David Lynch admitted in the years leading up to his death that his least favorite project was his third feature film, calling it a 'total failure' in his eyes. The director's family announced his death at age 78 on Jan.

With the announcement that the great David Lynch died on January 16, the world hasn’t just lost one of its greatest filmmakers: It’s lost one of its greatest artists, period. The work of a filmmaker whose sensibility was certainly not for the masses,

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.