Two of Lyne’s early short films, The Table and Mr Smith, were entries in the London Film Festival. In his twenties he played trumpet with the jazz group The Colin Kellard Band. Lyne made his feature filmmaking debut in 1980 with Foxes, a look at the friendship of four teenage girls growing up in the San Fernando Valley, starring Jodie Foster.

In 1986, Lyne attracted controversy with 9½ Weeks. Based on a novel by Elizabeth McNeill, the tale of a sexually obsessive relationship starred Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger. Although considered too explicit by its American distributor, and cut for U.S. release, it became a huge hit abroad in its unedited version.

In 1990, Lyne directed Jacob’s Ladder. Written by Academy Award-winner Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost) and starring Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña and Danny Aiello, the film took audiences on a ride through Vietnam veteran Jacob Singer’s (Robbins) nightmarish world of reality and hallucinations to reveal a surprise twist ending. The film won Best Picture at the Avoriaz Film Festival. With Indecent Proposal, Lyne examined how the sexes look at relationships and money. Starring Robert Redford, Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore, Indecent Proposal, became a worldwide box office hit.

Lyne’s version of Lolita, based on the novel by Vladimir Nabokov and starring Jeremy Irons, was filmed for theatrical release in 1997, but American distributors shied away from it due to its controversial subject matter. The film premiered on Showtime and was so well-received that national theatrical distribution soon followed.