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-scanvideotape.Thank goodness that it's coming out on DVD."BlueVelvet," quite simply, is the best film of the 1980's; the only filmthat comes close to it is Scorsese's "Raging Bull.""BlueVelvet" was so ahead of its time when it was first released back in1986.In fact, it remains so today, judging by the bewildered faces ofpeople who were at the revival showing I attended.The film precedes"American Beauty" in blowing the doors off of the closet thatSuburbia keeps its skeletons in, telling the story of a young college kidwho, after finding a severed human ear, gets caught up in murder and mayhemin his hometown of "Lumberton USA."Lynch goes to greatlengths 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 thewrong eyeglass prescription.Apart from the fine directing, "BlueVelvet" boasts an excellent cast that delivers each line with patentedLynch-quirkiness.Kyle MacLachlan plays Jeffrey Beaumont like a modern-dayDante, travelling through the Inferno he never knew his hometown was. Isabella Rosselini is spectacularly disturbing as Dorothy Vallens, a loungesinger 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 inwhat 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 youlaugh one minute, and cringe with fear the next after realizing that such aperson probably does exist.You may not agree that "BlueVelvet" is the best film of the 80's but you'll have to do somedigging to find one more original.It is a contemporary film noir classicthat deserves to withstand the test of time like older noir classics suchas "Double Indemnity" and "The Big Sleep."So far, itappears 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 justhow strange it can be.Click Here to see more reviews about: Blue Velvet (Special Edition) (1986)
Product Description:
An engaging dark thriller about a young man after discovering a human ear in a field begins an investigation into a subculture of killers addicts and sexual deviants.Studio: Tcfhe/mgmRelease Date: 09/20/2005Starring: Kyle Maclachlan Dennis HopperRun time: 120 minutesRating: R
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