On January 15, 2025, David Lynch passed away.

The hailed director, musician and painter died of emphysema, a lung disease resulting from his love of cigarettes.

Throughout his life, Lynch was a creative, beginning as a painter before his transition into directing film and television.

The legacy he has left behind is monolithic, spanning ten films, two tv series, and a myriad of short films, all garnering immense recognition and awards.

Lynch believed in living a meaningful, open minded life and he did just that.

His fourth film, “Blue Velvet” is regarded as Lynch in perfect form.

Following his debut “Eraserhead” in 1977, a dark, industrial horror that showed Lynch’s bizarre way of storytelling, “The Elephant Man,” which took a more narrative approach to his style, and his overly ambitious take on Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” a film Lynch was outspokenly disappointed with.

I got the opportunity to revisit “Blue Velvet” at Richard Linklater’s Austin Film Society, a theater in central Austin dedicated to showing hailed and underappreciated movies in refurbished quality. 

The showing, dedicated to the director’s passing, brought the movie to a new life in a way that the film deserves.

Starring Kyle MacLachlan as Jeffrey Beaumont, a highschool student who stumbles across a severed ear in a field by his house, leading him to investigate a criminal underground.

The ear leads Jeffrey to the apartment of Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), a singer at a local bar who is mysteriously tied to the crime, and Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) who holds her captive.

This all culminates in Jeffery being in too deep with Frank’s psychotic tendencies and in a secretive relationship with Dorothy Vallens, dangering him and those he loves.

The final act unravels all the hidden things from Jeffery’s city in one of the most rewarding ends to a story I’ve seen.

“Blue Velvet” as a whole exemplifies all of Lynch’s strong suits.

The film would be nothing without his unique way of directing and ability to create chemistry on set with his actors.

He was known to be close with those he worked with, especially Laura Dern and Kyle MacLachlan who would be cast in a handful of his movies afterward.

Both were known to visit him constantly up until his passing and saw him as a close friend and mentor, with MacLachlan attributing his success to Lynch giving him a chance.

The film also boasts a beautiful soundtrack from legendary composer Angelo Badalamenti, who is responsible for a majority of Lynch’s work.

Lynch had an immense admiration for Badalamenti and felt a special connection between his work and Badalamenti’s music.

As a whole, “Blue Velvet” is a a testament to Lynch’s works living on, while he might not be psychically here, so much of himself is in his movies that his life will carry on forever.