David Lynch: The Art Life

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David Lynch: The Art Life

2017

1h 30m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

90%

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81 Reviews

75%

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500+ Ratings

The life and career of iconic director David Lynch are explored in more than 20 conversations recorded with him at his home.

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Critics Consensus

David Lynch: The Art Life offers a look at the director's life and craft whose unusual approach is in keeping with its subject's singularly strange aesthetic.

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

Aug 11, 2017

4/5

Focusing on the artist's work up to the creation of Eraserhead in 1977, The Art Life is utterly essential for his many followers. They may be surprised by how much of it makes sense.

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Andrew Lowry

Empire Magazine

Jul 17, 2017

4/5

Crucial for serious fans of Lynch, even if it may baffle newcomers.

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Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

Jul 16, 2017

2/5

Fans will make connections with Lynch's personal anecdotes and the images they know from his films, but watching the artist explain his work is never as interesting as the art itself.

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Joe Lipsett

Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network

Jan 29, 2026

3/5

A loosely structured doc that puts Lynch, his art, and his art practice front and center. It's not revelatory, which may frustrate casual fans or newcomers, but for fans, it's a good complement to his early films

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Jan 20, 2025

6/10

It offers a portrait of Lynch's formative years and his creative process as an artist, but at times it remains in superficial zone where revelations are absent and the pace creeps forward like an oil canvas drying on a wall. [Full review in Spanish]

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Adrienne McIlvaine

Vague Visages

Feb 6, 2024

If ever a soul was captured on camera, this is it.

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Mason M

@RT73597940 Sep 22, 2024

I'm not usually a big fan of documentaries, but this is probably my favorite that I've seen. The editing and visuals are amazing, it's very insightful into Lynch's artwork and early life. If you're a David Lynch fan, The Art Life is a must see.

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Alec B

@Alec97 Jan 3, 2024

Yeah the focus is on Lynch's painting career and childhood/adolescence but these anecdotes help put his filmography in context. You may not still understand his movies but you'll definitely see what inspired them.

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Donald J

@TheRealAckervold Oct 4, 2023

A documentary that wisely lets the subject tell his story through the use of multiple mediums. "The Art Life" is a superb picture, vitally capturing the aesthetic of David Lynch, making the documentary as absorbing as the director's works.

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May 12, 2022

If you are looking for an in-depth, career-spanning doc on the filmmaker that is David Lynch, you will be criminally disappointed. If you're a fan of David Lynch talking a little, painting a little & chainsmoking a lot, then this is for you

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Nov 5, 2020

This movie itself is a piece of art.

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May 5, 2019

5/10 very boring, even for a fan

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Jon Nguyen

Director

David Lynch

Self

Jon Nguyen

Producer

Sabrina S. Sutherland

Producer

Jason Scheunemann

Producer

Kurt Kittleson

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

The life and career of iconic director David Lynch are explored in more than 20 conversations recorded with him at his home.

Director: Jon Nguyen
Producer: Jon Nguyen, Sabrina S. Sutherland, Jason Scheunemann
Screenwriter: Matt Lutz
Distributor: Janus Films
Production Co: Absurda, Duck Diver Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 31, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $169.5K
Runtime: 1h 30m

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