#977: LYNCH, David: Blue Velvet (1986)
LYNCH, David (United States)
Blue Velvet [1986]
Spine #977
Blu-ray
The Booklet
Thirty-two page booklet featuring excerpts by Kristine McKenna from Room to Dream, a 2018 book she coauthored with Lynch.
Commentary
None.
The Lost Footage
Fifty-three minutes of deleted scenes and alternate takes assembled by Lynch.
“Blue Velvet” Revisited
A feature-length meditation on the making of the movie by Peter Braatz, filmed on-set during the production.
Lynch: I love all the parts to it, right now. And I can hardly wait to see how it will hold together. That’s the real test. Just because the parts are good doesn’t mean the whole thing will be good.
Mysteries of Love
A seventy-minute documentary from 2002 on the making of the film.
Interview
From 2017 with composer Angelo Badalamenti.
Blue Velvet [1986]
Spine #977
Blu-ray
Home from college, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) makes an unsettling discovery: a severed human ear, lying in a field. In the mystery that follows, by turns terrifying and darkly funny, writer-director David Lynch burrows deep beneath the picturesque surfaces of small-town life. Driven to investigate, Jeffrey finds himself drawing closer to his fellow amateur sleuth, Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), as well as their person of interest, lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) — and facing the fury of Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), a psychopath who will stop at nothing to keep Dorothy in his grasp. With intense performances and hauntingly powerful scenes and images, Blue Velvet is an unforgettable vision of innocence lost, and one of the most influential American films of the past few decades.
120 minutes
Color
5.1 Surround
2:35:1 aspect ratio
5.1 Surround
2:35:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2019
Director/Writer
David Lynch was 40 when he wrote and directed Blue Velvet.
The Film
Other Lynch films in the Collection:
#725: Eraserhead (1977)
#1051: The Elephant Man (1980)
#898: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
#1152: Lost Highway (1997)
#725: Eraserhead (1977)
#1051: The Elephant Man (1980)
#898: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
#1152: Lost Highway (1997)
The Film
The film (Lynch's fourth) opens with the first four images (above) — a startling display of saturated color that is surely one of the touchstones of his style.
Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) discovers the severed ear and sweet-talks a reluctant Sandy Williams (Laura Dern) into helping him investigate.
This is where the entire plot breaks down and strains credibility. Disobeying Sandy's father — Detective Williams (George Dickerson) — the pair set off to solve the case, all by their little teenage selves.
[Interesting that an entire plotline concerning Jeffrey's return to the smalll town from college was completely excised!]
Eventually we meet Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) — who will compete with Sandy for Jeffrey's affection — and the completely crazed Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), a psychopath who is constantly inhaling helium or amyl nitrate, and swearing profusely.
Secondary characters populate the edges of the convoluted plot and add little or nothing to the story.
Lynch proves here that he can be interesting, but more often than not the ideas too easily spill over the cinema's frame and the colors turn sickly.
Film Rating (0-60):
51
The ExtrasThe Booklet
Thirty-two page booklet featuring excerpts by Kristine McKenna from Room to Dream, a 2018 book she coauthored with Lynch.
"'Explaining' Blue Velvet is a tricky business. Discussing the genesis of the film in 1987, Lynch told Cineaste that 'the first idea was only a feeling and the title Blue Velvet. The second idea was an image of a severed ear lying in a field. I don't know why it had to be an ear, except that it needed to be an opening of a part of the body, a hole into something else. The ear sits on the head and goes right into the mind, so it felt perfect. The third idea was Bobby Vinton's song "Blue Velvet"'"
Commentary
None.
The Lost Footage
Fifty-three minutes of deleted scenes and alternate takes assembled by Lynch.
“Blue Velvet” Revisited
A feature-length meditation on the making of the movie by Peter Braatz, filmed on-set during the production.
Lynch: I love all the parts to it, right now. And I can hardly wait to see how it will hold together. That’s the real test. Just because the parts are good doesn’t mean the whole thing will be good.
Mysteries of Love
A seventy-minute documentary from 2002 on the making of the film.
Interview
From 2017 with composer Angelo Badalamenti.
Fascinating look at a strong artistic personality.
It’s a Strange World: The Filming of “Blue Velvet”
A 2019 documentary featuring interviews with crew members and visits to the shooting locations.
Lynch reading
From Room to Dream.
It’s a Strange World: The Filming of “Blue Velvet”
A 2019 documentary featuring interviews with crew members and visits to the shooting locations.
Lynch reading
From Room to Dream.
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