Blue Velvet

Rating:
Summary: This film is better teh 2nd time
Review: The reviewers make no mention of Dennis Hopper. He makes any bad guy worse, especially pschopaths.

Rating:
Summary: Life Changing
Review: Easily the best film of 1986, and among the top 5 films of the decade, David Lynch's Blue Velvet, much like his own cult classic Eraserhead, is truly a landmark in the history of cinema. It would have been nice to have a letterboxed version since most of the fans of the film are true cinephiles, and Lynch composition is very "painterly" and uses the entire 35mm frame, but I am grateful that it is available at all.

Rating:
Summary: Much Less Than its Rep
Review: Weird, dully acted, occasionally gross and sometimes unintentionally funny. Lynch desperately wants to have his cake and eat it too by being so uncool that he's cool. Lynch cannot just tell, he has to show. All the time. Like the weird kid in 3rd grade who always brought something unsettling to show-and-tell and the kids told their parents and the parents complained and the teacher had to talk to his parents about his not bringing anything else. The weirdos Lynch populates his underworld with are hilariously overacted by actors who obviously don't know what the heck is going on and probably think Lynch is full of it. Dennis Hopper is hysterical. He basically didn't change his act a bit from Apocalypse Now and, of course, the critics and fans raved about how "brilliant" ansd "electrifying" his performance was. After Blue Velvet, I imagine Hopper got down on his knees every night and thanked God for giving most people short memories and short attention spans.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Film of the 1980's
Review: I just recently saw David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" on the big screen (and in widescreen) for the first time. Having seen it now in its original aspect ratio, I can't bear to go back to my pan-and-scan videotape. Thank goodness that it's coming out on DVD. "Blue Velvet," quite simply, is the best film of the 1980's; the only film that comes close to it is Scorsese's "Raging Bull." "Blue Velvet" was so ahead of its time when it was first released back in 1986. In fact, it remains so today, judging by the bewildered faces of people who were at the revival showing I attended. The film precedes "American Beauty" in blowing the doors off of the closet that Suburbia keeps its skeletons in, telling the story of a young college kid who, after finding a severed human ear, gets caught up in murder and mayhem in his hometown of "Lumberton USA." Lynch goes to great lengths to set up his picture-book depiction of small-town American life (complete with bright red fire trucks, white picket fences, and blue skies) before taking a wrecking ball to it. Like he did in his debut, "Eraserhead," Lynch shows us what we look like (tedium and all) but purposely twists our view of it, like a mad optometrist giving us the wrong eyeglass prescription. Apart from the fine directing, "Blue Velvet" boasts an excellent cast that delivers each line with patented Lynch-quirkiness. Kyle MacLachlan plays Jeffrey Beaumont like a modern-day Dante, travelling through the Inferno he never knew his hometown was. Isabella Rosselini is spectacularly disturbing as Dorothy Vallens, a lounge singer whose husband and son have been abducted. Her character is a first: a femme fatale who is more dangerous to herself than anyone else. And in what may be one of the top ten tour-de-force performances of all time, Dennis Hopper, as oxygen-huffing crime boss/hedonist Frank Booth, makes you laugh one minute, and cringe with fear the next after realizing that such a person probably does exist. You may not agree that "Blue Velvet" is the best film of the 80's but you'll have to do some digging to find one more original. It is a contemporary film noir classic that deserves to withstand the test of time like older noir classics such as "Double Indemnity" and "The Big Sleep." So far, it appears to be holding up. It's a strange world and "Blue Velvet" (both the film itself and the fact that it was made) is solid proof of just how strange it can be.

Rating:
Summary: Fun for the whole Family!
Review: In a world of plummeting standards, mindless violence, and gratuitous sex, it's refreshing---and entirely rare---when you come across a major motion picture that the whole family can enjoy.

If you're looking for that kind of film, "Blue Velvet" is the mother lode.

"Blue Velvet" is David Lynch's masterwork, a real slice of life in small town America from the director who brought you the heartwarming, mesmerizing Disney hit "The Straight Story". Granted, for all of its heartwarming innocence, "The Straight Story" had a more deliberate tone which---to be totally honest---put little Tony and Suzie to sleep at my house. What to watch for a family sit-down that will keep the kids entertained but not drive Mom and Dad crazy, then?

Crisis averted! "Blue Velvet" is just as family-oriented as that film---only more so, and with a quicker pace that calls to mind a more finely-tuned Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew mystery.

High school senior Jeffrey Beaumont (the boyish, wholesome Kyle MacLachlan, who starred in the family flick "The Flintstones") lives with his parents and elderly Aunt Barbara (veteran actress Frances Bay, who appeared in "Twins"). With his father hospitalized after a massive heart attack, Beaumont stumbles across a mystery at the heart of sleepy little Lumberton.

Beaumont teams up with high school sweatheart Sandy Williams (Laura Dern, "Jurassic Park") and Sandy's father---a Lumberton detective---to delve into the mystery that has their little town on edge, and ultimately to snap the cuffs on a gang of dastardly baddies (headed up by Dennis Hopper in a stellar role as the villainous Frank Booth).

Isabella Rossellini serves up a particularly memorable role as singer Dorothy Valens, menaced by Booth and his rowdies, who manages to keep up a fighting spirit and lift everyone's spirits with cheerful, all-American musical standards. Grandpa and AMC-fans will particularly get a kick out the film's 1950's musical score, including golden oldies like Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" and Bobby Vinton's yesteryear hit "Blue Velvet".

Flawless cinematography by Frederick Elmes (who did the camera-work for 2003's "Hulk") shows off the green gables, rose gardens, and white picket fences of an all-American town to perfection. I don't think any director has realized the zany human cosmology of a small American town since Sam Wood's 1949 version of "Our Town".

While "Blue Velvet" heads over to the seamier side of town to plumb the more mysterious goings-on, don't fret---Lynch keeps rein over the more frightening elements of this salute to the Heartland. Like any Hardy Boys outting, things may get a little tense, but there's nothing too rough for the tots here, and good wins out in the end. Lynch proves you can put together an American classic and *still* have a happy ending.

"Blue Velvet" is a classic made for the whole family: like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Finding Nemo", it's certain to be a favorite in your house. Be sure to watch your kiddies, and savor the gleams in their eyes as the mysteries of life become clear.


Rating:
Summary: "We're taking your neighbor to f**k the country"
Review: "Blue Velvet", while overshadowed by Lynch's recent "Mulholland Drive" in which he finally decided to give up on the fear driven satire that held most of his earlier work back, is the closest (along with "Eraserhead") to revealing the once-in-a-few-decades type directorial talent this man possesses. Despite what his detractors may say (it's easy to be dismissive of Lynch because not everything is spoonfed to you, he pokes at our deepest sensibilities and fears, and you actually have to think at length about his work: in a nutshell, those are the real reasons people rave about what a "charlatan" Lynch is)
he is one of the first American directors to bring real surrealism--not mere pretty or strange images, not pointless weirdness, but cinematic dives into the subconscious which explode like a bomb--to the screen. He is a modern Bunuel with light touches of Bergman, and if he keeps up what he has been working toward, he may equal them both by the end of his career.

That said, "Blue Velvet" still stands as one of the most thought provoking, darkly humorous, and penetrating films of the 80's. While I'm not quite as sensitive to the "disturbing" aspects of the film as some viewers may be, I can understand why the scenes shared by Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini may turn the layman off. This is a pity since Lynch has so much to offer other than S & M and cheap eroticism, elements he uses to boring excess sometimes.

Jeffrey Beaumont (the mediocre, stone faced Kyle Machlachlan in another so-so role) returns to Happy Nowheresville, USA, to work for his aunt. His father suffers an agonizing heart attack as the veneer of the small town whirls around him, the underlying chaos represented by the twirling hose which falls to the ground. The mayhem develops further as Jeffrey discovers an ear in a field nearby, half eaten by ants.

Dennis Miller as the psychopathic, anesthesia abusing Frank Booth has to be one of the greatest performances I've ever seen. It has been said that the reason his acting rings so terrifyingly authentic is that Miller himself is not unlike Booth, but I don't care: we do not doubt for a moment that this man is ruthless and sadistic, capable of anything. Lynch and Hopper do a masterful job of trying to show us Frank's human side, as Dorothy Valens (Isabella Rosellini) sings Vinton's "Blue Velvet" in a dark nightclub. Booth clutches an actual piece of blue velvet, in agonized realization of his corruption and lost innocence. I think this is the significance of the song in the film; Dorothy is the only thing that connects Frank to anything remotely human, even if in the most twisted, sick ways imaginable, and he clings to her so brutally because he refuses to let go completely of the human being he may have been in the past as opposed to the maniac he is now. This is a paradox because, while Dorothy represents everything most precious to him, it is only in the framework of his corruption--he is holding her child ransom. Their relationship can either be interpreted as Frank still having a human side and using her as an extension cord to a somewhat wholesome world, or Frank taking joy in soiling innocence. This we never know for certain.

Meanwhile Jeffrey meets a cute, innocent high school student who remains a cute, innocent high school student the entire film and is not sucked into the subworld that Jeffrey is. Laura Dern does a good job with what she has, but watching these two was at times like watching two storefront dummies trying to generate onscreen energy. It works only as a tie in to the other things going on in the film.

The most haunting scene I have seen in any film is undoubtedly when Ben (Dean Stockwell), Frank's dandyish/pimp partner in a criminal circle that is never made wholly clear, lip syncs to "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison. I still can't figure out what emotional dynamic is taking place between Frank and Ben in this sequence, but the mood of dark surreality and unspoken communication is unparalleled.

Frank seems, in addition to being a killer and drugdealer, something of a megalomaniac: after knocking Jeffrey around a bit, he has a strange, unattractive woman pop on, again, "In Dreams" and tells Jeffrey:"When you receive a love letter from me, you are f**ked forever! In dreams, f**ker!" Frank is at least an artsy sociopath?

The ending of the film is a series of riveting events which ends in Frank's death, and by extension the death of the darkness he represented (although it is too late for Jeffrey, who through Frank and Dorothy has already been corrupted. Another reading of the film could be that they are like twisted parental figures for Jeffrey, introducing him to the hazards of the "real" world in an unflinching manner. Before he meets them, he is still a boy) and Dorothy's freedom. The last scene makes you wonder if Dorothy, in some weird way, still misses Frank or is haunted by him.

Love it or hate it, this is great art. It creates a mood which is inarticulate but overwhelming and unforgettable, apart from the more "shocking" scenes people have raved about. I hope Lynch continues on the path he is currently taking. Check out his magnum opus "Mulholland Drive" the first chance you get.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the worst movie I have ever seen!
Review: I looked hard but could not find one redeeming quality. I removed to from the DVD player and took it directly to the trash.

Rating:
Summary: An unforgettable movie experience.
Review: Blue Velvet may just be the largest Love/Hate Phenomenon in film history. You will either love it or hate. And after seeing the movie again yesterday, it's not hard to see why. The film has several scenes that reach the barrier of what a lot of viewers are willing to take. The movie never lets it's viewers off easily. It is violent, has several scenes that involve female degradation, and a villian who uses the "F" word more times then any character I have ever seen in any movie.

This may not sound like an incredible film from my review. And I don't want to waste any space decribing the films main plot. David Lynch films are as unique as it gets. You have to see this film for yourself to decide whether or not you like it.

The film does pack some of the most well constructed suspense scenes I have ever seen. It features an incredible performance by Dennis Hopper. But the real reason to see the movie is the look and feel that the dvd version captures perfectly. The colors and imagery of this film will be burned into your retinas for weeks after you've watched it. From things as simple as roses and fire trucks, to underground bugs and construction yards this movie looks beautiful. So my best advice if you've never seen this movie is to rent it first. Like I said, people either love it or hate it, Im part of the former group. Overall Rating:A+

Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie...
Review: This is one of my favorite movies. I have learned to appreciate its style and emotional impact. In short, innocence(Kyle McClauchlin and Laura Dern) encounters the darker side of life (Isabella Rosellini and Dennis Hopper} in the small and happy town of Lumberton where nothing ever happens until... It has a great plot with standout performances by all, especially an almost kabuki type performance by Dennis Hopper..enough to make you cringe and keep watching at the same time. Its almost unbearable at times especially when he takes an unsuspecting Kyle McClauchlin for a ride. Soon we find out a perfect happy world it is not. A great tribute to film noir at times with a hint of surrealism.

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular
Review: "Blue Velvet" is a stunningly original haunting film by director David Lynch.I've seen one David Lynch.I've seen one David Lynch film before this and it was the brilliant,yet confusing "Mulholland Dr.". When watching "Blue Velvet" I was engrossed by it,was held to the screen almosst.Rge way the movie is filmed is both brilliant and haunting and the cast is stunning.Kyle Maclachlan plays Jeffrey Beaumont.Jeffrey lives in a quiet suburban neighborhood that is seemingly perfect .While walking through a field he finds a severed human ear.He takes it to the police and meets Sandy (Laura Dern,Jurrasic Park),the local detectives daughter.Sandy tells Jeffrey information about the ear.Jeffrey decides to investigate it on his own and meets Dorothy Vallen (Isabella Rossellini). Dorothy is a disturbed night club singer with a lust for Jeffrey.However there is still Frank (Dennis Hopper).
Frank is a mental case basically with a h0orrible case of Torrettes Syndrome.Frank has kidnappeed Dorothy's husband and son and has pretty much full power over her.But anyway,Dennis Hopper gives the best performance in this movie in my oppininon.Dennis Hopper recieved and
Oscar nomination for "Hoosiers" the year "Blue Velvet" came out and I think he should have gotten it for this movie.A-