Wherever he is, you can bet David Lynch is busy. Lynch is an American director that needs no introduction, nor does his work -- which is an incredible thing to be able to say about an artist anyone considers a 'surrealist', if you stop to think about that. The Short Films of David Lynch does not contain the complete short films of David Lynch, but it does contain several commissioned pieces and very experimental works Lynch created as a student. If you're a fan, a completist film-follower, or someone just plain interested in some of the most... well, interesting short material you may ever see, check below.

Criterion's Facebook post/Tweet reads simply:


Get a glimpse into the mind of David Lynch as a young man. Free on Hulu all week.

One of the pieces, The Alphabet (1968) -- which, I guess, is not safe for work... or really "safe" at all, -- should give you a good idea of the places this material can go. Viewers who are easily disturbed should use discretion. First, some background on the piece, from an interview by Chris Rodley in Lynch on Lynch:

My wife Peggy's niece was having a bad dream one night and was saying the alphabet in her sleep in a tormented way. That's sort of what started The Alphabet going. The rest of it was just subconscious.

The rest of the background info behind these shorts is equally interesting -- Premonitions Following an Evil Deed, for instance, was filmed on the original Cinematograph created by the Lumière brothers.

These are only free -- and legal, mind you -- to watch on Hulu (or embedded here) for the remainder of the week, so if you're interested, be sure to check them out while you can (you can find the rest of them at the link below):

Link: The Short Films of David Lynch -- Criterion on Hulu