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Lynch in 1984, the year his third feature, “Dune,” was released.

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Lynch directing Dean Stockwell and Francesca Annis in “Dune,” based on the same novel as Denis Villeneuve’s recent movies.

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Lynch and Isabella Rossellini, who starred in “Blue Velvet” (1986). The movie brought Lynch his second of three Oscar nominations for directing.

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Lynch filming “Blue Velvet” with Kyle MacLachlan, the star of that film as well as “Dune” and television’s “Twin Peaks.”

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Lynch in 1986.

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Lynch during the filming of “Wild at Heart” (1990).

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Lynch and Dennis Hopper, who memorably appeared in “Blue Velvet.”

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Lynch on the set of “Twin Peaks.” He was co-creator and showrunner of the series, which ran for two seasons on ABC in 1990 and 1991. A revival, “Twin Peaks: The Return,” ran on Showtime in 2017.

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Lynch, second from left, with his “Wild at Heart” cast at Cannes. From left: Rossellini, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Willem Dafoe and Nicolas Cage.

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Lynch at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990, where “Wild at Heart” won the Palme d’Or.

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A certain surrealistic quality that pervaded his films came to be known by the adjective “Lynchian.”

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Rossellini and Lynch.

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Lynch filming “The Straight Story” (1999).

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Lynch directing Naomi Watts in “Mulholland Drive.” The 2001 film is considered by many to be his masterpiece.

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Lynch and the stars of “Mulholland Drive,” Watts and Laura Harring, at Cannes in 2001.

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Lynch with Mel Brooks in 2012. Brooks helped produce Lynch’s first Hollywood feature, “The Elephant Man” (1980).

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A still from “Lynch/Oz” (2023), a documentary directed by Alexandre O. Philippe about the influence “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) exerted over Lynch.

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Lynch and Laura Dern on the set of “Wild at Heart.” Dern appeared in three of Lynch’s feature films as well as “Twin Peaks: The Return.”

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Lynch with the designer John Varvatos and Ringo Starr.

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In 2019, flanked by MacLachlan, Dern and Rossellini, Lynch received an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar.

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Lynch in 2007.

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Lynch’s death at the age of 78 was announced Thursday.