a much darker, less humorous tone than fans expected.
Unsurprisingly, given his nature as a lifelong lover of cinema and a well-versed critic, as most people deeply ensconced in an area are, Tarantino was not a fan of the increased surrealism of Fire Walk With Me. He deemed it nothing more than a confirmation that David Lynch had become far too pretentious as a filmmaker, lacking any self-awareness he once had.
Tarantino commented: “David Lynch had disappeared so far up his own ass that I have no desire to see another David Lynch movie until I hear something different.”
Despite such a scathing take from the Pulp Fiction mastermind, David Lynch has resisted trading blows with him in the public sphere. Retaining the artistic gracefulness he’s known for, he labelled his younger counterpart’s 2019 labour of love, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, “a hell of a good revenge movie”.
However, the story isn’t quite finished there. As Tarantino has always been very individualistic regarding his opinions, his views don’t necessarily reflect those of the wider creative world. Whilst Tarantino has scores of fans, it is Lynch who is more respected as a filmmaker by those ostensibly in the know.
According to the late philosopher David Foster Wallace, this is because of the differing perspectives between each man’s style. To him, Tarantino is voyeuristic in nature, whereas Lynch is analytical. The bandana-wearing thinker wrote: “Lynch is an exponentially better filmmaker than Q. Tarantino. For, unlike Tarantino, D. Lynch knows that an act of violence in an American film has, through repetition and desensitisation, lost the ability to refer to anything but itself. A better way to put what I just tried to say: Quentin Tarantino is interested in watching somebody’s ear getting cut off; David Lynch is interested in the ear.”
Watch the trailer for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me below.
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