The filmmaker, who died this week, mixed the menacing with the everyday, the banal with the surreal and sublime.

David Lynch – the singular and surreal director of Mulholland Drive and television's Twin Peaks, who depicted the darkness lurking beneath the wholesome surface of American life – has died. He was 78 years old.

Much like dreams, merely hearing Lynch's work described does not compare to experiencing his movies and TV series firsthand. Unconventional to the end, the director's filmography (plus Twin Peaks, indispensable to his oeuvre) almost always elicits strong responses,

The late director’s unique vision and the love that his persona inspires make it easy to forget how winding his path to greatness was.