8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Jeffery Beaumont is a naive young man who becomes involved in murder, voyeurism, sado-masochism and a terrifying evil after he discovers a severed ear in a deserted field. He discovers and follows a nightclub singer, who is ensnared in a brutal relationship with the psychopathic Frank Booth.
Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Hope LangeDrama | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 36% |
Surreal | 35% |
Mystery | 27% |
Film-Noir | 23% |
Erotic | 14% |
Crime | 14% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (192 kbps)
All 5.1 dubs are at 48kHz/24-bit; DD2.0 dubs are at 192kbps.
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Mandarin (Traditional)
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Is there anyone more adept at deconstructing suburbia than David Lynch? Lynch exults in painting a picture perfect surface and then delving beneath that surface to reveal the ugly underbelly of supposed normalcy. While Eraserhead, Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet are probably the best examples of this proclivity, really there are elements of it in everything from Wild at Heart to Mulholland Drive to Lost Highway to Inland Empire to, yes, even arguably (arguably) Dune and The Elephant Man. All of these films revolve at least in part around the dialectic of what is perceived to be a rational, “decent” existence and the more animalistic raging Id which underlies restrained personas. Even Lynch’s most atypical film, The Straight Story, looks at the disparity between what is thought of as being normal and how some people actually behave. Audiences weren’t yet used to this Lynchian technique when Blue Velvet premiered in 1986 and the film was looked at askance by large swaths of people, even as others, perhaps more cynical and antiestablishment by nature, started proclaiming the film a classic. Over the years, the film has attained a rather iconic status, perhaps seen through the filter of all the Lynch films and television offerings which followed in its wake. Blue Velvet is still an incredibly bracing, unabashedly innovative and original take on the mystery and noir genres, with an eye candy façade masking one of the more unseemly subtexts in modern film. In what almost might be seen as a dry run for Lynch’s Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet posits Kyle MacLachlan as a straight arrow investigator looking into a mystery and uncovering all sorts of secrets in a supposedly idyllic little town. There may be no Laura Palmer or dancing dwarves in Blue Velvet, but that odd mix of the sinister and the surreal is front and center in Blue Velvet and makes it a one of a kind viewing experience.
According the MGM press release touting this new Blu-ray version of Blue Velvet, the film's AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1 was personally supervised and color corrected by David Lynch himself. The color here is absolutely superb, gorgeously saturated and full of the almost surrealistic deep hues that Lynch and cinematographer Frederick Elmes favor throughout the film. Fine detail is also excellent in the brightly lit scenes, and even in some of the darker ones as well, with textures such as Rossellini's blue velvet nightgown or the pill on Dern's sweater seeming almost palpable. The film does exhibit fairly noticeable crush in a number of scenes which may bother some viewers as so much of this film is intentionally dark (as in literally dimly lit, though of course figuratively it's dark, too). There is some passing edge enhancement noticeable in a couple of scenes where characters are backlit (the screencap of McLachlan at the top of the staircase is a fair representation of this—it's never horrible, but it's definitely there). Some of the film looks just a tad on the soft side, though that is also part and parcel of Lynch and Elmes' intentionally ironic, pseudo-"glamorous" take on the suburban world of the film. This is on the whole an extremely crisp and sharp looking Blu-ray that is certainly going to satisfy most if not all of this film's fairly rabid legion of fans.
Blue Velvet's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is a brilliantly rendered and often almost subliminally subtle piece of work which adds
immeasurably to the film's unsettling vibe. Angelo Badalamenti's score is wickedly serene at times, but listen carefully to how often ominous LFE
creeps into some of his cues, as if to gently nudge the viewer (and listener) into a slightly off kilter state of awareness. The track has some
great immersive moments, including little bits like the spray of water in the opening scene where Jeffrey's father has his heart attack, which is
then followed by some LFE as the camera pans to the beetles at work. The now iconic uses of "Blue Velvet" and "In Dreams" also sound
hauntingly magnificent on this track. Dialogue is extremely well presented, occasionally nicely directional, and the sequences in The Slow Club
offer some great surround activity.
It should be noted that this is another of those MGM-Fox titles with no main menu and no bookmarking ability which my colleague Michael
Reuben regularly takes to task. At least this release has copious supplemental material in its favor.
I was introduced to Lynch's bizarre vision rather early in life when a friend sat me down and had me watch Eraserhead. Lynch's off kilter sense of humor and often wickedly scabrous deconstruction of the suburban lifestyle fit in fairly well with my own somewhat cynical take on the very lifestyle in which I was being raised, and I've been a lifelong fan of Lynch ever since, even with films of his that have met with less than stellar response. A lot of people can't stand Blue Velvet, and frankly I understand that sentiment. Rossellini's character of Dorothy is not just disturbing, she's disturbed, and having (initially anyway) straight and narrow Jeffrey getting sucked into the gaping maw of her depravity is alarming and upsetting, to say the least. But it's my firm opinion that Lynch is going for more than mere shock value here. This is a finely crafted film that, yes, is unsettling and troubling, but which in its own unique way pries back the Leave it to Beaver perfection of perception and reveals something almost atavistic about the human condition. This Blu-ray looks and sounds fantastic, and the recently found footage makes this a must buy for the film's fans. Highly recommended.
1955
1992
1990-1992
Includes They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! and The Organization on standard BD
1967
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1950
1997
1997
Masterpiece Mystery
2019
1944
1946
2002
2006
1954
Encore Edition | Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1953
1981
2024
2014
2014
1971
1995