I've been meaning to watch every David Lynch film since I was a teenager, but I never got around to it. I had watched and enjoyed "Twin Peaks" years ago and I always found giving myself some reason or the other to put off watching the rest of his work.

Earlier this year, the film show "Blank Check" podcast began slowly covering pretty much everything Lynch ever made, and I knew that this was the moment I had been waiting for.

It was time for me to bite the bullet, and watch all ten of his feature-length movies. Not only did I want to fully engage with those podcast episodes, I also knew that I'd have a wonderful time with the features themselves.

It did take longer than I wanted to, but December opened up perfectly and things slotted in nicely. I spent much of the last two weeks watching every film Lynch ever made, listening to those lengthy podcast episodes, reading up on the history of Lynch and thoroughly enjoying myself the entire time.

Not only did I walk away thinking about some wonderful flicks, but I feel there was something to be learned from the films themselves and the story behind their creation. So, let's go through each movie chronologically, and talk about what I learned from each one.

'Eraserhead'

Takeaway: There's no idea too small (as long as it's good).

The core of "Eraserhead" is exceedingly simple (if abstract), and you can clearly see that Lynch was used to creating much shorter works. There exists another timeline where a half-length version of "Eraserhead" is made — that might have had better pacing — but that short film probably wouldn't have lead to such an outrageous career.

Starting small is good, but pushing yourself beyond that comfort zone is the only way to grow even; if the results are imperfect.

^{Image credit: "Eraserhead"}

'The Elephant Man'

Takeaway: Black and white is an underused medium.

Without a doubt, this is Lynch's most visually striking film. Obviously, a wonderful crew allowed Lynch to capture a specific time and place, but the decision to shoot in black and white completely changes how your senses interface with the movie. It doesn't feel like a film from 1980 — it feels timeless.

It's no surprise that the most iconic and beloved episode of "Twin Peaks: The Return" is also primarily in black and white.

^{Image credit: "The Elephant Man"}

'Dune'

Takeaway: People are smarter than you think they are.

Lynch's "Dune" was a notorious boondoggle, but its major issues weren't primarily the fault of the director. Denis Villeneuve's two-part adaptation was allowed to run for over five hours, while Lynch's was cut down to a little over two. There simply wasn't enough time to cover such a hefty story.

The finished product glosses over major plot points, and adds a bunch of truly awful voiceovers, because the studio was so scared that nobody could understand the movie. In the end, it's still a fun watch in spite of its glaring flaws, and a good reminder not to assume the worst in your audience.

^{Image credit: "Dune"}

'Blue Velvet'

Takeaway: The right collaborators matter.

Lynch is known for working with his favorite actors in multiple projects, but "Blue Velvet" is where you start seeing that really take shape in a major way. It's clear that Lynch saw something special in Kyle MacLachlan while working on "Dune," and this film crystallizes that instinct, making their bond a storied part of his legacy.

If you can find people who vibrate on your frequency, do whatever you can to keep them around.

^{Image credit: "Blue Velvet"}

'Wild At Heart'

Takeaway: You can always change your mind.

After some notoriously bad experiences with adapting both real events and someone else's fictional world, Lynch made it clear that he wanted complete control over the story and characters. However, he took a liking to "Wild At Heart," and did a complete 180 on his anti-adaptation mindset. Thankfully, it turned out about as well as you could hope.

Just because you feel strongly about a decision in one moment doesn't mean you have to stick with it forever.

^{Image credit: "Wild At Heart"}

'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me'

Takeaway: You shouldn't always give the audience what they think they want.

After the outrageous rise and fall of the original "Twin Peaks" network TV run, fans hoped that a motion picture helmed by Lynch would put the franchise back into the limelight. But instead of moving the story forward, and answering questions, Lynch decided that he wanted to focus more on the events that happened before the show began.

"Fire Walk With Me" ended up being something of a flop, and had a bad reputation for a long time. It's only years later that we can see now that it was a correct choice, which allowed the the burning "Twin Peaks" questions to remain in a quantum realm, where they've been allowed to nag at us for decades.

Lynch, of course, eventually did produce an 18-part sequel series that also broadly refused to give the audience what they thought they wanted. It's much, much more interesting to leave us with mystery and speculation. Clear, unambiguous answers to every question are fandom killers.

^{Image credit: "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me"}

'Lost Highway'

Takeaway: Good actors aren't always the right actors.

I have absolutely zero qualms with Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette or Balthazar Getty — they're good actors who deliver totally reasonable performances in this film, but they simply don't pop on screen like other Lynchian leads.

They're not bad choices, but, they simply fade into the background when they're compared to the likes of Naomi Watts in "Mulholland drive" or Nic Cage in "Wild At Heart."

^{Image credit: "Lost Highway"}

'The Straight Story'

Takeaway: Whatever people think they know about you is often never the complete picture (of your capabilities.)

This linear G-rated family movie initially seemed like an odd fit for Lynch, when everything else in the back half of his career is so abstract and violent, but it works as a stand-alone film, and has become an integral part of Lynch's filmography.

If you're a Lynch fan who has skipped this because you think it's just a light kids' flick, you're making a huge mistake. Lynch has more range than you think, and you do too.

^{Image credit: "The Straight Story"}

'Mulholland drive'

Takeaway: Reframing your failures can turn them into successes.

While initially filmed as the beginning of a TV show, the original version of "Mulholland drive" never made it past a lackluster initial movie-length pilot. It was paced slowly, Lynch compromised to bring the run-time down and there was built-in skepticism from the network after a string of poorly-received projects.

But, after transforming it into a film with some outside investment, it went from an outright failure to what I consider Lynch's strongest work.

Even if it isn't as straight-forward as reusing footage, there's something in every failed project that you can bring forward into a much better future.

^{Image credit: "Mulholland drive"}

'Inland Empire'

Takeaway: Your tools aren't everything.

This surreal movie isn't a film — it was shot on a less than impressive video camera. So, even though it's been cleaned up substantially in recent years, if we're being really honest, it's still a just a regular standard definition image; and not really a high-definition video.

It doesn't look nearly as sharp as his other works on film, but not only did this choice allow Lynch to make it cheaply — and on his own terms — it added a disconcerting look and feel that shooting on film simply could have never offered. In spite of it being his most abstract film, it somehow feels the most grounded to reality with grainy video footage.

If you can't afford the very best tools of your trade, that shouldn't stop you from creating. Limitations aren't as bad as they sound — you can end up with something special.

^{Image credit: "Inland Empire"}

[Main image: "Mulholland drive"]