David Lynch: The Art Life

Play trailer

1:48

David Lynch: The Art Life

2017

1h 30m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

80 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

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

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Donald Clarke

Irish Times

08/11/2017

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.

Go to Full Review

Andrew Lowry

Empire Magazine

07/17/2017

4/5

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

Go to Full Review

Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

07/16/2017

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.

Go to Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Jan 20

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]

Go to Full Review

Adrienne McIlvaine

Vague Visages

02/06/2024

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

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/23/2022

3.5/4

The film provides Lynch novices and fanatics with a fascinating peek inside of his entirely self-contained, self-created world, and the result is similar to his films in that it's fascinating, a little scary, visually engrossing, and worth every second.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Mason M

09/22/2024

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.

See more

Alec B

01/03/2024

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.

See more

Axel P

@TheRealAckervold 10/04/2023

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.

See more

05/12/2022

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

See more

11/05/2020

This movie itself is a piece of art.

See more

05/05/2019

5/10 very boring, even for a fan

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Jon Nguyen

Director

David Lynch

Self

Jon Nguyen

Producer

Sabrina S. Sutherland

Producer

Jason Scheunemann

Producer

Kurt Kittleson

Executive Producer

Blue Velvet Revisited

83%

%

Blue Velvet Revisited

Watchlist

McQueen

99%

80%

McQueen

Watchlist

TRAILER

for McQueen

Cameraperson

100%

69%

Cameraperson

Watchlist

Becoming Mike Nichols

70%

69%

Becoming Mike Nichols

Watchlist

Listen to Me Marlon

95%

88%

Listen to Me Marlon

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Listen to Me Marlon

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

David Lynch - The Art Life: Trailer 1

1:48

View more videos

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now