(1986) 5 Michael Hastings David Lynch's map of the terrain between wet dream and nightmare, Blue Velvet reaffirmed the director's status as one of the most vital talents in American filmmaking, and achieved a mood and tone which would indelibly influence popular culture for the remainder of the 20th century. Though much of the film revolves around a compelling, lurid mystery -- executed in a tense, economical manner that might have made Alfred Hitchcock proud -- Blue Velvet is more interested in the mysteries of desire and the horrors of unchecked deviance. Lynch uses the form, style, and mood of a film noir to challenge and ultimately subvert notions of innocence, sexuality, and love. Even the casting reflects the director's agenda: Lynch's fresh young heroes, as played by Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern, are like leads in a 1950s hygiene film; he pits them against two icons of a lost Hollywood, Isabella Rossellini and Dennis Hopper, the latter turning in a jolting, career-resuscitating performance. Though it specifies no particular time, Blue Velvet's "golly gee" milieu of Lumberton, replete with soda fountains, convertibles, and hardware stores, is a Reagan-era idyll, an exaggeration of the 1980s concept of the American Dream. But from the moment Lynch's camera delves underground (in a surreal, Buñuel-like moment) to take in a thriving community of ants, it's clear that the director is more interested in the Reagan of Kings Row (1941), and in the grotesque despair that lurks beneath the surface of placid middle-American life. The film was a breakthrough for Lynch in the way it melded the dream worlds of Eraserhead (1977) and Dune (1984) with the more literal, narrative approach of The Elephant Man (1980): its densely saturated, red-white-and-blue color scheme was stunningly photographed by Fredrick Elmes; the haunting, expressionistic soundscape was designed by frequent Lynch collaborator Alan Splet.

releases for Blue Velvet on AllMovie

Blue Velvet (1986)

rate it

Blue Velvet

editor rating

user rating

mpaa rating

flags

Graphic Violence
Nudity
Strong Sexual Content
Not For Children
Profanity
Substance Abuse

genres

Mystery

sub-genres

category

Feature

directed by

David Lynch

countries

USA

release date

September 19, 1986 (USA)

run time

121 min.

produced by

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

released by

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

Submit corrections

	Title/Studio	Release Date
	Blue Velvet [Blu-ray] MGM More	November 8, 2011

	Blue Velvet [French] [Blu-ray] 20th Century Fox (Canadian) More	November 8, 2011

	Blue Velvet Prism More	October 4, 2004

	Blue Velvet [Special Edition] Sanctuary More	April 5, 2004

	Blue Velvet [Special Edition] Sanctuary More	April 5, 2004

	Blue Velvet [Special Edition] MGM More	June 4, 2002

	Blue Velvet [WS] Castle Home Video More	October 23, 2000

	Blue Velvet MGM More	April 25, 2000

	Blue Velvet TBC More	October 1, 1999