In 1971, Lynch moved to Los Angeles, California to
study for a Master of Fine Arts degree at the AFI Conservatory. At
the Conservatory, Lynch began working on his first feature-length
film, Eraserhead, using a $10,000 grant from the AFI. The grant did
not provide enough money to complete the film and, due to lack of a
sufficient budget, Eraserhead was filmed intermittently until 1977.
Lynch used money from friends and family, including boyhood friend
Jack Fisk, a production designer and the husband of actress Sissy
Spacek, and even took a paper route to finish it. A stark and
enigmatic film, Eraserhead tells the story of a quiet young man
(Jack Nance) living in an industrial wasteland, whose girlfriend
gives birth to a constantly crying mutant baby. Lynch has referred
to Eraserhead as "my Philadelphia story", meaning it reflects all
of the dangerous and fearful elements he encountered while studying
and living in Philadelphia.[13] He said "this feeling left its
traces deep down inside me. And when it came out again, it became
Eraserhead".
The final film was initially judged to be almost unreleasable, but
thanks to the efforts of the Elgin Theater distributor Ben
Barenholtz, it became an instant cult classic and was a staple of
midnight movie showings for the next decade. It was also a critical
success, launching Lynch to the forefront of avant-garde
filmmaking. The acclaimed film maker Stanley Kubrick said that it
was one of his all-time favorite films.[14][15] It cemented the
team of actors and technicians who would continue to define the
texture of his work for years to come, including cinematographer
Frederick Elmes, sound designer Alan Splet, and actor Jack Nance.
Meanwhile, Lynch continued producing short films, and during "a
brief lull in the filming of Eraserhead" had produced The Amputee
in 1974, revolving around a woman with stumps for limbs (Catherine
Coulson) who has them washed by a doctor, played by Lynch
himself.[16]