THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL BRILLIANCE OF
DAVID LYNCH
This year cinema lost one of its greats – the American auteur David Lynch, a pioneering and uncompromising true original, who made some of the most extraordinary and powerful films ever to grace the screen.
Fellow director Steven Spielberg described Lynch as a “singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade”, while Martin Scorsese said Lynch made “everything strange, uncanny, revelatory and new… he put images on the screen unlike anything that I or anybody else had ever seen”.
Lynch might be gone, but his wondrous, dreamlike films live on, and STUDIOCANAL Presents is the home of three of the director’s key works – The Elephant Man, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire.
The Elephant Man (1980) Lynch’s exceptional biopic features an astounding performance from John Hurt as the disfigured John Merrick, with Anthony Hopkins as the surgeon who shows him kindness. Mel Brooks, who produced the Bafta-winning (and Oscar-nominated) film, said Lynch was “a remarkably unique and very talented filmmaker. It was such a truly great pleasure to work with him. If his name was in the credits, you knew the film was really worth seeing.”
Mulholland Drive (2001) This dazzling, daring and unforgettable psychological thriller stars Naomi Watts in a breakout role as an actress plunged into the nightmare side of Los Angeles. Watts said about working with Lynch: “He put me on the map. The world I’d been trying to break into for ten plus years, flunking auditions left and right…”. Ironically, one of the standout scenes in the film features her character at a particularly intense and awkward audition – done in a way only Lynch could do.
Inland Empire (2006) An epic companion piece to Mulholland Drive, and Lynch’s final film, this fragmentary and disorientating three-hour masterwork features a truly astonishing lead performance from Laura Dern (who appeared in Lynch’s films Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart). Named after the area of Los Angeles where Dern’s husband is from, the film took shape after Lynch called Dern and said, “let’s experiment”, and they began to improvise scenes shot on a camcorder. Famously, Lynch campaigned for Dern to win an Oscar, by sitting on the side of Hollywood Boulevard with a live cow.
ALL THREE FILMS ARE AVAILABLE TO STREAM NOW ON STUDIOCANAL PRESENTS
STUDIOCANAL Presents is available on Apple TV and Prime Video.
The platform offers subscribers access to a wealth of exceptional film and television from the renowned and incomparable world-spanning library of Studiocanal, including stunning 4K restorations, timeless classics, and award-winning favourites. With film and TV exclusives added each month, and supported with a monthly podcast hosted by film experts, this is the streaming platform that delivers quality content for true film fans.
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About STUDIOCANAL
STUDIOCANAL is one of Europe’s leading film and series studios, with worldwide production and distribution capabilities. It operates directly in nine major European markets including Austria, Benelux, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, and in offices in the United States and China. STUDIOCANAL finances, produces, and distributes 80 films per year. It owns one of the most prestigious catalogues in the world and the largest catalogue of European titles, boasting more than 9 400 titles from 60 countries. With a catalogue spanning 100 years of film history, STUDIOCANAL has invested close to 25 million euros into the 4K restoration of nearly 1 000 classic feature films over the past 7 years. STUDIOCANAL also produces over 15 series each year, including local creations and premium international co-productions, and distributes its scripted productions and CANAL+ Originals globally (2,000 hours of current and library content in distribution). Projects are produced in-house by Studiocanal or through its worldwide network of production companies, including 2e Bureau and Studiocanal Original in France; Birdie Pictures, Red Production Company, Urban Myth Films, Strong Film & Television, and Sunny March TV in the UK; Bambú Producciones and Te Espero en Marte in Spain; Lailaps Films and Studiocanal Series in Germany; Opus TV in Poland; Sam Productions in Denmark; Dingie in the Netherlands; and The Picture Company in the United States.
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A propos de STUDIOCANAL
STUDIOCANAL est l’un des principaux studios de cinéma et de séries d’Europe disposant de capacités de production et de distribution dans le monde entier. Il opère directement sur neuf marchés européens majeurs, dont l’Allemagne, l’Autriche, le Benelux, le Danemark, la France, l’Espagne, l’Irlande, la Pologne et le Royaume-Uni – ainsi qu’en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande, avec des bureaux aux Etats-Unis et en Chine. STUDIOCANAL finance, produit et distribue 80 films par an. Il possède l’un des plus prestigieux catalogues au monde et le plus grand catalogue d’Europe, avec plus de 9 400 titres provenant de 60 pays et couvrant 100 ans d’histoire du cinéma. STUDIOCANAL a investi près de 25 millions d’euros depuis 7 ans dans la restauration et la numérisation de près de 1 000 films classiques. STUDIOCANAL produit plus de 15 séries chaque année, dont des créations locales et des coproductions internationales premium, et distribue dans le monde entier ses productions ainsi que la Création Originale de CANAL+ (soit 2 000 heures en incluant le catalogue. Les projets sont produits en interne par STUDIOCANAL ou via son réseau mondial de sociétés de production, dont 2e Bureau et Studiocanal Original en France ; Birdie Pictures, Red Production Company, Urban Myth Films, Strong Film & Television, et Sunny March TV au Royaume-Uni ; Bambú Producciones et Te Espero en Marte en Espagne ; Lailaps Films et Studiocanal Series en Allemagne ; Opus TV en Pologne ; Sam Productions au Danemark ; Dingie aux Pays-Bas ; et The Picture Company aux Etats-Unis.
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About CANAL+
Starting its life as a French subscription-TV channel 40 years ago, CANAL+ today is a global media and entertainment company with a brand recognised worldwide amongst the Top 50 Most Valuable French Brands, globally (source: Kantar Brandz, 2023). It generates revenues in 195 countries and operates directly in 52 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the United States, with a total of approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. With a balance of exposure to mature and high-growth markets, CANAL+ is one of the largest media companies in Europe in terms of both revenues and subscribers, and the undisputed leader in French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, CANAL+ operates one of the world’s largest short-form video streaming platforms with Dailymotion. As of December 2023, CANAL+ has 26,8 million subscribers worldwide, and a global audience of over 400 million monthly active users on its OTT and video streaming platforms.
CANAL+ operates through the entire audio-visual value chain and beyond. The group’s various businesses include: subscription-TV, live and on-demand, mostly through CANAL+ premium offers and its CANAL+ over-the-top or “OTT” platform, but also its significant stakes in MultiChoice in Africa, Viaplay in Europe, and Viu in Asia; advertising-supported television, through free-to-air channels and video streaming through Dailymotion and Viu; content production and distribution, mostly through Studiocanal, its leading in-house studio; and telecommunication services, through GVA in Africa and CANAL+ Telecom in the French overseas jurisdictions and territories. It also operates the iconic performance venues L’Olympia and Théâtre de l’Œuvre in France and CanalOlympia in Africa.
À propos de CANAL+
Fondé il y a 40 ans en tant que chaîne de télévision française payante, CANAL+ est aujourd’hui un groupe de média et de divertissement mondial, faisant partie des 50 marques françaises les plus valorisées dans le monde (source : Kantar Brandz, 2023). Il génère des revenus dans 195 pays et opère directement dans 52 pays à travers l’Europe, l’Afrique, l’Asie et les États-Unis, avec un total d’environ 9.000 employés dans le monde. Avec une exposition équilibrée aux marchés matures et à forte croissance, CANAL+ est l’une des plus grandes sociétés de médias en Europe en termes de revenus et d’abonnés, et le leader incontesté en Afrique subsaharienne francophone. En outre, CANAL+ exploite, avec Dailymotion, l’une des plus grandes plateformes de diffusion de vidéos de courte durée au monde. En décembre 2023, CANAL+ comptait 26,8 millions d’abonnés dans le monde et une audience mondiale de plus de 400 millions d’utilisateurs actifs mensuels sur ses plateformes de service OTT et de streaming vidéo.
CANAL+ est présent sur l’ensemble de la chaîne de valeur audiovisuelle et au-delà. Les différentes activités du groupe sont les suivantes : la télévision payante, en direct et à la demande, principalement à travers les offres premium de CANAL+ et sa plateforme OTT CANAL+ mais aussi par ses participations significatives dans MultiChoice en Afrique, Viaplay en Europe, et Viu en Asie ; la télévision financée par la publicité, à travers les chaînes en clair et le streaming vidéo via Dailymotion et Viu ; la production et la distribution de contenus, principalement à travers Studiocanal, son studio interne de premier plan; et les services de télécommunications, à travers GVA en Afrique et CANAL+ Telecom dans les départements et territoires français d’outre-mer. Le groupe exploite également les salles de spectacles emblématiques L’Olympia et le Théâtre de l’Œuvre en France et CanalOlympia en Afrique.